How to remove Privacy Search Plus [Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge]

The hijacker infection can also set up the Privacy Search Plus web site as the Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge default search provider that cause search redirects via the web page. In this way, creators of the hijacker have an opportunity to display various advertisements together with the search results for your query. These unwanted ads will be summarized in the redirected web page. This can bring a huge number of money for developers of the hijacker infection.

Also, ‘ad-supported’ software (also known as adware) can be installed on the PC together with Privacy Search Plus hijacker. It will insert lots of ads directly to the web-pages which you view, creating a sense that advertisements has been added by the makers of the web site. Moreover, legal ads can be replaced on fake advertisements which will offer to download and install various unnecessary and harmful software. Moreover, the Privacy Search Plus browser hijacker has the ability to collect tons of personal information about you, which can be later transferred to third parties.

Thus, it’s clear that the presence of hijacker on your computer is not desirable, and you need to clean up your system ASAP. Follow the step-by-step tutorial below in order to remove Privacy Search Plus unwanted .

How to remove Privacy Search Plus start page

In the tutorial below we will have a look at the hijacker and how to remove Privacy Search Plus from Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, IE and MS Edge web browsers for MS Windows OS, natively or by using a few free removal utilities and programs.

Manual Privacy Search Plus removal

Most common browser hijackers may be deleted without any antivirus programs. The manual browser hijacker removal is article step by step tutorial that will teach you how to remove the Privacy Search Plus . Some of the steps below will require you to close the site. So, please read the tutorial carefully, after that bookmark or print it for later reference.

Uninstall Privacy Search Plus associated software by using Microsoft Windows Control Panel

Some PUPs, browser hijacking applications and adware can be deleted by uninstalling the free applications they came with. If this way does not succeed, then looking them up in the list of installed programs in Microsoft Windows Control Panel. Use the “Uninstall” command in order to delete them.

Windows 8, 8.1, 10

First, click Windows button , then click Search . Type ‘Control panel’and press Enter as on the image below.

Once the ‘Control Panel’ opens, click the ‘Uninstall a program’ link under Programs category as shown on the screen below.

You will see the ‘Uninstall a program’ panel as shown on the screen below.

Very carefully look around the entire list of applications installed on your computer. Most likely, one or more of them are responsible for the appearance of pop-ups and internet browser redirect to the unwanted Privacy Search Plus page. If you have many programs installed, you can help simplify the search of harmful programs by sort the list by date of installation. Once you have found a suspicious, unwanted or unused program, right click to it, after that click ‘Uninstall’.

Windows XP, Vista, 7

First, click ‘Start’ button and select ‘Control Panel’ at right panel as shown on the screen below.

When the Windows ‘Control Panel’ opens, you need to press ‘Uninstall a program’ under ‘Programs’ as on the image below.

You will see a list of applications installed on your machine. We recommend to sort the list by date of installation to quickly find the applications that were installed last. Most likely they responsibility for the appearance of ads and internet 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. When the program which you need to delete is found, simply click on its name, and then press ‘Uninstall’ as shown on the image below.

Disinfect the browser’s shortcuts to remove Privacy Search Plus search

Now you need to clean up the internet browser shortcuts. Check that the shortcut referring to the right exe-file of the web browser, and not on any unknown file.

Right click on the shortcut of infected web-browser as shown in the figure below.

Select the “Properties” option and it will display a shortcut’s properties. Next, press the “Shortcut” tab and then delete the “http://site.address” string from Target field like below.

Then click OK to save changes. Repeat the step for all web browsers which are redirected to the Privacy Search Plus unwanted web page.

Remove Privacy Search Plus from FF by resetting web-browser settings

Resetting your Firefox is good initial troubleshooting step for any issues with your web browser program, including the redirect to Privacy Search Plus web site.

Press the Menu button (looks like three horizontal lines), and click the blue Help icon located at the bottom of the drop down menu like below.

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

Follow the onscreen procedure to return your FF internet browser settings to its original state.

