The Yotosearch.com site appeared on your system without any notice? After that, you’re faced with the fact that your web browser is now redirected to this annoying pages every time when you press web browser’s home button, create a new tab or perform an Internet search. The cause of all your problems with your computer is infection that has been installed on many personal computers around the world without users permission, so you’re one of many. Most probably, you don’t even know how and where this hijacker infection has got into your PC. In the step-by-step instructions below, we will explain all the general features of the hijacker and it’s typical behavior on the computer, as well as effective methods for manually removing it from your PC system.
A malicious software that modifies settings of web-browsers on Yotosearch.com homepage usually affects only Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge. However, possible situations, when any other web-browsers will be affected too. The Yotosearch.com browser hijacker may modify the Target property of web browser’s shortcuts, so every time you start the web browser, instead of your startpage, you will see a completely different page.
Besides the fact that Yotosearch.com infection replaces your home page, this annoying web page can set yourself as your search engine. But, obviously, it does not give you a good search results, as they will consist of a large number of ads, links to unwanted and ad web sites and only the remaining part is search results for your query from the major search engines. Of course, the very fact that you encounter with the inability to properly search the Internet, is an unpleasant moment. Moreover, the Yotosearch.com browser hijacker infection may collect information about you, and in the future to transfer it to third parties. What creates the risk of theft of your personal data.
Often, the computer which has been infected with Yotosearch.com browser hijacker infection, will be also infected with adware (also known as ‘ad-supported’ software) that opens tons of various advertisements. It may be pop-ups, text links in the web sites, banners where they never had. What is more, the adware may replace the legitimate advertisements with malicious ads which will offer to download and install malicious software and unwanted applications or visit the various dangerous and misleading web sites.
We recommend you to clean your PC ASAP. Use the guide below that will help to delete Yotosearch.com and unwanted applications, that can be installed onto your computer along with it.
How can you prevent the Yotosearch.com hijacker infection
Just as the beginning of this post, if you have ever seen the Yotosearch.com page appear in your browser, it means your machine has been infected with it. Most often Yotosearch.com browser hijacker infection is bundled with free applications. So, think back, have you ever download and run any free software? Because most users, in the Setup Wizard, simply click the Next button and don’t read any information such as ‘Terms of use’ and ‘Software license’. This leads to the fact that the machine is infected, the internet browser’s settings are changed and your’s homepage, new tab page and search engine by default set to the Yotosearch.com startpage. Even removing the freeware that contains this browser hijacker, your web browser’s settings will not be restored. Therefore, you must follow the step-by-step guide below to restore the Chrome, FF, Microsoft Edge and IE’s home page, newtab page and search provider by default.
How to manually remove Yotosearch.com
If you perform exactly the steps below you should be able to remove the Yotosearch.com . Read it once, after doing so, please print this page as you may need to close your web-browser or reboot your machine.
- Remove Yotosearch.com associated software by using Windows Control Panel
- Delete Yotosearch.com search from Google Chrome
- Remove Yotosearch.com homepage from Mozilla Firefox
- Delete Yotosearch.com startpage from IE
- Disinfect the browser’s shortcuts to delete Yotosearch.com
Remove Yotosearch.com associated software by using Windows Control Panel
First, you should try to identify and uninstall the program that causes the appearance of unwanted ads or browser redirect, using the ‘Uninstall a program’ which is located in the ‘Control panel’.
Windows 8, 8.1, 10
First, click Windows button , then press Search . Type ‘Control panel’and press Enter as shown on the image below.
Once the ‘Control Panel’ opens, click the ‘Uninstall a program’ link under Programs category as on the image below.
You will see the ‘Uninstall a program’ panel as shown below.
Very carefully look around the entire list of applications installed on your PC. Most likely, one or more of them are responsible for the appearance of pop-up ads and internet browser redirect to the annoying Yotosearch.com site. If you have many programs installed, you can help simplify the search of dangerous software by sort the list by date of installation. Once you have found a suspicious, unwanted or unused program, right click to it, after that press ‘Uninstall’.
Windows XP, Vista, 7
First, click ‘Start’ button and select ‘Control Panel’ at right panel as shown on the image below.
Once the Windows ‘Control Panel’ opens, you need to click ‘Uninstall a program’ under ‘Programs’ like below.
You will see a list of software installed on your PC system. We recommend to sort the list by date of installation to quickly find the software that were installed last. Most likely they responsibility for the appearance of pop-up ads and web-browser redirect. If you are in doubt, you can always check the program by doing a search for her name in Google, Yahoo or Bing. Once the application which you need to uninstall is found, simply click on its name, and then click ‘Uninstall’ as shown in the figure below.
Delete Yotosearch.com search from Google Chrome
Reset Google Chrome settings is a simple way to remove the browser hijacker, malicious and ‘ad-supported’ extensions, as well as to restore the browser’s home page, newtab page and search provider by default that have been modified by Yotosearch.com browser hijacker infection.
- First start the Chrome and press Menu button (small button in the form of three horizontal stripes).
- It will show the Chrome main menu. Select “Settings” option.
- You will see the Chrome’s settings page. Scroll down and press “Show advanced settings” link.
- Scroll down again and click the “Reset settings” button.
- The Chrome will open the reset profile settings page as on the image above.
- Next press the “Reset” button.
- Once this process is finished, your web-browser’s homepage, new tab and default search engine will be restored to their original defaults.
