SpaceQuery “updates” users with multiple commercial offers

SpaceQuery.com seems to be an ordinary search tool designed by the company located in New York. Though the homepage of the website is not crowded with shady third-party access links, it does not qualify as a legitimate tool. In fact, due to the absence of a sufficient number of objective search results, the website is labeled as a browser hijacker. This infection is created to:
- direct users to specific sites
- display commercial offers
- offer programs and add-ons
Though the hijacker may not aggressively direct you to additional web pages, however, a SpaceQuery redirect might become a bothersome phenomenon. If you get redirected to this site regularly, remove SpaceQuery virus web scripts. If you are unsure how to do so, let FortectIntego do so for you.
A search engine or a tool of advertising?
While some PUPs tend to aggressively promote their activities and forcefully replace the default user’s browser, others are less troublesome.
Luckily, SpaceQuery does not belong to the latter group. It is commendable that it presents an explicit privacy policy and EULA. However, it underperforms as a search engine. It presets significantly fewer search engines. Despite what query you enter, on the right side of the panel, you may notice commercial offers related with your search entry. Despite what you look for, the commercial content will alter accordingly. In addition, users, who are concerned with privacy policy[1], might dislike the fact that the tool uses the non-personally identifiable information:
As a general rule, we do not share the information we collect from end-users with third- parties. However, IP addresses, unique software IDs, and search terms or phrases inputted in the browser address bar as queries by our end-users are transmitted to certain Partners with whom SpaceQuery has subcontracted to obtain Internet search results or other services in response to such search queries (such as Yahoo!, AskJeeves.com, Miva and others).
Since the browser threat fails to function as sufficient search tool, SpaceQuery.com removal might be a better solution.
Prevent browser hijacking
Luckily, browser hijackers are not so destructive as ransomware[2] or malware which often finds users by surprise. In fact, users often install them themselves or overlook it while installing a free application.
This hijacker does not offer to install its browser extension or app. SpaceQuery.com hijack is unlikely as well. You can find it on its official website.
There is also a possibility that you might be redirected to the domain due to the web scripts injected in sponsored domain. In order to prevent such infiltrations, some malware elimination tools offer you real-time protection against such redirect tendency.
Get rid of SpaceQuery quickly
If you are already bothered by constant redirects to the homepage of the hijacker, you can eliminate its web scripts simply by clearing browser data. Cyber security tool is a faster SpaceQuery removal option.
You might also find below manual instructions useful. If you carefully implement every step, you can successfully remove SpaceQuery.com virus from Internet Explorer, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari. Whether you live in Norway or in Spain[3], be vigilant not to download anything from the sites with excessive advertising.
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.

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