Search.froktiser.com (Removal Instructions) - updated Feb 2018
Search.froktiser.com Removal Guide
What is Search.froktiser.com?
Froktiser – a misleading search engine that promotes faster downloads and other useless services
Froktiser is an untrustworthy search engine which belongs to “browser hijacker” category due to sponsored search results it delivers to its users. Besides, it can infiltrate the system undetected and start tracking its victim to collect personal information. There is no doubt that you must take care of Froktiser removal once it shows up on your system.
From the first sight, Froktiser virus looks similar to other search engines, such as Google, Yahoo or Bing. However, all search results that are provided by this search engine are displayed for the only reason – to redirect users to sponsored websites and earn the money for increasing their web traffic or sales. Note that due to the presence of this potentially unwanted program, you can encounter numerous suspicious ads or privacy-related issues.
Browser's hijack is only the first activity this fake search engine performs.[1] Once it is stealthily settled on the system, the questionable application installs additional entries to modify your browser parameters in a way to become the primary search provider. The alterations might occur on the homepage, or new tab and window.
Therefore, you are always forced to submit queries through hxxp://search.froktiser.com/. As a result, the developers of the browser hijacker are able to display sponsored ads on a daily basis. The aim of pushing annoying advertisements is to bring traffic to the websites they promote and generate pay-per-click revenue.
Note that you do not benefit from the ads which are delivered by Froktiser virus — they might either offer inferior quality products or lead to phishing websites[2]. Additionally, you should be aware that advertisers, such as pop-ups, in-texts, or banners can start an arbitrary installation of other potentially unwanted programs without your knowledge.
If you want to protect your system from various computer threats, you should remove Froktiser from the system. We recommend FortectIntego to ease the elimination procedure since it is a handy tool to deal with browser hijackers.
Keep in mind that this procedure will not only stop redirects to suspicious pages but will also protect your privacy because this browser hijacker collects various details about your browsing habits. The collected data is considered to be personally non-identifiable. However, inexperienced computer users can submit their private information, such as email address and similar, themselves while using Search.Froktiser.com for their searches.
Search.froktiser.com is an imposter of a legitimate search engine, which delivers numerous ads and do not take responsibility for their content.
Learn how PUPs manage to enter your system
While developers can use multiple ways to distribute potentially unwanted programs, they most commonly employ a very popular marketing tactic, called bundling. Browser hijackers are packed together with free applications and offered as one software online. Therefore, the PUP is infiltrated on your PC without permission.
Usually, it happens when people choose Quick or Recommended settings on the installer. These parameters are designed to finish the installation process by skipping its steps. The infiltration of the browser hijacker is in one of those actions. Likewise, you are not able to not allow installing the potentially unwanted program.
You can avoid that by always opting for Advanced or Custom settings. They will fully disclose the information about all additional software which is going to be installed during the procedure. Search for marks, such as “Get Search.froktiser.com now” and de-select them. This way you will make sure that you only get the original program you attempted to install.
Ways to get rid of Search.froktiser.com and its components from your PC
As mentioned above, browser hijackers infiltrate systems as useful extra extensions. However, all what they cause is taking over your system and causing havoc. Note that these extra components might use names which are entirely unrelated to the PUP or might even disguise themselves as legitimate computer processes. Therefore, experts from DieViren.de[3] recommend opting for automatic Froktiser removal option.
In this case, we suggest you employ a professional security software to remove Froktiser virus for you. It is the safest way to free your computer from all potentially unwanted programs and other threats. Additionally, you should follow the guide below to fix your browser by uninstalling all hijacker-related elements.
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 Search.froktiser.com. Follow these steps
Uninstall from Windows
To uninstall this virus from Windows, make sure you get rid of all suspicious apps that you installed on your system recently. For that, go to Control Panel and select each of these entries:
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
To get rid of Foktiser from Mac, you should follow the guide below. Make sure you get rid of every app that does not provide its developer or looks suspicious.
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
If you want to reset your Chrome browser to the previous state, you should uninstall all suspicious entries which might be related to the hijacker.
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 Search.froktiser.com 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 stealing programs
Choose a proper web browser and improve your safety with a VPN tool
Online spying has got momentum in recent years and people are getting more and more interested in how to protect their privacy online. One of the basic means to add a layer of security – choose the most private and secure web browser. Although web browsers can't grant full privacy protection and security, some of them are much better at sandboxing, HTTPS upgrading, active content blocking, tracking blocking, phishing protection, and similar privacy-oriented features. However, if you want true anonymity, we suggest you employ a powerful Private Internet Access VPN – it can encrypt all the traffic that comes and goes out of your computer, preventing tracking completely.
Lost your files? Use data recovery software
While some files located on any computer are replaceable or useless, others can be extremely valuable. Family photos, work documents, school projects – these are types of files that we don't want to lose. Unfortunately, there are many ways how unexpected data loss can occur: power cuts, Blue Screen of Death errors, hardware failures, crypto-malware attack, or even accidental deletion.
To ensure that all the files remain intact, you should prepare regular data backups. You can choose cloud-based or physical copies you could restore from later in case of a disaster. If your backups were lost as well or you never bothered to prepare any, Data Recovery Pro can be your only hope to retrieve your invaluable files.
- ^ Browser Hijacking. Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia.
- ^ Ads on popular Search Engine are leading to Phishing Sites. GovCERT. Swiss Government Computer Emergency Response Team.
- ^ DieViren. DieViren. Security and Spyware News.