The Chum Search Engine is a potentially unwanted application (PUA) from the category of browser hijackers. The appearance of Chum Search Engine in your internet browser means that your browser has become the victim of this browser hijacker, that changes current settings of installed web browsers by modifying the search provider by default, new tab page and homepage. So, if you find that when you open your browser, it displays this intrusive web-site, then you don’t need to wait . Follow the tutorial below and delete Chum Search Engine redirect immediately.
The “Chum Search Engine” makes unwanted changed to browser settings
In order to force you to use Chum Search Engine as often as possible this hijacker can change your web-browsers’ search provider. You may even find that your computer’s internet browser shortcuts and MS Windows HOSTS file are hijacked without your knowledge and conscious permission. The creators of this hijacker infection do so in order to earn revenue via Google AdSense or another third-party ad network. Thus every your click on ads which placed on the Chum Search Engine generates revenue for them.
Often, the PC system which has been affected by Chum Search Engine browser hijacker, will be also infected with adware (sometimes named ‘ad-supported’ software) which displays a large amount of various ads. It can be pop-ups, text links in the webpages, banners where they never had. What is more, the adware may replace the legitimate ads with malicious advertisements that will offer to download and install malware and unwanted apps or visit the various dangerous and misleading pages.
Therefore it is very important to free your computer of hijacker infection ASAP. Follow the steps below to remove Chum Search Engine , as well as other malicious software and ad supported software, which can be installed onto your system along with it.
Remove Chum Search Engine Google Chrome (Firefox, IE, Edge)
In the steps below, we will try to cover the Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and Edge and provide general advice to get rid of Chum Search Engine redirect. You may find some minor differences in your Windows install. No matter, you should be okay if you follow the steps outlined below: delete all suspicious and unknown programs, reset browsers settings, fix web-browsers shortcuts, use free malicious software removal utilities. Certain of the steps will require you to reboot your system or close this web-page. So, read this instructions carefully, then bookmark or print it for later reference.
To remove Chum Search Engine, complete the steps below:
- How to manually get rid of Chum Search Engine
- How to automatically delete Chum Search Engine hijacker
- Use AdBlocker to stop Chum Search Engine and stay safe online
- Don’t know how your web browser has been hijacked by Chum Search Engine hijacker?
- To sum up
How to manually get rid of Chum Search Engine
The step-by-step instructions will help you remove Chum Search Engine . These Chum Search Engine removal steps work for the Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox, as well as every version of Microsoft Windows operating system.
Delete Chum Search Engine related software through the Control Panel of your PC
The best way to begin the computer cleanup is to remove unknown and dubious apps. Using the Microsoft Windows Control Panel you can do this quickly and easily. This step, in spite of its simplicity, should not be ignored, because the removing of unneeded programs can clean up the Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer and Chrome from popup advertisements hijackers and so on.
Press Windows button 
, then click Search 
. Type “Control panel”and press Enter. If you using Windows XP or Windows 7, then press “Start” and select “Control Panel”. It will open the Windows Control Panel like below.
Further, click “Uninstall a program” 
It will open a list of all applications installed on your PC system. Scroll through the all list, and remove any suspicious and unknown programs.
Remove Chum Search Engine from Firefox by resetting web browser settings
If the Mozilla Firefox settings like search provider by default, home page and newtab page have been modified by the hijacker, then resetting it to the default state can help. It will keep your personal information like browsing history, bookmarks, passwords and web form auto-fill data.
Launch the Firefox 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 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 like below.
Click the “Refresh Firefox” button at the top right of the Troubleshooting Information page. Select “Refresh Firefox” in the confirmation dialog box. The Firefox will start a process to fix your problems that caused by the browser hijacker responsible for redirecting user searches to Chum Search Engine. When, it is complete, press the “Finish” button.
Delete Chum Search Engine from Internet Explorer
In order to restore all web-browser newtab, home page and default search engine you need to reset the Microsoft Internet Explorer to the state, that was when the Microsoft Windows was installed on your computer.
First, start the IE, click 
) button. Next, click “Internet Options” as displayed in the figure below.
In the “Internet Options” screen select the Advanced tab. Next, press Reset button. The Internet Explorer will show the Reset Internet Explorer settings dialog box. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box and press Reset button.
You will now need to restart your personal computer for the changes to take effect. It will get rid of Chum Search Engine browser hijacker and other internet browser’s malicious addons, disable malicious and ad-supported web browser’s extensions and restore the IE’s settings such as startpage, new tab page and search engine to default state.
Get rid of Chum Search Engine from Chrome
If your Chrome browser is re-directed to unwanted Chum Search Engine web-page, it may be necessary to completely reset your web-browser program to its default settings.
First start the Chrome. Next, press the button in the form of three horizontal dots (
).
It will open the Google Chrome menu. Choose More Tools, then click Extensions. Carefully browse through the list of installed extensions. If the list has the plugin signed with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following steps: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
Open the Chrome menu once again. Further, click the option called “Settings”.
The web browser will show the settings screen. Another method to display the Google Chrome’s settings – type chrome://settings in the web-browser adress bar and press Enter
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click 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 Google Chrome will open the confirmation prompt as on the image below.
You need to confirm your action, press the “Reset” button. The web-browser will start the procedure of cleaning. After it’s complete, the browser’s settings including new tab, default search engine and homepage back to the values that have been when the Google Chrome was first installed on your machine.
