Nation Zoom is a potentially unwanted program that changes your browser settings without permission

Nation Zoom is an ad-supported search engine, which is often called a “potentially unwanted program” or a “browser hijacker.” While technically it's not a virus, it includes various features that can hardly be called legitimate. People who have this program on their computers report annoying redirects, banner ads, and sponsored links in their search results and similar issues.
Upon infiltration, this app would change the web browser settings of the installed web browsers without permission. For example, the homepage would be set to nationzoom.com and fill search results with sponsored links and ads.
| Name | Nation Zoom |
| Type | Browser hijacker |
| Distribution | Software bundles, third-party websites, deceptive advertisements |
| Symptoms | Homepage and new tab URL changed, search results are filled with ads, redirects lead to suspicious websites, etc. |
| Elimination | Perform a full system scan with SpyHunterCombo Cleaner or another anti-malware |
| Optional steps | For the removal process to be effective, we recommend cleaning your web browsers as explained below or employing FortectIntego for the job |
Just as any other potentially unwanted program that specializes in showing users ads and gain revenue from it, this application constantly gathers information about user online activities with the help of cookies, JavaScript, web beacons, and other tracking technologies. This data may include:
- IP address;
- Internet Service Provider;
- Search queries;
- Links clicked;
- Visited websites;
- Ads interacted with, etc.
Are you interested in why this potentially unwanted program initiates all these activities? The answer is very simple – it seeks to generate web traffic to dubious sites and collect sales. If you see this search engine on your computer, we recommend you scan your PC with updated anti-spyware.
For that, you can easily use SpyHunterCombo Cleaner, which has been showing great results when dealing with this hijacker. You may also need to remove Nation Zoom from each of your browsers manually if you want to get rid of this program completely. Below you will find in-depth instructions on how to deal with unwanted browser extensions or delete unwanted web elements after adware elimination.
Alternatively, you can trust this job to FortectIntego – it can quickly clean Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or any other browser within just a few minutes for you. Besides, it can also delete already installed parasites from your PC and fix the damage done by them to Windows system files.
It is important to note that Nation Zoom was updated at the beginning of 2015. At the moment of writing, it is now capable of tracking people's activity on the Internet. Although its developers have been continuously saying that they don't collect personally identifiable information, this program can easily know what your email address or PC's location is.
Besides, it is unknown where this information is used for and what third parties are capable of reaching it. For protecting yourself, you should avoid this questionable search engine. Please, opt for automatic removal to avoid continuous reappearance of this program.
PUP distribution methods explained
This potentially unwanted program can be downloaded from the Internet just like any other search engine. However, there are many people on the web who claim that it infiltrated their machines as a virus. In reality, it is not the entire truth. If you have just discovered this search engine in each of your web browsers, it might be that you have recently downloaded VPlay or another free application that was involved in its distribution.
It can be applied to other search sites, such as:
- Websearch.greatresults.info
- websearch.fixsearch.info
- Conduit
- www-searching.com
- genieo.com, etc.
To avoid such unexpected downloads, you must remember that choosing the CUSTOM or ADVANCED installation method of the freeware can save you from them. Also, you should uncheck all checkmarks that agree to install this and other adware on the system. If this program enters the computer, it enters it as a browser plugin. After that, Nation Zoom hijacks the homepage and default search engine and may initiate plenty of other activities used for the only thing – to increase advertising revenue.
You can eliminate hijackers either manually or automatically
If you noticed nationzoom.com instead of your start page and search.yahoo.com instead of your default search engine, it's a sign that your PC was affected by the Nation Zoom virus. There should be no questions about whether or not you should remove it – your privacy and computer security might remain at risk if you keep it installed.
Therefore, either follow the step-by-step instructions below to uninstall all potentially unwanted programs you find manually or employ security software for the job. To say the least, the latter choice would save you a lot of time and check whether your PC is affected by invisible and highly dangerous malware.
Uninstall from Windows
Uninstall from Windows 10/8:
- Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.

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

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

Delete from macOS
Remove the unwanted application:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).

Delete leftover files and folders:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
- Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.

- Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.
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 Remove.

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

Restore new tab and homepage settings:
- Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
- Then find On startup section.
- Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.
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.

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.
- This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.

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 the unwanted extension and click Remove.

Reset the homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Settings.
- Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.
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 and Temporary cached files and pages, then click 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 suspicious extensions 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 dangerous extensions:
- Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
- Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.

Clear history and website data:
- Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
- Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.

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

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