How to remove GamesQuest.co [Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge]

When you run your browser such as IE, Chrome, Firefox and Edge, the web-site named GamesQuest.co opens automatically instead of your start page? Or this annoying site has been set as new tab page and web-browser’s search provider ? Then you need to know your web browser has been affected with the nasty browser hijacker. The GamesQuest.co hijacker usually get installed as a part of some freeware. Do not be surprised, it happens, especially if you’re an active Internet user. But this does not mean that you should reconcile with the unwanted GamesQuest.co . You need to clean your computer of unwanted software like this hijacker infection as quickly as possible. Because the undesired homepage and search engine can be a way to infect your machine with more harmful applications like viruses and trojans.

If your system is infected by GamesQuest.co hijacker, every time you run your web-browser you’ll see this site. Of course you may setup your homepage again, but next time you open a browser you will see that GamesQuest.co search return. As mentioned above, the browser hijacker may change the default search provider on this annoying web page too, so all your search queries will be redirected to GamesQuest.co. Thus the authors of the browser hijacker may gather the search terms of your queries, and redirect you to undesired pages.

Although, GamesQuest.co browser hijacker is not a virus, but it does bad things, and it imposes changes to some settings of installed browsers. Moreover, an adware (also known as ‘ad-supported’ software) may be additionally installed on to your PC by this hijacker infection, that will open a large amount of ads, or even massive full page advertisements that blocks surfing the Internet. Often such these ads can recommend to install other unknown and unwanted apps or visit malicious pages.

The GamesQuest.co hijacker commonly affects only the Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer, MS Edge and Firefox. However, possible situations, when any other browsers will be affected too. The browser hijacker will perform a scan of the PC for browser shortcuts and alter them without your permission. When it infects the internet browser shortcuts, it’ll add the argument such as ‘http://site.address’ into Target property. So, each time you open the web browser, you will see the GamesQuest.co undesired web site.

Thus, it’s clear that the presence of hijacker on your system is not desirable, and you need to clean up your PC as quickly as possible. Follow the step by step tutorial below in order to delete GamesQuest.co from Chrome, FF, Internet Explorer and Edge.

Remove GamesQuest.co from Windows 10 (8, 7, XP)

Not all undesired programs like browser hijacker responsible for redirecting your web-browser to GamesQuest.co web-site are easily uninstallable. You might see a new start page, new tab page, search engine and other type of undesired changes to the Firefox, MS Edge, Chrome and Internet Explorer settings and might not be able to figure out the program responsible for this activity. The reason for this is that many undesired software neither appear in Microsoft Windows Control Panel. Therefore in order to fully remove GamesQuest.co , you need to complete the following steps. Read this manual carefully, bookmark or print it, because you may need to close your browser or reboot your system.

To remove GamesQuest.co, complete the following steps:

1. How to manually delete GamesQuest.co
   • Remove GamesQuest.co associated software by using MS Windows Control Panel
   • Remove GamesQuest.co start page from Microsoft Internet Explorer
   • Delete GamesQuest.co redirect from Google Chrome
   • Remove GamesQuest.co search from Mozilla Firefox
   • Fix infected web browsers shortcuts to get rid of GamesQuest.co
2. Scan your system and delete GamesQuest.co with free tools
   • Use Zemana Free to delete hijacker infection
   • How to automatically get rid of GamesQuest.co with Malwarebytes
   • Scan your system and remove GamesQuest.co with AdwCleaner
3. Run AdBlocker to stop GamesQuest.co and stay safe online
4. How can you prevent the GamesQuest.co hijacker
5. Finish words

How to manually delete GamesQuest.co

The following instructions is a step-by-step guide, which will help you manually remove GamesQuest.co search from the FF, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Chrome and Edge.

Remove GamesQuest.co associated software by using MS Windows Control Panel

In order to remove PUPs like this hijacker infection, open the Windows Control Panel and click on “Uninstall a program”. Check the list of installed applications. For the ones you do not know, run an Internet search to see if they are ad supported software, browser hijacker or potentially unwanted software. If yes, uninstall them off. Even if they are just a software which you do not use, then removing them off will increase your PC system start up time and speed dramatically.

It will show the Windows Control Panel like below.

