Remove “Your website access has been restricted” virus (Survey Scam)

The “Your website access has been restricted for downloading pirated software” message is a computer virus, which will block your from visiting Facebook, Google, Youtube and other websites, and instead it will display a fake error message asking you to complete a survey.

This threat is distributed through several means. Malicious websites, or legitimate websites that have been compromised, may drop this trojan onto a compromised computer. This drive-by-download often happens surreptitiously. Another method used to propagate this type of malware is spam email containing infected attachments or links to malicious websites. The threat may also be downloaded manually by tricking the user into thinking they are installing a useful piece of software.
The “Your website access has been restricted for downloading pirated software” virus is also prevalent on peer-to-peer file sharing websites and is often packaged with pirated or illegally acquired software.

Once install on a computer, “Your website access has been restricted for downloading pirated software” virus will drop several malicious files, and it will modify the Windwos HOSTS file to redirect your web browser to their malicious domains. The HOSTS file is like an address book, when you type an address like www.facebook.com into your browser, the Hosts file is consulted to see if you have the IP address, or “telephone number,” for that site. When infected with this trojan, the cyber criminals will add to your Hosts some new lines, which will resolve domain names to their malicious IP addresses.

After your HOSTS file is modified, whenever you’ll try to visit Amazon, eBay, PayPal and other popular websites, you’ll be redirect a to malicious domain which will ask you to complete a survey before allowing you visit to any of these websites.

Access Restricted!
Your website access has been restricted for downloading pirated software. To restore normal browsing, press “unlock” below. Once verified you can download our unlocker.

Please complete one survey or offer below to verify you’re human. You must use valid details.
STOP! Please verify you are human!

The “Your website access has been restricted for downloading pirated software” message will ask you to verify that you are a human and not a computer by filling in the survey. If you agree to take this survey, you’ll have to enter your phone number and by completing the survey you automatically agree that you will pay $5 a week for a service you definitely do not need.

The “Your website access has been restricted for downloading pirated software” message is a scam, and you should ignore any alerts that this malicious software might generate. Under no circumstance should you enter your phone number or pay any amount of money as this could lead to identity theft, and if you have, you should contact your bank and dispute the charge stating that the program is a scam and a computer virus.

“Your website access has been restricted for downloading pirated software” Redirect – VIRUS REMOVAL GUIDE

STEP 1: Reset the Windows Hosts file back to its default settings

The “Your website access has been restricted for downloading pirated software” trojan has modified your Hosts file, so that you’ll be redirected to those survey websites. To reset the Hosts file back to its default settings, we will run Microsoft Fix it 50267, however because usually the cyber criminals have changed the permissions for the HOSTS file, we will first need to revert this modification.

1. Hosts-perm.bat is a batch file that will reset the permissions for the Windows HOSTS file.
   This infection will change the permissions on the HOSTS file so that you are unable to delete it or modify it. Hosts-perm.bat will reset these permissions so that you will once again have full access to it.
   You can download Hosts-perm.bat from the below link:
   HOSTS-PERM.BAT DOWNLOAD LINK  (This link will open a new web page from where you can download Hosts-perm.bat)
   Double-click the hosts-perm.bat file and when it is done you will see a message stating “The Permissions on the HOSTS file have been reset.”.Press any key on your keyboard to exit the batch file.
2. Download Microsoft Fix it 50267 from the below link.
   MICROSOFT FIX IT 50267 DOWNLOAD LINK  (This link will automatically download Microsoft Fix it 50267 on your computer)
3. Double click on MicrosoftFixit50267, then follow the prompts to reset your Windows Hosts file.
   

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STEP 2: Remove “Your website access has been restricted for downloading pirated software” malicious files with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware FREE

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is a powerfull on-demand scanner which will remove “Your website access has been restricted for downloading pirated software” malicious files from your computer.

1. You can download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free from the below link, then double click on it to install this program.
   MALWAREBYTES ANTI-MALWARE DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a download page in a new window from where you can download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free)
2. When the installation begins, keep following the prompts in order to continue with the setup process. DO NOT make any changes to default settings and when the program has finished installing, make sure you leave both the Update Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware and Launch Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware checked,then click on the Finish button.
   
