If your new tab, homepage and search engine by default keeps changing back to the annoying web site named Trovi Search,then it is a sign that your internet browser has become the victim of potentially unwanted program from the browser hijacker family. This unwanted software is created to take control of your PC’s internet browser and change how and what it displays when you’re surfing the World Wide Web. If you’re already a victim of Trovi Search hijacker, then the following guide may help you clean the Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge from the hackers, boost web-browser security and return web browser settings.
Except that the Trovi Search makes changes to web-browser’s home page and new tab, it also rewrites your search engine, which leads to the fact that use of the web-browser’s search becomes uncomfortable. The reason for this is that the search results will consist of a large number of advertisements, links to unwanted and ad web-pages and only the remaining part is search results for your query from well-known search providers like Google or Bing.
Table of contents
- What is Trovi Search
- Remove Trovi Search from Windows 10, 8, 7, XP
- Stop Trovi Search redirect and other intrusive web pages
- How did you get infected with Trovi Search browser hijacker
- To sum up
Often, the PC which has been infected by Trovi Search hijacker infection, will be also infected by ‘ad-supported’ software (also known as adware) that opens a huge number of various ads. It can be pop-ups, text links in the pages, banners where they never had. What is more, the adware can replace the legitimate ads with malicious ads that will offer to download and install malicious software and unwanted applications or visit the various dangerous and misleading pages.
Most often, the Trovi Search hijacker affects most common web browsers such as Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge. But such browser hijacker infections as well may infect other web-browsers by modifying its shortcuts (adding ‘http://site.address’ into Target field of browser’s shortcut). So every time you launch the browser, it’ll open Trovi Search page. Even if you setup your startpage again, the undesired Trovi Search page will be the first thing which you see when you run the web browser.
The guidance below explaining steps to get rid of Trovi Search homepage problem. Feel free to use it for removal of the hijacker that may attack Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Microsoft Internet Explorer and other popular internet browsers. The step by step guide will allow you restore your settings of browsers which previously replaced by hijacker.
Remove Trovi Search from Windows 10, 8, 7, XP
The answer is right here on this page. We have put together simplicity and efficiency. It will allow you easily to free your PC of hijacker. Moreover, you may choose manual or automatic removal solution. If you are familiar with the PC system then use manual removal, otherwise use the free antimalware tool created specifically to get rid of hijacker like Trovi Search. Of course, you can combine both methods. Read this manual carefully, bookmark or print it, because you may need to close your web browser or restart your computer.
Remove Trovi Search startpage without any tools
The few simple steps will help you get rid of Trovi Search . These Trovi Search removal steps work for the Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox and MS Edge, as well as every version of Microsoft Windows operating system.
Remove suspicious applications using MS Windows Control Panel
First of all, check the list of installed software on your computer and remove all unknown and recently installed software. If you see an unknown application with incorrect spelling or varying capital letters, it have most likely been installed by malware and you should clean it off first with malware removal utility such as Zemana Anti-malware.
Press Windows button , then click Search . Type “Control panel”and press Enter. If you using Windows XP or Windows 7, then click “Start” and select “Control Panel”. It will display the Windows Control Panel as shown in the figure below.
Further, press “Uninstall a program”
It will open a list of all applications installed on your PC system. Scroll through the all list, and uninstall any suspicious and unknown applications.
Clean up the web browsers shortcuts
Once the hijacker infection is started, it can also modify the browser’s shortcuts, adding an argument such as “http://site.address” into the Target field. Due to this, every time you launch the internet browser, it will show an unwanted web page.
Open the properties of the web browser shortcut. Right click on the shortcut of infected internet browser and choose the “Properties” option and it will display the properties of the shortcut. Next, choose the “Shortcut” tab and have a look at the Target field as shown on the screen 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 which have been modified by hijacker such as Trovi Search usually point to .bat, .cmd or .url files instead of .exe as on the image 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 on the image 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 altered by browser hijacker infection.
