MyLuckySearching.com virus. How to remove? (Uninstall guide)
MyLuckySearching.com browser hijacker seeks to change homepage in major web browsers
MyLuckySearching.com virus can be defined as a potentially unwanted program[1] (PUP) that modifies browser’s settings and sets a new homepage in them. It tends to affect Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome and then hide itself to prevent the user from removing it. The aim of this highly questionable program is to initiate repetitious redirections to predetermined websites and increase their popularity this way. In fact, it functions identically as other infamous browser hijackers such as MyLuckySurfing.com or Mybeginning123.com virus, but can be compared to Launchpage.org redirect virus as well[2]. However, usually such search engines do not actually care what sites they drive traffic to, and that is a huge problem. These external websites can be dangerous[3] and seek to take advantage of inexperienced computer users by convincing them install several spyware or even malware programs on their computers, provide sensitive data, or become victims of other forms of cybercrime[4]. It is important to realize that this browser hijacker is not malicious itself, but using it can lead to unfortunate consequences, especially if you do not know how to identify and bypass possibly dangerous Internet pages. If you do not want to face various Internet hazards that are clearly more accessible with this browser hijacker on your PC, better remove MyLuckySearching.com without a hesitation. For that, we suggest using professional malware removal software such as Reimage.
Questions about MyLuckySearching.com virus
The main obstacle regarding browser hijackers is that they are hard to remove, no matter that they are not malicious programs. While some hijackers only add a certain browser extension and maybe a certain software along with it, others can modify Windows Registry Keys[5], browser shortcuts or even install helpers to keep the new homepage in place. All of this is done in order to continue redirecting users to particular third-party websites. On top of that, browser hijackers silently track the user and later use collected data for vague purposes. Although the developer of this hijacker claims that collected data is used only for analysis and improvement of search tool’s functionality and marketing and advertising effectiveness, it also admits that “in case MyLuckySearching is sold, the information collected from users may be transferred to new owners.” You can never know when this happens, and you can also never know who the next “owner” is going to be. If you do not want information about you or your browsing preferences to be freely available to shady third-parties, take care of MyLuckySearching.com removal right away.


Click 'Start -> Control Panel -> Programs and Features' (if you are 'Windows XP' user, click on 'Add/Remove Programs').

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'.

Right click on each of suspicious entries and select 'Uninstall'

Right click on browsers' icon and select 'Properties'

Select 'Shortcut' tab and delete 'http://isearch.babylon.com...' or other suspicious URL

Cick 'Go' and select 'Applications'

Click on every malicious entry and select 'Move to Trash'

Click on menu icon and select 'Manage add-ons'

Right click on each of malicious entries and select 'Disable'

Delete malicious URL, enter your desired domain name and click 'Apply' to save changes

Go to 'Advanced' tab and click on 'Reset' button. Now select 'Delete personal settings' and click on 'Reset' button again

Go to Settings and select 'Choose what to clear'

Select 'Clear' button

Open the start menu and select 'Task Manager'

Right-click 'Microsoft Edge' and select 'Go to details'

Select 'More details' if 'Go to details' option fails to show up

Find Microsoft Edge entries and select 'End Task'

Go to Microsoft Edge folder on your computer, right-click every entry and click 'Delete'

Find Windows PowerShell, right-click it and select 'Run as administrator'

Copy and paste a required command and press 'Enter'

Click on menu icon and select 'Add-ons'

Select 'Extensions' and look for malicious entries. Click 'Remove' to get rid of each of them

When in 'General' tab, delete malicious URL from 'Home Page' section or click on 'Restore to Default' button. Click 'OK' to save changes

Click on menu icon and then on '?'. Select 'Troubleshooting Information'

Click on 'Reset Firefox' button for a couple of times

Click on menu icon. Select 'Tools' and 'Extensions'

Look for malicious entries and delete each of them by clicking on the Trash bin icon

After clicking on menu and 'Settings', select 'Set pages'

Click 'X' to remove malicious URLs

When in 'Settings', select 'Manage search engines...'

Click 'X' to remove malicious URLs

When in 'Settings', scroll down to 'Reset browser settings' button and click on it

Click on 'Reset' button to complete your removal

Click on 'Safari' and select 'Preferences'

Go to 'Extensions' and uninstall malicious add-ons

When in 'General', delete malicious URL and enter your desired domain name

Click on 'Safari' and select 'Reset Safari...'

