Package Tracker Express BETA EXTENSION (Removal Guide) - Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge
Package Tracker Express BETA EXTENSION Removal Guide
What is Package Tracker Express BETA EXTENSION?
Package Tracker Express BETA EXTENSION is an app that changes your web browser settings in order to deliver you ads
Package Tracker Express BETA EXTENSION is a potentially unwanted program that can be downloaded from a legitimate source such as Chrome Web Store. While it promises users to help with tracking packages in real-time, numerous users said that this function simply does not work. In the meantime, those who install the extension will also notice that their homepage has been changed to packagetrackerexpress.com on Google Chrome, Safari, Mozilla Firefox, or another web browser.
With the help of an alternative search bar in the middle of the page, users' searches will be immediately redirected to Yahoo. Despite the search engine being legitimate, the ads that are shown at the top of search results are not – they come from the Package Tracker Express BETA EXTENSION. Each time these sponsored results are clicked, the developer earns revenue, which is the main purpose of the app. In other words, this potentially unwanted program[1] fails to deliver what it promises and instead feeds users with ads.
| Name | Package Tracker Express BETA EXTENSION |
|---|---|
| Type | Browser hijacker, potentially unwanted program |
| Developer | HyperConnectMedia |
| IP address | 172.67.166.239 |
| Distribution | Official sources such as Google Chrome web store; software bundles |
| Symptoms | Browser extension is installed on the web browser you are using; homepage and new tab address is set to ackagetrackerexpress.com; all searches redirect to Yahoo; search results are littered with ads |
| Risks | Installation of other potentially unwanted programs, privacy risks due to information gathering practices, financial losses |
| Removal | You can get rid of a browser hijacker by following the guide provided below or by scanning the computer with robust anti-malware software |
| Optional steps | Computer infections can cause significant damage to system files or disrupt normal settings. To revert these changes and remediate the OS, perform a full system scan with FortectIntego repair software |
While the app can be downloaded from official Google's store, some users might find Package Tracker Express BETA EXTENSION on their browsers appearing seemingly out of nowhere. This is because such programs alike are commonly distributed in software bundle packages, hence users fail to notice the optional components within the installation wizards. As a consequence, they might not even know that an unwanted app managed to access their device.
While it might well be the case that you did not install the app on purpose, the changes that it implements within the browser should be a good indication that it has been hijacked. The homepage and new tab URL changes are not implemented by accident – they have a very established purpose.
At the top of the homepage, users are provided with a particular “Track Package” feature that would allegedly allow them to find their parcel and check its delivery status. However, as already mentioned, this function simply does not work, which then leads to the question – what is the app is for?
Browser hijackers are commonly presented as useful programs that can help users with certain functions. For example, apps such as SuperPDFSearch, CoolStreamSearch, or TopSearchConverter are presented as tools capable of convert files, provide links to stream videos, and much more. However, all of them are just a copy of one another, and besides providing basic calculator and currency converter features, they do not offer anything useful.
In the meantime, users who have Package Tracker Express BETA EXTENSION or similar apps installed will notice an overall increased number of ads, changes to homepage/new tab address, and other inconveniences. The main goal of browser hijackers is to deliver ads and make users click on them to receive ad revenue.
To make matters worse, PUPs typically track users' online activities in order to cater them ads that are more relevant to them. According to the Privacy Policy of Package Tracker Express BETA EXTENSION collects data with the help of various trackers, including beacons, unique identifiers, Flash Cookies,[2] web server log information, or other technologies. This data can also be shared:
We may share your information, including your Personal Information, with our commercial partners, who assist us in providing the features offered by our Services, including our services, advertising, and content partners (collectively, “Commercial Partners”) or allow those Commercial Partners to gather information directly from you.
Thus, if you value your privacy, you should remove Package Tracker Express BETA EXTENSION from your browser immediately. There should not be any difficulties in doing so, but it is also important to clean your web browsers correctly. For that, either refer to our manual guide below or employ automatic privacy tools such as FortectIntego.
Avoiding browser hijackers is easy with the help of these steps
Changes to your homepage and a new tab are not something that should be immediately frowned upon, as long as you know what these changes do in terms of security and how it will affect the usability of the search provider, as well as other aspects. Unfortunately, most of the browser extensions and apps that do change browser settings typically do not have a good reason for doing so rather than make users click on ads, all while tracking their data in the background.
There are two ways you might install a browser hijacker on your system:
- When looking for an app with particular functionality
- Installing it along with a other apps from a software bundle.
