If your Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Internet Explorer browser startpage have replaced to My Privacy Zone somehow, and you have tried to change startpage and search engine from browser settings, but it did not help, then most probably that hijacker get installed on your computer. The hijacker is an one type of unwanted software which makes changes to certain settings of internet browsers without your’s permission, to reroute you into unwanted pages. The browser hijacker usually modify the Chrome, Firefox, Edge and IE current homepage, newtab and default search provider with its own.
The My Privacy Zone browser hijacker usually affects only the FF, Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer and MS Edge. However, possible situations, when any other internet browsers will be affected too. The browser hijacker will perform a scan of the PC for 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 run the browser, you will see the My Privacy Zone undesired site.
Table of contents
- What is My Privacy Zone
- How to remove My Privacy Zone
- How to manually remove My Privacy Zone
- Uninstall My Privacy Zone related software through the Control Panel of your computer
- Disinfect the internet browser’s shortcuts to remove My Privacy Zone
- Delete My Privacy Zone from FF by resetting web-browser settings
- Remove My Privacy Zone homepage from Chrome
- Delete My Privacy Zone search from Internet Explorer
- Use free malware removal tools to completely get rid of My Privacy Zone search
- How to manually remove My Privacy Zone
- How to block My Privacy Zone search
- How to avoid installation of My Privacy Zone hijacker infection
- To sum up
The browser hijacker infection can also set up the My Privacy Zone web-page as the Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, MS Edge and Internet Explorer default search provider that cause search redirections via the site. In this way, makers of the browser hijacker have an opportunity to show various advertisements together with the search results for your query. These unwanted advertisements will be combined in the redirected site. This can bring a large number of money for developers of the hijacker.
Although, My Privacy Zone hijacker is not a virus, but it does bad things, and it alters internet browsers settings. Moreover, an ‘ad-supported’ software (also known as adware) can be additionally installed on to your computer with this browser hijacker infection, which will display a huge number of ads, or even massive full page ads that blocks surfing the Internet. Often such these ads can recommend to install other unknown and unwanted programs or visit harmful pages.
We suggest you to remove My Privacy Zone home page and free your computer of browser hijacker ASAP, until the presence of the hijacker has not led to even worse consequences. You need to follow the step by step instructions below that will assist you to completely delete My Privacy Zone search, using only the built-in Windows features and a few of specialized free tools.
How to remove My Privacy Zone
The My Privacy Zone is a browser hijacker infection that you might have difficulty in deleting it from your PC. Luckily, you have found the effective removal instructions in this blog post. Both the manual removal method and the automatic removal method will be provided below and you can just choose the one that best for you. If you’ve any questions or need assist then type a comment below. Certain of the steps below will require you to exit the web page. So, please read the step-by-step guide carefully, after that bookmark or print it for later reference.
How to manually delete My Privacy Zone
The useful removal instructions for the My Privacy Zone . The detailed procedure can be followed by anyone as it really does take you step-by-step. If you follow this process to delete My Privacy Zone let us know how you managed by sending us your comments please.
Uninstall My Privacy Zone related software through the Control Panel of your computer
First method for manual hijacker infection removal is to go into the Microsoft Windows “Control Panel”, then “Uninstall a program” console. Take a look at the list of software on your computer and see if there are any suspicious and unknown applications. If you see any, you need to remove them. Of course, before doing so, you can do an Net search to find details on the application. If it is a potentially unwanted program, ad-supported software or malware, you will likely find information that says so.
Windows 10, 8.1, 8
Click the Microsoft Windows logo, and then click Search . Type ‘Control panel’and press Enter as shown below.
Once the ‘Control Panel’ opens, press the ‘Uninstall a program’ link under Programs category as shown on the screen below.
Windows 7, Vista, XP
Open Start menu and choose the ‘Control Panel’ at right as shown in the figure below.
Then go to ‘Add/Remove Programs’ or ‘Uninstall a program’ (Windows 7 or Vista) as shown in the figure below.
