How to Quickly Remove the Chromium Virus in 2024 by Sam Boyd

Sam Boyd

Updated on: January 3, 2024

Chromium is a legitimate open-source web browser designed by Google; however, there are fake versions of it on the internet that are designed to steal your data and install malware on your devices. These fake versions of Chromium can steal your browsing data and redirect your searches to either phishing sites or sites hosting dangerous exploits and malware downloads.

You can easily tell if you’ve been infected by a fake and malicious version of Chromium:

• If the Chromium icon (the normal Chrome icon with inverted colors) has appeared on your desktop or taskbar without you downloading and installing it from the Chromium website.
• If the Chromium browser includes pre-installed extensions.
• If your homepage changes, or the homepage in your Chromium browser isn’t automatically set to Google.
• If your computer’s performance is dramatically worse and applications refuse to boot.
• If you’re getting lots of pop-ups and advertisements (even when not browsing the web).

If you notice any of these symptoms, you should follow this easy guide to uninstall the fake Chromium.

Furthermore, if spyware like Chromium has suddenly appeared on your computer (and if you’ve been pirating or downloading free files), then chances are you have other potentially unwanted programs and malware on your device. Therefore, it’s important you follow our steps to uninstall Chromium safely and then scan your computer using a comprehensive antivirus suite like Norton.

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Preliminary Step: Uninstall Chromium

Uninstalling Chromium varies depending on your operating system. Click on the operating system you have to jump to the appropriate step:

Windows 10

On Windows 10, to uninstall the Chromium web browser, you first have to navigate to your “Apps and Features” menu. To do this, click on “Settings” in your Windows 10 taskbar (which you can identify through a small gear icon in the start menu).

When the “Settings” app opens, click “Apps” to be taken to a list of all installed apps on your Windows 10 PC. From here, all you need to do is navigate down the list until you see Chromium Browser. When you do, click “Uninstall.”

Like with most apps, you will be asked to confirm your uninstallation selection. Click “Yes.” and wait for Chromium to uninstall. It should only take a couple of minutes.

When this is done, Chromium will be removed from your PC. Your best bet now is to scan your PC for any malware using a comprehensive antivirus like Norton. If you didn’t mean to download Chromium, chances are you have other infections on your PC that you should know about.

Windows 8

On Windows 8,you have to access the “Programs and Features” menu in your Control Panel to remove Chromium. To do this, from your desktop, press the start key on your keyboard to bring up Windows 8’s “Live Tile” view. Without pressing anything, type “Control Panel” into your keyboard. An icon for the Control Panel should appear on the right side of your screen. Click on it, and then, in the window that appears, click “Uninstall a Program.”

Clicking “Uninstall a Program” will bring up a list of all the installed apps on your PC. Scroll down the list until you see Chromium Browser, click on it, and then click “Uninstall.” In the pop-up window that appears, click “Yes,” and Chromium will then uninstall.

The process should only take a few minutes. When this is done, Chromium will be removed from your PC. Your best bet now is to scan your PC for any malware using a comprehensive antivirus like Norton. If you didn’t mean to download Chromium, chances are you have other infections on your PC that you should know about.

Windows 7

On Windows 7, to remove Chromium, you have to access the “Programs and Features” menu. To do this, click on your start menu and click on “Control Panel.”  In the window that appears, click “Uninstall a Program.”

Clicking this will bring up a list of all the installed apps on your PC. Scroll down the list until you see Chromium Browser, click on it, and then click “Uninstall.” In the pop-up window, click “Yes,” and Chromium will uninstall.

The process should only take a few minutes. When this is done, Chromium will be removed from your PC. Your best bet now is to scan your PC for any malware using a comprehensive antivirus like Norton. If you didn’t mean to download Chromium, chances are you have other infections on your PC that you should know about.

macOS

On macOS, you have to access “Finder” to remove Chromium. To do this, from your desktop, click on the “Finder” icon on the Dock. In the window that appears, select “Applications.”

Note: By default, “Applications” will be under your “Favorites” menu.

Clicking this will bring up a list of all the installed apps on your Mac. Scroll down the list until you see Chromium Browser. Once you see Chromium, drag it over the trash icon in the Dock, then drop it. Next, click and hold the trash icon until “Empty Trash” appears. Then, click “Empty Trash.”

When this is done, Chromium will be removed from your computer. Your best bet now is to scan your computer for any malware using a comprehensive antivirus like Intego. If you didn’t mean to download Chromium, chances are you have other infections on your computer that you should know about.

Step 1. Run a Full System Scan With Your Antivirus

Open your antivirus, and initiate a full system scan of all your hard drives. This scan takes the longest (up to 5 hours), but it’s the most thorough. Make sure to allow the scan to run until completion. You’ve already removed Chromium, so it shouldn’t appear on the infected file list — but if instances of it do, don’t cancel your malware scan when you see it. You shouldn’t assume you’ve captured every piece of malware on your computer until the scan is complete.

Also, If you had USB storage devices connected to your computer while Chromium was installed on your device, you need to scan them too, to ensure they have no malware infections. Once you have scanned them, it’s a good idea to remove them so malware can’t replicate onto them.

Once the scan is finished, you’ll be taken to a quarantine vault that contains a list of every infected file. You can now proceed to the next step.

