Search.testmyspeeds.co virus (Removal Instructions) - Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge
Search.testmyspeeds.co virus Removal Guide
What is Search.testmyspeeds.co virus?
Why does my browser open Search.testmyspeeds.co search engine automatically?
Search.testmyspeeds.co virus can appear in your web browser and start disturbing you on a daily basis. This application by Polarity Technologies, Ltd. is ranked as a potentially unwanted program (PUP) and a browser hijacker[1], therefore it falls into spyware[2] category. Once installed, it might start collecting your search queries, track websites that you visit, find out your IP address and other small bits of information that it later processes, summarizes and transfers to a remote server. Later on, such information can be used to select certain third-party ads to show you. These ads typically appear in between organic[3] search results, but may be shown in pop-up ads and banners as well. If you care about your PC and your privacy, we recommend you to remove Search.testmyspeeds.co hijacker without any hesitations because it is clear that it infiltrated your computer system only to deliver you annoying third-party content. As we said, ads by Test My Speeds will be incorporated in search results each time you try to find information online. Be aware of this hijacker’s ability to modify results by all search engines, and not only those brought by its own Search.testmyspeeds.co search. To successfully complete Search.testmyspeeds.co removal we recommend choosing legitimate and trustworthy anti-spyware programs like FortectIntego or SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner.
This is the search engine that Search.testmyspeeds.co virus promotes. If it manages to infect the computer system, you will see this page each time you open Chrome or another web browser.
Annoyance is not the only difficulty that this browser hijacker causes. We wouldn’t even call this program as potentially unwanted one if the ads that it displays weren’t so suspicious. Some of them can unexpectedly cause redirects to highly suspicious websites instead of pointing you to secure Internet pages providing promised deals. This browser hijacker helps its developers generate pay-per-click[4] profit by continuously making you visit affiliate websites, and we do not think that you should tolerate such activity. Therefore, we strongly recommend you remove the hijacker and all of its components right away.
How does this program hijack computer systems unnoticed?
Search.testmyspeeds.co hijack affects computer systems that are unprotected. Using a good anti-malware or anti-spyware program, you can ward off the majority of potentially unwanted programs and viruses. However, if you do not have such security software and you do not plan to obtain one, you can educate yourself on how to prevent installing potentially unwanted software unknowingly. Such programs are mostly distributed via software bundling technique, which allows packing a couple of programs together. When installing a software bundle, it seems that you’re dealing with a single program, however, if you opened Custom or Advanced installation setup settings, you would notice several suggestions to install additional software[5]. These suggestions are pre-selected, so your task is to deselect them.
What is the right way to remove browser hijackers from the system?
Annoying redirects, browser slowdowns, and other problems are not expected when installing new computer programs, and we believe that you either installed the described browser hijacker accidentally or willing that it can provide some useful features. If you no longer want to keep it in your system, we advise you to remove Search.testmyspeeds.co virus with anti-spyware or anti-malware programs. You can try to find and remove the hijacker manually, too – just use instructions given in the Search.testmyspeeds.co removal guide below.
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.testmyspeeds.co virus. Follow these steps
Uninstall from Windows
Look through given guidelines carefully. You should look for programs that you cannot remember installing and delete them according to these instructions. You should be looking for Test My Speeds software.
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 and eliminate Test My Speeds add-on from Firefox.
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
You have to delete Test My Speeds extension as well as other suspicious extensions 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 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.testmyspeeds.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
Protect your privacy – employ a VPN
There are several ways how to make your online time more private – you can access an incognito tab. However, there is no secret that even in this mode, you are tracked for advertising purposes. There is a way to add an extra layer of protection and create a completely anonymous web browsing practice with the help of Private Internet Access VPN. This software reroutes traffic through different servers, thus leaving your IP address and geolocation in disguise. Besides, it is based on a strict no-log policy, meaning that no data will be recorded, leaked, and available for both first and third parties. The combination of a secure web browser and Private Internet Access VPN will let you browse the Internet without a feeling of being spied or targeted by criminals.
No backups? No problem. Use a data recovery tool
If you wonder how data loss can occur, you should not look any further for answers – human errors, malware attacks, hardware failures, power cuts, natural disasters, or even simple negligence. In some cases, lost files are extremely important, and many straight out panic when such an unfortunate course of events happen. Due to this, you should always ensure that you prepare proper data backups on a regular basis.
If you were caught by surprise and did not have any backups to restore your files from, not everything is lost. Data Recovery Pro is one of the leading file recovery solutions you can find on the market – it is likely to restore even lost emails or data located on an external device.
- ^ How to Prevent Browser Hijacking. Lifewire. Tech Untangled.
- ^ Classification. F-Secure. Knowledge base.
- ^ The Difference Between Organic and Paid Search Engine Results. dummies. Learning Made Easy.
- ^ Pay-per-click. Wikipedia. The Free Encyclopedia.
- ^ How to Avoid Installing Junk Programs When Downloading Free Software. How-To Geek. For Geeks, By Geeks.