How to remove GifaPalooza [Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge]

GifaPalooza is a browser hijacker. It changes the search provider by default, startpage and newtab page of your installed internet browsers such as Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. When this hijacker is installed, it’ll alter the web-browser’s settings so that they automatically being redirected to the GifaPalooza as your home page and use it for World Wide Web searches. So, every time, when your web browser opens, it’ll open GifaPalooza site. Furthermore, when you try to search via affected web browser, it will redirect your queries first to GifaPalooza, and then on to Bing or Yahoo or Google Custom Search.

In order to force you to use GifaPalooza as often as possible this hijacker can modify your web browsers’ search engine. The authors of this browser hijacker do so in order to make revenue via Google AdSense or another third-party ad network. Thus every your click on ads that placed on the GifaPalooza generates money for them.

The GifaPalooza hijacker is not a virus, but the virus behaves similarly. As a rootkit hides in the system, may introduce certain unwanted changes to settings of installed web browsers, and blocks them from modifying. And finally, the GifaPalooza browser hijacker can be used to gather a wide variety of personal information like what pages you’re opening, what you’re looking for the Web and so on. This information, in the future, can be transferred to third parties.

Therefore it is very important to free your computer of hijacker ASAP. Follow the guidance below to remove GifaPalooza , as well as other malicious software and adware, which may be installed onto your computer along with it.

Remove GifaPalooza from Windows 10 (8, 7, XP)

The following step-by-step tutorial will help you to remove GifaPalooza search from the Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome and Firefox. Moreover, the few simple steps below will help you to remove malicious software such as potentially unwanted software, adware and toolbars that your PC may be infected. Please do the guide step by step. If you need assist or have any questions, then ask for our assistance or type a comment below. Some of the steps below will require you to exit this site. So, please read the step-by-step guidance carefully, after that bookmark or print it for later reference.

To remove GifaPalooza, use the following steps:

1. Remove GifaPalooza search without any utilities
   • Uninstall GifaPalooza associated software by using MS Windows Control Panel
   • Remove GifaPalooza start page from Chrome
   • Get rid of GifaPalooza from Firefox by resetting internet browser settings
   • Delete GifaPalooza from Microsoft Internet Explorer
2. GifaPalooza automatic removal
   • Run Zemana Free to get rid of GifaPalooza redirect
   • How to delete GifaPalooza with Malwarebytes
   • If the problem with GifaPalooza redirect is still remained
3. How to stop GifaPalooza
4. Tips to prevent GifaPalooza and other unwanted programs
5. Finish words

Remove GifaPalooza search without any utilities

The steps will help you remove GifaPalooza home page. These GifaPalooza removal steps work for the MS Edge, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Firefox, as well as every version of Microsoft Windows operating system.

Uninstall GifaPalooza associated software by using MS Windows Control Panel

In order to delete GifaPalooza, first thing you need to do is to uninstall unknown and questionable applications from your PC using Windows control panel. When removing this browser hijacker infection, check the list of installed software and try to find suspicious programs and delete them all. Pay special attention to recently installed apps, as it’s most probably that the GifaPalooza hijacker сame along with it.

Carefully browse through the list of installed applications and delete all suspicious and unknown programs. We recommend to click ‘Installed programs’ and even sorts all installed programs by date. When you’ve found anything dubious that may be the hijacker that cause a redirect to GifaPalooza web-site or other PUP (potentially unwanted program), then select this application and click ‘Uninstall’ in the upper part of the window. If the questionable application blocked from removal, then run Revo Uninstaller Freeware to fully get rid of it from your computer.

Remove GifaPalooza start page from Chrome

Reset Chrome settings is a simple way to remove the browser hijacker, malicious and ‘ad-supported’ extensions, as well as to restore the internet browser’s startpage, search engine and newtab page that have been replaced by GifaPalooza browser hijacker.

First start the Chrome. Next, click the button in the form of three horizontal dots ().

It will display the Google Chrome menu. Select More Tools, then click Extensions. Carefully browse through the list of installed extensions. If the list has the extension signed with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following steps: Remove Google Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.

Open the Chrome menu once again. Further, click the option named “Settings”.

The internet browser will open the settings screen. Another way to display the Google Chrome’s settings – type chrome://settings in the internet browser adress bar and press Enter

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and press the “Advanced” link. Now scroll down until the “Reset” section is visible, like below and press the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.

The Chrome will display the confirmation dialog box as shown below.

You need to confirm your action, press the “Reset” button. The internet browser will run the task of cleaning. When it is done, the web browser’s settings including home page, search provider and newtab page back to the values that have been when the Chrome was first installed on your personal computer.

Get rid of GifaPalooza from Firefox by resetting internet browser settings

If your Mozilla Firefox web-browser start page has modified to GifaPalooza without your permission or an unknown search engine displays results for your search, then it may be time to perform the web browser reset.

Run the Mozilla Firefox and press the menu button (it looks like three stacked lines) at the top right of the internet browser screen. Next, click the question-mark icon at the bottom of the drop-down menu. It will open 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 on the image below.

Click the “Refresh Firefox” button at the top right of the Troubleshooting Information page. Select “Refresh Firefox” in the confirmation prompt. The Mozilla Firefox will start a procedure to fix your problems that caused by the hijacker responsible for redirections to GifaPalooza. After, it is finished, click the “Finish” button.

Delete GifaPalooza from Microsoft Internet Explorer

In order to recover all web-browser newtab, search provider and homepage you need to reset the IE to the state, that was when the Microsoft Windows was installed on your system.

First, run the Microsoft Internet Explorer. Next, click the button in the form of gear (). It will show the Tools drop-down menu, click the “Internet Options” as displayed in the figure below.

