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  • Active
  • Severity: High
  • Stealing programs
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Mar 2016

How to remove Search.top-arama.com

A step-by-step removal guide for affected devices. Follow the verified procedure below — most readers complete it in under 10 minutes.

Julie Splinters · Anti-malware specialist

Why do I need to deal with Search.top-arama.com virus?

Search.top-arama.com virus (or Top Arama virus) is, actually, a browser hijacker, which is capable of infiltrating computers unnoticed. Once it does that, it hijacks each of web browsers that are installed on the system. As a result, you may start seeing this page instead of Google, Yahoo and similar search engines. While technically this program is far from malware, it has been “rewarded” with several capabilities that look suspicious. Firstly, it may collect required information behind your back. In most of the cases, such programs are interested in people’s search terms, mostly visited sites, their email address, computer’s location, and similar data. This information is typically transferred to the developers of this search engine and unknown parties. The second negative thing that we must warn you about is Search.top-arama.com redirect issue. Beware that this search engine may show you altered search results that can be filled with third-party links and sponsored ads. After clicking any of them, you may find yourself on an unknown website. In most of the cases, this technique is used to promote these websites and help them increase their page rank. Nevertheless, these third parties may rely on this technique for trying to redirect people to malicious websites as well. To prevent malicious viruses from unknown domains, you should remove Search.top-arama.com virus from your computer.

An example of Search.top-arama.com redirect virus

How could I install Top Arama virus on my computer without knowing this?

Top Arama virus is one of the hundreds of search engines that spread with the help of bundling. Of course, you can find this search engine on the Internet and install it on your computer voluntarily, but we do not recommend as it is a widely known browser hijacker. According to security experts, this search provider seeks to boost traffic to affiliate websites. That’s why it may show you altered search results and different pop-up ads during your search sessions. To prevent the appearance of this program, you should know that it may hide in various free software as an optional component. Typically, Search.top-arama.com hijack is noticed after installing download managers, PDF creators, video streaming software and similar program. If you want to avoid that, you need to pay attention to the Privacy Policy and End User’s License Agreement of such programs. If you can find suspicious statements about optional components, you should look for another freeware. Also, make sure that you select either Custom or Advanced installation mode and uncheck those statements saying that you want to change your start page or the default search engine to this page. If you have already realized that Search.top-arama.com virus is inside your browser, you should think about the removal of this search engine. Please, do NOT use it as it may track you while you are browsing the web, analyze browsing-related information and then cause continuous redirects to unreliable websites. To prevent these problems, the best option that you have is to choose an automatic Search.top-arama.com removal using FortectIntego.

How to remove Top Arama virus?

The success of Search.top-arama.com removal depends on the method that you apply. If you seek to remove potentially unwanted programs easily and quickly, we highly recommend doing that with the help of a trusted anti-malware. However, you can also remove Search.top-arama.com manually. To do that, you will have to find the plug-in, which may be named something like Top Arama, and remove it. After that, open Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer one by one and remove Search.top-arama.com from their settings.

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.

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

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