Remove Kickay virus (Free Instructions)

Kickay is a potentially unwanted program that triggers search redirects

Kickay Chrome extension

Kickay is another Google Chrome extension that grabbed cyber security specialists’ attention. This add-on is designed to redirect search queries to wethma.com and from here reroute users to Yahoo search. Due to this feature, the hijacker is similar or might be related to Syamit virus.

Once detected, the Kickay extension had an official website and was available on Chrome Web Store.^[1] Here developers gave a strange description of it: “Find all the few clicks with us.” Supposedly, it should enhance the browsing experience. If users hit “Add to Chrome” button, the download source delivered a pop-up window, informing about necessary permissions for the add-on:

Read and change all your data on the websites you visit.

Change your search settings to: kickay.com

However, the Kickay virus might hijack the browser silently too. Since then users have to deal with these problems:

browser’s homepage is set to http://wethma.com/?keyword= website;
all search keywords are redirected to http://vouseat.webcam/?sid=[sid]&aid=[aid]&keyword=[keyword]; from there, the hijacker redirects to search.yahoo.com;
an increased amount of suspicious ads on visited sites;
installation of other unknown browser extensions, add-ons or toolbars.

The purpose of Kickay redirect virus is to participate in Yahoo’s affiliate program, as well as generate revenue from online advertising. To achieve this goal, developers might also track various information related to user’s browsing habits and history. Aggregated and analyzed information helps to create targeted ads.

To stop redirects and shady data tracking,^[2] users have to remove Kickay extensions and its related entries. However, it may not be enough to uninstall the extension only. The program may have downloaded other related files. Besides, you have to reject all the changes that may have been made to the system.

For this reason, users are advised to opt for automatic Kickay removal. To terminate the virus completely, you should employ powerful anti-spyware, update it and run a full system scan. Once it's over, you have to reset Google Chrome to make sure that all hijacker-related entries are gone for good.

Picture of Kickay virus

Hijacker continues traveling with the help of free programs

The official website is not working. The extension is no longer available on Chrome Web Store. Therefore, developers use other strategies to spread this PUP. One of the ways is software bundles that aim at inattentive computer users. Keep in mind that to avoid silent infiltration of unwanted apps, you have to use Advanced/Custom installation and opt out pre-selected entries.

Researchers noticed the extension being promoted on shady websites that tell that people have to download particular extension in order to leave it. However, installing apps in this way is not a good idea. If you end up on such website, close it immediately (or force quit the browser).

Uninstall Kickay from Chrome and make sure that your computer is clean

As you already know, strange search redirects are caused by a malicious Chrome extension. Therefore, it goes without saying that you must uninstall it to remove Kickay virus. However, experts from Les Virus^[3] note that users should also look up for other suspicious add-ons and programs too.

To make sure that all hijacker-related entries are wiped out entirely, you should follow manual Kickay removal guidelines, which you can find below the article. However, you can also speed up the process with anti-malware/anti-spyware.

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.

How to remove Kickay virus

Kickay is a potentially unwanted program that triggers search redirects

Hijacker continues traveling with the help of free programs