Select all options and click on 'Reset' button
My Lucky Searching redirect problem typically arises after installing software packages
MyLuckySearching typically spreads alongside free programs such as games, video players, file converters and similar software. It can easily hijack your PC if you tend to install interesting-looking programs that are free. Even if a program looks to be sole, you should always check what’s written in its installation wizard. In the majority of cases, such free programs carry various attachments such as programs or browser extensions that belong to spyware or (sometimes) malware categories. Users can easily refuse to install them by performing a small but significant modification to installation settings – instead of choosing Standard or Default setup settings, one should switch those to either Custom or Advanced modes. These will provide the list of additional programs bundled with the main one and allow you to deselect the ones that you don’t need/want to install. We suggest you opt out all of those that suggest installing “New Tab Pages,” “shopping assistants” and other shady applications that promise more than they can actually do.
Verified MyLuckySearching.com removal tricks
There are a couple of ways to remove MyLuckySearching.com virus. Usually, users do not bother themselves and use an automatic spyware removal tools to get rid of this highly annoying and sophisticated browser hijacker. However, if you are willing to dedicate some time for MyLuckySearching.com removal, you can use instructions provided below the article and try to uninstall this potentially unwanted program manually.
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 MyLuckySearching.com virus, follow these steps:
Eliminate MyLuckySearching.com from Windows systems
Users who wish to remove the described browser virus manually should read these instructions at least several times. These instructions must be carried out with close attention. Missing at least one step can result in failure to remove the infection.
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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.
- Uninstall MyLuckySearching.com and related programs
Here, look for MyLuckySearching.com or any other recently installed suspicious programs. -
Uninstall them and click OK to save these changes.
- Remove MyLuckySearching.com from Windows shortcuts
Right click on the shortcut of Mozilla Firefox and select Properties. -
Go to Shortcut tab and look at the Target field. Delete malicious URL that is related to your virus.
Repeat steps that are given above with all browsers' shortcuts, including Internet Explorer and Google Chrome. Make sure you check all locations of these shortcuts, including Desktop, Start Menu and taskbar.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariDelete MyLuckySearching.com 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 MyLuckySearching.com or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash.
Remove MyLuckySearching.com 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 MyLuckySearching.com 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 MyLuckySearching.com removal.
Get rid of MyLuckySearching.com virus 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, MyLuckySearching.com should be removed from your Microsoft Edge browser.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariErase MyLuckySearching.com from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
Fix Firefox by removing an add-on that keeps this search engine in your browser. It should be called somehow similar to the URL that it sets as your homepage.
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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 MyLuckySearching.com and other questionable plugins. Click Remove to delete these entries.
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Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Click on the menu (top right corner), choose Options → General. - Here, delete malicious URL and enter preferable website or click Restore to default.
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Click OK to save these changes.
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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 MyLuckySearching.com removal.
Uninstall MyLuckySearching.com from Google Chrome
Find and eliminate unknown browser extensions from Chrome. In case you remove some extensions that you actually used, simply reinstall them from Google Chrome store.
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Delete malicious plugins
Open Google Chrome, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Tools → Extensions. -
Here, select MyLuckySearching.com and other malicious plugins and select trash icon to delete these entries.
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Change your homepage and default search engine if it was altered by your virus
Click on menu icon and choose Settings. -
Here, look for the Open a specific page or set of pages under On startup option and click on Set pages.
- Now you should see another window. Here, delete malicious search sites and enter the one that you want to use as your homepage.
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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 MyLuckySearching.com removal.
Eliminate MyLuckySearching.com from Safari
- 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 MyLuckySearching.com or other suspicious entries. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid each of them.
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Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Open your Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu section. Here, select Preferences as it was displayed previously and select General. -
Here, look at the Homepage field. If it was altered by MyLuckySearching.com, remove unwanted link and enter the one that you want to use for your searches. Remember to include the "http://" before typing in the address of the page.
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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 MyLuckySearching.com removal process.
About the author
References
- ^ Michael T. Simpson. Hands-On Ethical Hacking and Network Defense. Google Books. The World's Most Comprehensive Index of Full-Text Books.
- ^ Watch out for the latest in browser hijackers – Qtipr.com, Motious.com and Launchpage.org. eSolutions Blog. Company News and Latest News about Malware.
- ^ Wendy Boswell. How do I avoid dangerous websites?. Lifewire. Tech Untangled.
- ^ The Relentless Growth of Cybercrime. EUROPOL. European Counter Terrorism Centre.
- ^ Tim Fisher. What is the Windows Registry?. Lifewire. Tech Untangled.