Search.yofitofix.com virus. How to remove? (Uninstall guide)
Search.yofitofix.com should not be your default search engine
Search.yofitofix.com is presented as a useful and legit search engine. However, it is developed by a company that specializes in Mac software distribution and successful installation. Therefore, this program is used for promoting various apps for Mac users.
So-called Search.yofitofix.com virus works as a browser hijacker. This type of potentially unwanted program (PUP) spreads in software packages and might sneak inside the device unnoticed. Nevertheless, hijackers often cause problems to Windows OS users; this time, PUP aims at Mac OS X devices.[1]
After the Search.yofitofix.com hijack, the application might:
- alter browser’s settings;
- set its domain as default search engine and homepage address;
- redirect to suspicious websites from search results page;
- deliver pop-ups, banners and other commercial content offering to download unknown software.
Finding unknown search engine set as default one might be a surprise you want to get rid of. However, you may not be able to remove Search.yofitofix.com easily due to its modifications to Safari, Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. However, letting it stay is also not recommended.
The possible threats are related to Search.yofitofix.com redirect problems. Once you click on a search result, you might be rerouted to an unknown and irrelevant website. However, this trickery is sneaky because the hijacker redirects search queries to legit Yahoo service. Though, if you want to use Yahoo search, you’d better set its domain as default yourself.
According to security specialists from Los Virus[2], the hijacker might redirect users to potentially dangerous websites or promote dangerous software. Developers of this tool generate pay-per-click revenue. Thus, they are interested only in forcing users to click ads and visiting affiliates’ websites. The problem is that they do not care about the credibility of their partners.
Besides, the program might also use cookies or other tracking technologies[3] to collect various information about users. Nevertheless, they collect non-personally identifiable information; aggregated data is shared with third-parties.
To avoid suspicious ads and stop data tracking, you should dedicate some time to Search.yofitofix.com removal. At the end of the article, you can find manual elimination guidelines. However, you can speed up this procedure with Reimage.
Click 'Start -> Control Panel -> Programs and Features' (if you are 'Windows XP' user, click on 'Add/Remove Programs').
If you are 'Windows 10 / Windows 8' user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once 'Quick Access Menu' shows up, select 'Control Panel' and 'Uninstall a Program'.
Right click on each of suspicious entries and select 'Uninstall'
Right click on browsers' icon and select 'Properties'
Select 'Shortcut' tab and delete 'http://isearch.babylon.com...' or other suspicious URL
Cick 'Go' and select 'Applications'
Click on every malicious entry and select 'Move to Trash'
Click on menu icon and select 'Manage add-ons'
Right click on each of malicious entries and select 'Disable'
Delete malicious URL, enter your desired domain name and click 'Apply' to save changes
Go to 'Advanced' tab and click on 'Reset' button. Now select 'Delete personal settings' and click on 'Reset' button again
Go to Settings and select 'Choose what to clear'
Select 'Clear' button
Open the start menu and select 'Task Manager'
Right-click 'Microsoft Edge' and select 'Go to details'
Select 'More details' if 'Go to details' option fails to show up
Find Microsoft Edge entries and select 'End Task'
Go to Microsoft Edge folder on your computer, right-click every entry and click 'Delete'
Find Windows PowerShell, right-click it and select 'Run as administrator'
Copy and paste a required command and press 'Enter'
Click on menu icon and select 'Add-ons'
Select 'Extensions' and look for malicious entries. Click 'Remove' to get rid of each of them
When in 'General' tab, delete malicious URL from 'Home Page' section or click on 'Restore to Default' button. Click 'OK' to save changes
Click on menu icon and then on '?'. Select 'Troubleshooting Information'
Click on 'Reset Firefox' button for a couple of times
Click on menu icon. Select 'Tools' and 'Extensions'
Look for malicious entries and delete each of them by clicking on the Trash bin icon
After clicking on menu and 'Settings', select 'Set pages'
Click 'X' to remove malicious URLs
When in 'Settings', select 'Manage search engines...'
Click 'X' to remove malicious URLs
When in 'Settings', scroll down to 'Reset browser settings' button and click on it
Click on 'Reset' button to complete your removal
Click on 'Safari' and select 'Preferences'
Go to 'Extensions' and uninstall malicious add-ons
When in 'General', delete malicious URL and enter your desired domain name
Click on 'Safari' and select 'Reset Safari...'
Select all options and click on 'Reset' button
Install apps correctly to avoid unwanted changes in the browser
Search.yofitofix.com is promoted in various freeware or shareware packages. Thus, when installing new programs, you have to make sure that you do not agree to change your default search engine or install unknown programs. For this reason, you should:
- Use Advanced/Custom installation settings instead of Quick/Recommended.
- Read Terms of Use and EULA.
- Unmark all pre-selected programs that are offered to download with a primary one.
- Uncheck pre-selected agreements to change your search engine.
Rescue your browser from Search.yofitofix.com virus
It’s not hard to uninstall browser hijacker. You have to check your applications and move to Trash suspicious entries. Then, do the same with all web browsers installed on your Mac. It means you have to get rid of all unknown browser extensions and reset the browser to remove Search.yofitofix.com hijacker entirely.
The instructions below will guide you through this procedure. However, you can choose automatic Search.yofitofix.com removal method and perform a system scan with anti-malware. After the system, reset the browsers and continue browsing the web without distractions.
You can remove virus damage automatically with a help of one of these programs: Reimage, SpyHunterCombo Cleaner, Malwarebytes Malwarebytes. We recommend these applications because they detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.
To remove Search.yofitofix.com virus, follow these steps:
Delete Search.yofitofix.com from Windows systems
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Click Start → Control Panel → Programs and Features (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
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If you are Windows 10 / Windows 8 user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once Quick Access Menu shows up, select Control Panel and Uninstall a Program.
