Skip to content
  • Active
  • Severity: Medium
  • Adware
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Jan 2021

How to remove Search Donkey

A step-by-step removal guide for affected devices. Follow the verified procedure below — most readers complete it in under 10 minutes.

Alice Woods · Likes to teach users about virus prevention

Search Donkey – adware app that inserts pop-up ads everywhere

Search Donkey ads

Search Donkey is a questionable browser add-on, which can get inside your PC system either with or without your permission asked. According to official information, which is given on the Internet, this add-on is created by WebAppTech Coding, LLC for helping to improve the browsing experience for PC users.

However, SearchDonkey can not only show quick search links from Google, AOL, Wikipedia, Facebook, Twitter, and other websites. It can also start interrupting your browsing sessions with different kinds of pop-up ads that may be filled with various links and other components.

Name Search Donkey
Type Adware, potentially unwanted program
Developer WebAppTech Coding, LLC
Distribution Software bundles, third-party sites
Dangers Installation of other potentially unwanted programs, personal information disclosure leak, monetary losses
Removal Either follow manual elimination guide below or perform a full system scan with anti-malware software
System fix Malware or adware can cause serious stability and performance issues. Use FortectIntego to remediate your operating system and ensure that the virus damage is fixed

In most of the cases, such links are displayed only for redirecting people to unknown domains that are related to Search Donkey and seek to increase their page rank or sales. In addition, this program may also be set to record users' browsing history and may collect data, which includes, but is not limited to:

  • search terms,
  • data that is entered on each of websites,
  • email addresses,
  • PC location
  • IP address, etc.

In most cases, this information is especially important for marketing companies and other third parties, but there is no guarantee that it won't show up in hackers' hands.

If you haven't installed this browser add-on consciously and now you are suffering from continuous Search Donkey ads or other issues that can be initiated by this program, you should remove it from your computer without wasting your time. You can do that with the help of the manual Search Donkey removal guide, which is given down below, or by using the automatic elimination option.

We think that you should select this removal option because the Search Donkey virus may be hiding deep inside your PC system. This means that it may try to reappear on your computer after rebooting it. In order to avoid that, you should run a full system scan with FortectIntego and get rid of malicious files that will be detected by this program.

Avoid adware with these simple tips

Search Donkey is distributed via two different methods. First one is harmless because it needs going to program's official website and downloading it from there. However, Search Donkey can also get on its target computer in one pack with other software. According to experts:

This unwanted program can be installed with the Delta Search, WebCake and other freeware, which is always filled with various components.

If you want to prevent its infiltration, you should pay more attention to freeware's installation and uncheck all entries that look unfamiliar to you. When this add-on is downloaded, Search Donkey affects all web browsers that are installed on the computer.

Additionally, it shows its pop-up ads with product offers and initiates other activities that may cause privacy-related issues. It's highly recommended to remove Search Donkey from your computer.

Remove Search Donkey for good

When trying to remove Search Donkey and get rid of its annoying pop-up ads, you should go to 'Add/Remove Programs' or 'Programs and features' and eliminate suspicious entries from there. If you have never dealt with this process before, we explain everything below. Keep in mind that you should also take your time and clean your web browsers well, including web data, cookies, and browser extensions/add-ons.

In some cases, when Search Donkey removal is unsuccessful for some reason (for example, the program is running background processes, or there is another malware on the system), you should instead rely on a powerful anti-malware tool. It would be able to find all the suspicious components on your system automatically and delete them thoroughly.

Uninstall from Windows

Uninstall from Windows 10/8:

  1. Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
  2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.Uninstall from Windows 10/8

Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:

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

Remove the unwanted program:

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

Delete from macOS

Remove the unwanted application:

  1. From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
  2. In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).Uninstall from Mac

Delete leftover files and folders:

  1. Select Go > Go to Folder.
  2. Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
  3. Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.Delete leftover files from Mac
  4. Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.

