MegaSearch - 2021 update
MegaSearch Removal Guide
What is MegaSearch?
MegaSearch is the search plugin that affects time online with redirects
MegaSearch, also known as MegaSearch Toolbar is another program, which belongs to a potentially unwanted program or browser hijacker category. We say so because this toolbar can easily enter computers unnoticed in a bundle with other applications. In most cases, its distribution is closely related to freeware and shareware, so you have to be very careful when downloading such software to your computer.
It is more common to encounter the browser hijacker on the machine without any knowledge because PUP like this can find the way on the computer when users fall for insecure freeware installations via p2p sites and torrent platforms. You should take this distribution method into consideration and make sure to get rid of MegaSearch hijacker as well as other possible PUPs.
For more information about that, you should check the next paragraph. In addition, once MegaSearch gets the ability to infiltrate its target PC system, it may hijack all web browsers, that are installed on it, including Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and other ones.
Name | MegaSearch Toolbar |
---|---|
Type | Browser hijacker, potentially unwanted program |
Distribution | Software bundle packages, deceptive ads, fake update prompts |
Symptoms | Unknown extension or application is installed on the system and the homepage, new tab address are set to a customized search engine that redirects all the search results via sponsored sites |
Issues | Installation of other potentially unwanted programs, privacy risks due to information gathering practices, financial losses |
Removal | You can remove MegaSearch by following the manual guide below or by scanning the computer with powerful anti-malware |
Optional steps | Computer infections can cause significant damage to system files or disrupt normal settings. To revert these changes run a full system scan with FortectIntego or similar system optimization software |
Typically, it alters the default search engine or the homepage and gets the ability to interrupt each of the victim's search sessions. What is initiated by this hijacker? Beware that in most cases MegaSearch displays commercial pop-up notifications and may even start tracking people's activity on the Internet.
Once it collects the required information, this program sends gathered data to unknown third parties. Besides, you must keep in mind that this program may show you altered search results, so you shouldn't use it for your searches.
Otherwise, you may be tricked into visiting unknown and very questionable sites. To sum up, technically MegaSearch is not considered to be a virus, so it may not be detected by some anti-spyware. But there are various PUPs that can trigger unwanted activities like:
- pop-up ads;
- banners;
- redirects;
- reroutes to commercial sites.
However, it's clear that it may cause lots of issues for its users. That's why we highly recommend scanning the computer with a security tool or a similar anti-spyware that is capable of detecting this hijacker on your computer. You can easily terminate the PUP this way.
If you have just noticed this toolbar on your PC, you should waste no time and remove MegaSearch from there because otherwise, you may be tricked into visiting insecure websites or installing other adware/browser hijacker on the system. If the time goes on, PUP can damage some parts of the machine, so run FortectIntego to repair any issues.
Programs that hijack your web browser come via freeware installations
MegaSearch and similar potentially unwanted programs are mostly distributed in a bundle with other programs. These programs are actively spread on the Internet for free, so there is no surprise why their developers have decided to start using bundling for spreading them.
Beware that you may download this application in a bundle with PDF creators, download managers, video recording software, and similar applications. In order to avoid such unexpected downloads, you should pay more attention to freeware's installation and uncheck all checkboxes that agree with the installation of various toolbars, browser plugins, extensions, and add-ons.
For getting such an ability, you should select the Custom or Advanced installation option of the freeware. Once executed, MegaSearch creates a directory, drops some files in it, and modifies the registry in order to register itself as a browser add-on. As a result, it starts showing up within Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox browsers every time people start their browsing.
Rely on anti-malware tools and remove MegaSearch hijacker
If you noticed any suspicious redirects to unknown websites, continuous pop-up ads, and similar activity, your PC is possibly affected by MegaSearch virus. Please, don't leave it there because it may trick you into downloading more dangerous viruses on the system.
In order to remove it from the system, follow our suggestions, and get a professional anti-malware tool that can run a check on the whole system and find the PUPs that affect your device, including MegaSearch. Then, do not forget about the damage that intruders can create and use a system tool or repair application.
You may remove virus damage with a help of FortectIntego. SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner and Malwarebytes are recommended to detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.
Getting rid of MegaSearch. Follow these steps
Uninstall from Windows
Instructions for Windows 10/8 machines:
- Enter Control Panel into Windows search box and hit Enter or click on the search result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.
- From the list, find the entry of the suspicious program.
- Right-click on the application and select Uninstall.
- If User Account Control shows up, click Yes.
- Wait till uninstallation process is complete and click OK.
If you are Windows 7/XP user, proceed with the following instructions:
- Click on Windows Start > Control Panel located on the right pane (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
- In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.
- Pick the unwanted application by clicking on it once.
- At the top, click Uninstall/Change.
- In the confirmation prompt, pick Yes.
- Click OK once the removal process is finished.
Delete from macOS
Remove items from Applications folder:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for all related entries.
- Click on the app and drag it to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash)
To fully remove an unwanted app, you need to access Application Support, LaunchAgents, and LaunchDaemons folders and delete relevant files:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and click Go or press Enter.
- In the Application Support folder, look for any dubious entries and then delete them.
- Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the related .plist files.
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 on Uninstall at the bottom.
Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Privacy & security.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Select everything (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 Disable if you found any suspicious domain.
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.
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.
- Find the following folder on your computer: C:\\Users\\%username%\\AppData\\Local\\Packages\\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe.
- Press Ctrl + A on your keyboard to select all folders.
- Right-click on them and pick Delete
- Now right-click on the Start button and pick Windows PowerShell (Admin).
- 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):
- 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.
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 unwanted plugin and click Remove.
Reset the homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Options.
- Under Home options, enter your preferred site that will open every time you newly open the Mozilla Firefox.
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, as well as Cached Web Content and press 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 the suspicious plugins that might be 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 unwanted extensions from Safari:
- Click Safari > Preferences…
- In the new window, pick Extensions.
- Select the unwanted extension and select Uninstall.
Clear cookies and other website data from Safari:
- Click Safari > Clear History…
- From the drop-down menu under Clear, pick all history.
- Confirm with Clear History.
Reset Safari if the above-mentioned steps did not help you:
- Click Safari > Preferences…
- Go to Advanced tab.
- Tick the Show Develop menu in menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop, and then select Empty Caches.
After uninstalling this potentially unwanted program (PUP) and fixing each of your web browsers, we recommend you to scan your PC system with a reputable anti-spyware. This will help you to get rid of MegaSearch registry traces and will also identify related parasites or possible malware infections on your computer. For that you can use our top-rated malware remover: FortectIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes.
How to prevent from getting browser plugins
Stream videos without limitations, no matter where you are
There are multiple parties that could find out almost anything about you by checking your online activity. While this is highly unlikely, advertisers and tech companies are constantly tracking you online. The first step to privacy should be a secure browser that focuses on tracker reduction to a minimum.
Even if you employ a secure browser, you will not be able to access websites that are restricted due to local government laws or other reasons. In other words, you may not be able to stream Disney+ or US-based Netflix in some countries. To bypass these restrictions, you can employ a powerful Private Internet Access VPN, which provides dedicated servers for torrenting and streaming, not slowing you down in the process.
Data backups are important – recover your lost files
Ransomware is one of the biggest threats to personal data. Once it is executed on a machine, it launches a sophisticated encryption algorithm that locks all your files, although it does not destroy them. The most common misconception is that anti-malware software can return files to their previous states. This is not true, however, and data remains locked after the malicious payload is deleted.
While regular data backups are the only secure method to recover your files after a ransomware attack, tools such as Data Recovery Pro can also be effective and restore at least some of your lost data.