Search.htheweathercenter.co virus (Easy Removal Guide) - Free Instructions
Search.htheweathercenter.co virus Removal Guide
What is Search.htheweathercenter.co virus?
Search.htheweathercenter.co search services are doubtful
Search.htheweathercenter.co is a bogus search engine that incorporates many ads into results. If this search site popped in your browser automatically, it could mean that your browser has been hijacked[1] (infected with a browser hijacker). Such hijack usually results in continuous redirects to hxxp://Search.htheweathercenter.co/ site, which presents a dubious-looking search engine. Recent reports show that the majority of infected computers are in US, UK and Canada.
Potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) like Search.htheweathercenter change victim’s homepage address, default search provider setting and also assign a new value to browser’s new tab page option. The main reason to collect such pieces of data is to find out what content the user is interested in and what ads would draw one's attention to click on them.
It doesn't mean that you can rely on these advertisements – remember that some of them may be used as a bait to lure you into highly suspicious Internet pages.
Even if you experience redirects to the described search site, you shouldn’t start using its services right away. Instead, remove Search.htheweathercenter.co virus as soon as you can. This shady search engine won’t provide you no useful search functions and most likely gathers[2] your search queries, IP address and browsing history to analyze you as a user, too.
Such activity is typical to all Polarity Technologies, Ltd. software. The company is known to be a developer of various browser hijackers that compromise computers only to start delivering excessive amounts of sponsored content to the user in a form of search results.
Unfortunately, sponsored search results can lead to dangerous Internet sites, and therefore we do not recommend clicking them. If you do not want to be lured into websites of unknown reputation, better take care of Search.htheweathercenter.co removal and consider using a different search tool.
Search.htheweathercenter.co virus is a browser-hijacking software that takes control of homepage, new tab and of course default search settings. It seeks to force the victim use Search.htheweathercenter.co search, which mostly provides ads.
Browser hijackers are distributed in tandem with free software
If you think that browser hijackers infect computers illegally using malware distribution strategies, you are wrong. In reality, browser hijacking software can be found in various freeware packs as an additional component.
If you do not want to plant spyware on your computer accidentally, choose Custom or Advanced software installation settings at all times. These settings will reveal all extra components bundled with your download and allow dropping them off. Usually, all that it takes to get rid of them is removing the checkmark next to suggestions to install them alongside your chosen software.
Many users rely on Standard/Default software installation settings because these are provided as “recommended” ones. Do not trust these installation options only because the installer itself presents these as preferable ones to you. They are full of agreements you may want to review first.
Delete Search.htheweathercenter.co hijacker from your PC
To keep your PC safe and sound, remove Search.htheweathercenter.co virus right now. However, you must decide how do you want to do it. At this point, you have two options – delete the spyware program manually or go for the automatic removal option. The manual Search.htheweathercenter.co removal guide is provided below the article.
In case you are not interested in manual hijacker’s removal instructions and you want to perform its removal professionally, consider installing one of the suggested programs. Do not forget to update it before performing a system scan with it.
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.htheweathercenter.co virus. Follow these steps
Uninstall from Windows
If you can't find the program that's responsible for causing never-ending redirects to Search.htheweathercenter.co site, use instructions we provided. If you can't find any suspicious programs to uninstall, jump to the next part of this tutorial and start fixing each of your web browsers carefully.
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)
Find The Weather Center extension in Firefox and delete it.
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
- Open Google Chrome.
- Go to Extensions Tab.
- Here, delete The Weather Center extension.
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.htheweathercenter.co 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
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.
- ^ How to eliminate browser hijackers. NoVirus. Malware Removal Tutorials, Cyber Security News.
- ^ Joanna Geary. Tracking the trackers: What are cookies? An introduction to web tracking. The Guardian - Technology. Latest Technology News, Comment and Analysis.