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  • Active
  • Severity: High
  • Stealing programs
  • Windows
  • Verified · Oct 2016

How to remove Search2016-ping.com virus

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

Gabriel E. Hall · Passionate web researcher

Should you worry about Search2016-ping.com?

Search2016-ping.com virus is a cyber infection that belongs to a particular family of browser hijacker viruses which has been especially active recently. On our site, you can already find descriptions of other members of this virus group including Mefuli-search2016.com, Max-search2016.com, Paper-search2016.com and a few others. Like most potentially unwanted programs, these viruses usually infiltrate computers by stealth and use Internet browsers to advertise sponsored content. Malware creators make use of the fact that the less experienced computer users are usually acceptant of the changes on their computers and rarely have the proper skills to revert them back. When talking abou this particular infection, we should not that it changes the infected computer’s settings and assigns the predetermined domain– http://www.search2016-ping.com/ — as a homepage and default search engine of all the installed browsers. Besides, the hijacker may install additional software that would help the virus stay on the computer and obfuscate its removal. Nevertheless, Search2016-ping.com removal is still achievable, but for it to go smoothly, you will need some professional help. FortectIntego is one of the reputable helpers that we can recommend. Of course, you may also try decontaminating the Search2016-ping.com hijack manually, by following the instructions we have provided below, but you have to be especially careful not to delete system or other important files by accident.

Search2016-ping.com virus example

Search2016-ping.com might give you an impression of a convenient search engine with multiple quick links and handy search suggestions. It’s unfortunate that it actually designed for quite a different purpose. The creators or this program are mostly concerned with collecting advertising revenue, so the seemingly useful search results are actually full of ads and sponsored links, which are also a core initiators of the Search2016-ping.com redirect issue. Since the pay-per-click revenue is all that the malware creators think about, the program is also designed quite carelessly. It may even destabilize you computer system making other programs malfunction or crash completely. As you probably know unstable computers are the primary targets of various malware infection, so the longer you ignore this issue, the more serious the consequences will be. Thus, we urge you to remove Search2016-ping.com without even questioning it.

How did you end up with Search2016-ping.com on your PC?

You are probably interested how this malicious site has managed to make its way to your browser without you noticing. Well, there is no secret to that actually. Since Search2016-ping.com is a potentially unwanted application, it will most likely spread via the deceptive bundling method. If you haven’t heard about this technique yet, you should know that such software packages usually consist of one legitimate, well-known software and a couple of PUPs. These potentially malicious apps are offered as optional or recommended installs and usually install on the computer automatically. To make such packages more transparent, you should always choose “Advanced” or “Custom” installation modes when installing new software. It is also important to notice and deselect the pre-selected components that might be potentially hazardous to your PC.

How to successfully remove Search2016-ping.com from your PC:

Before you attempt anything concerning Search2016-ping.com removal, you should check whether you have the right tools to start with. Your antivirus utility should be updated and running its latest version. Besides, it should be reputable and capable of eliminating browser hijacker without leaving any junk files behind. If you think you have such a tool already, you should start a scan of your computer with it immediately. In case you are still looking for one, we recommend checking out a list of antivirus software below. Finally, you do not necessarily have to purchase or download any new programs on your computer and remove Search2016-ping.com virus manually, following our step-by-step instructions provided below.

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

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

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