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  • Active
  • Severity: High
  • Stealing programs
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Dec 2017

How to remove Gamesquest.co

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

Lucia Danes · Virus researcher

Gamesquest.co site offers to download questionable game-themed extension for Chrome

Download sources of Gamesquest.co

Gamesquest.co is a website that promotes Games Quest Chrome extension that allows accessing various online games from the browser. However, this extension is also known as a potentially unwanted program (PUP) and a browser hijacker that might be installed on Chrome without your knowledge.

Due to the stealthy infiltration strategy, users often refer to it as Gamesquest.co virus. However, it’s not a correct term to describe this cyber threat. It’s not malicious and cannot cause direct harm to the system. However, the hijacker might be the first step of serious malware attack.

After the Gamesquest.co hijack,[1] you might find changes to these changes to the browser or deal with annoying activities:

  • hijacker might install not only Gamesquest.co Google Chrome extension, but other suspicious add-ons as well;
  • it might replace default homepage or/and search engine. It is reported of rerouting search queries via http://www.gamesquest.co/yhs/search?q=;
  • the PUP might display ads, pop-up, and banners promoting various games, programs or similar content;
  • it might trigger sudden redirects to affiliate websites,
  • a collection of non-personal and technical information which is used for advertising purposes.

Therefore, this gaming-related extension might cause lots of negative features and might diminish browsing experience significantly. Additionally, it might put user’s privacy at risk and increase chances to encounter various cyber threats.

The hijacker might alter search settings to redirect user’s search queries to Yahoo results page. Indeed, it’s a legitimate service, and it seems that developers generate revenue from Yahoo affiliate program. However, it might also trigger redirects to other promotional sites once you click on a results link.

Such Gamesquest.co redirect tendencies are concerning because you might be forced to visit scam, phishing or malicious website. PUPs are often exploited by cyber criminals. Thus, to avoid becoming a victim of another cybercrime, you should take care of your computer’s security.

You should remove Gamesquest.co as soon as it is installed on your browser. If you have installed it yourself, you should not encounter any difficulties with its elimination. However, if it arrived in a software bundle, you may need to work harder on the removal procedure.

We suggest automatic Gamesquest.co removal option with FortectIntego which allows terminating the hijacker within a couple of minutes. However, if you want to get rid of it manually, follow the guide at the end of the article.

Illustration of Gamesquest.co virus

The shady distribution strategy

As we have mentioned at the beginning, GamesQuest extension, created by Chinese[2] company FirstGate Mobile Limited, has an official website from which users can download it. Additionally, it is available on Chrome web store.[3] However, direct downloads are no the only distribution methods used by developers.

The add-in has been noticed spreading in freeware packages as an optional component. It might be offered to download with media players, PDF converters, and many other free applications. However, if you use Advanced/Custom installation, you might overlook this offer and let all undesired apps to infiltrate the system without your knowledge.

Recommended/Standard installation settings do not inform about additional third-party apps that want to be installed together with a primary program. Thus, instead of this setup, you should use Advanced settings and opt out all of these “optional downloads.”

Uninstall Gamesquest.co from Google Chrome

If you tried to remove Gamesquest.co as an ordinary Chrome extension, you might have noticed that it came back again. Indeed, it might happen due to the specific hijacker’s functionality. Once it arrived on the system in the software bundle, it might alter browser’s settings to stay as long as possible.

To get rid of it entirely, you have to find and delete all hijacker-related entries that may have been installed on your PC and reset the browser to the default to revert modifications. If you are interested in manual Gamesquest.co removal option, you can find the guide below. However, we recommend speeding up the procedure with anti-malware software.

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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