Reset Internet Explorer

Remove dangerous add-ons:

  1. Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
  2. Pick Manage Add-ons.
  3. You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.Remove add-ons from Internet Explorer

Change your homepage if it was altered:

  1. Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
  2. Select Internet Options.
  3. In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
  4. Click Apply and then select OK.Reset IE homepage

Delete temporary files:

  1. Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
  2. Under Browsing history, click Delete...
  3. Select relevant fields and press Delete.Clear temporary files from Internet Explorer

Reset Internet Explorer:

  1. Click on Gear icon > Internet options and select Advanced tab.
  2. Select Reset.
  3. In the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset.Reset Internet Explorer

Remove from Microsoft Edge

Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:

  1. Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
  2. From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
  3. Click Remove.Remove extensions from Edge

Clear cookies and other browser data:

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

Restore new tab and homepage settings:

  1. Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
  2. Then find On startup section.
  3. Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.

Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:

  1. Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
  2. Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
  3. Select Details tab.
  4. 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.Reset MS Edge

Instructions for Chromium-based Edge

Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):

  1. Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
  2. Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.Remove extensions from Chromium Edge

Clear cache and site data:

  1. Click on Menu and go to Settings.
  2. Select Privacy, search and services.
  3. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  4. Under Time range, pick All time.
  5. Select Clear now.Clear browser data from Chroum Edge

Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:

  1. Click on Menu and select Settings.
  2. On the left side, pick Reset settings.
  3. Select Restore settings to their default values.
  4. Confirm with Reset.
  5. This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.Reset Chromium Edge

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)

Remove dangerous extensions:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
  2. Select Add-ons.
  3. In here, select the unwanted extension and click Remove.Remove extensions from Firefox

Reset the homepage:

  1. Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
  2. Choose Settings.
  3. Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.

Clear cookies and site data:

  1. Click Menu and pick Settings.
  2. Go to Privacy & Security section.
  3. Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
  4. Click on Clear Data...
  5. Select Cookies and Site Data and Temporary cached files and pages, then click Clear.Clear cookies and site data from Firefox

Reset Mozilla Firefox

If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
  2. Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.Reset Firefox 1
  3. Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox...
  4. Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.Reset Firefox 2

Remove from Google Chrome

Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

  1. Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
  2. In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all suspicious extensions related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.Remove extensions from Chrome

Clear cache and web data from Chrome:

  1. Click on Menu and pick Settings.
  2. Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
  3. Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
  4. Click Clear data.Clear cache and web data from Chrome

Change your homepage:

  1. Click menu and choose Settings.
  2. Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
  3. 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:

  1. Click on Menu and select Settings.
  2. In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
  3. Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
  4. Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
  5. Confirm with Reset settings.Reset Chrome 2

Delete from Safari

Remove dangerous extensions:

  1. Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
  2. Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.Remove extensions from Safari

Clear history and website data:

  1. Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
  2. Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.Clear history from Safari

Reset Safari:

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

Did this guide help?

11 comments

  1. Girey

    This is really very simple to remove search donkey virus.
    First step:
    Uninstall SearchDonkey for add or remove feature.
    Second step:
    Unistall "Updater" click on this updater you will see that this is also related with this searchdonkey you just need to uninstall UPDATER
    This really works I tried the same in my computer too.

  2. JETT

    THANKS,IT REALLY WORKED....GLAD TO GET THAT CRAP OFF MY COMPUTER

  3. Todd

    Uninstalling "Updater" was the key to completely removing this spyware. Thanks!

  4. Paul

    Ive had this "search jackass" on my computer for a couple of weeks now. It was disguised as an updater so I didnt realize what it was .... Thanks!

  5. shane

    What you said worked thanks-Also just restart the computer to see it gone

  6. Sheila

    Thanks Girey, I have tried for weeks to get that darn thing off my computer. I had to remove Internet Updater and Updater to get removed but it worked Thanks to you.

  7. Aggervated

    I removed the updater and it still will not remove this stupid search donkey. Suggestions?

  8. Finallly

    After several weeks and many attempts at removing internet updater, I finally removed updater also and Search Donkey if finally gone. I wish they would arrest people for that kind of spyware.

  9. Mark

    thanks for the info. I spent a hour looking for a way of getting this crap off.

  10. It Worked

    Thanks for your comment - I was able to get rid of this by doing the same.

  11. MOFUFINALLYGONE

    This is out of sight i have been fighting with that POS for over a year and FINALLY got that Mo Fu off my computer, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. Easiest thing ever.

Spyware News
Privacy preferences

We use cookies to improve your experience and analyze traffic. Some cookies enable embedded content like videos and social posts. Choose what you allow — you can change this anytime.