Quickstart.ninja is a search engine that you shouldn’t trust
Quickstart.ninja is an untrustworthy search engine which is considered a browser hijacker. It can take control of each of your web browsers[1] and make them to start opening it at random times. The suspicious program hijacks them without asking for user’s permission and expects that the user will ignore the changes in homepage and new tab page settings and continue using the new search tool just like he/she used the previous one (Google, Yahoo or Bing). As you can see, the Quickstart browser hijacker also claims to be providing Bing search results; however, you shouldn’t rely on them or start clicking on them because you might shortly encounter the biggest problem that this browser hijacker causes – redirects to various third-party pages that might pose a threat to your computer system.
Remember that you should never use any modifications of most popular search engines because they simply clutter search results with ads[2] and paid entries, which simply prevent the user from reaching needed information quickly. What is even worse, developers of such strange search tools hardly ever check the reliability of advertised pages, which means that you have to rely on your common sense when visiting them. Please be careful and better immediately quit websites that raise a suspicion to you – websites that display too many ads, sites that ask to complete surveys, participate in questionable lotteries and so on[3]. Continuous redirects to questionable websites should force you to think about Quickstart.ninja removal methods – you can delete this hijacker manually or automatically, and we provide a comparison of both methods below the article. 
Another worrisome fact is that suspicious applications such as browser hijackers and adware tend to silently collect certain information about computer user’s habits and activity online. Usually, they do not directly collect personally identifiable information[4], although such can be found in user’s search queries. Typically, such ad-supported programs gather personally non-identifiable information such as IP address, geolocation of user’s computer, search queries, a list of recently visited websites, downloads, browser type, and even more. Usually, such shady programs use the collected data to select and display targeted ads, although such information can be sold to other third-parties as well. You can never know how such information is stored and who can access it, so we definitely recommend you to remove Quickstart.ninja – the sooner, the better. Although it is possible to remove it manually, we strongly recommend you to opt for automatic removal option. We believe that FortectIntego is the right tool for this task.
How can I prevent installation of unwanted programs?
If you wish to prevent installation of questionable programs, you should be careful when browsing the Internet, avoid downloading software from shady web sources, and keep your security programs up-to-date. No one wants to use a computer that always displays ads and works slowly, so pay attention to details provided by software installers. Even if you downloaded a legitimate program from websites like download.com or softonic.com, do not think that it is entirely safe and that you can install it in a couple of minutes without facing any negative consequences. First of all, you should always adjust installer’s settings and not allow it to install your chosen program with Default or Standard settings. Remember – these settings usually contain some statements that say you agree to install “recommended” software, which means potentially unwanted programs. These apps are marked as recommended because their developers paid for the author of the main software to present them this way[5]. Do not rely on these settings and warn everybody you know not to!
How can I completely remove Quickstart.ninja hijacker?
To remove Quickstart.ninja virus for good, you should carefully delete all of its components via Control Panel and then check your browsers for suspicious browser add-ons that were installed without your knowledge. You can find a comprehensive tutorial on how to find these components below; once you delete all questionable files, run a system scan with anti-malware software to complete Quickstart.ninja removal. This way, you will be sure that your computer was cleaned from this browser hijacker and other PUPs successfully.
Uninstall from Windows
Uninstall from Windows 10/8:
- Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.
Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:
- Click on Windows Start > Control Panel (Windows XP users should click on Add/Remove Programs).
- In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.
Remove the unwanted program:
- In the Programs and Features window, look for any recently installed suspicious entries, select them, and click Uninstall.
- If User Account Control appears, click Yes to confirm, then complete the removal.
Delete from macOS
Remove the unwanted application:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).
Delete leftover files and folders:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
- Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.
- Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.
Reset Internet Explorer
Remove dangerous add-ons:
- Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
- Pick Manage Add-ons.
- You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.
Change your homepage if it was altered:
- Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
- Select Internet Options.
- In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
- Click Apply and then select OK.
Delete temporary files:
- Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
- Under Browsing history, click Delete...
- Select relevant fields and press Delete.
Reset Internet Explorer:
- Click on Gear icon > Internet options and select Advanced tab.
- Select Reset.
- In the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset.
Remove from Microsoft Edge
Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:
- Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
- From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
- Click Remove.
Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- 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.
Restore new tab and homepage settings:
- Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
- Then find On startup section.
- Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.
Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:
- Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
- Select Details tab.
- 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.
Instructions for Chromium-based Edge
Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):
- Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
- Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.
Clear cache and site data:
- Click on Menu and go to Settings.
- Select Privacy, search and services.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Under Time range, pick All time.
- Select Clear now.
Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- On the left side, pick Reset settings.
- Select Restore settings to their default values.
- Confirm with Reset.
- This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.
Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
- Select Add-ons.
- In here, select the unwanted extension and click Remove.
Reset the homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Settings.
- Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.
Clear cookies and site data:
- Click Menu and pick Settings.
- Go to Privacy & Security section.
- Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
- Click on Clear Data...
- Select Cookies and Site Data and Temporary cached files and pages, then click Clear.
Reset Mozilla Firefox
If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
- Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.
- Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox...
- Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.
Remove from Google Chrome
Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:
- Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
- In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all suspicious extensions related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.
Clear cache and web data from Chrome:
- Click on Menu and pick Settings.
- Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
- Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
- Click Clear data.
Change your homepage:
- Click menu and choose Settings.
- Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
- 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:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
- Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
- Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
- Confirm with Reset settings.
Delete from Safari
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
- Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.
Clear history and website data:
- Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
- Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.
Reset Safari:
- Click Safari in the menu and select Preferences > Advanced.
- Enable Show Develop menu in menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop and select Empty Caches.
Was this guide helpful?
4 comments