Remove Search.ssoextension.com virus (Tutorial) - Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge
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 ReimageIntego. 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.
Search.ssoextension.com browser hijacker might be installed with the help of freeware and cause chaos on web browsers.
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.
You may remove virus damage with a help of ReimageIntego. 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.
To remove Search.ssoextension.com virus, follow these steps:
Get rid of Search.ssoextension.com from Windows systems
Manual removal guidelines are presented below. Please follow the carefully.
To remove Search.ssoextension.com virus from Windows 10/8 machines, please follow these steps:
- 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 entries related to Search.ssoextension.com virus (or any other recently installed 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.
Remove Search.ssoextension.com from Mac OS X system
If your macOS is displaying some infection symptoms, proceed with the following guide:
Remove Search.ssoextension.com virus from Applications folder:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for Search.ssoextension.com virus-related entries.
- Click on the app and drag it to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash)
To fully remove Search.ssoextension.com virus, 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 related to Search.ssoextension.com virus and then delete them.
- Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the Search.ssoextension.com virus-related entries.
Eliminate Search.ssoextension.com from Internet Explorer (IE)
In order to get rid of Search.ssoextension.com, you have to uninstall suspicious add-ons and 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 Search.ssoextension.com virus and other 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 again to complete Search.ssoextension.com virus removal.
Delete Search.ssoextension.com virus from Microsoft Edge
Follow the steps below to remove hijacker-related entries from the computer and fix Microsoft Edge after the hijack.
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 Search.ssoextension.com virus-related 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.
Reset MS Edge if that 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 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.
Uninstall Search.ssoextension.com from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
Open the list of Firefox extensions and look up for suspicious entries that might be related to Search.ssoextension.com virus. Uninstall them and reset the browser.
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 plugins that are related to Search.ssoextension.com virus and click Remove.
Clear cookies and site data:
- Click Menu and pick Options.
- 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.
In case Search.ssoextension.com virus did not get removed after following the instructions above, 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 – this should complete Search.ssoextension.com virus removal.
Erase Search.ssoextension.com from Google Chrome
These instructions will help you to get rid of all hijacker-related components from 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 the suspicious plugins that might be related to Search.ssoextension.com virus 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.
If the above-methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the Search.ssoextension.com virus-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 to complete Search.ssoextension.com virus removal.
Get rid of Search.ssoextension.com from Safari
Remove unwanted extensions from Safari:
- Click Safari > Preferences…
- In the new window, pick Extensions.
- Select the unwanted extension related to Search.ssoextension.com virus 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.ssoextension.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: ReimageIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes.
Choose a proper web browser and improve your safety with a VPN tool
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- ^ Vangie Beal. PUP - potentially unwanted program. Webopedia. Online Tech Dictionary for IT Professionals.
- ^ Pre-installed software. Wikipedia. The free encyclopedia.
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