Carefully browse through the list of installed software and remove all software which has the name similar to the web-page which has been set as your Firefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer and MS Edge homepage, new tab and default search provider. We recommend to press ‘Installed programs’ and even sorts all installed programs by date. uwhen you have found anything suspicious that may be the browser hijacker, adware or PUPs, then select this program and click ‘Uninstall’ in the upper part of the window. If the suspicious application blocked from removal, then run Revo Uninstaller Freeware to fully remove it from your PC.
Disinfect the internet browser’s shortcuts to remove My Privacy Zone
Unfortunately, the hijacker can also hijack Windows shortcuts (mostly, your internet browsers shortcuts}), so that the My Privacy Zone home page will be displayed when you open the Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox and Microsoft Edge or another web browser.
Right click to a desktop shortcut for your internet browser. Choose the “Properties” option. It will open the Properties window. Select the “Shortcut” tab here, after that, look at the “Target” field. The hijacker can modify it. If you are seeing something like “…exe http://site.address” then you need to remove “http…” and leave only, depending on the web browser you are using:
- Google Chrome: chrome.exe
- Opera: opera.exe
- Firefox: firefox.exe
- Internet Explorer: iexplore.exe
Look at the example as shown on the screen below.
Once is finished, click the “OK” button to save the changes. Please repeat this step for browser shortcuts which redirects to an annoying web-pages. When you have completed, go to next step.
Delete My Privacy Zone from FF by resetting web-browser settings
If the Mozilla Firefox settings such as homepage, new tab and default search engine have been replaced by the hijacker, then resetting it to the default state can help.
Start the FF and press the menu button (it looks like three stacked lines) at the top right of the web-browser screen. Next, click the question-mark icon at the bottom of the drop-down menu. It will display the slide-out menu.
Select the “Troubleshooting information”. If you’re unable to access the Help menu, then type “about:support” in your address bar and press Enter. It bring up the “Troubleshooting Information” page as shown in the figure below.
Click the “Refresh Firefox” button at the top right of the Troubleshooting Information page. Select “Refresh Firefox” in the confirmation prompt. The Firefox will begin a task to fix your problems that caused by the My Privacy Zone hijacker. Once, it is finished, click the “Finish” button.
Remove My Privacy Zone start page from Chrome
Like other modern web browsers, the Chrome has the ability to reset the settings to their default values and thereby restore the newtab, homepage and search engine by default that have been changed by the My Privacy Zone browser hijacker.
Open the Google Chrome menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (). It will show the drop-down menu. Next, press to “Settings” option.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the “Show advanced settings” link. Now scroll down until the Reset settings section is visible, as on the image below and click the “Reset settings” button.
Confirm your action, click the “Reset” button.
Delete My Privacy Zone search from Internet Explorer
The Internet Explorer reset is great if your browser is hijacked or you have unwanted addo-ons or toolbars on your web browser, which installed by an malware.
First, start the Internet Explorer, then click ‘gear’ icon . It will display the Tools drop-down menu on the right part of the web browser, then click the “Internet Options” as shown on the image below.
In the “Internet Options” screen, select the “Advanced” tab, then press the “Reset” button. The IE will show the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” dialog box. Further, click the “Delete personal settings” check box to select it. Next, press the “Reset” button as shown in the figure below.
When the process is complete, click “Close” button. Close the Internet Explorer and reboot your computer for the changes to take effect. This step will help you to restore your browser’s new tab page, start page and search engine by default to default state.
Use free malware removal tools to completely get rid of My Privacy Zone search
If your PC system is still infected with the My Privacy Zone browser hijacker, then the best method of detection and removal is to run an anti malware scan on the PC. Download free malware removal tools below and run a full system scan. It will help you remove all components of the browser hijacker from hardisk and Windows registry.
Scan and clean your PC of My Privacy Zone with Zemana Anti-malware
We suggest you to use the Zemana Anti-malware that are completely clean your personal computer. Moreover, the utility will help you to remove potentially unwanted applications, malware, toolbars and ad-supported software that your machine can be infected too.
- Download Zemana anti-malware (ZAM) from the link below.
Zemana AntiMalware
164104 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
- Once the download is complete, close all programs and windows on your system. Open a file location. Double-click on the icon that’s named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
- Further, click Next button and follow the prompts.
- Once installation is complete, click the “Scan” button to perform a system scan for the browser hijacker and other malicious software and adware. A scan may take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of files on your system and the speed of your computer. When a threat is detected, the number of the security threats will change accordingly.
