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  • Active
  • Severity: Medium
  • Browser Hijackers
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · May 2021

How to remove Moonly Search virus

A step-by-step removal guide for affected devices. Follow the verified procedure below — most readers complete it in under 10 minutes.

Jake Doevan · Computer technology expert

Moonly Search – a browser hijacker that attempts to imitate Google

The example of Moonly Search virus

Moonly Search pretends to be a legitimate search engine; however, it’s nothing more than a browser hijacker. Like many other potentially unwanted programs, it does not ask for permission to enter the computer and make various changes on the installed web browsers, including Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. The most prominent change is that your homepage and new tab address would be set to moonly.com. This would allow the app to insert ads into your searches and track your online activities in the background.

Name Moonly Search
Type Browser hijacker
Distribution Software bundles
Symptoms Replaces homepage and new tab URL with moonly.com; applies a customized search engine; inserts ads and promotional links into search results
Removal You can eliminate the browser hijacker by either scanning the device with antivirus software or following manual instructions
System fix After the elimination of adware or malware, we highly recommend running a scan with FortectIntego repair software

The program travels bundled with free programs that users love to install from unknown and unreliable sources. The first job the hijacker does is Windows registry modification. It has to make sure that every time you restart your computer and launch the browser, you will see its domain and provided commercial content.

So, a hijacker might change your homepage and default search engine to its domain. If you have heard about browser hijackers, you are aware of the fact that using an affected browser and the corrupted search engine is a waste of time. It is designed for delivering commercial content to users, which may be included in search results.

Simple pop-ups, banners, and other online advertising forms are not enough because developers profit from boosting traffic to particular Internet sites. You may repeatedly be redirected to various domains and, of course, flooded with weird or suspicious ads. Even though you are a patient person and can handle difficulties, we strongly recommend Moonly Search removal. Content delivered by this hijacker is not only annoying but might be harmful as well.

Browser hijacker is not a dangerous and malicious computer infection compared with Trojans or ransomware viruses. However, it still can affect the computer and your browsing quality. Redirects are one of the most impactful problems related to the decreased browsing experience.

You may be redirected to unwanted websites out of the blue when you start typing a necessary address in the URL bar or click on a particular link. The worst part is that you might end up on a malicious website and catch other computer infections.

Besides, the hijacker modifies search results and includes links to sponsored sites that usually are irrelevant and useless. We have to warn you that some advertisements may be infected as well. So, you have to resist and avoid clicking on all great offers or discounts that appear on your browser.

Obviously, the best decision is to remove Moonly Search from the computer. Speed up this unpleasant process by scanning the computer with SpyHunterCombo Cleaner. Also, you can use FortectIntego maintenance and repair utility to fix your browsers quickly and get rid of all the hijacker's remains.

Unexpected appeared of a hijacker can be explained by software bundling

Browser hijackers need user’s help to get inside his or her computer, as they cannot infiltrate the system alone. Developers add PUPs as optional programs to regular software packages. Users barely notice when they download and install a single program or package, and they often choose “Recommended” or “Quick” installation mode.

If it was a software package, they have agreed to install all optional programs by simply clicking the “Next” and “Agree” buttons. Developers are aware of this bad habit and use it to their advantage. To protect computers from various PUPs, users should always use reliable sources for software downloads and monitor its installation attentively.

All they have to do is to choose “Advanced” or “Custom” installation mode and “unpack” software package. You may be surprised how many add-ons, apps, extensions, search providers, and other PUPs are prepared for you. Once you see the list of these programs, decline their installation by deselecting them. 

Get rid of PUPs and bring your browser to a pristine state

PUP removal requires two steps. First, you have to detect and eliminate the virus from the computer system. Second, you have to check the list of extensions in all your browsers and uninstall all questionable entries. Here, you have two options. You can try to do it manually or automatically. It might be challenging to find and remove Moonly Search with all its components manually for the first time. However, our team wants to help you and prepared instructions at the end of the article.

To remove this hijacker from the computer completely, you have to find and eliminate all virus-related files. Follow our instructions carefully and make sure you removed all necessary components. If you keep some of the malicious files, your computer might be infected again.

Uninstall from Windows

Uninstall from Windows 10/8:

  1. Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
  2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.Uninstall from Windows 10/8

Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:

  1. Click on Windows Start > Control Panel (Windows XP users should click on Add/Remove Programs).
  2. In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.Uninstall from Windows 7/XP

Remove the unwanted program:

  1. In the Programs and Features window, look for any recently installed suspicious entries, select them, and click Uninstall.
  2. If User Account Control appears, click Yes to confirm, then complete the removal.Uninstall the unwanted program from Windows

Delete from macOS

Remove the unwanted application:

  1. From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
  2. In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).Uninstall from Mac

Delete leftover files and folders:

  1. Select Go > Go to Folder.
  2. Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
  3. Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.Delete leftover files from Mac
  4. Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.

Remove 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 extension and click on the Gear icon.
  3. Click Remove.Remove extensions from Edge

Clear cookies and other browser data:

  1. Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
  2. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  3. 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.Clear Edge browsing data

Restore new tab and homepage settings:

  1. Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
  2. Then find On startup section.
  3. Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.

Reset MS Edge if the 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.Reset MS Edge

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.Remove extensions from Chromium Edge

Clear cache and site data:

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

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.
  5. This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.Reset Chromium Edge

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)

Remove dangerous extensions:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
  2. Select Add-ons.
  3. In here, select the unwanted extension and click Remove.Remove extensions from Firefox

Reset the homepage:

  1. Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
  2. Choose Settings.
  3. Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.

Clear cookies and site data:

  1. Click Menu and pick Settings.
  2. Go to Privacy & Security section.
  3. Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
  4. Click on Clear Data...
  5. Select Cookies and Site Data and Temporary cached files and pages, then click Clear.Clear cookies and site data from Firefox

Reset Mozilla Firefox

If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
  2. Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.Reset Firefox 1
  3. Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox...
  4. Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.Reset Firefox 2

Remove from Google Chrome

Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

  1. Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
  2. In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all suspicious extensions related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.Remove extensions from Chrome

Clear cache and web data from Chrome:

  1. Click on Menu and pick Settings.
  2. Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
  3. Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
  4. Click Clear data.Clear cache and web data from Chrome

Change your homepage:

  1. Click menu and choose Settings.
  2. Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
  3. 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:

  1. Click on Menu and select Settings.
  2. In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
  3. Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
  4. Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
  5. Confirm with Reset settings.Reset Chrome 2

Delete from Safari

Remove dangerous extensions:

  1. Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
  2. Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.Remove extensions from Safari

Clear history and website data:

  1. Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
  2. Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.Clear history from Safari

Reset Safari:

  1. Click Safari in the menu and select Preferences > Advanced.
  2. Enable Show Develop menu in menu bar.
  3. From the menu bar, click Develop and select Empty Caches.Reset Safari

Did this guide help?

3 comments

  1. Amy

    I thought that something went wrong with Google, but it seems something is wrong with me that I didnt realize that I am using another search engine...

  2. Rachel

    Does anyone know how much money developers make? Do not worry, I am not going to create new browser hijacker, I am just curious :)

  3. Steve

    Thanks for removal instructions!

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