“Installed by enterprise policy” extension (Removal Instructions) - updated Nov 2017

“Installed by enterprise policy” extension Removal Guide

What is “Installed by enterprise policy” extension?

“Installed by enterprise policy” – a feature that prevents uninstalling PUPs easily

"Installed by enterprise policy" virus

“Installed by enterprise policy” is a Google Chrome feature that makes browser add-ons, plugins and extensions[1] impossible to remove easily. There’s no doubt that this specification is highly employed by developers of potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) to keep their application longer on the infected device.

Malicious browser extensions, adware,[2] browser hijackers and other junkware[3] are usually installed by enterprise policy to cause more problems for the victim. Typically these suspicious applications are designed to:

  • alter browser’s settings;
  • changing default browser’s homepage, search engine, new tab URL address with a suspicious domain;
  • deliver an excessive amount of ads or redirect[4] to third-party commercial websites;
  • track information about users;
  • cause other browsing-related problems.

You should avoid such suspicious browser add-ons because they may start causing lots of unwanted activities. Some of these activities are annoying pop-up ads that report about discounts, coupons, and other tricky things, redirects [4] to unfamiliar and sometimes really suspicious websites and other activities.

However “Installed by enterprise policy” prevents from a simple elimination of the potentially unwanted application. If you access the list of Chrome extensions, you will see that it is greyed-out and impossible to delete it by hitting Trash icon. Additionally, you won’t be able to access disable extension feature.

In order to remove “Installed by enterprise policy,” you have to remove Group Policy first. This feature allows controlling installation or uninstallation of particular apps. The malicious application restricts users from removal. However, they can change Group Policy and perform either manual or automatic elimination.

We have provided manual “Installed by enterprise policy” removal guide below. However, our team recommends terminating browser hijackers, adware and other PUPs using reputable anti-malware software, such as FortectIntego.

"Installed by enterprise policy" virus imageAbove you can see an example of a few extensions marked as "Installed by enterprise policy".

Dangerous browser extension spread in software installers

There are lots of suspicious browser extensions, plugins, and add-ons that are spread using “bundling”. In fact, this is the main method used for spreading “Installed by enterprise policy” virus and you can avoid it only if you monitor installation of free software.[5]

How can you do that? Believe us, it is not hard. For that, you should always check Privacy Policy, End User's License Agreement, and similar things. In addition, you should always opt for Custom or Advanced installation option and uncheck all browser add-ons, extensions, and plugins that may be offered to you along the way.

Please, be very attentive while installing new programs because you may miss the sentence that allows installation of some suspicious browser add-on. If you think that malicious extension using “Installed by enterprise policy” is already hiding on your computer, there is no point of waiting for its removal because there is a long list of unwanted and sometimes even dangerous activities that may be initiated by it.

Think about redirects to unsafe websites or recording of your browsing activity and decide whether you really want this to continue. If you don't, keep reading and we will explain how to delete the virus from your PC.

Reset Group Policy to uninstall “Installed by enterprise policy” extension

In order to remove “Installed by enterprise policy” extensions, add-ons or other apps, you have to change Group Policy settings firstby following these steps:

  1. Press Windows key + X and click Command Prompt (Admin) to open the program.
  2. In the Command Prompt enter these commands and hit Enter after typing each of them:
    rd /S /Q “%WinDir%\System32\GroupPolicyUsers”
    rd /S /Q “%WinDir%\System32\GroupPolicy”
    gpupdate /force

Once you hit Enter after the last command, you should receive these notifications:
User Policy update has completed successfully.
Computer Policy update has completed successfully.

It means that “Installed by enterprise policy” removal is completed and now you can uninstall all unwanted applications from the computer and the browsers. You can find manual removal guide below.

Additionally, you can remove “Installed by enterprise policy” virus from Windows and the browser using reputable anti-malware/anti-spyware that will identify and uninstall potentially dangerous or malicious applications.

You may remove virus damage with a help of FortectIntego. SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner and Malwarebytes are recommended to detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.

