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  • Active
  • Severity: Medium
  • Adware
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Jan 2021

How to remove BetterSurf

A step-by-step removal guide for affected devices. Follow the verified procedure below — most readers complete it in under 10 minutes.

Alice Woods · Likes to teach users about virus prevention

BetterSurf is the PUP that supposedly improves your time online

BetterSurf virus

BetterSurf is a potentially unwanted program, which may become a totally annoying thing that is hiding in your PC system. Beware that it may infiltrate your computer without your permission asked; hijack each of your web browsers; alter your homepage/default search engine; start causing annoying ads and interrupt your browsing every time you start this activity.

Besides, such programs like this one are capable of tracking PC users and collecting information, which is related to their browsing habits. In most cases, such programs are capable of collecting:

  • people's search terms,
  • mostly visited websites,
  • data that is entered,
  • etc.

If you see commercial advertisements from this service, it means that BetterSurf virus is hiding in your computer. As we have said, it is capable of infiltrating PC systems without people's awareness in a bundle with a third party software that is involved in such activity for trying to make some money.

In this case, you should scan your computer with reputable anti-spyware because BetterSurf redirects may trick you into visiting questionable websites that seek to increase their income, page rank, or visitors' traffic. Nevertheless, no one can guarantee that these links are checked properly and you won't be rerouted to an insecure site that promotes malware.

Please, be very careful with BetterSurf ads and, if you want to get rid of an adware-type program, make sure that you check your computer with reputable anti-spyware. For that, we highly recommend using anti-malware tools that can detect and remove such intruders.

After the removal of BetterSurf, you should also go through the settings of the computer that get damaged or corrupted by this potentially unwanted program. You should rely on proper tools like FortectIntego to achieve the best goals. Manual interference in such places as the registry can cause additional issues.

Keeping the computer secure involves paying attention to details

BetterSurf is one of these programs that can either be downloaded from the Internet voluntarily or in a bundle with freeware and shareware. If you want to protect yourself, the first thing that you should do is to avoid such programs as this browser add-on.

In addition, beware that it may also infiltrate your computer in a bundle with freeware and shareware. It is known that it can show up on your computer after installing:

  • 1ClickDownload,
  • Superfish,
  • Yontoo,
  • FBPhotoZoom,
  • many other apps that are used to spread this potentially unwanted program(can also be found as PUP).

Those who would like to know what exactly are they installing on their computers should remember one thing: you have to choose custom or advanced installation when downloading freeware to your machine. In addition, check the list of optional downloads and get rid of all of them. If you missed this checkmark that agrees to install BetterSurf, follow this guide and remove this program from the system.

Otherwise, you may run into various issues that have already been explained. If you want to avoid redirects to unknown websites, slowdowns, annoying ads, and other suspicious activities, you should use the guide below. We recommend selecting the Automatic removal method that will help you to make sure that your computer is totally safe and all suspicious programs are gone for good.

BetterSurf virus termination procedure requires security tools

If you were tricked into installing BetterSurf virus on your computer and you want to remove it from there, you should follow our recommendation to use the proper security software or anti-malware application and rush into the proper check of the system/ If you find any issues with the browser follow the instructions below.

Otherwise, you can remove BetterSurf by running the anti-malware tool and checking various parts of the affected system. If the list of detected threats is longer than you think, you can eliminate those infections by simply running the trusted AV tool again and cleaning the machine.

Uninstall from Windows

Uninstall from Windows 10/8:

  1. Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
  2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.Uninstall from Windows 10/8

Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:

  1. Click on Windows Start > Control Panel (Windows XP users should click on Add/Remove Programs).
  2. In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.Uninstall from Windows 7/XP

Remove the unwanted program:

  1. In the Programs and Features window, look for any recently installed suspicious entries, select them, and click Uninstall.
  2. If User Account Control appears, click Yes to confirm, then complete the removal.Uninstall the unwanted program from Windows

Delete from macOS

Remove the unwanted application:

  1. From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
  2. In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).Uninstall from Mac

Delete leftover files and folders:

  1. Select Go > Go to Folder.
  2. Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
  3. Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.Delete leftover files from Mac
  4. Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.

Reset Internet Explorer

Remove dangerous add-ons:

  1. Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
  2. Pick Manage Add-ons.
  3. You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.Remove add-ons from Internet Explorer

Change your homepage if it was altered:

  1. Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
  2. Select Internet Options.
  3. In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
  4. Click Apply and then select OK.Reset IE homepage

Delete temporary files:

  1. Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
  2. Under Browsing history, click Delete...
  3. Select relevant fields and press Delete.Clear temporary files from Internet Explorer

Reset Internet Explorer:

  1. Click on Gear icon > Internet options and select Advanced tab.
  2. Select Reset.
  3. In the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset.Reset Internet Explorer

Remove from Microsoft Edge

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 Remove.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 Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
  2. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  3. Select Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files. (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 Remove next to any suspicious startup page.

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

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.
  5. This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.Reset Chromium Edge

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)

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 the unwanted extension 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 Settings.
  3. Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.

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 and Temporary cached files and pages, then click 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

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 suspicious extensions 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 dangerous extensions:

  1. Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
  2. Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.Remove extensions from Safari

Clear history and website data:

  1. Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
  2. Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.Clear history from Safari

Reset Safari:

  1. Click Safari in the menu and select Preferences > Advanced.
  2. Enable Show Develop menu in menu bar.
  3. From the menu bar, click Develop and select Empty Caches.Reset Safari

Did this guide help?

5 comments

  1. Ian

    BetterSurf is a real annoyance! Thankfully, Windows Defender now recognises it and removes it.

  2. Greg

    They are using the name Media Player 1.1 as well. I looked for all of the ones in your list, but Media Player 1.1 turned out to be the one they used on me.

  3. Sean

    Greg is right with Media Player. Also uninstall Media Viewer if you have that too.

    Why do people make programs like these?

  4. Nick

    For my computer it was "Medida View" and I uninstalled and my computer is fixed of this stupid virus! Yes! Finally! Ive been waiting for soo long for my antispyware to get rid of it but no... I had to myself.

  5. Nick

    And "Media Watch"

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