While you might not always know whether the app will perform as well as advertised (read reviews before installing!), preventing deceptive installation is always possible – all you have to do is to be more attentive when you download programs from third-party sites.
In other words, you should always pick Advanced/Custom settings if such is offered, decline all the offers on the way, and always remove the ticks next to various apps. Finally, powerful anti-malware can also warn you about the incoming PUP installation.
Ways to get rid of Package Tracker Express BETA EXTENSION
Unexpected homepage changes of your web browser should never be ignored, as it is a good indication that a potentially unwanted program has been installed on your system. What makes this kind of even worse is that there might be even more dangerous apps installed on your device, so, according to experts,[3] Package Tracker Express BETA EXTENSION removal is just the first step for a safer and better browsing experience.
You can remove Package Tracker Express BETA EXTENSION by accessing your web browser settings – check the instructions below if you are not sure of how to do that. You can also opt for automatic privacy checks with the intuitive tools we offer. However, we strongly advise you also to scan your computer with anti-malware, as there could be malicious programs running in the background without you knowing.
You may remove virus damage with a help of FortectIntego. SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner and Malwarebytes are recommended to detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.
Getting rid of Package Tracker Express BETA EXTENSION. Follow these steps
Uninstall from Windows
Instructions for Windows 10/8 machines:
- 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.
If you are Windows 7/XP user, proceed with the following instructions:
- 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.
Delete from macOS
Remove items from Applications folder:
- 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)
To fully remove an unwanted app, you need to access Application Support, LaunchAgents, and LaunchDaemons folders and delete relevant files:
- 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.
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 on Uninstall at the bottom.
Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Privacy & security.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Select everything (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 Disable if you found any suspicious domain.
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.
If this solution failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method. Note that you need to backup your data before proceeding.
- Find the following folder on your computer: C:\\Users\\%username%\\AppData\\Local\\Packages\\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe.
- Press Ctrl + A on your keyboard to select all folders.
- Right-click on them and pick Delete
- Now right-click on the Start button and pick Windows PowerShell (Admin).
- When the new window opens, copy and paste the following command, and then press Enter:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\\AppXManifest.xml” -Verbose
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.
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 unwanted plugin and click Remove.
Reset the homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Options.
- Under Home options, enter your preferred site that will open every time you newly open the Mozilla Firefox.
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, as well as Cached Web Content and press 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 the suspicious plugins that might be 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 unwanted extensions from Safari:
- Click Safari > Preferences…
- In the new window, pick Extensions.
- Select the unwanted extension and select Uninstall.
Clear cookies and other website data from Safari:
- Click Safari > Clear History…
- From the drop-down menu under Clear, pick all history.
- Confirm with Clear History.
Reset Safari if the above-mentioned steps did not help you:
- Click Safari > Preferences…
- Go to Advanced tab.
- Tick the Show Develop menu in menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop, and then select Empty Caches.
After uninstalling this potentially unwanted program (PUP) and fixing each of your web browsers, we recommend you to scan your PC system with a reputable anti-spyware. This will help you to get rid of Package Tracker Express BETA EXTENSION registry traces and will also identify related parasites or possible malware infections on your computer. For that you can use our top-rated malware remover: FortectIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes.
How to prevent from getting browser hijacker
Stream videos without limitations, no matter where you are
There are multiple parties that could find out almost anything about you by checking your online activity. While this is highly unlikely, advertisers and tech companies are constantly tracking you online. The first step to privacy should be a secure browser that focuses on tracker reduction to a minimum.
Even if you employ a secure browser, you will not be able to access websites that are restricted due to local government laws or other reasons. In other words, you may not be able to stream Disney+ or US-based Netflix in some countries. To bypass these restrictions, you can employ a powerful Private Internet Access VPN, which provides dedicated servers for torrenting and streaming, not slowing you down in the process.
Data backups are important – recover your lost files
Ransomware is one of the biggest threats to personal data. Once it is executed on a machine, it launches a sophisticated encryption algorithm that locks all your files, although it does not destroy them. The most common misconception is that anti-malware software can return files to their previous states. This is not true, however, and data remains locked after the malicious payload is deleted.
While regular data backups are the only secure method to recover your files after a ransomware attack, tools such as Data Recovery Pro can also be effective and restore at least some of your lost data.
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- ^ Chris Hoffman. PUPs Explained: What is a “Potentially Unwanted Program”?. How-To Geek. Site that explains technology.
- ^ Flash cookie. PCMag. Encyclopedia.
- ^ Novirus. Novirus. Cybersecurity news and malware insights.