Remove Grand Burst virus (Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge)

Grand Burst virus – the search engine not worth trusting

Grand Burst virus is a browser extension that is supposed to make browsing the Internet more comfortable by allowing access the best search results of the Web. This browser hijacker^[1] is also known as Home.grandburst.com virus. Computer users who want to replace their old and boring search engine might found this tool interesting and useful. The main page includes not only eye-pleasing picture of nature but also several links to the popular sites such as Facebook, Gmail, Amazon, Pinterest, etc. Easy access to these websites is probably the only one useful feature of this search engine. Therefore, if you are thinking about installing this browser extension and using it, we want to discourage you from doing this. However, this website might appear on the browsers out of nowhere. Grand Burst Chrome New Tab Extension might sneak inside the computers bundled^[2] with freeware and shareware. Once inside it alters Google Chrome’s settings and makes its domain as default homepage and search engine. Since then, there’s nothing much you can do. You can either use this bogus tool (not recommended!) or remove Grand Burst from the computer. We suggest choosing the latter option and scan the computer with Fortect Intego, Malwarebytes Malwarebytes or your preferred anti-malware tool. However, if you need more arguments why you should stay away from this search engine, read further.

Previously we mentioned that browser hijacker modifies Google Chrome’s settings, so the first symptoms of the Grand Burst hijack are the changed homepage. The hijacker prevents users from customizing browser’s settings and setting their preferred homepage. It might installed “helper objects”^[3] and various third-party apps or add-ons that protect it and help to stay longer on the affected PC. However, as you already know computer users can remove Grand Burst with the help of malware removal tools quite easily. Apart from taking control over the browsers, the virus also might track users’ data. According to their Privacy Policy, the application collects and shares aggregated information to the third-parties. This non-personally identifiable information^[4] includes computer’s IP address, computer’s and browser’s data, and various browsing-related information. The developers promise that collected information allows providing better search results; however, Grand Burst redirect tendencies are quite the opposite. In the search results, you might find sponsored links that do not differ from the regular ones. Sadly, they might lead to absolutely irrelevant or even dangerous websites. Some of those high-risk Internet sites might be infected and created for spreading Trojans or ransomware viruses. After the visit on a suspicious website you might be trapped into Tech Support Scam^[5] or in any other cyber criminal’s trap. Therefore, you have to be very careful and rush with hijacker’s elimination procedure.

The screenshot of the Grand Burst virus

How can a computer get infected with browser hijacker?

When talking about infiltration methods, you should know that Grand Burst virus cannot hijack computers on its own. It’s a weak computer infection that travels bundled with other programs that users download from the Internet. Online you might find lots of suspicious and insecure sources for software installation that should be avoided, for instance, unknown domains, Torrents or file-sharing websites. However, even legitimate programs might have additional components added to the software package. Therefore, you have to be careful with software installation. Always install and update programs using Advanced/Custom setup which allows monitoring and adjusting installation process. During the installation, you might see the checkbox with optional applications in which you might find GrandBurst Chrome New Tab Extension as well. Sometimes instead of apps, you might encounter the pre-selected statement claiming that you agree to make home.grandburst.com your browser’s homepage. Obviously, you should disagree with it and deselect all suggested additional applications. They are more useful for the developers than regular computer users.

Grand Burst elimination guidelines

If you have installed this browser extension and after reading this article you want to remove it, you can uninstall it just like any other extension. However, if this search engine hijacked your browser, you need to work a little bit harder. If you are willing to take down this computer infection bare hands, you can remove Grand Burst manually by following our prepared instructions below. We want to point out that you have to remove browser hijacker, the program that is responsible for installing it, and other apps or add-ons that might have sneaked inside as well. However, if our guidelines seem difficult, you should opt for automatic Grand Burst removal. Although, if you need to install an anti-malware program, do not rush with the installation and follow our previously mentioned tips!

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 Grand Burst virus

Grand Burst virus – the search engine not worth trusting

How can a computer get infected with browser hijacker?