Search.ssoextension.com works as an advertising tool

Search.ssoextension.com is a browser hijacker that is promoted as a legitimate search engine. It might hijack your homepage after incorrect installation of free software and cause numerous negative features when browsing the Internet.
This potentially unwanted program (PUP)[1] is designed to take over the web browsers and take full control over them. The hijacker might alter Windows Registry, shortcuts and browser’s settings in order to run with system startup and prevent users from eliminating it.
Indeed, replacing this URL with your preferred one is not enough. In order to get back access to your browser, you need to locate and delete hijacker. However, it might be a complicated task because it might have installed numerous additional components in the system.
Thus, you may have to remove Search.ssoextension.com with the help of FortectIntego. Of course, you can use your preferred anti-malware to clean your computer and protect your PC from negative consequences.
The hijacker alters browser’s settings to display commercial content. It might deliver various types of online ads, initiate redirects and even modify search results.
Search.ssoextension.com works as an advertising tool. Instead of providing organic and relevant links on the results page, it might include useless sponsored links. Nevertheless, this activity is not beneficial to users; developers generate revenue by boosting traffic to particular sites.
What is more, the hijacker might use even more aggressive strategy to force users to visit affiliate's sites. It might initiate redirects to sponsored sites out of sudden. However, currently, hijacker has been spotted redirecting to its additional sites http://startup.ssoextension.com/, http://suggest.ssoextension.com/, and http://homepage.ssoextension.com/.
Since the appearance of this suspicious search tool, you might also notice an increased amount of online ads. Indeed, the hijacker helps to generate pay-per-click revenue for the developers by displaying many different ads.
However, you should not click any suspicious links or ads because they might hide dangers. They might redirect to potentially dangerous websites where you may suffer from various cyber crimes.
Thus, Search.ssoextension.com removal is recommended in order to minimize the risk of serious cyber attack and get back access to your browser.

Distribution of the browser hijacker
Developers of the Search.ssoextension.com use a traditional PUP distribution method – bundling. This technique allows adding hijacker in software packages.[2] Thus, when installing freeware or shareware, you have to be careful.
To avoid undesired apps, you have to choose “Advanced” or “Custom” settings. Attentively follow each of the steps and look up for the list of third-party programs. Once you discover it, untick all pre-selected entries.
Here, it’s important not to rush because you might overlook pre-selected agreement to make Search.ssoextension.com your default search engine.
Unfortunately, the majority of users rely on “Standard” or “Quick” installation wizard. It’s a huge mistake because these settings do not openly disclose about third-party software. As a result, all PUPs includes in a bundle are allowed to enter the system.
Thus, if you were wondering when Search.ssoextension.com hijack may have occurred, you should think about recently installed software. It may have brought it to the PC.
Terminate Search.ssoextension.com from the computer
There are two ways how you can remove Search.ssoextension.com entirely – manual and automatic.
The manual removal requires to dedicate a little bit of time and put some effort in order to get rid of all hijacker-related entries. By following instructions below, you will have to uninstall all suspicious programs from your PC and web browsers.
We recommend checking the instructions first. If they are clear, you should not have any difficulties with Search.ssoextension.com removal. Otherwise, you should opt for the second elimination option.
Uninstall from Windows
Uninstall from Windows 10/8:
- Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.

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

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

Delete from macOS
Remove the unwanted application:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).

Delete leftover files and folders:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
- Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.

- Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.
Reset Internet Explorer
Remove dangerous add-ons:
- Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
- Pick Manage Add-ons.
- You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.

Change your homepage if it was altered:
- Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
- Select Internet Options.
- In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
- Click Apply and then select OK.

Delete temporary files:
- Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
- Under Browsing history, click Delete...
- Select relevant fields and press Delete.

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

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 Remove.

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

Restore new tab and homepage settings:
- Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
- Then find On startup section.
- Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.
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.

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.
- This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.

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 the unwanted extension and click Remove.

Reset the homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Settings.
- Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.
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 and Temporary cached files and pages, then click 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
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 suspicious extensions 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 dangerous extensions:
- Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
- Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.

Clear history and website data:
- Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
- Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.

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

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