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  • Active
  • Severity: High
  • Stealing programs
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Mar 2018

How to remove Search.hinstantlyconverter.com

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

Ugnius Kiguolis · The mastermind

Search.hinstantlyconverter.com – a browser hijacker that offers to convert files from startup page

Search.hinstantlyconverter.com homepage

Search.hinstantlyconverter.com is Yahoo-based search engine developed by Polarity Technologies. This search tool might be set as default search provider on Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer or another browser after infiltration of the Instantly Converter extension. Due to the negative features, the application is categorized as a browser hijacker.

Summary
Name Search.hinstantlyconverter.com
Type  Browser hijacker
Developers Polarity Technologies, Ltd.
Danger level Medium. Modifies browser's settings and takes control over it
Symptoms Replaced browser's homepage, built-in search engine, and new tab URL, delivery of ads, browser redirects to affiliate sites
Distribution methods  Software bundling
To uninstall Search.hinstantlyconverter.com, install FortectIntego and run a full system scan

Search.hinstantlyconverter.com is identical to Search.searchfefc.com. Both browser hijackers offer to convert various files to PDF and DOC formats. However, this possibly useful functionality hides features of a potentially unwanted program (PUP):

  • silent infiltration;
  • arbitrary modifications of browser’s homepage and built-in search engine;
  • browser redirects to promotional websites from search results page or after clicking content on other sites;
  • alteration of browser’s shortcuts to prevent Search.hinstantlyconverter.com removal;
  • data tracking and sharing with third-parties and advertising networks;
  • delivery of aggressive online ads.

Search.hinstantlyconverter.com virus is used for generating revenue for the developers. It is done by promoting questionable file converting programs and other software, user’s clicks on ads and redirects to third-party sites.

The biggest issues are related to Search.hinstantlyconverter.com redirect problems that might occur when users click on an ad, link or other content. The hijacker might reroute users to sponsored sites instead of the source that user intended to visit.

While some of the websites the hijacker wants you to visit just want to promote their products or services in a questionable way, others might be infected. It means that after the Search.hinstantlyconverter.com hijack, you might end up on the websites that can infect your machine with malware[1] or steal personal information.

For this reason, you should remove Search.hinstantlyconverter.com as soon as it appears on your startup page. Keep in mind that hijacker can reinstall itself if you just set another homepage address as your default one. For complete elimination, you have to uninstall programs and browser extensions[2] that are related to the PUP and reset the browsers.

If manual Search.hinstantlyconverter.com removal seems time-consuming and complicated, you should obtain FortectIntego or another anti-malware and get rid of the hijacker by running a full system scan.

Search.hinstantlyconverter.com virus

The hijacker is being spread with the help of software bundling

Bundling is a software marketing method that allows spreading applications with the help of free programs. Authors of freeware or shareware get revenue for including third-party apps in the software package. Therefore, users who download freeware can accidentally install additional programs as well.

The problem is that the majority of users rely on “Standard” or “Quick” settings that do not openly disclose about third-party apps that were offered to download along with the primary program. To prevent this unpleasant situation, you have to use “Custom” or “Advanced” setup.

However, you should also attentively look through after each installation steps and opt out all “offered downloads.” No matter how useful they look, the majority of apps that travel in this way are potentially unwanted, specialists from faravirus.ro[3] say.

Delete Search.hinstantlyconverter.com from your browser

Search.hinstantlyconverter.com removal can be performed either manually or automatically. If you are not willing to look for hijacker-related components hidden in the system, you should opt for the latter option, scan the device and reset the affected web browser.

However, if you do not want to use additional software, you have to uninstall Instantly Converter or other add-ons created by Polarity Technologies or other shady developers, get rid of unknown programs installed on your PC and reset the affected web browser.

Our team has presented guidelines how to remove Search.hinstantlyconverter.com with all its components. However, if the hijacker comes back, it means that you have missed some of the entries. In this case, we suggest using anti-malware tool to clean the leftovers.

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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