Skip to content
  • Active
  • Severity: High
  • Stealing programs
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Dec 2017

How to remove Search.htrackmyflight.co virus

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.htrackmyflight.co – a misleading search engine that cannot help you book your flight

Screenshot of Search.htrackmyflight.co

Search.htrackmyflight.co is a deceptive search engine created by Polarity Ltd. The company is known for releasing EasySpeedTest virusSearch.watchsportslive.co, Search.hplayfreemusic.co virus, and tens of other Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs). 

Book My Flight is promoted as a very convenient search engine providing links to websites that can help you book the flight or a hotel, track the flight, rent a car, etc. However, as soon as it is added to the browser, Search.htrackmyflight.co virus starts collecting information[1] related to user's internet browsing activity. Typically, the information collected by such browser hijackers is considered to be non-personal. However, the Privacy Policy of this virus claims the opposite:

Polarity does not, generally, track or maintain personally identifiable information about consumers that use our Services. However, we may collect personally-identifiable information through the use of our Services upon your contacting us so that we may respond to your questions or comments, such as your name, email or mailing address, or other information you include when contacting us. 

Keep in mind that revealing such information to unknown parties is a very dangerous activity as you cannot know what are their aims. You cannot be sure that the information collected thru Book My Flight won't be used for tricking you into revealing your financial data and finally stealing your money. 

Besides, Search.htrackmyflight.co can easily modify the settings of your web browsers by changing the default search engine, the homepage and/or the new tab page. In this case, you may discover that each of your searches ends up on an unknown site. If these redirects have been bothering you for a while, don't waste your time and remove Search.htrackmyflight.co before it leads you to the infiltration of other malware.[2] For that, you can use FortectIntego.

Additional problems caused by Book My Flight

We should also add that Search.htrackmyflight.co, just like other deceptive search engines, adds in-text ads or pop-up ads to your favorite websites. For that, it uses a virtual layer which helps it make these modifications without their owners' approval. Beware that clicking these ads is not recommended as they can redirect you to potentially dangerous websites.

To sum up, Book My Flight must be considered as a serious threat as it tracks your searches, collects personal information and causes redirects to suspicious domains. If you are interested in preventing it on your browser, make sure you double check programs before downloading them to your computer. To know more, check the second paragraph.

If you came to this post to know more about Search.htrackmyflight.co removal, proceed to the end. Here, you will find manual removal guidelines and programs that can help you get rid of this virus automatically. Keep in mind that, despite the fact that browser extensions are usually designed to enhance users' experience on the web, they can act like viruses and initiate unwanted activities on the system. 

Image of Search.htrackmyflight.co virus

Preventing browser hijackers on the system

To prevent a browser hijacker, an adware-type program and similar PUPs, you must keep in mind that you should visit popular download websites with carefulness because their aim is to collect the income. Typically, they do this by using free software which is filled with optional components. These hidden components can hardly be seen if you opt for Quick or Recommended installation option of the freeware.

To prevent them, you need to select either Advanced or Custom installation modes that can help you find additional software components, including hijackers and adware. Then, you should find all offers to change your start page or the default search engine and decline them by unchecking the pre-checked check mark. 

Search.htrackmyflight.co removal from the system

Browser hijackers are not hard to remove manually. Thus, you can remove Search.htrackmyflight.co by following our prepared guide below. You will have to uninstall suspicious programs, files and browser extensions. Additionally, you should reset each of the browsers to make sure that any invisible entries were not left.

However, researchers from udenvirus.dk[3] note that users often rush to complete Search.htrackmyflight.co removal and overlook some hijacker-related entries. As a result, once they reboot the system, the hijacker shows up on the homepage again. Thus, to avoid this unpleasant mistake, you should opt for the automatic elimination option.

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

Be the first to comment

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.