Remove Privacy Search Plus search from Chrome

Use the Reset internet browser utility of the Google Chrome to reset all its settings like start page, new tab page and search provider by default to original defaults. This is a very useful utility to use, in the case of web browser hijacks like Privacy Search Plus.

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

Delete Privacy Search Plus from Internet Explorer

If you find that Internet Explorer internet browser settings like startpage, newtab page and search provider by default having been hijacked, then you may revert back your settings, via the reset web-browser procedure.

First, start the Internet Explorer, then press ‘gear’ icon . It will display the Tools drop-down menu on the right part of the web browser, then press the “Internet Options” as shown on the image below.

In the “Internet Options” screen, select the “Advanced” tab, then click the “Reset” button. The Microsoft Internet Explorer will show the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” prompt. Further, press the “Delete personal settings” check box to select it. Next, click the “Reset” button as shown on the image below.

Once the procedure is done, click “Close” button. Close the Internet Explorer and restart your PC system for the changes to take effect. This step will help you to restore your browser’s newtab, home page and search provider by default to default state.

Scan your machine and remove Privacy Search Plus with free tools

Run malicious software removal utilities to remove Privacy Search Plus automatically. The freeware utilities specially designed for hijacker, adware and other potentially unwanted programs removal. These utilities may delete most of browser hijacker infection from Chrome, FF, Microsoft Internet Explorer and MS Edge. Moreover, it may remove all components of Privacy Search Plus from Windows registry and system drives.

Use Zemana Anti-malware to remove hijacker

We suggest using the Zemana Anti-malware. You can download and install Zemana Anti-malware to scan for and remove Privacy Search Plus search from your personal computer. When installed and updated, the malware remover will automatically scan and detect all threats present on the computer.

1. Download Zemana anti-malware (ZAM) from the link below.
   
   

   Zemana AntiMalware
   164107 downloads
   Author: Zemana Ltd
   Category: Security tools
   Update: July 16, 2019
   
2. Once downloading is finished, close all programs and windows on your PC system. Open a file location. Double-click on the icon that’s named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
3. Further, press Next button and follow the prompts.
4. Once installation is finished, press the “Scan” button to perform a system scan with this utility for the browser hijacker . This process can take quite a while, so please be patient. During the scan it will detect all threats present on your PC.
5. Once the scan is finished, a list of all threats detected is produced. In order to remove all items, simply press “Next”. Once disinfection is done, you can be prompted to reboot your personal computer.

Scan and clean your system of hijacker with Malwarebytes

We suggest using the Malwarebytes Free which are completely clean your computer of the browser hijacker. The free tool is an advanced malware removal application created by (c) Malwarebytes lab. This program uses the world’s most popular antimalware technology. It’s able to help you get rid of hijacker infections, PUPs, malicious software, ad supported software, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your PC for free.

Download Malwarebytes on your PC by clicking on the link below. Save it on your Windows desktop or in any other place.

Malwarebytes Anti-malware
326460 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020

When downloading is complete, close all programs and windows on your system. Double-click the set up file named mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as shown on the image below, click the “Yes” button.

It will open the “Setup wizard” that will help you install Malwarebytes on your personal computer. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.

Once install is finished successfully, click Finish button. Malwarebytes will automatically start and you can see its main screen as shown in the figure below.

Now click the “Scan Now” button to perform a system scan for the browser hijacker infection which cause a reroute to Privacy Search Plus. During the scan it’ll detect all threats present on your PC system.

Once the scan is done, the results are displayed in the scan report. Next, you need to click “Quarantine Selected” button. The Malwarebytes will start removing Privacy Search Plus browser hijacker and other security threats. Once disinfection is finished, you may be prompted to reboot the computer.

We recommend you look at the following video, which completely explains the procedure of using the Malwarebytes to get rid of hijacker infection and other malware.

Delete Privacy Search Plus from browsers with AdwCleaner

The AdwCleaner utility is free and easy to use. It can scan and remove hijacker like Privacy Search Plus, malware, PUPs and ‘ad supported’ software in FF, Google Chrome, IE and Edge internet browsers and thereby restore their default settings (newtab, homepage and search engine by default). AdwCleaner is powerful enough to find and delete malicious registry entries and files that are hidden on the computer.

