How to remove Search.myprivacyswitch.com [Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge]

If your PC is infected by Search.myprivacyswitch.com browser hijacker, every time you launch your browser you will see this web page. Of course you can setup your home page again, but next time you launch a web-browser you will see that Search.myprivacyswitch.com startpage return. As mentioned above, the hijacker can alter the default search provider on this intrusive web site too, so all your search queries will be redirected to Search.myprivacyswitch.com. Thus the authors of the browser hijacker can collect the search terms of your queries, and redirect you to intrusive pages.

Some browser hijackers also contain ‘ad-supported’ software (also known as adware) which may be used to display undesired ads and or gather lots of user info that can be transferred to third parties. These unwanted ads can be displayed as pop-unders, pop-ups, in-text advertisements, video advertisements, text links or banners or even massive full page advertisements. Most of the adware is created to show ads, but some adware is form of spyware that often used to track users to gather a wide variety of your data.

The Search.myprivacyswitch.com hijacker commonly affects only the Google Chrome, FF, IE and Microsoft Edge. However, possible situations, when any other internet browsers will be affected too. The hijacker will perform a scan of the computer for web-browser shortcuts and change them without your permission. When it infects the web browser shortcuts, it will add the argument such as ‘http://site.address’ into Target property. So, each time you start the internet browser, you will see the Search.myprivacyswitch.com annoying page.

Therefore it’s very important to free your personal computer of browser hijacker infection as soon as possible. Follow the steps below to remove Search.myprivacyswitch.com , as well as other malware and ad-supported software, which can be installed onto your personal computer along with it.

Remove Search.myprivacyswitch.com start page

We can help you remove Search.myprivacyswitch.com, without the need to take your PC system to a professional. Simply follow the removal instructions below if you currently have the unwanted browser hijacker infection on your system and want to delete it. If you have any difficulty while trying to delete the hijacker, feel free to ask for our assist in the comment section below. Some of the steps below will require you to exit this web-page. So, please read the guide carefully, after that bookmark or print it for later reference.

How to manually get rid of Search.myprivacyswitch.com

Read this section to know how to manually remove the Search.myprivacyswitch.com browser hijacker. Even if the step-by-step instructions does not work for you, there are several free malware removers below which can easily handle such browser hijackers.

Delete Search.myprivacyswitch.com associated software by using MS Windows Control Panel

Check out the Windows Control Panel (Programs and Features section) to see all installed programs. We suggest to click on the “Date Installed” in order to sort the list of software by the date you installed them. If you see any unknown and suspicious programs, they are the ones you need to delete.

It will show the Windows Control Panel like below.

Next, click “Uninstall a program”
It will show a list of all programs installed on your PC system. Scroll through the all list, and delete any suspicious and unknown software. To quickly find the latest installed applications, we recommend sort programs by date in the Control panel.

Fix web-browser shortcuts, modified by Search.myprivacyswitch.com browser hijacker

When the browser hijacker is started, it can also alter the web-browser’s shortcuts, adding an argument like “http://site.address” into the Target field. Due to this, every time you run the browser, it will display an unwanted web page.

Open the properties of the internet browser shortcut. Right click on the shortcut of infected browser and select the “Properties” option and it’ll display the properties of the shortcut. Next, choose the “Shortcut” tab and have a look at the Target field as shown in the figure below.

Normally, if the last word in the Target field is chrome.exe, iexplore.exe, firefox.exe. Be sure to pay attention to the extension, should be “exe”! All shortcuts that have been changed by browser hijacker such as Search.myprivacyswitch.com usually point to .bat, .cmd or .url files instead of .exe as displayed on the screen below

Another variant, an address has been added at the end of the line. In this case the Target field looks like …Application\chrome.exe” http://site.address as shown below.

In order to fix a shortcut, you need to insert right path to the Target field or remove an address (if it has been added at the end). You can use the following information to fix your shortcuts that have been modified by browser hijacker infection.

Google Chrome	C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
	C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
FF	C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe
Internet Explorer	C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
	C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
Opera	C:\Program Files (x86)\Opera\launcher.exe
	C:\Program Files\Opera\launcher.exe

Once is finished, click OK to save changes. Repeat the step for all web browsers which are re-directed to the Search.myprivacyswitch.com annoying web site.