3. On the Scanner tab,select Perform quick scan and then click on the Scan button to start scanning your computer.
   
4. Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware will now start scanning your computer for “Your website access has been restricted for downloading pirated software” malicious files as shown below.
   
5. When the Malwarebytes scan will be completed,click on Show Result.
   
6. You will now be presented with a screen showing you the malware infections that Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware has detected.Please note that the infections found may be different than what is shown in the image.Make sure that everything is Checked (ticked) and click on the Remove Selected button.
   
7. After your computer restarts, open Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and perform a full system scan to verify that there are no remaining threats.

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STEP 3: Remove “Your website access has been restricted for downloading pirated software” rootkit with HitmanPro

In some cases,”Your website access has been restricted for downloading pirated software” will also install a rootkit on victims computer.To remove this rootkit we will use HitmanPro.

1. Download HitmanPro from the below link,then double click on it to start this program.
   HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download HitmanPro) IF you are experiencing problems while trying to start HitmanPro, you can use the Force Breach mode.To start HitmanPro in Force Breach mode, hold down the left CTRL-key when you start HitmanPro and all non-essential processes are terminated, including the malware process. (How to start HitmanPro in Force Breach mode – Video)
2. HitmanPro will start and you’ll need to follow the prompts (by clicking on the Next button) to start a system scan with this program.
   
   
3. HitmanPro will start scanning your computer for “Your website access has been restricted for downloading pirated software” malicious files as seen in the image below.
   
4. Once the scan is complete,you’ll see a screen which will display all the infected files that this utility has detected, and you’ll need to click on Next to remove this malicious files.
   
5. Click Activate free license to start the free 30 days trial and remove all the malicious files from your computer.
   

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STEP 4: Remove “Your website access has been restricted for downloading pirated software” redirect from Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome

Remove “Your website access has been restricted for downloading pirated software” from Internet Explorer

1. Open Internet Explorer, click on the gear icon  (Tools for Windows XP users) at the top (far right), then click again on Internet Options.
   
2. In the Internet Options dialog box, click on the Advanced tab, then click on the Reset button.
   
3. In the Reset Internet Explorer settings section, check the Delete personal settings box, then click on Reset.
   
4. When Internet Explorer finishes resetting, click Close in the confirmation dialogue box and then click OK.
5. Close and open Internet Explorer.

Remove “Your website access has been restricted for downloading pirated software” from Mozilla Firefox

1. At the top of the Firefox window, click the Firefox button, go over to the Help sub-menu (on Windows XP, click the Help menu at the top of the Firefox window), and select Troubleshooting Information.
   
2. Click the Reset Firefox button in the upper-right corner of the Troubleshooting Information page.
   
3. To continue, click Reset Firefox in the confirmation window that opens.
4. Firefox will close and be reset. When it’s done, a window will list the information that was imported. Click Finish

Remove “Your website access has been restricted for downloading pirated software” from Google Chrome

1. Click the Chrome menu   button on the browser toolbar, select Tools and then click on Extensions.
   
2. In the Extensions tab, remove (by clicking on the Recycle Bin button) Flash Player Update 11.0 and any other unknown or unwanted extensions.

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STEP 5: Remove “Your website access has been restricted for downloading pirated software” residual damage from your browser with AdwCleaner

1. You can download AdwCleaner from the below link.
   ADWCLEANER DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will automatically download AdwCleaner on your computer)
2. Before starting this utility, close all open programs and internet browsers.
3. Double click on adwcleaner.exe to run the tool.
4. Click on Delete, then confirm each time with Ok.
   
5. Your computer will be rebooted automatically. A text file will open after the restart.
6. NEXT, double click on adwcleaner.exe to run the tool.
7. Click on Uninstall, then confirm with yes to remove this utility from your computer.

If you are still experiencing problems while trying to remove “Your website access has been restricted for downloading pirated software” virus from your machine, please start a new thread in our Malware Removal Assistance forum.