Moviety: what it is and how to remove it
Moviety is a bogus browser extension that acts as adware. It causes an increased amount of commercial content, like pop-ups, banners, and redirects.
Facts checked October 7, 2026. Removal steps tested on Windows 11 (26H2) and checked against Microsoft's and the browser makers' current documentation. Sections marked as our earlier report are the original text: they describe the threat as it was then and have not been reviewed since. The 2026 status, the removal steps and the questions are current.
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Moviety: summary
| Distribution | Shady websites; deceptive ads, freeware installations |
|---|---|
| NAME | Moviety |
| TYPE | Browser hijacker; adware |
| SYMPTOMS | The extension starts generating intrusive advertisements and may change the main settings |
| DANGERS | The ads may lead to dangerous websites controlled by crooks who try to take advantage of less IT-savvy users |
| Detection names | No Microsoft detection name is known |
| Removal | Scan the PC with security software to find and remove the malware and anything installed with it. Fortect scans Windows for malware and repairs the system files and settings it damaged. Remove it nowTo use the full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Fortect. The scan is free. |
Show 8 more facts
| Damage | Not recorded in the old report |
|---|---|
| Name | Moviety |
| Type | Search hijacker extension |
| Symptoms | An unknown program in Installed apps |
| Evidence | 7 write-ups by security sites; details still limited |
| Program | Moviety |
| First seen | 3 June 2022 |
| Facts checked | 7 October 2026 |
Is Moviety dangerous? What it collects
From our report of Jun 2022 · not reviewed since
Moviety adware can fill your browser with never-ending pop-ups from rogue advertising networks
Moviety is a bogus browser extension that acts as adware.
It causes an increased amount of commercial content, like pop-ups, banners, and redirects. It is advertised as a browser extension for movie lovers but in reality, it does not provide any useful functions. The pop-ups may appear even when the browser is closed.
The main purpose of such applications is to generate revenue from pay-per-click advertising. They may also use rogue advertising networks that place ads leading to dangerous websites. By clicking on links embedded in the ads, people may end up on scam pages that try to lure out personal information, trick people into downloading PUPs (potentially unwanted programs), and even malware.
Usually, users start seeing ads promoting fake antivirus programs, software deals, adult websites, surveys, giveaways, and dubious dating platforms. If there is anyone else using the affected machine, especially children, it is important to remove this intruder as soon as possible.
From our report of Jun 2022 · not reviewed since
Freeware installations
Adware is also often spread through freeware distribution platforms.
They secretly include additional programs in the installers. Most people skip through the installation process so they do not notice the additional files. We know it might get costly to purchase software licenses but you may save in the long run by keeping your system running smoothly.
You should also always choose the "Custom" or "Advanced" installation methods, read the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use to find out how your data will be used. The most important part is to check the file list and untick the boxes next to any unrelated applications.
From our report of Jun 2022 · not reviewed since
More from our earlier report on Moviety
- Remove the extension through browser settings
How Moviety got into your browser
From our report of Jun 2022 · not reviewed since
The PUP was discovered to have an "official" promotional website.
Crooks boast about all the non-existent functions and spread the page on the Internet. The bogus Moviety extension was also found through shady download pages. These "Downloader" sites are spread on other sites that engage in illegal activities.
Such websites are full of deceptive ads and sneaky redirects. Even though Google said it would get rid of fake "Download" and "Play" buttons, they still exist.
Fake "Downloader" pages often use social engineering to their advantage. You may see messages asking to install a browser extension to "continue to the website" or for security reasons. You should never have to install any plugins or programs to be able to access content on a legitimate website.
We suggest only using official web stores and developer websites whenever you want to install extensions. Apps that get listed on digital marketplaces, have to go through an extensive review process. However, you should still always do your research and read the reviews, look at the ratings, and the number of users.
How to remove Moviety
How to remove Moviety and get your search engine back
Remove the extension first.
The search settings only stay fixed once nothing on the PC can change them again.
Step 1: Remove extensions you did not add
Moviety often works through an extension, so go through the extension list of each browser:
chrome://extensionsedge://extensions- Extensions and themes in Firefox
Switch suspicious extensions off one at a time and reload the page where the problem shows, then remove the one that stops it, and any other you did not add.
Remember the other browsers and profiles on the PC. If Remove is missing or greyed out, a policy forces the extension, which the policy step deals with. Windows 11 and Windows 10 show the same pages.
