SmartShopSave.com – the PUP appearing on the browser instead of the startup page

SmartShopSave is a browser hijacker, which has some features of an adware. It is also assigned to the potentially unwanted programs' (PUP) category. This program is ad-supported, which means that third-party companies sponsor it. Therefore, it functions to advertise them and seeks to increase web traffic to their websites.
Let's make everything clear: this program can hijack a user's systems without their knowledge. Once it enters your system, it will replace your browser's main page with SmartShopSave.com. It looks like a regular search engine; however, it is a modified search engine, because it does not show relevant results.
The outcomes are going to be infected with hyperlinks that will lead you to unreliable sites; so if you have a SmartShopSave hijacker on your system, you may experience SmartShopSave redirects. If you happen to be transferred to an unfamiliar website, ignore any offers to install free programs or software updates – in most cases, such offers actually seek to spread infectious files.
Moreover, it is a well-known fact that SmartShopSave can collect information about a user's activity online. It can track:
- your browsing history,
- downloads,
- search terms entered,
- most viewed sites,
- and so on.
As a result, it decides what kind of content may look interesting for you and starts to display intrusive shopping-related ads during your time on the Internet. So whenever you use your web browser, whether it is Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer, you will receive quite a big number of pop-ups. You may also see ads that can appear as banners or in-text links.
These misleading advertisements work exactly the same as SmartShopSave.com search results – they commonly redirect users to questionable websites. If you do not want to experience such redirects, you should install an anti-malware application. It is a professional program type that can scan your system and find infectious files. Of course, it will eliminate them immediately.
As for the issues that SmartShopSave itself can create – try FortectIntego or a similar optimization tool, PC repair program. These tools can repair the damage that infections cause on the machine when processes get launched in the background.
Methods used to spread PUPs
If you are wondering how could SmartShopSave hijack your computer, you should know that this application is circulating around the web attached to other freeware or shareware. It is so because SmartShopSave is spread via bundling method; it allows to attach potentially unwanted programs to legitimate ones and distribute them together.
So you should take note that it is very important to be careful when installing new applications in your system. You should NOT rush through the installation process by clicking the ''next'' or ''agree'' buttons all the time. Please be mindful and pay attention to the most important step of the installation – settings.
Do not choose ''standard,'' ''basic'' or ''default'' installation modes, because these options, which may look safe at the first sight, usually conceal the agreements to install optional downloads. Therefore, you can install PUPs without realizing it. This is why you have to choose ''advanced'' or ''custom'' installation settings. These settings allow you to review extra attachments and refuse to install them.
Removing SmartShopSave virus from the machine
As you can see, it is a hardly beneficial program. You should use a reliable search engine instead of this one, and you should also look for decent shopping deals on reliable websites. We advise you to remove the SmartShopSave virus.
It can be easily done with a help of the anti-malware tool. However, you can also delete the SmartShopSave PUP using the removal instructions below this report. Follow the steps and permanently eliminate this browser hijacker.
Uninstall from Windows
Uninstall from Windows 10/8:
- Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.

Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:
- Click on Windows Start > Control Panel (Windows XP users should click on Add/Remove Programs).
- In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.

Remove the unwanted program:
- In the Programs and Features window, look for any recently installed suspicious entries, select them, and click Uninstall.
- If User Account Control appears, click Yes to confirm, then complete the removal.

Delete from macOS
Remove the unwanted application:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).

Delete leftover files and folders:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
- Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.

- Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.
Reset Internet Explorer
Remove dangerous add-ons:
- Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
- Pick Manage Add-ons.
- You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.

Change your homepage if it was altered:
- Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
- Select Internet Options.
- In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
- Click Apply and then select OK.

Delete temporary files:
- Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
- Under Browsing history, click Delete...
- Select relevant fields and press Delete.

Reset Internet Explorer:
- Click on Gear icon > Internet options and select Advanced tab.
- Select Reset.
- In the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset.

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 Remove.

Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- 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.

Restore new tab and homepage settings:
- Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
- Then find On startup section.
- Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.
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.

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.
- This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
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 the unwanted extension and click Remove.

Reset the homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Settings.
- Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.
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 and Temporary cached files and pages, then click 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 suspicious extensions 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 dangerous extensions:
- Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
- Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.

Clear history and website data:
- Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
- Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.

Reset Safari:
- Click Safari in the menu and select Preferences > Advanced.
- Enable Show Develop menu in menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop and select Empty Caches.

Did this guide help?
5 comments
rose
It is awful, and I do not know how to get rid of this annoying program. Why it is so complicated to remove it?
AlbertDiazo
Thats a dangerous threat. Once you get it on your system, youll regret being so careless. DO NOT INSTALL IT
jayZonmyfeet
Yo how do I uninstall it? I have deleted the extensions and the program, but I do not know how to clean the shortcuts. Any help from another user? It is so annoying please answer me, someone!
to jayZonmyfeet
If you cant remove SmartShopSave virus by yourself, so why dont you use anti-spyware? Ive removed this add-on by myself. It was quite easy using the above guidelines. Have you seen them? Or just simply did what you thought should be done?
Drizzzzy
Try SpyHnter and forget your problems, girl!