Download AdwCleaner utility by clicking on the link below. Save it to your Desktop so that you can access the file easily.

AdwCleaner download
225298 downloads
Version: 8.4.1
Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
Category: Security tools
Update: October 5, 2024

When the download is done, open the directory in which you saved it and double-click the AdwCleaner icon. It will start the AdwCleaner utility and you will see a screen as shown in the figure below. If the User Account Control dialog box will ask you want to display the application, click Yes button to continue.

Next, click “Scan” to perform a system scan for the Privacy Search Plus hijacker infection that cause a redirect to Privacy Search Plus. This task can take quite a while, so please be patient. When a malicious software, adware or PUPs are detected, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the scanning is done.

When it has finished scanning is complete, it’ll show a scan report like below.

Review the scan results and then press “Clean” button. It will show a dialog box. Click “OK” to begin the cleaning procedure. When the cleaning process is finished, the AdwCleaner may ask you to reboot your PC. After restart, the AdwCleaner will open the log file.

All the above steps are shown in detail in the following video instructions.

Block Privacy Search Plus and other unwanted web-sites

In order to increase your security and protect your machine against new annoying advertisements and dangerous web-pages, you need to use ad blocker program that blocks an access to malicious advertisements and web-sites. Moreover, the program can stop the display of intrusive advertising, that also leads to faster loading of sites and reduce the consumption of web traffic.

Installing the AdGuard ad blocker program is simple. First you will need to download AdGuard from the following link.

Adguard download
26656 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018

Once the download is finished, double-click the downloaded file to launch it. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen as shown below.

Follow the prompts. AdGuard will then be installed and an icon will be placed on your desktop. A window will show up asking you to confirm that you want to see a quick tutorial as shown in the figure below.

Click “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will assist you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you start your computer, AdGuard will run automatically and stop pop-ups, sites such Privacy Search Plus, as well as other dangerous or misleading web-sites. 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.

How to avoid installation of Privacy Search Plus hijacker

The Privacy Search Plus hijacker infection actively distributed with free applications, as a part of the installer of these programs. Therefore, it’s very important, when installing an unknown program even downloaded from known or big hosting web-page, read the Terms of use and the Software license, as well as to select the Manual, Advanced or Custom installation mode. In this mode, you can disable the setup of unneeded modules and applications and protect your PC system from such hijackers as the Privacy Search Plus. Unfortunately, most users when installing unknown applications, simply press the Next button, and don’t read any information that the free applications open them during its install. This leads to the fact that the browser settings are changed and browser’s homepage, newtab and search engine by default set to Privacy Search Plus.

Finish words

After completing the guide above, your PC system should be clean from malware and browser hijackers. The Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Microsoft Internet Explorer will no longer show Privacy Search Plus annoying startpage on startup. Unfortunately, if the few simple steps does not help you, then you have caught a new browser hijacker, and then the best way – ask for help.

1. Download HijackThis by clicking on the link below and save it to your Desktop.
   
   

   HijackThis download
   4710 downloads
   Version: 2.0.5
   Author: OpenSource
   Category: Security tools
   Update: November 7, 2015
   
2. Double-click on the HijackThis icon. Next click “Do a system scan only” button.
3. When it has finished scanning your machine, the scan button will read “Save log”, click it. Save this log to your desktop.
4. Create a Myantispyware account here. Once you’ve registered, check your e-mail for a confirmation link, and confirm your account. After that, login.
5. Copy and paste the contents of the HijackThis log into your post. If you are posting for the first time, please start a new thread by using the “New Topic” button in the Spyware Removal forum. When posting your HJT log, try to give us some details about your problems, so we can try to help you more accurately.
6. Wait for one of our trained “Security Team” or Site Administrator to provide you with knowledgeable assistance tailored to your problem with the unwanted Privacy Search Plus home page.