MicroChallenger ads. How to remove? (Uninstall guide)
WHAT IS MICROCHALLENGER?
MicroChallenger is another program presenting itself as a shopping assistant that will help you with your burden of finding the best offers online. However, MicroChallenger follows the path of various similar applications that take the easiest way and pretend to display ads for your own good while in reality they promote affiliated websites that might redirect you to some really suspicious or even dangerous locations as there is no security system that would filter safe or unsafe websites that are shown to you. Clients pay and MicroChallenger displays their ads no matter what they promote. Therefore, it is not surprising that MicroChallenger is classified as a potentially unwanted program (PUP) and adware. If you have not encountered the workings of adware-type programs on your computer before, you may be surprised by the incredulous amounts of ads you will see. There will be sponsored ads, deals, offers, banners, pop-ups, plug-ins, add-ons, underlined words in texts flashing on your screen and popping up in new windows and tabs. Therefore, while you may be reluctant to click these ads, you can still do it accidentally. What is more, it has been reported that MicroChallenger can change your default browser homepage and configure your browser settings. If this is not enough, you should know that MicroChallenger installs cookies on your browser and tracks your browsing-related information in order to present you with more appealing ads. Therefore, MicroChallenger is not a program you should have on your computer if you want to enjoy fast performance of your system, which might be interrupted, if you keep MicroChallenger adware, since it may make certain modifications in order to be launched once your computer is rebooted. What is more, it may connect to the Internet without your permission using unsafe channels. Therefore, there are virtually no benefits of using such programs while the consequences might be rather serious. For this reason, we would highly advice you to get rid of MicroChallenger adware once and for all with some reputable anti-spyware tool like Reimage.
HOW CAN MICROCHALLENGER HIJACK MY COMPUTER?
MicroChallenger has probably been installed on your computer without your knowledge. It is very likely that it has not been your intention to download this program as it is spread as an additional program together with some freeware. Therefore, you may entertain the idea of being more attentive when installing new programs. You should always check advanced and custom options in order to be sure that no uninvited software or potentially unwanted programs like adware-type applications and browser hijackers have entered your computer and started doing their nasty deeds behind your back. What is more, if you want to reduce the risk of downloading such file in the first place, avoid third-party download managers as they are notorious for distributing bundled programs.
HOW TO REMOVE MICROCHALLENGER VIRUS?
You may remove MicroChallenger as any other program from the Control Panel. However, keep in mind that you could have been exposed to various dangerous programs and Internet domains so you should consider performing a full system scan in order to make sure that your system is OK.
You can remove virus damage automatically with a help of one of these programs: Reimage, Malwarebytes MalwarebytesCombo Cleaner, Plumbytes Anti-MalwareMalwarebytes Malwarebytes. We recommend these applications because they detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.
To remove MicroChallenger ads, follow these steps:
Eliminate MicroChallenger from Windows systems
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Click Start → Control Panel → Programs and Features (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
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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.
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Uninstall MicroChallenger and related programs
Here, look for MicroChallenger or any other recently installed suspicious programs. -
Uninstall them and click OK to save these changes.
Delete MicroChallenger from Mac OS X system
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If you are using OS X, click Go button at the top left of the screen and select Applications.
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Wait until you see Applications folder and look for MicroChallenger or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash.
Remove MicroChallenger from Internet Explorer (IE)
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Remove dangerous add-ons
Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top right corner of the browser and choose Manage Add-ons. -
You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for MicroChallenger and other suspicious plugins. Disable these entries by clicking Disable:
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Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Click on the gear icon (menu) on the top right corner of the browser and select Internet Options. Stay in General tab. -
Here, remove malicious URL and enter preferable domain name. Click Apply to save changes.
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Reset Internet Explorer
Click on the gear icon (menu) again and select Internet options. Go to Advanced tab. - Here, select Reset.
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When in the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset again to complete MicroChallenger removal.
Erase MicroChallenger ads from Microsoft Edge
Reset Microsoft Edge settings (Method 1):
- Launch Microsoft Edge app and click More (three dots at the top right corner of the screen).
- Click Settings to open more options.
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Once Settings window shows up, click Choose what to clear button under Clear browsing data option.
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Here, select all what you want to remove and click Clear.
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Now you should right-click on the Start button (Windows logo). Here, select Task Manager.
- When in Processes tab, search for Microsoft Edge.
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Right-click on it and choose Go to details option. If can’t see Go to details option, click More details and repeat previous steps.
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When Details tab shows up, find every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right click on each of them and select End Task to end these entries.
Resetting Microsoft Edge browser (Method 2):
If Method 1 failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method.
- Note: you need to backup your data before using this method.
- Find this folder on your computer:
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe.
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Select every entry which is saved on it and right click with your mouse. Then Delete option.
- Click the Start button (Windows logo) and type in window power in Search my stuff line.
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Right-click the Windows PowerShell entry and choose Run as administrator.
- Once Administrator: Windows PowerShell window shows up, paste this command line after PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> and press Enter:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml -Verbose}
Once these steps are finished, MicroChallenger should be removed from your Microsoft Edge browser.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariGet rid of MicroChallenger from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
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Remove dangerous extensions
Open Mozilla Firefox, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Add-ons → Extensions. -
Here, select MicroChallenger and other questionable plugins. Click Remove to delete these entries.
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Reset Mozilla Firefox
Click on the Firefox menu on the top left and click on the question mark. Here, choose Troubleshooting Information. -
Now you will see Reset Firefox to its default state message with Reset Firefox button. Click this button for several times and complete MicroChallenger removal.
Uninstall MicroChallenger from Google Chrome
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Delete malicious plugins
Open Google Chrome, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Tools → Extensions. -
Here, select MicroChallenger and other malicious plugins and select trash icon to delete these entries.
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Click on menu icon again and choose Settings → Manage Search engines under the Search section.
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When in Search Engines..., remove malicious search sites. You should leave only Google or your preferred domain name.
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Reset Google Chrome
Click on menu icon on the top right of your Google Chrome and select Settings. -
Scroll down to the end of the page and click on Reset browser settings.
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Click Reset to confirm this action and complete MicroChallenger removal.
Eliminate MicroChallenger from Safari
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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. -
Here, select Extensions and look for MicroChallenger or other suspicious entries. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid each of them.
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Reset Safari
Open Safari browser and click on Safari in menu section at the top left of the screen. Here, select Reset Safari.... -
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 MicroChallenger removal process.