Vudu Search virus (Removal Instructions) - Virus Removal Instructions
Vudu Search virus Removal Guide
What is Vudu Search virus?
Vudu Search extension attempts to spy on your search and browsing history
VuduSearch virus is a potentially unwanted program that is advertised via install.vudusearch.com site. The extension[1] suggested by this domain modifies browser’s settings and sets http://feed.vudusearch.com/ as the default search provider. Statistics show that this browser hijacker mostly bothers Chinese-speaking[2] computer users.
The VuduSearch extension presents itself as a tool that “enables you to switch your browser’s default search engine.” Unfortunately, such feature is hardly useful or needed in daily life. In fact, this functionality is just a concealment of the real purpose of the virus.
The primary purpose of it is to display annoying advertisements within search results. Below, you can find an explanation on how this hijacker operates.
- The hijacker enters the computer system if the victim agrees to install it from its promotional website. It might also hijack the system unnoticeably using software bundling technique[3].
- The installed extension changes browser’s settings so that the primary search provider would be feed.vudusearch.com site. In defiance of the majority of browser hijackers, it doesn’t set the promoted search site as browser’s homepage.
- The hijacker employs cookies to find out your search and browsing history, IP address, geolocation and other details that describe your interests. Based on gathered details, the hijacker might serve ads to you or share collected data with affiliated third-parties.
- The search term goes to hxxp://feed.vudusearch.com/?q=[SEARCH QUERY]&publisher=vudusearch&barcodeid= domain and then to hxxps://search.yahoo.com. Although search results look like they were provided by Yahoo, be careful because you are dealing with a variant of Yahoo redirect virus.
- Each time the user clicks on a sponsored search result, an unexpected redirect might occur. These can lead to highly insecure websites.
To protect yourself from such unexpected redirects, remove VuduSearch virus from your system. For that, we suggest trying anti-spyware tools suggested by our team – FortectIntego or SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner. You don’t necessarily need to use them, although they guarantee a faster Vudu Search removal. You can also attempt to delete the hijacker using instructions provided below the article.
IMPORTANT. If you started experiencing redirects to the described domain and seeing VuduSearch.com ads, it means that your computer is infected with adware that continuously redirects you to suspicious third-party sites.
Vudusearch.com advertises a suspicious extension that changes browser's search provider to feed.vudusearch.com.
Rules to follow if you want to avoid installing potentially unwanted programs
- The first rule to follow in order to evade browser hijackers is to download new programs from legitimate websites only. Stay away from illegal or untrustworthy domains. Ideally, download applications from the official vendor’s or developer’s website only.
- The second rule to follow is to refuse to use Default or Standard settings for the software installation. We strongly recommend opting for Custom or Advanced settings instead. You will see a list of extra components bundled with your download. Deselect them without any hesitations.
- Finally, this step is optional, although it is highly recommended not to ignore it. We strongly recommend reading Privacy Policy document whenever you install new programs to your PC.
Remove VuduSearch and restore browser settings
If you decided to remove VuduSearch virus, do not waste any more time and delete the hijacker from the system today. First of all, we recommend you to follow the instructions we prepared. They will guide you through the uninstall procedure. In case the instructions seem confusing to you, consider using a powerful anti-malware software.
VuduSearch.com removal is not an easy task, and you shouldn’t rush when trying to complete it. Carefully gather all of the suspicious files and delete them to prevent the hijacker from bothering you again.
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 Vudu Search virus. Follow these steps
Uninstall from Windows
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)
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
Find VuduSearch extension in Chrome. Remove it via chrome://extensions panel.
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
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 Vudu Search 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
Stream videos without limitations, no matter where you are
There are multiple parties that could find out almost anything about you by checking your online activity. While this is highly unlikely, advertisers and tech companies are constantly tracking you online. The first step to privacy should be a secure browser that focuses on tracker reduction to a minimum.
Even if you employ a secure browser, you will not be able to access websites that are restricted due to local government laws or other reasons. In other words, you may not be able to stream Disney+ or US-based Netflix in some countries. To bypass these restrictions, you can employ a powerful Private Internet Access VPN, which provides dedicated servers for torrenting and streaming, not slowing you down in the process.
Data backups are important – recover your lost files
Ransomware is one of the biggest threats to personal data. Once it is executed on a machine, it launches a sophisticated encryption algorithm that locks all your files, although it does not destroy them. The most common misconception is that anti-malware software can return files to their previous states. This is not true, however, and data remains locked after the malicious payload is deleted.
While regular data backups are the only secure method to recover your files after a ransomware attack, tools such as Data Recovery Pro can also be effective and restore at least some of your lost data.
- ^ Eric Limer. Reminder: Your Browser Extensions Have Absurd Access To Everything You Do Online. Popular Mechanics. Latest Tech News.
- ^ Wubingdu. Wubingdu. Malware and Security News, Removal Tutorials.
- ^ Sabrina Berkenkopf. "Potentially Unwanted Programs": much more than just annoying. G Data Security Blog. Threat Research, Security News.