Next, press “Uninstall a program”
It will open a list of all software installed on your personal computer. Scroll through the all list, and remove any suspicious and unknown programs. To quickly find the latest installed applications, we recommend sort apps by date in the Control panel.

Remove GamesQuest.co start page from Microsoft Internet Explorer

The Internet Explorer reset is great if your web browser is hijacked or you’ve unwanted extensions or toolbars on your web browser, which installed by a malware.

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

After the procedure is done, press “Close” button. Close the IE and reboot your PC for the changes to take effect. This step will help you to restore your web-browser’s search provider, new tab and startpage to default state.

Delete GamesQuest.co redirect from Google Chrome

Reset Chrome settings is a easy way to remove the hijacker infection, malicious and adware extensions, as well as to recover the web-browser’s homepage, new tab and default search provider that have been replaced by hijacker.

Open the Chrome menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal dotes (). It will show the drop-down menu. Choose More Tools, then click Extensions.

Carefully browse through the list of installed addons. If the list has the extension labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following guidance: Remove Google Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy otherwise, just go to the step below.

Open the Google Chrome main menu again, click to “Settings” option.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the “Advanced” link. Now scroll down until the Reset settings section is visible, as shown in the following example and press the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.

Confirm your action, click the “Reset” button.

Remove GamesQuest.co search from Mozilla Firefox

If your Firefox internet browser homepage has changed to GamesQuest.co without your permission or an unknown search engine displays results for your search, then it may be time to perform the web-browser reset.

First, run the Firefox and press button. It will show the drop-down menu on the right-part of the web-browser. Further, click the Help button () as shown on the screen below.

In the Help menu, select the “Troubleshooting Information” option. Another way to open the “Troubleshooting Information” screen – type “about:support” in the web-browser adress bar and press Enter. It will display the “Troubleshooting Information” page as shown in the figure below. In the upper-right corner of this screen, click the “Refresh Firefox” button.

It will show the confirmation dialog box. Further, click the “Refresh Firefox” button. The Firefox will start a procedure to fix your problems that caused by the hijacker infection responsible for changing your internet browser settings to GamesQuest.co. Once, it is done, click the “Finish” button.

Fix infected web browsers shortcuts to get rid of GamesQuest.co

Important to know, most anti malware applications that are able to get rid of browser hijacker responsible for changing your web browser settings to GamesQuest.co, but unable to scan for and recover altered shortcut files. So, you need to fix the desktop shortcut files for your Firefox, Internet Explorer, Edge and Google Chrome web browsers manually.

Right click on the web browser’s shortcut, click Properties option. 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 “http://site.address” that has been added here. Remove everything after .exe. An example, for Google Chrome you should remove everything after chrome.exe.

To save changes, click OK . You need to clean all web browser’s shortcut files. So, repeat this step for the Google Chrome, IE, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge.

Scan your system and delete GamesQuest.co with free tools

If your system is still infected with the GamesQuest.co browser hijacker, then the best solution of detection and removal is to use an antimalware scan on the system. Download free malware removal utilities below and run a full system scan. It will help you get rid of all components of the browser hijacker from hardisk and Windows registry.

Use Zemana Free to delete hijacker infection

We recommend you to use the Zemana Anti-Malware that are completely clean your system. Moreover, the utility will help you to get rid of potentially unwanted software, malware, toolbars and adware that your PC may be infected too.

1. Please go to the link below to download Zemana AntiMalware. Save it on your Microsoft Windows desktop or in any other place.
   
   

   Zemana AntiMalware
   164101 downloads
   Author: Zemana Ltd
   Category: Security tools
   Update: July 16, 2019
   
2. When downloading is complete, close all programs and windows on your PC system. Open a directory in which you saved it. Double-click on the icon that’s named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
3. Further, click Next button and follow the prompts.
4. Once setup is complete, press the “Scan” button . Zemana Anti-Malware program will scan through the whole system for the browser hijacker responsible for redirecting your internet browser to GamesQuest.co web page. A scan may take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the count of files on your personal computer and the speed of your machine. During the scan Zemana will search for threats present on your computer.
5. Once finished, Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) will display a list of detected items. Review the results once the utility has complete the system scan. If you think an entry should not be quarantined, then uncheck it. Otherwise, simply click “Next”. When the task is finished, you can be prompted to reboot your personal computer.

