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  • Active
  • Severity: High
  • Stealing programs
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Jul 2016

How to remove PieSearch virus

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

Ugnius Kiguolis · The mastermind

What is PieSearch virus and why your browser’s homepage was suddenly changed

According to 2-spyware.com researchers, PieSearch virus is a totally annoying browser hijacker. It is known that this dubious search engine is related to Piesearch.com, which can easily take over people’s start page and the default search engine on each of their web browsers. If that is the case you are dealing with, you should know that you are hijacked. While technically PieSearch virus is not considered a severe virus, we believe that it deserves to be uninstalled. Here, we should warn you that that it may fail to leave your computer while trying to remove it in a traditional way. That’s why there are so many different comments about “Piesearch entfernen”. In fact, we have discovered that the most of computer users search for PieSearch removal from Chrome instructions, however, we must say that this browser parasite can affect other web browsers, too. This post is dedicated for users who struggle with PieSearch removal and you can find a detailed removal guide on the next page of this post. If you need a quick way to get rid of this hijacker, you should think about automatic removal option.

First of all, we would like to inform you what is the aim of PieSearch browser hijacker. Obviously, it slithered into your computer not without a reason. Its sole purpose is to generate profit by redirecting computer users to third-party websites that belong to partners of PieSearch. That is the reason why it sets PieSearch.com as the homepage. This website provides web search engine that supposedly gathers and presents best search results from the most popular search engines including Google, Bing, Yahoo, and Yandex. However, users who have tried this search engine complain that it does not serve reliable search outcomes because for some reason clicking on them does not open corresponding web pages. Unfortunately, this search engine is not designed to be useful for the computer user.

PieSearch browser hijacker sets PieSearch.com as homepage

As we have already stated, it is designed to redirect the user to predetermined websites. Needless to say, PieSearch redirects are extremely bothersome, but that is not the only negative thing we have to say about them. You should stop using this search engine immediately as it can make you visit dangerous and even malicious websites. Unfortunately, this browser hijacker has some additional features and components set up on your PC to stop you from changing homepage settings, therefore, to change the homepage, you have to remove PieSearch redirect virus from your computer. If you are looking for a good PieSearch removal tool, we recommend using FortectIntego. In case you would like to uninstall this PUP from your system manually, navigate to page 2 to find a manual removal guide.

Do you know how did PieSearch virus hijack your computer?

We are almost 100% sure that you did not install Piesearch by your choice. The question is, how did it manage to enter your computer system without your knowledge? Surprisingly, the answer is quite simple. This bothersome application uses a legitimate software distribution technique, known as “software bundling.” Bundling allows promoting various applications alongside other programs, usually well-known, popular and free ones. You should know that many free programs suggest installing optional programs, but they provide these suggestions in a quite unfair and indirect way. When you install a program that promotes optional software, you can easily skip the important setup steps and automatically agree to install these additional components without even knowing it. This is exactly why you should never rely on Default or Standard installation settings. We strongly recommend you to opt for Custom or Advanced settings whenever you install software as these options disclose the list of additional downloads that can be installed along with the primary program. You better opt these additions out. Otherwise, you might end up with several PUPs on your computer.

How to remove PieSearch hijacker from your computer?

There are several PieSearch virus uninstall options you can choose from:

  • The automatic removal option;
  • The manual removal option.

Now, it all depends on how skilled PC user you are. If you have experience removing PUPs, uninstalling PieSearch virus manually should not be a hard task for you. However, we understand that many computer users do not have such experience, and that is why we have provided detailed instructions how to remove PieSearch browser hijacker manually. You can find these instructions below the post. No matter whether you are an experienced computer user or not, you should protect your computer from more severe computer threats, and that is why we recommend you to eliminate PieSearch virus and secure your computer with anti-malware software. Read below to find out what anti-malware solutions we recommend choosing.

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.

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?

4 comments

  1. melissa72

    PieSearch redirects is the last thing you want to deal with... I am so glad I have found this removal tutorial. thanx a million!

  2. dustyoffyaclassics

    This search engine is worthless. I couldnt find the information i was looking for via it! uninstalling it right now.

  3. TracyAdams

    i prefer Google search!

  4. Zhiwile

    pie search redirected me to websites flooded with ads... i dont like that... i think those websites were dangerous...

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