- When it has finished scanning your computer, it’ll open a scan report. Review the scan results and then click “Next”. Once disinfection is finished, you can be prompted to reboot your computer.
Scan and clean your computer of hijacker with Malwarebytes
We recommend using the Malwarebytes Free. You can download and install Malwarebytes to scan for and delete My Privacy Zone from your computer. When installed and updated, the free malware remover will automatically scan and detect all threats exist on the PC system.
- Please download Malwarebytes to your desktop by clicking on the following link.
Malwarebytes Anti-malware
326457 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
- At the download page, click on the Download button. Your web-browser will show the “Save as” prompt. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
- When downloading is finished, please close all applications and open windows on your PC. Double-click on the icon that’s named mb3-setup.
- This will open the “Setup wizard” of Malwarebytes onto your system. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
- When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the Malwarebytes will start and show the main window.
- Further, click the “Scan Now” button to perform a system scan with this tool for the browser hijacker and web browser’s malicious extensions. Depending on your machine, the scan may take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. During the scan it’ll detect all threats present on your PC.
- Once the system scan is done, it will display you the results.
- In order to get rid of all threats, simply click the “Quarantine Selected” button to begin cleaning your personal computer. Once the process is finished, you may be prompted to reboot the machine.
- Close the Anti-Malware and continue with the next step.
Video instruction, which reveals in detail the steps above.
Run AdwCleaner to delete My Privacy Zone search
If MalwareBytes antimalware or Zemana anti-malware cannot get rid of this hijacker infection, then we recommends to use the AdwCleaner. AdwCleaner is a free removal tool for browser hijackers, adware, PUPs and toolbars.
Download AdwCleaner from the link below.
225298 downloads
Version: 8.4.1
Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
Category: Security tools
Update: October 5, 2024
Once downloading is finished, 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 launched, you will see a screen as shown below.
Further, click “Scan” button . This will begin scanning the whole system to find out My Privacy Zone hijacker that redirects your internet browser to the My Privacy Zone annoying web-site. This procedure can take quite a while, so please be patient. When it has finished scanning, it will open a scan report as shown below.
Make sure all entries have ‘checkmark’ and click “Clean” button. It will show a dialog box as shown on the image below.
You need to press “OK”. When the clean up is finished, the AdwCleaner may ask you to reboot your PC system. When your PC system is started, you will see an AdwCleaner log.
These steps are shown in detail in the following video guide.
How to block My Privacy Zone search
Running an ad-blocking application like AdGuard is an effective way to alleviate the risks. Additionally, ad-blocking applications will also protect you from malicious ads and sites, and, of course, block redirection chain to My Privacy Zone and similar web-pages.
- Download AdGuard program from the following link.
Adguard download
26655 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” program window. Follow the prompts.
- Once the installation is complete, press “Skip” to close the setup program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will assist 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 system, AdGuard will start automatically and block popups, web sites such My Privacy Zone, as well as other harmful or misleading pages. For an overview of all the features of the application, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the icon named AdGuard, that is located on your desktop.
How to avoid installation of My Privacy Zone hijacker infection
In many cases, the My Privacy Zone hijacker gets on your PC system along with the install packages from a free hosting and file sharing web sites. So, install a freeware is a a good chance that you will find a bundled hijacker infection. If you don’t know how to avoid it, then use a simple trick. During the installation, select the Custom or Advanced setup option. Next, click ‘Decline’ button and clear all checkboxes on offers that ask you to install optional programs. Moreover, please carefully read Term of use and User agreement before installing any software or otherwise you may end up with another unwanted program on your machine like this browser hijacker.
To sum up
Now your machine should be clean of the My Privacy Zone . Delete AdwCleaner. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted pop up advertisements and annoying dangerous sites) and Malwarebytes (to periodically scan your machine for new malware, browser hijackers and adware). Make sure that you have all the Critical Updates recommended for Windows OS. Without regular updates you WILL NOT be protected when new browser hijacker, dangerous applications and adware are released.
If you are still having problems while trying to delete My Privacy Zone homepage from your browser, then ask for help in our Spyware/Malware removal forum.