Peekier.com virus. How to remove? (Uninstall guide)
Is Peekier.com a trustworthy search service?
Questions about Peekier.com virus
If you are looking for a more secure way to browse the web, please beware of the Peekier.com virus. Peekier is promoted as an alternative web search service [1] that uses its own search engine and focuses primarily on the privacy of its users. The anonymous site creators do their best to convince anyone who ends up on https://peekier.com/ that this is “the most privacy-oriented search engine” on the market. Sadly, there isn’t a lot of truth in this. Sure, this search engine has some potential. It allows users to peak into the sites they are about to visit by adding a page snapshot next to its domain address. This is a handy function which may prevent you from accidentally landing on some malicious site and infecting your computer with malware. However, since this service is free, its creators are looking for other sources of software monetization [2]. It is not surprising that they have opted for the ad-based monetization — the most common strategy for startup developers to earn some money from their services. While the pay-per-click strategy [3] benefits both, the advertisers and their promoted parties, the users are left with ad-clogged web pages and increasingly deteriorating browsing experience. So, regardless of how useful Peekier search service may be, it will most likely fail to outweigh the struggles and risks induced by continuous advertising. Besides, this search engine tends to appear on the browser uninvited which is yet another reason to perform Peekier.com removal. The elimination can be performed manually or with the help of automatic antivirus tools, such as Reimage. It’s up to you to choose the elimination method that suits you the best.


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
The users and malware researchers have not dubbed Peekier a virus or, to be more precise, a potentially unwanted program (PUP) [4] without reason. Due to its unauthorized appearance on the computer, Peekier.com malware does not only deserve to be dubbed a PUP but should also join the ranks of browser hijacker [5] infections. Such categorization falls upon this virus due to its sneaky way of infiltrating computers, followed by an extensive scope of promoted content. What we mean by “extensive scope” is that as far as we know, there are no restrictions over what content do the Peekier ads and sponsored links promote. Thus, it is very possible that some of the affiliates are unreputable parties trying to sell questionable products or involve user into online scams. With acknowledged and widely used search engines such as Google or Yahoo such risks are considerably smaller. Thus, we suggest to remove Peekier.com from your computer and choose other online search services instead.
Browser hijackers are avertible, if you know how
Software installation is probably the least anticipated part when it comes to the acquisition of the new software. Nevertheless, it is the essential stage at which programs like Peekier.com can be stopped from entering your computer. Sine PUPs usually come bundled with real and legitimate software, analyzing the downloaded software packages becomes especially important in order to indicate and prevent undesirable components from further installation. Typically, the agreement to install Peekier.com or other PUP will be hidden in some stage of Advanced software installation mode, so be sure to opt for these particular settings and follow the installation progression carefully. Deselect undesirable components to suspend their installation.
Antivirus — your best bet for the Peekier.com removal
No one wishes to keep malware such as Peekier.com virus on their computers. It’s just not worth using a service that benefits its creators more that it benefits you. Thus, even if you have been using this hijacker willingly (which rarely happens), you should remove it from your computer. You will notice the difference immediately. Soon after the Peekier.com removal, the web page loading speed will increase and your browser will crash or freeze less often. So, do not wait around and remove Peekier.com from your computer ASAP.
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 Peekier.com virus, follow these steps:
Uninstall Peekier.com from Windows systems
Follow the guide below to remove Peekier.com from your computer without any extra software or tools:
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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 Peekier.com and related programs
Here, look for Peekier.com or any other recently installed suspicious programs. -
Uninstall them and click OK to save these changes.
- Remove Peekier.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 ChromeSafariRemove Peekier.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 Peekier.com or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash.
Eliminate Peekier.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 Peekier.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 Peekier.com removal.
Delete Peekier.com virus from Microsoft Edge
Microsoft Edge tutorial for the Peekier.com removal is prepared for you below:
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, Peekier.com should be removed from your Microsoft Edge browser.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariGet rid of Peekier.com from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
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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 Peekier.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 Peekier.com removal.
Erase Peekier.com from Google Chrome
Remove Peekier.com from Chrome along with other undesirable components like explained here:
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Delete malicious plugins
Open Google Chrome, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Tools → Extensions. -
Here, select Peekier.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 Peekier.com removal.
Uninstall Peekier.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 Peekier.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 Peekier.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 Peekier.com removal process.
About the author
References
- ^ Say goodbye to Google: 14 alternative search engines. SearchEngineWatch. News articles, guides, reviews and commentary about Search, PPC, Social, Mobile, Analytics and more.
- ^ Software monetization. Wikipedia. The free encyclopedia.
- ^ Pay Per Click. Unbounce. Build Publish & Test Without I.T..
- ^ Potentially Unwanted Programs slow down your system and can be harmful: Here’s what can you do about it. Emsisoft blog. Award-Winning Anti-Malware & Anti-Virus Software blog.
- ^ Robert Siciliano . What is Browser Hijacking?. Mcafee blog. Securing tomorrow. Today.