In the “Internet Options” window click on the Advanced tab, then click the Reset button. The Microsoft Internet Explorer will display the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” window like below. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box, then press “Reset” button.

You will now need to restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

GifaPalooza automatic removal

After completing the manual removal steps above all unwanted applications and internet browser’s add-ons that causes browser redirects to the GifaPalooza site should be removed. If the problem with GifaPalooza browser hijacker is still remained, then we suggest to scan your PC system for any remaining malicious components. Run recommended free browser hijacker removal apps below.

Run Zemana Free to get rid of GifaPalooza redirect

Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) is a tool which can remove adware, PUPs, browser hijackers and other malware from your PC system easily and for free. Zemana Free is compatible with most antivirus software. It works under Windows (10 – XP, 32 and 64 bit) and uses minimum of machine resources.

1. Download Zemana Anti Malware on your Microsoft Windows Desktop from the following link.
   
   

   Zemana AntiMalware
   164107 downloads
   Author: Zemana Ltd
   Category: Security tools
   Update: July 16, 2019
   
2. When the downloading process is finished, close all apps and windows on your PC. Open a file location. Double-click on the icon that’s named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
3. Further, click Next button and follow the prompts.
4. Once setup is finished, click the “Scan” button . Zemana Free program will scan through the whole PC system for the browser hijacker that cause a reroute to GifaPalooza web page. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the count of files on your machine and the speed of your computer.
5. After Zemana Free completes the scan, you’ll be displayed the list of all found threats on your PC system. You may move threats to Quarantine (all selected by default) by simply click “Next”. When the task is done, you can be prompted to reboot your machine.

How to delete GifaPalooza with Malwarebytes

You can get rid of GifaPalooza automatically with a help of Malwarebytes Free. We advise this free malware removal tool because it can easily get rid of hijackers, adware, PUPs and toolbars with all their components such as files, folders and registry entries.

1. Visit the page linked below to download MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM). Save it on your Desktop.
   
   

   Malwarebytes Anti-malware
   326460 downloads
   Author: Malwarebytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: April 15, 2020
   
2. At the download page, click on the Download button. Your internet browser will open the “Save as” dialog box. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
3. When the downloading process is finished, please close all software and open windows on your system. Double-click on the icon that’s called mb3-setup.
4. This will start the “Setup wizard” of MalwareBytes Anti Malware onto your computer. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
5. When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the MalwareBytes Free will start and display the main window.
6. Further, press the “Scan Now” button . MalwareBytes Free program will scan through the whole PC system for the hijacker that alters web-browser settings to replace your search engine by default, newtab and startpage with GifaPalooza web-page. A system scan may take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your PC. During the scan MalwareBytes will scan for threats present on your machine.
7. After the checking is finished, MalwareBytes Free will show a list of all threats found by the scan.
8. Review the results once the utility has finished the system scan. If you think an entry should not be quarantined, then uncheck it. Otherwise, simply click the “Quarantine Selected” button. Once finished, you may be prompted to restart the personal computer.
9. Close the AntiMalware and continue with the next step.

Video instruction, which reveals in detail the steps above.

If the problem with GifaPalooza redirect is still remained

AdwCleaner is a portable tool that finds and uninstalls unwanted apps like browser hijacker infections, adware, toolbars, other web-browser extensions and other malicious software. It scans your personal computer for browser hijacker that modifies web browser settings to replace your homepage, search provider by default and newtab page with GifaPalooza site and prepares a list of items marked for removal. AdwCleaner will only erase those unwanted applications that you wish to be removed.

1. Visit the following page to download AdwCleaner. Save it on your Windows desktop or in any other place.
   
   

   AdwCleaner download
   225298 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 downloading is finished, start 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 click Accept.
6. In the AdwCleaner window, press the “Scan” . AdwCleaner application will scan through the whole computer for the hijacker that responsible for browser reroute to the intrusive GifaPalooza page. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your computer. While the AdwCleaner tool is scanning, you can see count of objects it has identified as being infected by malware.
7. Once the scan is done, AdwCleaner will display a list of all items detected by the scan. Review the report and then click “Clean”. If the AdwCleaner will ask you to reboot your PC, press “OK”.

The few simple steps shown in detail in the following video.

How to stop GifaPalooza

Use ad blocking program like AdGuard in order to stop advertisements, malvertisements, pop-ups and online trackers, avoid having to install harmful and adware browser plug-ins and add-ons that affect your PC system performance and impact your personal computer security. Browse the Internet anonymously and stay safe online!

Installing the AdGuard ad blocking program is simple. First you’ll need to download AdGuard on your personal computer from the following link.

After the downloading process is finished, double-click the downloaded file to run it. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen as displayed in the figure 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 instructions 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 guide which will help you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you run your personal computer, AdGuard will run automatically and block popup advertisements, GifaPalooza redirect, as well as other malicious or misleading web 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 can be found on your desktop.

Tips to prevent GifaPalooza and other unwanted programs

Many hijackers like GifaPalooza are included in the free applications installer. In most cases, a user have a chance to disable all included “offers”, but some installers are designed to confuse the average users, in order to trick them into installing an ‘ad supported’ software or PUPs. Anyway, easier to prevent the hijacker rather than clean up your personal computer after one. So, keep the browser updated (turn on automatic updates), run a good antivirus programs, double check a freeware before you run it (do a google search, scan a downloaded file with VirusTotal), avoid malicious and unknown web pages.

Finish words

Once you have complete the guidance above, your PC system should be free from hijacker infection responsible for GifaPalooza redirect and other malware. The Chrome, MS Edge, Firefox and IE will no longer show unwanted GifaPalooza web page on startup. Unfortunately, if the step-by-step tutorial 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.