Get rid of Search.myprivacyswitch.com from Internet Explorer

By resetting Internet Explorer web browser you revert back your internet browser settings to its default state. This is first when troubleshooting problems that might have been caused by hijacker infection like Search.myprivacyswitch.com.

First, open the Internet Explorer, press ) button. Next, click “Internet Options” as displayed on the screen below.

In the “Internet Options” screen select the Advanced tab. Next, press Reset button. The Internet Explorer will open the Reset Internet Explorer settings dialog box. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box and click Reset button.

You will now need to restart your PC for the changes to take effect. It will delete hijacker which alters web browser settings to replace your home page, new tab page and default search provider with Search.myprivacyswitch.com page, disable malicious and ad-supported internet browser’s extensions and restore the IE’s settings like new tab page, homepage and search provider by default to default state.

Get rid of Search.myprivacyswitch.com from FF by resetting internet browser settings

Resetting your Mozilla Firefox is first troubleshooting step for any issues with your browser application, including the reroute to Search.myprivacyswitch.com web-page.

Press the Menu button (looks like three horizontal lines), and press the blue Help icon located at the bottom of the drop down menu as shown in the following example.

A small menu will appear, click the “Troubleshooting Information”. On this page, click “Refresh Firefox” button as on the image below.

Follow the onscreen procedure to revert back your Mozilla Firefox internet browser settings to its original state.

Delete Search.myprivacyswitch.com homepage from Chrome

Reset Chrome settings is a simple way to remove the hijacker, malicious and adware extensions, as well as to recover the web browser’s homepage, new tab page and search engine by default that have been replaced by browser hijacker.

1. First start the Google Chrome and press Menu button (small button in the form of three horizontal stripes).
2. It will open the Chrome main menu. Select “Settings” option.
3. You will see the Google Chrome’s settings page. Scroll down and press “Show advanced settings” link.
4. Scroll down again and click the “Reset settings” button.
5. The Google Chrome will show the reset profile settings page as shown on the image above.
6. Next click the “Reset” button.
7. Once this procedure is complete, your internet browser’s start page, newtab page and search provider by default will be restored to their original defaults.
8. To learn more, read the post How to reset Chrome settings to default.

Use free malware removal utilities to completely delete Search.myprivacyswitch.com redirect

Manual removal tutorial does not always help to completely delete the browser hijacker, as it’s not easy to identify and delete components of browser hijacker and all malicious files from hard disk. Therefore, it’s recommended that you run malware removal tool to completely remove Search.myprivacyswitch.com off your computer. Several free malicious software removal tools are currently available that can be used against the hijacker infection. The optimum way would be to run Zemana, Malwarebytes Free and AdwCleaner.

Get rid of Search.myprivacyswitch.com with Zemana Anti Malware

Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) highly recommended, because it can find security threats such adware and browser hijackers which most ‘classic’ antivirus software fail to pick up on. Moreover, if you have any Search.myprivacyswitch.com hijacker removal problems which cannot be fixed by this utility automatically, then Zemana provides 24X7 online assistance from the highly experienced support staff.

Download Zemana Anti Malware from the link below.

Once the downloading process is finished, close all applications and windows on your computer. Open a directory in which you saved it. Double-click on the icon that’s called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup as displayed on the screen below.

When the install begins, you will see the “Setup wizard” which will help you install Zemana Free on your machine.

Once installation is done, you will see window like below.

Now click the “Scan” button to perform a system scan with this tool for the hijacker infection which changes internet browser settings to replace your homepage, new tab page and search provider by default with Search.myprivacyswitch.com page. This task may take quite a while, so please be patient. When a malware, adware or PUPs are detected, the count of the security threats will change accordingly.

When the scan get finished, Zemana Anti Malware will display a screen that contains a list of malware that has been found. Review the scan results and then press “Next” button.

The Zemana Free will begin to remove hijacker infection which developed to redirect your browser to the Search.myprivacyswitch.com site.

Get rid of Search.myprivacyswitch.com search with Malwarebytes

We advise using the Malwarebytes Free that are completely clean your PC of the hijacker. The free utility is an advanced malicious software removal program designed by (c) Malwarebytes lab. This application uses the world’s most popular anti-malware technology. It’s able to help you remove hijackers, potentially unwanted applications, malware, ad-supported software, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your machine for free.

