Whizmarket Search virus (Tutorial) - Free Instructions
Whizmarket Search virus Removal Guide
What is Whizmarket Search virus?
Problems that WhizMarket Search virus creates
WhizMarket Search virus is a questionable free program that adds WM Search extension to major web browsers and changes their default start page settings to start causing redirects to hxxp://thewhizmarket.co/search/. The search engine claims to be generating Custom Google Search results, which means that it serves Google Results filled with additional entries that mostly link to affiliate websites. The aim of this questionable hijacker is to force users to enter particular websites to increase their traffic rates. Sadly, this redirect virus hardly cares about users’ privacy and security so that it might place dangerous third-party links alongside organic search results. Clicking on a corrupted link triggers a redirect to the predetermined page. While experienced and tech-savvy computer users might successfully identify deceptive websites and quit them immediately, others can continue using this search engine or, even worse, start exploring vague external sites that it advertises. If you do not want to come across potentially dangerous or even phishing[1] websites, act very carefully when using this search tool. Ideally, remove WhizMarket Search and start using a different search engine. Our team recommends scanning the system with anti-malware software like FortectIntego to clean the remaining spyware elements.
Another concern regarding this questionable search tool is that it doesn’t provide any information relating to data privacy. It is a well-known truth that browser hijackers and adware programs tend to spy on user’s activities to deliver catchy-looking advertisements; however, we cannot know how this suspicious tool collects and stores data gathered during victim’s browsing sessions. It might be trying to collect your personally identifiable information along with your search queries, IP addresses, clicks, and geolocation. Such activity certainly doesn’t encourage us to trust such shady tool, and so we recommend you to implement WhizMarket removal as soon as possible. Only after deleting this questionable tool as well as WM Search extensions[2] you will manage to access your browser’s settings to change the default start and new tab page settings.
WhizMarket Search virus sneaks into computer systems in a form of WM Search extension, which changes homepage and default search settings.
Avoiding potentially unwanted programs can be easy
It is easy to avoid potentially unwanted programs, but many computer users simply do not know what it takes to keep such virtual parasites away. In fact, you can ward off many potentially unwanted programs without even using an anti-spyware or anti-malware program, although having such program is a must (in our opinion). Browser hijackers and adware tend to sneak into computers alongside popular free programs that present these additions as “recommended” and “beneficial” tools that users might find “useful.” We can only comment that the majority of such bundled additions are completely useless and simply slow down the computers, display pop-up ads or initiate web redirects. To drop such unwanted additions, choose Custom or Advanced settings during installation of any kind of software. Then all that you need to do is to deselect suggested programs one after another.
Remove WhizMarket Search
There’s no doubt that browser redirections and browser crashes are problems everybody wants to avoid, so do not hesitate any longer and remove WhizMarket Search virus using instructions provided below the article. If you’d like to save some time and patience, opt for automatic WhizMarket removal option (see the list of suggested anti-spyware programs below). If for some reason you cannot delete the hijacker, send a question to our team – we will be happy to help you!
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 Whizmarket Search virus. Follow these steps
Uninstall from Windows
Go through the list of installed software and find the suspicious ones to uninstall. The guide provided below contains steps that explain where to find the list of currently installed software and explains how to uninstall the shady entries.
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)
In case the hijacker creates a version for Firefox, you should find it in Add-Ons panel. Simply delete all questionable extensions from Firefox using this guide.
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
In Chrome, look for extension called WM Search. You need to delete it.
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 Whizmarket 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
Access your website securely from any location
When you work on the domain, site, blog, or different project that requires constant management, content creation, or coding, you may need to connect to the server and content management service more often. The best solution for creating a tighter network could be a dedicated/fixed IP address.
If you make your IP address static and set to your device, you can connect to the CMS from any location and do not create any additional issues for the server or network manager that needs to monitor connections and activities. VPN software providers like Private Internet Access can help you with such settings and offer the option to control the online reputation and manage projects easily from any part of the world.
Recover files after data-affecting malware attacks
While much of the data can be accidentally deleted due to various reasons, malware is one of the main culprits that can cause loss of pictures, documents, videos, and other important files. More serious malware infections lead to significant data loss when your documents, system files, and images get encrypted. In particular, ransomware is is a type of malware that focuses on such functions, so your files become useless without an ability to access them.
Even though there is little to no possibility to recover after file-locking threats, some applications have features for data recovery in the system. In some cases, Data Recovery Pro can also help to recover at least some portion of your data after data-locking virus infection or general cyber infection.
- ^ Lily Hay Newman. Sneaky Exploit Allows Phishing Attacks From Sites That Look Secure. WIRED. In-Depth Coverage of Current and Future Trends in Technology.
- ^ Stefan Heule, Devon Rifkin, Alejandro Russo, Deian Stefan. The Most Dangerous Code in the Browser. Stanford University. Publications.