Chrome | C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe |
C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe | |
Mozilla Firefox | 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 done, click OK to save changes. Repeat the step for all web-browsers which are rerouted to the Trovi Search undesired page.
Remove Trovi Search from Google Chrome
Like other modern web-browsers, the Google Chrome has the ability to reset the settings to their default values and thereby recover the internet browser homepage, newtab and search provider by default that have been replaced by the Trovi Search browser hijacker infection.
First open the Chrome. Next, press the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (). It will open the main menu. Further, click the option named “Settings”. Another way to show the Chrome’s settings – type chrome://settings in the web browser adress bar and press Enter.
The web browser will open the settings screen. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the “Show advanced settings” link. Now scroll down until the “Reset settings” section is visible, as shown below and click the “Reset settings” button.
The Google Chrome will show the confirmation dialog box. You need to confirm your action, click the “Reset” button. The browser will start the process of cleaning. When it’s finished, the web browser’s settings including newtab, start page and search engine by default back to the values that have been when the Chrome was first installed on your machine.
Remove Trovi Search redirect from FF
If your FF web browser start page has changed to Trovi Search without your permission or an unknown search engine opens results for your search, then it may be time to perform the internet browser reset.
First, open the Mozilla Firefox and press button. It will show the drop-down menu on the right-part of the browser. Further, press the Help button () as shown below
.
In the Help menu, select the “Troubleshooting Information” option. Another way to open the “Troubleshooting Information” screen – type “about:support” in the browser adress bar and press Enter. It will open the “Troubleshooting Information” page like below. In the upper-right corner of this screen, click the “Refresh Firefox” button.
It will open the confirmation dialog box. Further, click the “Refresh Firefox” button. The Firefox will begin a process to fix your problems that caused by the Trovi Search hijacker. When, it is done, click the “Finish” button.
Get rid of Trovi Search startpage from Internet Explorer
In order to restore all internet browser home page, newtab page and default search provider you need to reset the Internet Explorer to the state, which was when the MS Windows was installed on your PC system.
First, open the Internet Explorer, then press ‘gear’ icon . It will display the Tools drop-down menu on the right part of the browser, then click the “Internet Options” as shown in the figure below.
In the “Internet Options” screen, select the “Advanced” tab, then click the “Reset” button. The Internet Explorer will display the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” dialog box. Further, press the “Delete personal settings” check box to select it. Next, click the “Reset” button as on the image below.
Once the procedure is finished, press “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 web browser’s home page, new tab page and default search engine to default state.
How to automatically get rid of Trovi Search hijacker infection
Manual removal tutorial does not always allow to completely remove the hijacker, as it’s not easy to identify and remove components of browser hijacker and all malicious files from hard disk. Therefore, it is recommended that you use malware removal tool to completely remove Trovi Search off your PC. Several free malware removal utilities are currently available that can be used against the browser hijacker infection. The optimum solution would be to run Zemana Anti-malware, Malwarebytes Free and AdwCleaner.
Remove Trovi Search with Zemana Anti-malware
We suggest you to run the Zemana Anti-malware that are completely clean your machine. Moreover, the tool will help you to get rid of potentially unwanted programs, malicious software, toolbars and ad supported software that your PC system can be infected too.
Now you can set up and use Zemana Anti Malware to delete Trovi Search redirect from your web-browser by following the steps below:
Click the link below to download Zemana Anti Malware setup package called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup on your personal computer.
164110 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
Start the setup file after it has been downloaded successfully and then follow the prompts to set up this tool on your machine.
During installation you can change some settings, but we suggest you don’t make any changes to default settings.
When install is finished, this malware removal tool will automatically run and update itself. You will see its main window like below.
Now press the “Scan” button to begin scanning your PC system for the browser hijacker that cause a redirect to Trovi Search web-page. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your PC. During the scan it’ll detect all threats present on your PC system.
Once the scanning is complete, it will display a list of detected threats. Next, you need to press “Next” button.