How to automatically get rid of GamesQuest.co with Malwarebytes

Manual GamesQuest.co 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 personal computer of hijacker. Moreover, the free program will help you to remove malicious software, potentially unwanted apps, ad-supported software and toolbars that your computer may be infected too.

Download MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) on your personal computer by clicking on the link below.

When the downloading process is finished, close all programs and windows on your machine. Open a directory in which you saved it. Double-click on the icon that’s named mb3-setup as shown below.

When the installation begins, you will see the “Setup wizard” that will help you install Malwarebytes on your system.

Once setup is done, you will see window as shown in the figure below.

Now press the “Scan Now” button for scanning your computer for the hijacker that modifies browser settings to replace your newtab, homepage and search engine by default with GamesQuest.co web page. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of files on your personal computer and the speed of your PC. While the MalwareBytes Free utility is scanning, you can see count of objects it has identified as being affected by malicious software.

As the scanning ends, MalwareBytes Anti-Malware will open a list of all items detected by the scan. Review the scan results and then click “Quarantine Selected” button.

The Malwarebytes will now get rid of hijacker related to GamesQuest.co start page and add threats to the Quarantine. After the cleaning procedure is done, you may be prompted to reboot your machine.

The following video explains step by step guidance on how to delete hijacker, ad supported software and other malicious software with MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM).

Scan your system and remove GamesQuest.co with AdwCleaner

AdwCleaner is a free removal utility which can check your computer for a wide range of security threats like ad-supported software, malicious software, potentially unwanted applications as well as GamesQuest.co browser hijacker infection and other web-browser’s malicious extensions. It will perform a deep scan of your personal computer including hard drives and Microsoft Windows registry. Once a malicious software is found, it will help you to remove all found threats from your machine with a simple click.

Please go to the following link to download AdwCleaner. Save it on your Windows desktop.

After downloading is finished, open the directory in which you saved it and double-click the AdwCleaner icon. It will start the AdwCleaner tool. If the User Account Control prompt will ask you want to run the application, press Yes button to continue.

Next, press “Scan” to perform a system scan with this utility for the hijacker responsible for modifying your web browser settings to GamesQuest.co. Depending on your personal computer, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. During the scan AdwCleaner will search for threats exist on your machine.

When the scan get completed, AdwCleaner will open a scan report as displayed below.

Review the scan results and then click “Clean” button. It will open a dialog box. Click “OK” button. The AdwCleaner will delete GamesQuest.co browser hijacker and other browser’s harmful plugins and move items to the program’s quarantine. When the cleaning process is complete, the tool may ask you to restart your PC system. After restart, the AdwCleaner will open the log file.

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

Run AdBlocker to stop GamesQuest.co and stay safe online

It is important to use adblocker programs such as AdGuard to protect your computer from malicious pages. Most security experts says that it’s okay to stop advertisements. You should do so just to stay safe! And, of course, the AdGuard can to stop GamesQuest.co and other annoying web pages.

Please go to the following link to download the latest version of AdGuard for Microsoft Windows. Save it on your MS Windows desktop.

Once downloading is complete, run the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen as shown on the screen below.

Follow the prompts. Once the installation is complete, you will see a window as displayed on the image 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 help 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 personal computer, AdGuard will start automatically and stop pop up ads, web pages like GamesQuest.co, as well as other malicious 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 is located on your desktop.

How can you prevent the GamesQuest.co hijacker

The GamesQuest.co browser hijacker usually gets onto PC by being attached to another program in the same setup file. The risk of this is especially high for the various free applications downloaded from the Internet. The authors of the software are hoping that users will use the quick setup option, that is simply to click the Next button, without paying attention to the information on the screen and do not carefully considering every step of the setup procedure. Thus, the browser hijacker can infiltrate your computer without your knowledge. Therefore, it’s very important to read all the information that tells the program during installation, including the ‘Terms of Use’ and ‘Software license’. Use only the Manual, Custom or Advanced installation method. This mode will help you to disable all optional and unwanted applications and components.

Finish words

Now your computer should be free of the hijacker that cause a reroute to GamesQuest.co web page. Uninstall AdwCleaner. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted popups and undesired harmful web sites) and Zemana Free (to periodically scan your computer for new browser hijackers and other malware). 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 GamesQuest.co from the Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, MS Edge and Mozilla Firefox, then ask for help in our Spyware/Malware removal forum.