Searchincognito.com virus (Removal Instructions) - Oct 2018 update
Searchincognito.com virus Removal Guide
What is Searchincognito.com virus?
Searchincognito.com is a redirect virus that leads your online searches to questionable websites instead of improving your privacy
Searchincognito.com is a cyber infection that distributes during insecure freeware installations.
Searchincognito.com is a questionable search engine that infiltrates the system without users' consent. The website appears on the affected browser as a homepage and the default search engine in the form of useful search provider offering incognito searches. Nevertheless, this is a browser hijacker causing more problems than help. The existence of this program on the computer significantly affects the general performance of your device and causes constant redirects to unseen websites. Additionally, this potentially unwanted program[1] can install its dubious extensions, browser helper objects, and similar components used to track users and protect this hijacker from elimination. To sum up, there is no need to trust Search Incognito virus and keep it on the system.
Name | Searchincognito.com |
---|---|
Type | Browser hijacker |
Category | Potentially unwanted program |
Affects | Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome |
Symptoms | Delivers constant ads, redirects to affiliated sites and installs dubious tools or extensions |
Distribution | Bundled with freeware |
Elimination | Use FortectIntego for general system cleaning and damage repair |
As you can see, Searchincognito.com is ready for everything. Once it collects a needed amount of data about your search queries[2] to predict your interests, it starts producing promotional content. So, you should treat its search results with carefulness because they can lead you to suspicious Internet sites that might promote dubious software or infectious files.
Finally, it can bombard you with tons of advertisements that can show up in the form of banners, in-text links, and pop-up ads. These ads also include direct links that can end you up on unreliable web sources.
You should look out for commercial content that:
- promotes suspicious software or tools;
- displays the same content over and over again;
- has “provided by Search incognito” or similar statement;
- delivered by the same publisher all the time;
- injects the sites that you commonly use and visit.
These advertisements may contain malicious material or initiate installs of browser extensions, tools, bookmarks or toolbars. Any additional application affects the performance even more and dimish your time online significantly. You need to remove Searchincognito.com before it has affected your computer.
The safest way to deal with this PUP is to get rid of it. Fortunately, for performing Searchincognito.com removal steps on the PC, you need to be very attentive while following removal steps that are listed below. You should also repair virus damage after the elimination with FortectIntego.
Searchincognito.com virus is a potentially unwanted program that affects the performance of your browser by delivering tons of advertisements.
Software bundles hide PUPs during installations
In most of the occasions, such doubtful applications slither into PC systems together with free apps or software, such as various players, download managers, PDF creators, converters and similar software. Some PC users tend to skip through the installation process of such programs very quickly and make a huge mistake. Be mindful and forget clicking the “Next” button while trying to install something on your computer.
Researchers[3] note that you should never install programs in a rush. Make sure you read the privacy policy before installing freeware and pay attention to every installation stage. If any of them is automatically set to change your start page and the default search engine, you should uncheck such check mark.
Also, stay away from “basic,” “standard” or “default” installation settings because they can trick you into adding optional software to the system. Instead of these options, you should select “Advanced” or “Custom” installation mode. If you have already been suffering from redirect issue and unwanted ads on your browser, we highly recommend following instructions below.
You should remove Searchincognito.com as soon as possible
Any virus removal can be performed manually or automatically. If you are an experienced computer user, these instructions below the article will help you to uninstall this PUP on your own. If not, we suggest installing an anti-spyware program to remove Searchincognito.com with each of its entries automatically.
Keep in mind that you shouldn't trust its search results that are supposed to redirect people to sponsored websites. Besides, keeping in mind its ability to track users and collect non-personal information, you should think twice before using it for staying “incognito” online. You should perform a Searchincognito.com removal because your system might have additional cyber intruders.
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 Searchincognito.com virus. Follow these steps
Uninstall from Windows
If you are trying to uninstall Searchincognito.com virus manually, you need to uninstall all entries that belong to this browser hijacker:
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)
To uninstall the virus from Firefox, you need to remove other add-ons that belong to the same developer:
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
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.
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 Searchincognito.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: FortectIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes.
How to prevent from getting stealing programs
Choose a proper web browser and improve your safety with a VPN tool
Online spying has got momentum in recent years and people are getting more and more interested in how to protect their privacy online. One of the basic means to add a layer of security – choose the most private and secure web browser. Although web browsers can't grant full privacy protection and security, some of them are much better at sandboxing, HTTPS upgrading, active content blocking, tracking blocking, phishing protection, and similar privacy-oriented features. However, if you want true anonymity, we suggest you employ a powerful Private Internet Access VPN – it can encrypt all the traffic that comes and goes out of your computer, preventing tracking completely.
Lost your files? Use data recovery software
While some files located on any computer are replaceable or useless, others can be extremely valuable. Family photos, work documents, school projects – these are types of files that we don't want to lose. Unfortunately, there are many ways how unexpected data loss can occur: power cuts, Blue Screen of Death errors, hardware failures, crypto-malware attack, or even accidental deletion.
To ensure that all the files remain intact, you should prepare regular data backups. You can choose cloud-based or physical copies you could restore from later in case of a disaster. If your backups were lost as well or you never bothered to prepare any, Data Recovery Pro can be your only hope to retrieve your invaluable files.
- ^ Potentially unwanted program. Wikipedia. The free encyclopedia.
- ^ Elisa Gabbert. Keywords vs. search queries: what's the difference?. Wordstream. Online advertising and search marketing.
- ^ Ioys. Ioys. Spyware news.