The Zemana AntiMalware will begin to remove Trovi Search browser hijacker related files, folders and registry keys. When finished, you can be prompted to restart your PC system to make the change take effect.
Remove Trovi Search startpage with Malwarebytes
Manual Trovi Search removal requires some computer skills. Some files and registry entries that created by the hijacker infection can be not completely removed. We advise that use the Malwarebytes Free that are completely free your PC system of hijacker infection. Moreover, the free program will allow you to remove malicious software, potentially unwanted programs, adware and toolbars that your computer can be infected too.
Download Malwarebytes Free by clicking on the link below.
326461 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
Once the download is finished, run it and follow the prompts. Once installed, the Malwarebytes will try to update itself and when this procedure is finished, click the “Scan Now” button to perform a system scan with this utility for the Trovi Search hijacker and other kinds of potential threats such as malware and adware. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the count of files on your PC and the speed of your machine. While the program is checking, you can see count of objects it has identified as threat. All found threats will be marked. You can get rid of them all by simply click “Quarantine Selected” button.
The Malwarebytes is a free program that you can use to get rid of all detected folders, files, services, registry entries and so on. To learn more about this malware removal utility, we advise you to read and follow the steps or the video guide below.
Double-check for potentially unwanted applications with AdwCleaner
AdwCleaner is a free portable program that scans your computer for ‘ad supported’ software, PUPs and browser hijackers like Trovi Search and helps get rid of them easily. Moreover, it’ll also help you delete any harmful web browser extensions and add-ons.
- Download AdwCleaner by clicking on the following link.
AdwCleaner download
225298 downloads
Version: 8.4.1
Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
Category: Security tools
Update: October 5, 2024
- Select the directory in which you saved it as Desktop, and then click Save.
- When the download is complete, run the AdwCleaner, double-click the adwcleaner_xxx.exe file.
- If the “User Account Control” prompts, click Yes to continue.
- Read the “Terms of use”, and click Accept.
- In the AdwCleaner window, press the “Scan” to begin scanning your machine for the hijacker that created to redirect your browser to the Trovi Search web-site. This process can take quite a while, so please be patient. During the scan it’ll detect all threats present on your PC.
- When the scan get finished, it’ll display you the results. All found items will be marked. You can remove them all by simply press “Clean”. If the AdwCleaner will ask you to reboot your PC, press “OK”.
The tutorial shown in detail in the following video.
Stop Trovi Search redirect 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 run an adblocker application. AdGuard is an ad-blocking which can filter out a large amount of of the malvertising, blocking dynamic scripts from loading harmful content.
Download AdGuard application from the following link.
26657 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
After the downloading process is finished, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen as shown below.
Follow the prompts. Once the install is complete, you will see a window as shown below.
You can click “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or click “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 personal computer, AdGuard will start automatically and stop popup advertisements, Trovi Search redirect, as well as other malicious or misleading web-pages. For an overview of all the features of the application, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the AdGuard icon, that is located on your desktop.
How did you get infected with Trovi Search browser hijacker
The browser hijacker spreads bundled with some free applications. So always read carefully the install screens, disclaimers, ‘Terms of Use’ and ‘Software license’ appearing during the install procedure. Additionally pay attention for optional software that are being installed along with the main program. Ensure that you unchecked all of them! Also, run an adblocker application that will help to stop malicious, misleading, illegitimate or untrustworthy web-pages.
To sum up
Now your computer should be clean of the Trovi Search homepage. Remove AdwCleaner. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted pop up ads and unwanted malicious sites) and Malwarebytes (to periodically scan your computer for new malware, browser hijackers and ‘ad supported’ software). Make sure that you have all the Critical Updates recommended for Windows OS. Without regular updates you WILL NOT be protected when new hijackers, harmful programs and adware are released.
If you are still having problems while trying to get rid of Trovi Search home page from your internet browser, then ask for help in our Spyware/Malware removal forum.