Search.trackmyflight.co virus (Tutorial) - Free Guide
Search.trackmyflight.co virus Removal Guide
What is Search.trackmyflight.co virus?
Reasons why you should not use Search.trackmyflight.co search engine
Search.trackmyflight.co is a flight-themed search engine created by Polarity Technologies. This browser hijacker spreads with Track My Flight application. However, it might also hijack Chrome, Firefox, Explorer or Safari with the help of other freeware or shareware.[1]
After the Search.trackmyflight.co hijack, users will find their homepage, search engine or/and new tab URL address changes with a new domain. The main page looks like regular search tool. However, it includes a toolbar with links to flight booking and tracking, car rental, airport parking and hotel booking services.
If you travel a lot, these features might look handy. However, you should not install this TrackMyFlight application and do not tolerate changed default search engine. Both of them are potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) that should be eliminated immediately. The main reasons why you should remove search.trackmyflight.co:
- setting its domain as the startup page without asking your direct permission,
- redirecting search queries to Yahoo and preventing from using another search provider,
- delivery of third-party ads,
- data tracking.
Once the Search.trackmyflight.co virus enters the system, it makes several modifications in order to prevent users from setting their preferred homepage and search engine. It’s necessary because hijacker wants to control your browsing habits and display targeted ads or links.
It seems that authors of the hijacker participate in Yahoo affiliate programs; thus, when you click of one of the top sponsored search links, you give some money for the developers. However, it’s not the only way how developers make money.
The hijacker is capable of displaying ads on visited websites, and you might be interested to click them. Why? According to the Search.trackmyflight.co Privacy Policy, the program collects a bunch of information about you which allows knowing your interests. Based on this information, the PUP displays targeted ads that often are encouraging. Once you click, you bring a little sum of money for the developers.
However, ads may lead to potentially dangerous or misleading websites. Therefore, you should stay away in order to avoid being attacked by cyber criminals.[2] What is more, you should get back control over your browser. For that, you need to perform Search.trackmyflight.co removal with the help of FortectIntego or another anti-malware.
Search.trackmyflight.co virus might hijack all popular web browsers and force to use its search services.
Hijacker’s distribution relies on bundling
We have told in the beginning that this search engine might show up on your browser after installation of the Track My Flight application. However, this app usually spreads in software bundles. Thus, incorrect installation of freeware might result in the hijacked browser.
In order to avoid PUPs and their caused problems, you should choose Advanced/Custom installation settings instead of Quick/Standard. Advanced settings show the list of additional programs. Usually, they are pre-selected. Thus, in order to stop their entrance, you have to unmark the ticks.
American users have the biggest chance to catch this cyber infection. However, users from Spain,[3] Norway, and other European countries found this suspicious search engine on their browsers too.
Two methods to remove Search.trackmyflight.co virus
Search.trackmyflight.co removal can be removed either manually or automatically. Both methods are effective. However, the first one might be slightly complicated. However, our presented instructions below the article should help you to delete all suspicious components from the PC and web browsers.
However, if you want to save your time, you should opt for the automatic elimination option. What is more, we recommend getting rid of the hijacker automatically for those users who do not have high computer skills. In order to remove Search.trackmyflight.co automatically, you have to employ a reputable security software and scan the system.
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.trackmyflight.co virus. Follow these steps
Uninstall from Windows
Follow the instructions to remove Search.trackmyflight.co browser hijacker manually.
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
If your browser has been hijacked, you have to follow these steps and get rid of it:
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
After the hijack, you have to reset Microsoft Edge in order to set your preferred search engine and homepage.
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)
From Mozilla's extensions remove suspicious entries that might be related to Search.trackmyflight.co. Then, reset the browser as shown below.
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
Various extensions or toolbars might be installed to Google Chrome. One of them might be Track My Flight applications. Uninstall them all and reset the browser. Then you should be able to delete Search.trackmyflight.co.
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
These instructions will help you to clean hijacker-related entries from the 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.trackmyflight.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
Access your website securely from any location
When you work on the domain, site, blog, or different project that requires constant management, content creation, or coding, you may need to connect to the server and content management service more often. The best solution for creating a tighter network could be a dedicated/fixed IP address.
If you make your IP address static and set to your device, you can connect to the CMS from any location and do not create any additional issues for the server or network manager that needs to monitor connections and activities. VPN software providers like Private Internet Access can help you with such settings and offer the option to control the online reputation and manage projects easily from any part of the world.
Recover files after data-affecting malware attacks
While much of the data can be accidentally deleted due to various reasons, malware is one of the main culprits that can cause loss of pictures, documents, videos, and other important files. More serious malware infections lead to significant data loss when your documents, system files, and images get encrypted. In particular, ransomware is is a type of malware that focuses on such functions, so your files become useless without an ability to access them.
Even though there is little to no possibility to recover after file-locking threats, some applications have features for data recovery in the system. In some cases, Data Recovery Pro can also help to recover at least some portion of your data after data-locking virus infection or general cyber infection.