Step 2. Delete Any Infected Files

Next, you need to go through each item in the infected file list to check if it’s a false positive. False positives are legitimate files that your antivirus has flagged (usually because they have a similar signature or behavior to known threats). If you find any false positives, you need to whitelist them if you trust them. Otherwise, delete everything in your infected file list.

At this point, your computer should be much safer, but you need to restart it to ensure there are no traces of malware running in your computer’s memory. Once your computer has restarted, you need to run a second full disk scan to make sure any malware hasn’t replicated. (The second full disk scan won’t take as long as the first one, as antiviruses like Norton and Intego can recognize recently scanned and unmodified files).

Once the second scan is complete, you will need to repeat the process of checking for false positives and malware infections  (there shouldn’t be any at this stage). If your scan has uncovered threats, remove them, and keep restarting your computer and rescanning until your antivirus can find no more virus threats.

When your antivirus can find no more virus threats, you’re completely free from all computer infections. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t get reinfected again. It’s recommended you keep your antivirus installed, but there are some other precautions you can take.

Step 3. Keep Your Device Protected From Other Unwanted Programs

In 2024, staying safe online can be difficult. Malware threats are on the rise, and cybercriminals are constantly looking for vulnerabilities to take advantage of. Without the proper precautions, it only takes seconds to be infected. Here’s what you need to do to prevent that from happening.

Keep Your Software, OS, and Drivers Up-To-Date

Computer exploits are targeted attacks that take advantage of vulnerabilities in outdated software, drivers, or operating systems. If you don’t keep any of these updated on your computer, you’re vulnerable to an exploit attack. Hackers can use exploit attacks to deliver malware into your system or steal your data.

The easiest way to stay protected from an exploit attack is to use an antivirus with a vulnerability scanner. McAfee is a great example. McAfee’s vulnerability scanner manages all of your computer’s updates for you, including software, OS, and driver updates. McAfee even alerts you if software has a critical update — an update usually fixing known security exploits.

Another good practice is to always keep auto-update options enabled. This allows applications to update as soon as you start them, making it impossible for you to work on an obsolete application. If you weren’t asked to turn this feature on when you installed an application, check in the application’s settings.

Don’t Download Suspicious Files

This one may seem obvious, but it’s really easy to download suspicious files without realizing it. One type of web attack known as a drive-by download will automatically download malware onto your system as soon as you click on a dangerous link.

However, there are some precautions you can take to help avoid downloading suspicious files. First, always use an antivirus with decent real-time protection when browsing the web. Second, avoid websites that seem sketchy (if they do, they probably are). These websites are usually sites that are too good to be true. They offer free premium content or subscription services you would usually pay for.

Finally, never open attachments in emails unless you recognize and trust the sender. If you’re unsure, reach out to the sender on a different channel than email and ask them if they sent you an attachment.

Secure Your Wireless Network and IoT Devices

It’s also really important to secure your WiFi network and all internet of things (IoT) devices connected to it. When connecting to a network, look out for a warning symbol, and if it appears on your own network, make sure to go into your router settings and set a strong password (you can use a password manager like Dashlane to help you do this).

An IoT device with weak password protection is another big security risk. Passwords like “password” or “admin” are super easy to hack, so your IoT devices should also have a strong password that nobody can crack. Again, the best way to do this is to use a tool like Dashlane. Dashlane can generate extremely strong passwords that hackers will never be able to brute force their way into. These passwords are secured in an encrypted vault that only you have access to. Dashlane can auto-fill into password fields, too, meaning you never have to remember a saved password.

Download a Secure Antivirus Program

Finally, you should download a reliable and secure antivirus program. There are many antivirus programs out there that are actually PUPS. An example is the Segurazo Antivirus which will slow down your computer and find fake malware. It’s better if you go with one of the top 10 vendors we recommend in 2024. All of these are trustworthy and offer great protection for multiple devices. My favorite on the list is Norton.

Norton has:

• Real-Time protection. Keeps you safe online by intercepting any malicious downloads or web pages before you can access them.
• Firewall. Prevents network-based attacks by restricting any online traffic you don’t allow.
• VPN. Protects your privacy from trackers and stops cybercriminals from spying on you.
• Cloud backup. Mitigates the damage of ransomware attacks by making backups of your important files.
• And more…

Frequently Asked Questions

How bad is the Chromium Virus?

The Chromium virus can steal your data, and it can also redirect you to sites that contain dangerous downloads — such as trojans, rootkits, computer worms, ransomware, and more. If you need help detecting malware and potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) in real-time, you should install a decent antivirus with real-time protection, like Norton or Intego.

Why Is Chromium installed by itself?

If Chromium has installed by itself, chances are you’ve downloaded a potentially unwanted program with a malicious version of Chromium attached to it. If this is the case, it’s likely your computer has been infected with the Chromium virus and other, more dangerous types of malware.

You should follow our steps to safely uninstall Chromium and run a full disk scan on your computer using a comprehensive antivirus scanner (Norton is the best Windows antivirus, whereas Intego is the best antivirus for Mac).

How to uninstall the Chromium virus?

While the Chromium virus can be pretty dangerous, it’s pretty easy to remove it from your computer. However, uninstalling the Chromium virus is different on different operating systems. Click here to learn how to uninstall it from Windows (10, 8, and 7) and macOS.

Also, once you’ve uninstalled Chromium from your device, you need to run a full system scan of your computer to make sure it’s not infected with other types of malware. My favorite Windows antivirus is Norton, whereas I recommend Intego for Mac users.