Chrome on Windows 11: More > Extensions > Manage extensions. Full procedure with screenshots: Remove a browser extension
Step 2: Put the search engine back
Moviety replaces the browser's default search engine, so searches pass through its own page first. Chrome: Settings > Search engine > Manage search engines and site search, then Make default on Google, Bing or another engine you chose, and Delete on the entries you never added.
Edge has the same list under Manage search engines (search the Settings page for it), and Firefox under Settings > Search.
Look at On startup and the homepage settings too and remove any address you did not set. Nothing in this step differs between Windows 11 and Windows 10.
Chrome on Windows 11: check Search engine and On startup. Full procedure with screenshots: Reset a browser and fix a hijacked search engine
Step 3: Uninstall Moviety
Open Settings > Apps > Installed apps in Windows 11, or Settings > Apps > Apps & features in Windows 10. Sort the list by install date and find Moviety, then choose Uninstall from the three-dot menu next to it (in Windows 10, click the entry and then Uninstall).
Remove anything else installed on the same day that you do not recognise, because such programs usually arrive together in one installer. If the uninstaller opens a browser page with an offer or a survey, close it: the program is removed either way.
Full procedure with screenshots: Uninstall a program or app in Windows On uGetFix
Step 4: Reset the browser
Finish the browser part with a reset, which puts the search engine, start page, new tab page and site permissions back to their defaults and switches extensions off. Chrome: Settings > Reset settings > Restore settings to their original defaults.
Edge: Settings > Reset settings. Firefox: Help > More troubleshooting information > Refresh Firefox, which also removes its extensions. Your bookmarks and saved passwords are kept, and the menus are the same on Windows 11 and Windows 10.
Chrome on Windows 11: Settings > Reset settings. Full procedure with screenshots: Reset a browser and fix a hijacked search engine
Step 5: Scan the PC, then run the offline scan
Open Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Scan options, run a Full scan and remove everything it finds. Then select Microsoft Defender Antivirus (offline scan) and click Scan now: the PC restarts and scans before Windows loads, which finds files that hide while Windows runs.
Save your work first, because the offline scan takes about 15 minutes. Both scans are built into Windows 11 and Windows 10, and a second scanner from another vendor is a useful extra opinion.
Windows 11: Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Scan options. Full procedure with screenshots: Run a Microsoft Defender Offline scan
Choose a proper web browser and improve your safety with a VPN tool
Online spying has got momentum in recent years and people are getting more and more interested in how to protect their privacy online.
One of the basic means to add a layer of security - choose the most private and secure web browser. Although web browsers can't grant full privacy protection and security, some of them are much better at sandboxing, HTTPS upgrading, active content blocking, tracking blocking, phishing protection, and similar privacy-oriented features.
However, if you want true anonymity, we suggest you employ a powerful VPN - it can encrypt all the traffic that comes and goes out of your computer, preventing tracking completely.
Lost your files? Use data recovery software
While some files located on any computer are replaceable or useless, others can be extremely valuable.
Family photos, work documents, school projects - these are types of files that we don't want to lose. Unfortunately, there are many ways how unexpected data loss can occur:
- power cuts
- Blue Screen of Death errors
- hardware failures
- crypto-malware attack
- even accidental deletion
To ensure that all the files remain intact, you should prepare regular data backups. You can choose cloud-based or physical copies you could restore from later in case of a disaster. If your backups were lost as well or you never bothered to prepare any, can be your only hope to retrieve your invaluable files.
From our report of Jun 2022 · not reviewed since
Remove Moviety adware
Moviety adware is most likely attached as an extension to your browser that causes push notification spam, banners, surveys, redirects, and other commercial content.
You should go to your browser settings and look at the extension list.
MS Edge (Chromium)
- 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.
- 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.
- Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
- Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.
- 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.
- Click Safari > Preferences...
- In the new window, pick Extensions.
- Select the unwanted extension and select Uninstall.
From our report of Jun 2022 · not reviewed since
Protect your privacy
Websites, web-based applications, and programs can use cookies to track your activity.
These small data files can store information like your IP address, geolocation, websites you visit, links you click on, and things you purchase online. This raises many user privacy and security concerns as this data can be sold to advertising networks or other third parties.
It can eliminate cookies and cache, and stop the tracking process. This powerful software can also fix various system errors, corrupted files, and registry issues which is especially helpful after a virus infection.
From our report of Jun 2022 · not reviewed since
Scan your system with anti-malware tools
If you completed all the previous steps but you still experience unwanted symptoms, you should check your system for other PUAs.