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What to do if failed?
If you failed to fix virus damage using Fortect Intego, submit a question to our support team and provide as much details as possible.
Fortect Intego has a free limited scanner. Fortect Intego offers more through scan when you purchase its full version. When free scanner detects issues, you can fix them using free manual repairs or you can decide to purchase the full version in order to fix them automatically.
Alternative Software
Different software has a different purpose. If you didn’t succeed in fixing corrupted files with Fortect, try running SpyHunter 5.
Alternative Software
Different software has a different purpose. If you didn’t succeed in fixing corrupted files with Intego, try running Combo Cleaner.

Getting rid of “Installed by enterprise policy” extension. Follow these steps

Uninstall from Windows

While the experts recommend cleaning up the computer using automatic software, sometimes this option may not be available. In such cases, you can try to remove the parasite from your PC manually.

First of all, you have to change Group Policy settings:

  1. Open Command Prompt by hitting Windows key + R and choosing Command Prompt (Admin) from the appeared list.
  2. Type the following commands and click Enter after each of them:
    rd /S /Q “%WinDir%\System32\GroupPolicyUsers”
    rd /S /Q “%WinDir%\System32\GroupPolicy”
    gpupdate /force

When the last command is executed, you will see these sayings that mean that Group Policy is reset:

User Policy update has completed successfully.
Computer Policy update has completed successfully.

Once it's done, you have to uninstall malicious apps from Control Panel as shown below and check web browsers for a suspicious components. Even though “Installed by enterprise policy” is Chrome's feature, you should check all browsers installed on your PC because PUPs might install their components to other browsers as well.

Instructions for Windows 10/8  machines:

  1. Enter Control Panel into Windows search box and hit Enter or click on the search result.
  2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program. Uninstall from Windows 1
  3. From the list, find the entry of the suspicious program.
  4. Right-click on the application and select Uninstall.
  5. If User Account Control shows up, click Yes.
  6. Wait till uninstallation process is complete and click OK. Uninstall from Windows 2

If you are Windows 7/XP user, proceed with the following instructions:

  1. Click on Windows Start > Control Panel located on the right pane (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
  2. In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program. Uninstall from Windows 7/XP
  3. Pick the unwanted application by clicking on it once.
  4. At the top, click Uninstall/Change.
  5. In the confirmation prompt, pick Yes.
  6. Click OK once the removal process is finished.

Delete from macOS

Remove items from Applications folder:

  1. From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
  2. In the Applications folder, look for all related entries.
  3. Click on the app and drag it to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash) Uninstall from Mac 1

To fully remove an unwanted app, you need to access Application Support, LaunchAgents, and LaunchDaemons folders and delete relevant files:

  1. Select Go > Go to Folder.
  2. Enter /Library/Application Support and click Go or press Enter.
  3. In the Application Support folder, look for any dubious entries and then delete them.
  4. Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the related .plist files. Uninstall from Mac 2

Remove from Microsoft Edge

To reset altered Microsoft Edge settings, you should perform a browser reset like explained below:

Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:

  1. Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
  2. From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
  3. Click on Uninstall at the bottom. Remove extensions from Edge

Clear cookies and other browser data:

  1. Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Privacy & security.
  2. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  3. Select everything (apart from passwords, although you might want to include Media licenses as well, if applicable) and click on Clear. Clear Edge browsing data

Restore new tab and homepage settings:

  1. Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
  2. Then find On startup section.
  3. Click Disable if you found any suspicious domain.

Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:

  1. Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
  2. Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
  3. Select Details tab.
  4. Now scroll down and locate every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right-click on each of them and select End Task to stop MS Edge from running. Reset MS Edge

If this solution failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method. Note that you need to backup your data before proceeding.

