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  • Active
  • Severity: Medium
  • Adware
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Feb 2017

How to remove Ultimate Shopping Search 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

The brief overview about Ultimate Shopping Search virus

Ultimate Shopping Search virus is a potentially unwanted program (PUP)[1] which has features of both – adware and a browser hijacker. Therefore, you can expect lots of annoying activities if you let this sneaky app get inside your PC. However, due to its specifications, we put this app to the group of the adware[2]. Developed by the Thailand-located company Saphire Max Media Co Ltd, this application is a browser extension for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. According to the developers, Ultimate Shopping Search provides shopping-related searches, shopping recommendations, various shopping deals and allows quickly finding necessary shops. However, instead of being useful, Ultimate Shopping Search ads diminishes browsing experience a lot. Once this browser extension gets inside the system, it starts delivering pop-ups, placing banners and other types of online ads on each visited website. What is more, users may also encounter unexpected redirects to the promotional websites that offer to purchase questionable products or services. We highly recommend keeping away from this app because some of its delivered ads may be potentially dangerous. Therefore, after a click on an eye-catchy ad, you may end up with installing malware[3] or entering phishing website.

This ad-supported program[4] is also capable of modifying browser’s settings. Therefore, if Ultimate Shopping Search virus gets inside the system, you may find changed homepage and search engine, or individualized tabs. Developers claim that they collaborate with Yahoo, Microsoft and Searchespro search providers. Nevertheless, the first two are well-known and reliable companies; we cannot say any good words about the third one. It’s nothing more than a browser hijacker which is capable of delivering modified search results. Moreover, many computer users found these modifications on the browsers hard to remove. Indeed, for this task, you may need anti-malware/anti-spyware program, such as FortectIntego, which can remove Ultimate Shopping Search adware along with its components. This adware can not only expose you to the cyber threats but also collect particular information about you. It might be interested in your IP address, the date and the time, the type and version of the operating system and browser, and other browsing-related information. This data is necessary for providing interest-based ads and encourage you to click them often and generate revenue for the developers. Hence, if you do not want to be used as a money making tool, you should perform Ultimate Shopping Search removal immediately.

The picture of Ultimate Shopping Search virus

Can this program get inside the computer without my knowledge?

Unfortunately, all PUPs can step inside computers unnoticed. Ultimate Shopping Search hijack can occur during free software installation[5]. This app spreads in the software bundle as an optional component. Hence, if you choose Quick or Standard installation mode, this and other PUPs might be installed by default. Bear in mind that recommended installation settings are not reliable; they do not inform about additional programs. As a result, now you have to deal with annoying Ultimate Shopping Search redirect problems and pop-ups. However, you could have prevented all this from happening if you have chosen Advanced or Custom setup that reveals all optional downloads and allows rejecting their installation.

How to get rid of Ultimate Shopping Search virus?

Ultimate Shopping Search removal can be performed either manually or automatically. If you haven’t installed this app yourself, we highly recommend scanning the computer with anti-malware/anti-spyware program because other PUPs might be installed on your PC as well. Additionally, you can remove Ultimate Shopping Search manually and check whether other apps has been installed or not by following the instructions 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

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

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