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  • Active
  • Severity: Medium
  • Browser Hijackers
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Jun 2020

How to remove Wow Search

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

Jake Doevan · Computer technology expert

WowSearch is the PUP that takes the place of your primary search provider and aims to make you visit specific insecure sites

Wow Search

Wow Search is the misleading website that hijacks the web browser to change wanted settings and control your online traffic with its altered search results. The page takes over your homepage, default search engine, new tab settings, and interferes with task scheduler, registry to ensure that the PUP gets launched continuously. This fake search engine claims to improve your time online, but it significantly diminishes browsing experience when it starts showing content filled with pop-ups and banners, in-text ads, and hyperlinks.

This browser hijacker sets wow.com as the default homepage, new tab, and search engine. This way, it keeps users from accessing other sites, especially security pages that can claim about Wow Search virus functionalities. Although promotional ads may claim that this is a useful program and it offers improvement for your machine, you shouldn't believe those false statements. You can indicate that browser hijacker is a questionable program immediately after the first redirect or in-browser search attempt when results get injected with advertising sites instead of useful pages.

Name Wow Search
Type Browser hijacker
Related Yahoo Search
Developer Oath, a Verizon company
Versions
  • Us.wow.com;
  • Start.wow.com
Distribution Insecure freeware installations, other PUPs, deceptive websites
Elimination Run a scan with the anti-malware tool like FortectIntego for Wow Search removal
Main danger Is associated with ad-supported sites that can track and collect information about users' behavior online

Since Wow Search is a common potentially unwanted program and can be installed via software bundles, its versions us.wow.com, start.wow.com and many other can appear on your screen in the form of additional redirects, toolbars, extensions or plug-ins. The more hijacking tools the PUP installs, the more guarantee there is that the victim cannot remove this intruder completely.

Wow Search or wow.com, is a browser hijacker, so if you have ever heard about programs of such type, you should know what this search engine can cause. Its name may suggest that you will be pleasantly surprised while using it, but there is no 'wow' factor in that.

Beware that all that you can get is sponsored content in your search results that can redirect you to unknown and even malicious websites. This search site has been showing in-text links, banners, and pop-up ads and similar content in its search results. Some people are annoyed by it; others think that it is useful. Unfortunately, but you should never click on Wow ads displayed in its search results because they are shown only for redirecting you to required websites.[1]

Wow Search hijack

If redirects to wow.com have already started bothering you on your Internet Explorer, Google Chrome or other web browsers, you should also know that this search engine can try to track your browsing activity. According to PC security experts,[2] it is capable of collecting people's search terms, added information on each of their favorite sites, and similar data.

This Wow Search data tracking issue is somewhat disclosed in the Privacy Policy of the website, but it is not properly disclosed, so users still use the fake search engine believing its secureness.[3] The company has all the access to information about you:

Oath shares information within its affiliated brands and companies and with Verizon.  

This data should be called as personally non-identifiable, but we believe that you should never reveal it to unknown parties that can try to use it for their needs. Finally, Wow search virus may cause the appearance of unfamiliar toolbars, browser add-ons, and similar programs on your computer. If you do not want to deal with that, you should run a full system scan with FortectIntego or other reputable anti-spyware. This will help you to get rid of all PUPs, like browser hijackers and adware. 

You need to react to these redirects and all the shady installations as soon as possible, so Wow Search removal can give the best results. If you allow the browser hijacker to run on the system for a longer period of time, it alters more settings and can damage the machine this way.

Wow Search virus

Internet is not the safest place to get your programs and tools

Potentially unwanted programs and other unreliable search engines, adware programs, tools are spread in bundles with freeware and shareware as free additions. People fail to pay enough attention to such programs' installation, so they unnoticeably agree to change their homepage or default search engine and make other system changes.

Besides, they agree with the installation of various toolbars, plugins, extensions, and similar extras without even noticing the danger. To avoid that, you should always choose Custom or Advanced installation methods instead of the quick installation option.

In addition, try to find all checkboxes that agree to download toolbars or another search site on the system. If you noticed that some PUP hijacked your computer and started causing continuous redirects to unfamiliar websites and annoying pop-up notifications, it's a sign that your machine was affected. Don't waste time and follow with a PUP termination.

Get a proper tool and remove WowSearch browser hijacker

We don't recommend leaving Wow Search virus instead of your default search engine because it's a questionable site that is spread with a help of unfair distribution methods, such as bundling and other PUPs. In addition to that, it may try to alter your system settings, return altered search results, display misleading pop-up advertisements and initiate other unwanted activities.

To solve your problems, you should either scan your computer with a reliable anti-spyware program or follow the manual Wow Search removal guide. Please, be very careful when following these manual elimination steps to guarantee the successful elimination of this questionable search engine.

In addition to these tips and anti-malware program suggestions, we should note that you need to remove Wow Search completely from the system, to end all the processes that might run in the background and affect the speed of your machine significantly.

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.

Reset Internet Explorer

Remove dangerous add-ons:

  1. Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
  2. Pick Manage Add-ons.
  3. You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.Remove add-ons from Internet Explorer

Change your homepage if it was altered:

  1. Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
  2. Select Internet Options.
  3. In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
  4. Click Apply and then select OK.Reset IE homepage

Delete temporary files:

  1. Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
  2. Under Browsing history, click Delete...
  3. Select relevant fields and press Delete.Clear temporary files from Internet Explorer

Reset Internet Explorer:

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

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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