Remove Hoho Search virus (Improved Instructions) - updated Dec 2016

Uninstall Hoho Search from Windows systems

Though the official virus site claims that the program can be easily uninstalled via any program manager, the user reports beg the differ. Thus, we have provided instructions below which will help you eliminate the program from the computer successfully. Make sure you remove all entries of Hohosearch.

1. Click Start → Control Panel → Programs and Features (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
2. If you are Windows 10 / Windows 8 user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once Quick Access Menu shows up, select Control Panel and Uninstall a Program.
3. Uninstall Hoho Search and related programs
   Here, look for Hoho Search or any other recently installed suspicious programs.
4. Uninstall them and click OK to save these changes.
5. Remove Hoho Search from Windows shortcuts
   Right click on the shortcut of Mozilla Firefox and select Properties.
6. Go to Shortcut tab and look at the Target field. Delete malicious URL that is related to your virus.

Repeat steps that are given above with all browsers' shortcuts, including Internet Explorer and Google Chrome. Make sure you check all locations of these shortcuts, including Desktop, Start Menu and taskbar.

Remove Hoho Search from Mac OS X system

If your macOS is displaying some infection symptoms, proceed with the following guide:

Remove Hoho Search from Applications folder:

1. From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
2. In the Applications folder, look for Hoho Search-related entries.
3. Click on the app and drag it to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash)

To fully remove Hoho Search, you need to access Application Support, LaunchAgents, and LaunchDaemons folders and delete relevant files:

1. Select Go > Go to Folder.
2. Enter /Library/Application Support and click Go or press Enter.
3. In the Application Support folder, look for any dubious entries related to Hoho Search and then delete them.
4. Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the Hoho Search-related entries.

Eliminate Hoho Search from Internet Explorer (IE)

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 Hoho Search and other suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.

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.

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.

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 again to complete Hoho Search removal.

Erase Hoho Search virus 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 Hoho Search-related extension and click on the Gear icon.
3. Click on Uninstall at the bottom.

Clear cookies and other browser data:

1. Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Privacy & security.
2. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
3. Select everything (apart from passwords, although you might want to include Media licenses as well, if applicable) and click on Clear.

Reset MS Edge if that 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.

If this solution failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method. Note that you need to backup your data before proceeding.

1. Find the following folder on your computer: C:\\Users\\%username%\\AppData\\Local\\Packages\\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe.
2. Press Ctrl + A on your keyboard to select all folders.
3. Right-click on them and pick Delete
4. Now right-click on the Start button and pick Windows PowerShell (Admin).
5. When the new window opens, copy and paste the following command, and then press Enter:

   Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\\AppXManifest.xml” -Verbose

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.

Clear cache and site data:

1. Click on Menu and go to Settings.
2. Select Privacy and services.
3. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
4. Under Time range, pick All time.
5. Select Clear now.

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.

Delete Hoho Search from Mozilla Firefox (FF)

Mozilla Firefox is one of the unlucky browsers that the Hoho Search hijacker attacks. Below, we explain how to reset the browser after the virus infiltration and regain the control. Nevertheless, you should also remember to check your browser for additional extensions or add-ons before the reset. In case suspicious add-ons from unknown developers emerge, eliminate it unhesitatingly.

1. Remove dangerous extensions
   Open Mozilla Firefox, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Add-ons → Extensions.
2. Here, select Hoho Search and other questionable plugins. Click Remove to delete these entries.
3. Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
   Click on the menu (top right corner), choose Options → General.
4. Here, delete malicious URL and enter preferable website or click Restore to default.
5. Click OK to save these changes.
6. Reset Mozilla Firefox
   Click on the Firefox menu on the top left and click on the question mark. Here, choose Troubleshooting Information.
7. Now you will see Reset Firefox to its default state message with Reset Firefox button. Click this button for several times and complete Hoho Search removal.

Get rid of Hoho Search from Google Chrome

You can get back the control of your Google Chrome browser fully, only after resetting the browser and rolling back the settings that the virus has altered. But you should not forget to search your browser for potentially dangerous add-ons and browser helper objects that the Hohosearch virus may have installed. After you delete them you can then reset the browser.

1. Delete malicious plugins
   Open Google Chrome, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Tools → Extensions.
2. Here, select Hoho Search and other malicious plugins and select trash icon to delete these entries.
3. Change your homepage and default search engine if it was altered by your virus
   Click on menu icon and choose Settings.
4. Here, look for the Open a specific page or set of pages under On startup option and click on Set pages.
5. Now you should see another window. Here, delete malicious search sites and enter the one that you want to use as your homepage.
6. Click on menu icon again and choose Settings → Manage Search engines under the Search section.
7. When in Search Engines..., remove malicious search sites. You should leave only Google or your preferred domain name.
8. Reset Google Chrome
   Click on menu icon on the top right of your Google Chrome and select Settings.
9. Scroll down to the end of the page and click on Reset browser settings.
10. Click Reset to confirm this action and complete Hoho Search removal.

Uninstall Hoho Search from Safari

1. Remove dangerous extensions
   Open Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu at the top left of the screen. Once you do this, select Preferences.
2. Here, select Extensions and look for Hoho Search or other suspicious entries. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid each of them.
3. Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
   Open your Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu section. Here, select Preferences as it was displayed previously and select General.
4. Here, look at the Homepage field. If it was altered by Hoho Search, remove unwanted link and enter the one that you want to use for your searches. Remember to include the "http://" before typing in the address of the page.
5. Reset Safari
   Open Safari browser and click on Safari in menu section at the top left of the screen. Here, select Reset Safari....
6. Now you will see a detailed dialog window filled with reset options. All of those options are usually checked, but you can specify which of them you want to reset. Click the Reset button to complete Hoho Search removal process.