Remove Quiclean virus (Removal Guide)

Quiclean Chrome extension works as an adware

Quiclean official website

Quiclean is a suspicious Google Chrome extension that offers to clean and secure your browser. The add-on is supposed to delete browsing history and tracking cookies. However, installation of this tool is unnecessary because you can achieve this goal manually, using Chrome’s settings page. Besides, this app belongs to the group of potentially unwanted programs.

The so-called Quiclean virus might infiltrate the system in a software bundle. It might install itself to the browser without asking direct user’s permission. The problem is that it is installed by enterprise policy, thus it runs as an Administrator. For this reason, it’s removal might be complicated.

After the Quiclean hijack, users will find unknown extension installed and might deal with numerous browsing-related problems, such as:

an increased amount of ads;
aggressive pop-ps;
redirects to sponsored websites;
random text turned into hyperlinks.

All these features allow specifying this PUP as an adware program. Indeed, it is designed to deliever commercial content and generate online advertising-based revenue. However, we have to warn that Quiclean ads might be dangerous and redirect to phishing or scam websites. Thus, you should not click them!

In addition, Quiclean redirect virus might be capable of collecting information about users.^[1] Ad-supported apps often track browsing-related information, such as search queries or browsing history. This information is necessary for creating targeted advertising campaigns. Thus, ads might seem interesting and encouraging to click. But as you already know, it might be a trick to get your click.

To avoid revealing personal information to cyber criminals or installing malicious program^[2] to the PC, you should remove Quiclean adware from the device immediately. The extension might be hard to remove manually, so we recommend opting for automatic elimination method which requires scanning the system with anti-malware.

For Quiclean removal, we recommend using Fortect Intego. If you want, you can use any other security software. It’s just our suggestion for those who need a piece of advice. However, if you want, you can take a challenge and get rid of the adware manually too. You can find elimination instructions at the end of the article.

The image of Quiclean virus

Three ways to install Chrome extension

Theoretically, there are three methods used for PUP’s distribution:

the official website;
Chrome Web store;
bundling.

The problem is that the official website does not have a working download button. Thus, users can only find it on Chrome store and install it from there. However, it rarely happens. Actually, it’s hard to imagine that someone would look for a tool to clean browsing history.

However, this ad-supported application is promoted in software bundles as an optional component. If you rely on Standard/Recommended freeware installation settings, you give indirect permission to all “extra downloads” to enter the system. Sadly, you are not aware of this action too.

Thus, you have to always use Advanced/Standard installation settings in order to see the list of third-party apps that are included in the same software package. Security experts from No Virus^[3] suggest unmarking them all to avoid installation of problematic software.

Uninstall Quiclean form Chrome and get rid of aggressive advertisements

As we have mentioned at the beginning, it might be hard to remove Quiclean manually because it installs itself as an Administrator. However, the instructions at the end of the article will help you to succeed in this procedure.

If all these tasks seem too much for you, you can opt for the automatic Quiclean removal method. It’s a quicker solution. You just have to scan an affected computer with an updated anti-malware tool. Once the scan is over, you just need to reset Google Chrome to get rid of tracking cookies.

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 Quiclean virus

Quiclean Chrome extension works as an adware

Three ways to install Chrome extension