1. Please download MalwareBytes Anti-Malware by clicking on the link below. Save it on your MS Windows desktop.
   
   

   Malwarebytes Anti-malware
   326462 downloads
   Author: Malwarebytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: April 15, 2020
   
2. At the download page, click on the Download button. Your web browser will show the “Save as” dialog box. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
3. After downloading is complete, please close all programs and open windows on your computer. Double-click on the icon that’s named mb3-setup.
4. This will launch the “Setup wizard” of MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) onto your computer. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
5. When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the MalwareBytes Anti-Malware will run and open the main window.
6. Further, click the “Scan Now” button for checking your PC for the hijacker infection that causes internet browsers to open undesired Search.myprivacyswitch.com web page. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your computer. During the scan MalwareBytes Free will detect all threats present on your PC.
7. After the scan is finished, MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) will display you the results.
8. In order to delete all threats, simply click the “Quarantine Selected” button. When the clean-up is done, you may be prompted to reboot the system.
9. Close the AntiMalware and continue with the next step.

Video instruction, which reveals in detail the steps above.

Remove Search.myprivacyswitch.com from web browsers with AdwCleaner

AdwCleaner is a free portable program that scans your computer for ad-supported software, PUPs and browser hijackers like Search.myprivacyswitch.com and allows get rid of them easily. Moreover, it will also allow you remove any malicious internet browser extensions and add-ons.

1. Download AdwCleaner from the following link. Save it on your Windows desktop.
   
   

   AdwCleaner download
   225300 downloads
   Version: 8.4.1
   Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: October 5, 2024
   
2. Select the folder in which you saved it as Desktop, and then click Save.
3. Once the download is finished, run the AdwCleaner, double-click the adwcleaner_xxx.exe file.
4. If the “User Account Control” prompts, click Yes to continue.
5. Read the “Terms of use”, and press Accept.
6. In the AdwCleaner window, click the “Scan” to perform a system scan with this tool for the Search.myprivacyswitch.com hijacker and other web browser’s harmful add-ons. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the count of files on your PC system and the speed of your PC. While the tool is checking, you may see how many objects and files has already scanned.
7. Once that process is finished, AdwCleaner will show a list of all items found by the scan. Make sure all threats have ‘checkmark’ and press “Clean”. If the AdwCleaner will ask you to reboot your PC, click “OK”.

The steps shown in detail in the following video.

Block Search.myprivacyswitch.com search and other intrusive web-pages

If you surf the Web, you cannot avoid malvertising. But you can protect your web browser against it. Download and use an ad-blocking application. AdGuard is an ad blocker which can filter out a ton of of the malicious advertising, blocking dynamic scripts from loading malicious content.

Download AdGuard application on your computer from the link below.

After the downloading process is finished, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen as displayed in the figure below.

Follow the prompts. When the install is finished, you will see a window as shown below.

You can click “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” button to see an quick tutorial which will allow you get to know AdGuard better.

In most cases, the default settings are enough and you do not need to change anything. Each time, when you launch your computer, AdGuard will start automatically and block pop-ups, web-sites such Search.myprivacyswitch.com, as well as other malicious or misleading pages. For an overview of all the features of the program, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the AdGuard icon, that can be found on your desktop.

Tips to prevent Search.myprivacyswitch.com and other unwanted applications

These days certain freeware authors bundle additional programs that could be PUPs like the Search.myprivacyswitch.com browser hijacker, with a view to making some money. These are not freeware as install an unwanted software on to your Microsoft Windows personal computer. So whenever you install a new free program that downloaded from the Net, be very careful during setup. Carefully read the EULA (a text with I ACCEPT/I DECLINE button), select custom or manual install method, uncheck all optional applications.

To sum up

After completing the step by step instructions outlined above, your system should be free from hijacker infection that causes browsers to display unwanted Search.myprivacyswitch.com web-page and other malware. The Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and MS Edge will no longer show annoying Search.myprivacyswitch.com start page on startup. Unfortunately, if the step-by-step guidance does not help you, then you have caught a new browser hijacker, and then the best way – ask for help in our Spyware/Malware removal forum.