How to remove IQA Browser

Is it worth installing IQA Browser on my computer?

IQA Browser virus is a potentially unwanted program, which is built using open source Google Chromium browser. Although it can seem to be a reliable browser, its main purpose is to generate commercial search results and redirect its victims to sponsored websites. This is how this program generates pay-per-click revenue to its developers. However, we cannot guarantee that you won't find yourself on a malicious websites after clicking one of search results returned to you by IQA Browser virus. Besides, as soon as this browser is installed on the computer, it can change some of your system's settings. Typically, it changes the start page, the default search engine and the new tab page to search.iqasearch.com website, which has already been mentioned on our site. This issue can be called “IQA Browser hijack” because user is hardly warned about these changes. We have to warn you that this issue is rather frequent these days, so you should read this post closely to know more information about the prevention of such intruders. If you want to get rid of it, you should use Fortect Intego or other reliable anti-spyware to remove IQA Browser from your computer. This is the most reliable method to fix the system.

When keeping IQA Browser virus on the system, it's hard not to notice its redirect function. This activity is typically initiated with the help of its ads and corrupted search results that are displayed among the typical ones. If user is tricked into clicking any of these ads or links, he or she is redirected to a sponsored website. In exchange for this activity, the developers of IQA Browser are generating pay-per-click revenue. Nevertheless, we don't think that you should ignore these redirects on your computer. To keep your computer virus-free, you should avoid IQA Browser redirect. What is more, this browser can also be used for gathering NPII (non-personally identifiable information). Once collected, this information is then shared with third parties that use it for generating more attractive ads. Nevertheless, there is no guarantee that your email address, which is also considered non-personal data, will not be included to spammers lists. Beware that by sending you an infected email attachment, they can infect your computer with more serious virus, such ransomware. To sum up, there is no need for you to keep this browser on your computer. In this case, you should follow a guide on the second page and remove IQA Browser with each of its files.

IQA Browser redirect virus

How does this browser spread around?

First of all, you can download IQA Browser from its official website. However, this is not the only way how it can get on your computer. The second way used by IQA Browser virus for infiltrating computers is called “bundling”. You can install this browser hijacker on your PC silently bundled with other free software, such as download managers, PDF creators, video streaming software and similar freeware. The most of such programs are filled with potentially unwanted components because their developers are trying to earn the money. To prevent IQA Browser redirects on your computer, it is very important to be attentive during the installation of any software. We strongly advise you to choose Custom or Advanced installation option because this is the easiest way to spot adware, browser hijackers and similar unwanted software. Thus, if you see some optional software which you did not intend to download while installing the program, just deselect it.

IQA Browser removal instructions:

In case your web browser got infected by IQA Browser virus, it needs to be fixed. You should remove this potentially unwanted program from your system as soon as possible because you may find yourself on a suspicious website. According to 2-spyware.com research team, you can remove IQA Browser following manual removal guide, which is given below this article. However, there is also another way to remove this hijacker without a need to go thru your PC's settings. It's called automatic IQA Browser removal. In this case, you should install a reliable anti-spyware program, update it to its latest version and run a full system scan. This removal option will let you be sure that all components related to this hijacker are gone.

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.

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