How to automatically delete Chum Search Engine hijacker
Many antivirus companies have created software that allow detect and delete hijacker, and thereby return installed browsers settings. Below is a a few of the free applications you may want to use. Your computer may have tons of PUPs, ‘ad supported’ software and hijackers installed at the same time, so we suggest, if any unwanted or harmful application returns after rebooting the personal computer, then boot your computer into Safe Mode and use the anti malware tool once again.
How to get rid of Chum Search Engine with Zemana Anti Malware (ZAM)
We advise using the Zemana which are completely clean your personal computer of the hijacker. The tool is an advanced malicious software removal application created by (c) Zemana lab. It’s able to help you get rid of PUPs, hijackers, adware, malicious software, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your PC system for free.
Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) can be downloaded from the following link. Save it on your Windows desktop.
164107 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
When the downloading process is finished, launch it and follow the prompts. Once installed, the Zemana will try to update itself and when this process is done, click the “Scan” button . Zemana Anti-Malware program will scan through the whole machine for the browser hijacker responsible for Chum Search Engine homepage.
While the Zemana Anti Malware tool is checking, you may see how many objects it has identified as being infected by malicious software. When you are ready, click “Next” button.
The Zemana Free will delete Chum Search Engine hijacker and other internet browser’s harmful extensions.
Use Hitman Pro to get rid of Chum Search Engine from the system
Hitman Pro will help get rid of browser hijacker responsible for redirecting your internet browser to Chum Search Engine site that slow down your computer. The hijackers, adware and other PUPs slow your web-browser down and try to mislead you into clicking on misleading advertisements and links. HitmanPro deletes the browser hijacker infection and lets you enjoy your machine without Chum Search Engine startpage.
- Please go to the following link to download HitmanPro. Save it on your Windows desktop.
- Once downloading is finished, double click the HitmanPro icon. Once this tool is opened, press “Next” button . HitmanPro application will scan through the whole PC for the hijacker responsible for redirecting your browser to Chum Search Engine page. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your PC. While the Hitman Pro program is checking, you may see count of objects it has identified as threat.
- When Hitman Pro has completed scanning, Hitman Pro will show a list of all items detected by the scan. Review the report and then click “Next” button. Now click the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial to remove all malicious software found.
How to automatically delete Chum Search Engine with Malwarebytes
We suggest using the Malwarebytes Free. You can download and install Malwarebytes to search for and remove Chum Search Engine home page from your system. When installed and updated, the free malware remover will automatically scan and detect all threats exist on the computer.
Installing the MalwareBytes Anti Malware is simple. First you will need to download MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) on your Microsoft Windows Desktop from the link below.
326461 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
Once downloading is finished, close all windows on your machine. Further, start the file called mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as shown in the figure below, click the “Yes” button.
It will show the “Setup wizard” that will allow you install MalwareBytes on the PC. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
Once install is finished successfully, click Finish button. Then MalwareBytes Free will automatically start and you can see its main window as on the image below.
Next, click the “Scan Now” button . MalwareBytes Anti-Malware tool will begin scanning the whole system to find out browser hijacker responsible for Chum Search Engine . A system scan may take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your machine.
After the scan get finished, MalwareBytes AntiMalware will show a list of all items found by the scan. Make sure all items have ‘checkmark’ and click “Quarantine Selected” button.
The MalwareBytes Free will begin to remove hijacker infection which alters web-browser settings to replace your search engine by default, new tab page and startpage with Chum Search Engine website. Once disinfection is done, you can be prompted to reboot your computer. We suggest you look at the following video, which completely explains the process of using the MalwareBytes to remove browser hijackers, adware and other malware.
Use AdBlocker to stop Chum Search Engine and stay safe online
Using an ad blocking program such as AdGuard is an effective way to alleviate the risks. Additionally, ad-blocking programs will also protect you from harmful ads and sites, and, of course, block redirection chain to Chum Search Engine and similar web-pages.
Download AdGuard on your computer by clicking on the link below.
26656 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
After downloading it, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen as shown below.
Follow the prompts. When the installation is done, you will see a window as 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 that 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 run your PC, AdGuard will start automatically and block advertisements, Chum Search Engine redirect, 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, which can be found on your desktop.
Don’t know how your web browser has been hijacked by Chum Search Engine hijacker?
Probably Chum Search Engine browser hijacker infection get installed onto your PC when you have installed certain free software such as E-Mail checker, PDF creator, video codec, etc. Because, in many cases, a browser hijacker can be bundled within the install packages from Softonic, Cnet, Soft32, Brothersoft or other similar web sites that hosts free applications. So, you should run any files downloaded from the World Wide Web with great caution! Always carefully read the ‘User agreement’, ‘Software license’ and ‘Terms of use’. In the procedure of installing a new application, you need to choose a ‘Manual’, ‘Advanced’ or ‘Custom’ installation option to control what components and bundled programs to be installed. Nevertheless, even removing the program, which installs this Chum Search Engine browser hijacker, you do not remove the hijacker infection itself. Your web-browser settings will not be restored. Therefore, you must follow the step-by-step tutorial above to return your default search engine, newtab page and start page.
To sum up
Once you have complete the step-by-step guide above, your system should be clean from this hijacker infection and other malware. The Edge, Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox will no longer display annoying Chum Search Engine webpage on startup. Unfortunately, if the steps does not help you, then you have caught a new hijacker, and then the best way – ask for help.
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. Wait for one of our trained “Security Team” or Site Administrator to provide you with knowledgeable assistance tailored to your problem with the undesired Chum Search Engine redirect.
