Hijack.ControlPanelStyle

Short bio

Hijack.ControlPanelStyle is Malwarebytes’ detection name for hijackers that alter (or add) the registry values on Windows systems:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
ForceClassicControlPanel

or

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
ForceClassicControlPanel

Symptoms

If the registry value(s) ForceClassicControlPanel is set to “1”, the system’s user can not change the control panel display mode.

Remediation

Malwarebytes can modify this registry value data back to its Windows default setting without user interaction.
Also, we advise users to do a full system scan as Hijack.ControlPanelStyle could have been added to the system by malware or PUP.

Add an exclusion

When Hijack.ControlPanelStyle is detected on your computer, Malwarebytes for Windows does not know if it was authorized. Optimization software, malware, and potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) are known to make these types of changes, hence they are regarded as potentially unwanted.

To have Malwarebytes for Windows ignore Hijack.ControlPanelStyle, you must add Hijack.ControlPanelStyle to the Allow list. Here’s how to do it.

1. When Hijack.ControlPanelStyle appears in the list of Scan results.
2. Uncheck the entry or entries related to Hijack.ControlPanelStyle.
3. Then click on Next.
4. You will see a prompt giving you several options.
5. Choosing Always ignore will add Hijack.ControlPanelStyle to the Allow List.
6. You can remove them there when you decide they should no longer be ignored.
7. When Hijack.ControlPanelStyle is on the Allow list it will no longer show up in your Scan results.