- Uninstall Search.yofitofix.com and related programs
Here, look for Search.yofitofix.com or any other recently installed suspicious programs. -
Uninstall them and click OK to save these changes.
- Remove Search.yofitofix.com from Windows shortcuts
Right click on the shortcut of Mozilla Firefox and select Properties. -
Go to Shortcut tab and look at the Target field. Delete malicious URL that is related to your virus.
Repeat steps that are given above with all browsers' shortcuts, including Internet Explorer and Google Chrome. Make sure you check all locations of these shortcuts, including Desktop, Start Menu and taskbar.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariUninstall Search.yofitofix.com from Mac OS X system
Follow these steps to remove all apps that might be related to Search.yofitofix.com:
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If you are using OS X, click Go button at the top left of the screen and select Applications.
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Wait until you see Applications folder and look for Search.yofitofix.com or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash.
Remove Search.yofitofix.com from Internet Explorer (IE)
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Remove dangerous add-ons
Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top right corner of the browser and choose Manage Add-ons. -
You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for Search.yofitofix.com and other suspicious plugins. Disable these entries by clicking Disable:
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Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Click on the gear icon (menu) on the top right corner of the browser and select Internet Options. Stay in General tab. -
Here, remove malicious URL and enter preferable domain name. Click Apply to save changes.
-
Reset Internet Explorer
Click on the gear icon (menu) again and select Internet options. Go to Advanced tab. - Here, select Reset.
-
When in the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset again to complete Search.yofitofix.com removal.
Eliminate Search.yofitofix.com virus from Microsoft Edge
Reset Microsoft Edge settings (Method 1):
- Launch Microsoft Edge app and click More (three dots at the top right corner of the screen).
- Click Settings to open more options.
-
Once Settings window shows up, click Choose what to clear button under Clear browsing data option.
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Here, select all what you want to remove and click Clear.
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Now you should right-click on the Start button (Windows logo). Here, select Task Manager.
- When in Processes tab, search for Microsoft Edge.
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Right-click on it and choose Go to details option. If can’t see Go to details option, click More details and repeat previous steps.
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When Details tab shows up, find every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right click on each of them and select End Task to end these entries.
Resetting Microsoft Edge browser (Method 2):
If Method 1 failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method.
- Note: you need to backup your data before using this method.
- Find this folder on your computer:
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe. -
Select every entry which is saved on it and right click with your mouse. Then Delete option.
- Click the Start button (Windows logo) and type in window power in Search my stuff line.
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Right-click the Windows PowerShell entry and choose Run as administrator.
- Once Administrator: Windows PowerShell window shows up, paste this command line after PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> and press Enter:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml -Verbose}
Once these steps are finished, Search.yofitofix.com should be removed from your Microsoft Edge browser.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariGet rid of Search.yofitofix.com from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
Check Firefox's extensions and uninstall unknown entries. Then reset the browser as shown below:
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Remove dangerous extensions
Open Mozilla Firefox, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Add-ons → Extensions. -
Here, select Search.yofitofix.com and other questionable plugins. Click Remove to delete these entries.
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Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Click on the menu (top right corner), choose Options → General. - Here, delete malicious URL and enter preferable website or click Restore to default.
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Click OK to save these changes.
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Reset Mozilla Firefox
Click on the Firefox menu on the top left and click on the question mark. Here, choose Troubleshooting Information. -
Now you will see Reset Firefox to its default state message with Reset Firefox button. Click this button for several times and complete Search.yofitofix.com removal.
Erase Search.yofitofix.com from Google Chrome
These instructions will help you to stop Search.yofitofix.com virus and remove it from Chrome:
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Delete malicious plugins
Open Google Chrome, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Tools → Extensions. -
Here, select Search.yofitofix.com and other malicious plugins and select trash icon to delete these entries.
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Change your homepage and default search engine if it was altered by your virus
Click on menu icon and choose Settings. -
Here, look for the Open a specific page or set of pages under On startup option and click on Set pages.
- Now you should see another window. Here, delete malicious search sites and enter the one that you want to use as your homepage.
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Click on menu icon again and choose Settings → Manage Search engines under the Search section.
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When in Search Engines..., remove malicious search sites. You should leave only Google or your preferred domain name.
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Reset Google Chrome
Click on menu icon on the top right of your Google Chrome and select Settings. -
Scroll down to the end of the page and click on Reset browser settings.
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Click Reset to confirm this action and complete Search.yofitofix.com removal.
Delete Search.yofitofix.com from Safari
Below you can see Safari reset guide that will help to get rid of the hijacker:
- Remove dangerous extensions
Open Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu at the top left of the screen. Once you do this, select Preferences. -
Here, select Extensions and look for Search.yofitofix.com or other suspicious entries. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid each of them.
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Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Open your Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu section. Here, select Preferences as it was displayed previously and select General. -
Here, look at the Homepage field. If it was altered by Search.yofitofix.com, remove unwanted link and enter the one that you want to use for your searches. Remember to include the "http://" before typing in the address of the page.
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Reset Safari
Open Safari browser and click on Safari in menu section at the top left of the screen. Here, select Reset Safari.... -
Now you will see a detailed dialog window filled with reset options. All of those options are usually checked, but you can specify which of them you want to reset. Click the Reset button to complete Search.yofitofix.com removal process.
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References
- ^ Justin Pot. I Think My Mac Has A Virus! 3 Ways You Can Tell. MakeUseOf. The website about technology and gadgets.
- ^ Los Virus. Los Virus. Cyber security news.
- ^ Joanna Geary. Tracking the trackers: What are cookies? An introduction to web tracking. The Guardian. Latest US and world news.
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