- To learn more, read the post How to reset Google Chrome settings to default.
Remove Yotosearch.com homepage from Mozilla Firefox
First, launch the Firefox. Next, click the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (). It will open the drop-down menu. Next, click the Help button ().
In the Help menu click the “Troubleshooting Information”. In the upper-right corner of the “Troubleshooting Information” page press on “Refresh Firefox” button as shown in the figure below.
Confirm your action, click the “Refresh Firefox”.
Delete Yotosearch.com startpage from IE
To restore the homepage, new tab and default search engine you need to reset the IE to the state, which was when the Windows was installed on your PC.
First, start the Internet Explorer, then click ‘gear’ icon . It will open the Tools drop-down menu on the right part of the browser, then click the “Internet Options” as shown on the screen below.
In the “Internet Options” screen, select the “Advanced” tab, then click the “Reset” button. The Internet Explorer will open the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” dialog box. Further, click the “Delete personal settings” check box to select it. Next, click the “Reset” button as on the image below.
When the process is finished, press “Close” button. Close the Internet Explorer and restart your computer for the changes to take effect. This step will help you to restore your browser’s homepage, new tab and default search engine to default state.
Disinfect the browser’s shortcuts to delete Yotosearch.com
Once the browser hijacker is started, it can also alter the web browser’s shortcuts, adding an argument like “http://yotosearch.com/” into the Target field. Due to this, every time you open the web browser, it will show an unwanted web-page.
To clear the internet browser shortcut, right-click to it and select Properties. On the Shortcut tab, locate the Target field. Click inside, you will see a vertical line – arrow pointer, move it (using -> arrow key on your keyboard) to the right as possible. You will see a text like “http://yotosearch.com/” that has been added here. You need to delete it.
When the text is removed, press the OK button. You need to clean all shortcuts of all your web-browsers, as they may be infected too.
Get rid of Yotosearch.com startpage automatically
You can remove Yotosearch.com startpage automatically with a help of Malwarebytes Free. We recommend this free malware removal tool because it can easily remove browser hijackers, adware (sometimes called ‘ad-supported’ software), potentially unwanted programs and toolbars with all their components such as files, folders and registry entries.
Download Malwarebytes Free on your system by clicking on the link below. Save it on your desktop.
326462 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
Once the downloading process is done, close all windows on your PC. Further, open the file named mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as shown on the screen below, click the “Yes” button.
It will open the “Setup wizard” that will assist you install Malwarebytes on the computer. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
Once installation is complete successfully, click Finish button. Then Malwarebytes will automatically start and you can see its main window as shown on the image below.
Next, click the “Scan Now” button to begin checking your computer for the infection that cause a redirect to Yotosearch.com. When a threat is found, the number of the detected objects will change accordingly. Wait until the the checking is complete. Please be patient.
As the scanning ends, you can check all threats detected on your computer. Make sure all entries have “checkmark” and press “Quarantine Selected” button.
The Malwarebytes will begin removing Yotosearch.com browser hijacker and other security threats. Once disinfection is finished, you may be prompted to reboot your personal computer. I recommend you look at the following video, which completely explains the process of using the Malwarebytes to delete browser hijacker, ad supported software and other malicious programs.
Block Yotosearch.com redirect and other annoying web pages
To increase your security and protect your computer against new unwanted ads and harmful web-pages, you need to use an program that stops access to harmful advertisements and web-sites. Moreover, the program can block the show of intrusive advertising, which also leads to faster loading of web sites and reduce the consumption of web traffic.
Download AdGuard program from the following link.
26659 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
Once the downloading process is finished, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen as shown on the screen below.
Follow the prompts. When the install is done, you will see a window like below.
You can click “Skip” to close the installation application and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” button to see an quick tutorial that 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 start your PC, AdGuard will start automatically and block advertisements, web sites such Yotosearch.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, which is located on your desktop.
Get rid of Yotosearch.com hijacker and malicious extensions with AdwCleaner.
If MalwareBytes Anti-malware cannot get rid of this browser hijacker, then we suggests to use the AdwCleaner. AdwCleaner is a free removal utility for browser hijackers, ‘ad supported’ software, potentially unwanted applications and toolbars.
Download AdwCleaner by clicking on the link below.
225300 downloads
Version: 8.4.1
Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
Category: Security tools
Update: October 5, 2024
After downloading is complete, open the directory in which you saved it. You will see an icon like below.
Double click the AdwCleaner desktop icon. When the tool is opened, you will see a screen like below.
Further, press “Scan” button to perform a system scan for the Yotosearch.com hijacker and internet browser’s malicious extensions. Once the scan is finished, it will open a scan report as on the image below.
Review the report and then click “Clean” button. It will open a dialog box as shown on the screen below.
You need to click “OK”. Once the cleaning procedure is complete, the AdwCleaner may ask you to reboot your PC system. When your computer is started, you will see an AdwCleaner log.
These steps are shown in detail in the following video guide.
Finish words
Now your machine should be free of the Yotosearch.com startpage. Delete AdwCleaner. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted advertisements and annoying harmful web-sites) and Malwarebytes (to periodically scan your system for new browser hijackers, malware and adware). Probably you are running an older version of Java or Adobe Flash Player. This can be a security risk, so download and install the latest version right now.
If you are still having problems while trying to remove Yotosearch.com from the Firefox, Google Chrome, IE and Edge, then ask for help in our Spyware/Malware removal forum.