Manual removal of potentially unwanted programs can sometimes result in the renewal of the infection as users often fail to eliminate all the related files and entries. Besides, crooks often disguise them as "handy" tools so it can be difficult to identify them. If manual removal is what you still prefer, we have instructions for Windows and Mac machines:
To fully remove an unwanted app, you need to access Application Support, LaunchAgents, and LaunchDaemons folders and delete relevant files:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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)
- 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.
Questions about Moviety
Can I safely uninstall Moviety?
If you did not install Moviety yourself and it is not part of your hardware or a program you rely on, yes. Uninstalling an unwanted program does not harm Windows. Before you do, search the exact name and publisher to be sure it is not a driver tool, a printer utility or a game launcher with an odd name.
Then remove it from Settings, Apps, Installed apps. Ignore any offers or warnings in its uninstaller about losing protection or performance. Afterwards check Startup apps and your browsers for leftovers, and restart once to confirm that it does not reinstall itself.
Moviety came back after I uninstalled it. Why?
Something else is reinstalling it. Common causes are a second program from the same publisher, a scheduled task that downloads it again, or a browser extension that keeps prompting for it. Sort Installed apps by install date and uninstall each entry from the same day that you did not choose.
Then open Task Scheduler and look in the Task Scheduler Library for tasks with updater-style names that you do not recognise. Check Startup apps in Task Manager too. If Moviety still returns, start Windows in Safe Mode, uninstall it there and run a Microsoft Defender offline scan, which looks for loaders that ordinary scans can miss.
Will resetting the browser remove Moviety?
A reset disables extensions, restores the default search engine, start page and new tab, and clears temporary data and cookies. It keeps bookmarks, history and saved passwords. For many hijackers that is enough.
It does not remove a program installed in Windows, policies in the registry, changes to the hosts file or DNS, or edited shortcuts, so Moviety can come back after a reset if one of those remains. Do the reset after removing the program and policies, not instead of it.
Should I just switch to another browser?
It may not help. Installers that add hijackers usually target every browser on the PC, and system-level changes such as the hosts file, DNS or proxy affect all browsers at once. A new browser also leaves the hijacker's program and extension in place, collecting data in the old one.
Remove Moviety properly first. After that, use whichever browser you prefer; Chrome, Edge and Firefox all let you set and protect your own search engine. Import your bookmarks only after the old browser is clean.
I changed the search engine, but it switched back. Why?
The hijacker is still installed, and it rewrites the setting whenever the browser starts or the extension updates. Changing the setting is the last step, not the first. Find what controls it: the search settings page usually names the extension, and a greyed-out field means a policy.
Remove that source, restart the browser, then pick your search engine and delete the hijacker's entry from the list of saved search engines so it cannot be chosen by accident. Check again after a day, when extensions have had a chance to update.
What is Moviety?
Moviety is a bogus browser extension that acts as adware. It causes an increased amount of commercial content, like pop-ups, banners, and redirects. The summary table at the top of this guide lists the type, the detection names, the symptoms and the damage of Moviety.
Reading it first helps you decide whether your computer shows the same signs. The removal plan below it works in order, from the safest step to the more thorough ones.
Is Moviety a virus?
Not in the strict sense: Moviety is unwanted software, classed here as a search hijacker extension, not a self-copying virus. Security programs often label such software as adware, a potentially unwanted program or a browser hijacker.
It still needs removal, because it changes browser settings, shows ads and can lead you to unsafe pages. The larger risk is clicking an ad that leads to a fake update or scam page.
How did Moviety get on my computer?
Our report lists the distribution as shady websites; deceptive ads, freeware installations. Software of this kind often comes bundled with free programs, fake updates or downloads from unofficial sites.
It can also arrive through a browser extension or a notification you allowed on a spam page. Think back to what you installed or allowed just before the first ad or redirect appeared.
Will Fortect remove Moviety?
Fortect scans Windows for malware and unwanted programs and repairs the system files and settings they change, and its free scan shows what it finds on your PC before you decide anything.
For Moviety, follow the plan above as well: the browser steps take back permissions and settings that no scanner treats as a threat, and uninstalling the program that brought it removes the source.
Run Microsoft Defender's full scan and, if anything was found, its offline scan as a second opinion. If the symptoms are gone after the plan and both scans are clean, there is nothing more to do.
Sources
- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Adware (read October 7, 2026)
- Helpnetsecurity: How does a rogue ad network function? (read October 7, 2026)
- Torrentfreak: Google Targets Fake 'Download' and 'Play' Buttons (read October 7, 2026)
- Webroot: What is Social Engineering? (read October 7, 2026)
- FTC: How to recognize, remove and avoid malware (read October 7, 2026)