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  • Active
  • Severity: Medium
  • Browser Hijackers
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · May 2021

How to remove websearch.fixsearch.info

A step-by-step removal guide for affected devices. Follow the verified procedure below — most readers complete it in under 10 minutes.

Julie Splinters · Anti-malware specialist

Websearch.fixsearch.info – a potentially unwanted program that changes your search settings

Websearch.fixsearch.info is a search site that is applied to your web browser as soon as a browser hijacker is installed.  These programs, while usually relatively harmless, can greatly impact your daily online routine – and not in a good way.

You would have to deal with unexpected Chrome, Firefox, MS Edge, or other browser changes and an increased amount of ads shown at the top of the search results provided by Yahoo. In the background, the program might start tracking user data to provide targeted advertisements, potentially compromising privacy. Luckily, you can easily delete potentially unwanted apps by following our detailed instructions below.

Name Websearch.fixsearch.info
Type Browser hijacker
Distribution Software bundling, third-party websites
Symptoms Homepage and new tab address altered; search results are filled with sponsored links and ads; search provider swapped to Yahoo
Elimination Perform a full system scan with antivirus software or follow manual removal guide below
Browser fix Check the instructions below on how to clean your browsers appropriately or use FortectIntego to do it automatically

A browser hijacker may also initiate various advertisements during your online sessions. While most of these ads are rather annoying than dangerous, it is important to note that clicking on various links can lead you to scam or other malicious web pages.

By the way, we must also mention the redirects to a different provider. In most cases, they are initiated after you start searching with the help of this search engine. Keep in mind that such search sites may display altered search results that may try to redirect you to doubtful sites.

In fact, that's one of the most important reasons why we highly recommend you to avoid websearch.fixsearch.info and rely on well-known search engines, such as Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, or Yahoo. This way, you will get rid of the ads and receive a clean web browsing experience that is not filtered by a potentially unwanted application.

While some security apps, such as SpyHunterCombo Cleaner, can find PUPs effectively, it might not be the case this time. You see, these apps rarely has any malicious features, hence they are not listed in the database of antivirus programs. To clean your PC, you should take care of your web browsers, and the easiest way of doing that is by employing FortectIntego.

Potentially unwanted applications travel within bundles

You may make it your start page or default search engine consciously, thinking that it is capable of improving your search sessions and showing you the best search results. However, we have serious doubts about it. By the way, you may download a PUP on your computer together with other programs.

Of course, they are not created by Apple, Microsoft, or other well-known companies. They belong to unknown developers. Therefore you should be very careful when downloading free software from the Internet. If you want to end your installation without downloading questionable add-ons, toolbars, plugins, and extensions, be sure that you select Custom or Advanced installation of the freeware. You should follow every installation step after that.

If you detect a sentence saying that you agree to make this search site your default provider, you should uncheck it or simply cancel the program's installation.

Terminate the PUP from your device

Technically, websearch.fixsearch.info is not a virus, and it can hardly pose harm to your computer. However, the fact that it displays various ads and sometimes displays altered search results bothers us.

If you discovered this search site on your browsers without downloading it, you should follow the guide below to clean your web browsers and uninstall related applications effectively. As a general rule, we always recommend our users scan their systems with antivirus software just to be on a secure side.

Uninstall from Windows

Uninstall from Windows 10/8:

  1. Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
  2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.Uninstall from Windows 10/8

Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:

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

Remove the unwanted program:

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

Delete from macOS

Remove the unwanted application:

  1. From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
  2. In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).Uninstall from Mac

Delete leftover files and folders:

  1. Select Go > Go to Folder.
  2. Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
  3. Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.Delete leftover files from Mac
  4. Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.

Remove from Microsoft Edge

Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:

  1. Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
  2. From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
  3. Click Remove.Remove extensions from Edge

Clear cookies and other browser data:

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

Restore new tab and homepage settings:

  1. Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
  2. Then find On startup section.
  3. Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.

Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:

  1. Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
  2. Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
  3. Select Details tab.
  4. 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.Reset MS Edge

Instructions for Chromium-based Edge

Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):

  1. Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
  2. Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.Remove extensions from Chromium Edge

Clear cache and site data:

  1. Click on Menu and go to Settings.
  2. Select Privacy, search and services.
  3. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  4. Under Time range, pick All time.
  5. Select Clear now.Clear browser data from Chroum Edge

Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:

  1. Click on Menu and select Settings.
  2. On the left side, pick Reset settings.
  3. Select Restore settings to their default values.
  4. Confirm with Reset.
  5. This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.Reset Chromium Edge

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)

Remove dangerous extensions:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
  2. Select Add-ons.
  3. In here, select the unwanted extension and click Remove.Remove extensions from Firefox

Reset the homepage:

  1. Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
  2. Choose Settings.
  3. Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.

Clear cookies and site data:

  1. Click Menu and pick Settings.
  2. Go to Privacy & Security section.
  3. Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
  4. Click on Clear Data...
  5. Select Cookies and Site Data and Temporary cached files and pages, then click Clear.Clear cookies and site data from Firefox

Reset Mozilla Firefox

If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
  2. Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.Reset Firefox 1
  3. Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox...
  4. Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.Reset Firefox 2

Remove from Google Chrome

Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

  1. Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
  2. In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all suspicious extensions related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.Remove extensions from Chrome

Clear cache and web data from Chrome:

  1. Click on Menu and pick Settings.
  2. Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
  3. Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
  4. Click Clear data.Clear cache and web data from Chrome

Change your homepage:

  1. Click menu and choose Settings.
  2. Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
  3. 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:

  1. Click on Menu and select Settings.
  2. In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
  3. Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
  4. Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
  5. Confirm with Reset settings.Reset Chrome 2

Delete from Safari

Remove dangerous extensions:

  1. Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
  2. Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.Remove extensions from Safari

Clear history and website data:

  1. Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
  2. Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.Clear history from Safari

Reset Safari:

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

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