  1. Find the following folder on your computer: C:\\Users\\%username%\\AppData\\Local\\Packages\\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe.
  2. Press Ctrl + A on your keyboard to select all folders.
  3. Right-click on them and pick Delete Advanced MS Edge reset 1
  4. Now right-click on the Start button and pick Windows PowerShell (Admin).
  5. When the new window opens, copy and paste the following command, and then press Enter:

    Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\\AppXManifest.xml” -Verbose Advanced MS Edge reset 2

Instructions for Chromium-based Edge

Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):

  1. Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
  2. Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove. Remove extensions from Chromium Edge

Clear cache and site data:

  1. Click on Menu and go to Settings.
  2. Select Privacy, search and services.
  3. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  4. Under Time range, pick All time.
  5. Select Clear now. Clear browser data from Chroum Edge

Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:

  1. Click on Menu and select Settings.
  2. On the left side, pick Reset settings.
  3. Select Restore settings to their default values.
  4. Confirm with Reset. Reset Chromium Edge

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)

Reset Mozilla Firefox like explained in the tutorial below:

Remove dangerous extensions:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
  2. Select Add-ons.
  3. In here, select unwanted plugin and click Remove. Remove extensions from Firefox

Reset the homepage:

  1. Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
  2. Choose Options.
  3. Under Home options, enter your preferred site that will open every time you newly open the Mozilla Firefox.

Clear cookies and site data:

  1. Click Menu and pick Settings.
  2. Go to Privacy & Security section.
  3. Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
  4. Click on Clear Data…
  5. Select Cookies and Site Data, as well as Cached Web Content and press Clear. Clear cookies and site data from Firefox

Reset Mozilla Firefox

If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
  2. Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information. Reset Firefox 1
  3. Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox…
  4. Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox. Reset Firefox 2

Remove from Google Chrome

Roll back Google Chrome settings by completing this browser reset guide:

Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

  1. Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
  2. In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all the suspicious plugins that might be related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove. Remove extensions from Chrome

Clear cache and web data from Chrome:

  1. Click on Menu and pick Settings.
  2. Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
  3. Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
  4. Click Clear data. Clear cache and web data from Chrome

Change your homepage:

  1. Click menu and choose Settings.
  2. Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
  3. Click on Open a specific or set of pages and click on three dots to find the Remove option.

Reset Google Chrome:

If the previous methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the unwanted components:

  1. Click on Menu and select Settings.
  2. In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
  3. Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
  4. Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
  5. Confirm with Reset settings. Reset Chrome 2

Delete from Safari

Remove unwanted extensions from Safari:

  1. Click Safari > Preferences…
  2. In the new window, pick Extensions.
  3. Select the unwanted extension and select Uninstall. Remove extensions from Safari

Clear cookies and other website data from Safari:

  1. Click Safari > Clear History…
  2. From the drop-down menu under Clear, pick all history.
  3. Confirm with Clear History. Clear cookies and website data from Safari

Reset Safari if the above-mentioned steps did not help you:

  1. Click Safari > Preferences…
  2. Go to Advanced tab.
  3. Tick the Show Develop menu in menu bar.
  4. From the menu bar, click Develop, and then select Empty Caches. Reset Safari

After uninstalling this potentially unwanted program (PUP) and fixing each of your web browsers, we recommend you to scan your PC system with a reputable anti-spyware. This will help you to get rid of “Installed by enterprise policy” extension registry traces and will also identify related parasites or possible malware infections on your computer. For that you can use our top-rated malware remover: FortectIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes.

How to prevent from getting adware

Choose a proper web browser and improve your safety with a VPN tool

Online spying has got momentum in recent years and people are getting more and more interested in how to protect their privacy online. One of the basic means to add a layer of security – choose the most private and secure web browser. Although web browsers can't grant full privacy protection and security, some of them are much better at sandboxing, HTTPS upgrading, active content blocking, tracking blocking, phishing protection, and similar privacy-oriented features. However, if you want true anonymity, we suggest you employ a powerful Private Internet Access VPN – it can encrypt all the traffic that comes and goes out of your computer, preventing tracking completely.

 

Lost your files? Use data recovery software

While some files located on any computer are replaceable or useless, others can be extremely valuable. Family photos, work documents, school projects – these are types of files that we don't want to lose. Unfortunately, there are many ways how unexpected data loss can occur: power cuts, Blue Screen of Death errors, hardware failures, crypto-malware attack, or even accidental deletion.

To ensure that all the files remain intact, you should prepare regular data backups. You can choose cloud-based or physical copies you could restore from later in case of a disaster. If your backups were lost as well or you never bothered to prepare any, Data Recovery Pro can be your only hope to retrieve your invaluable files.

About the author
Gabriel E. Hall
Gabriel E. Hall - Passionate web researcher

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