If you are reading this article, the chances are, you are doing so via the browser that has been affected by something called Q1wws.icu. According to security experts, Q1wws.icu is a browser hijacker. Once hijacker get installed on your personal computer, it takes over your web browser like Microsoft Internet Explorer, Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Firefox. This is the main reason why you need to remove it from your PC system and revert back your browser search provider and home page back to the default.
Q1wws.icu browser hijacker modifies your browser’s settings, including search engine by default, home page and newtab. When you perform a search via Q1wws.icu, in addition to search results from Yahoo, Bing or Google Custom Search that provide links to web pages, news articles, images or videos you’ll also be shown a huge count of annoying advertisements. The developers of Q1wws.icu doing this to make advertising revenue from these ads.
And finally, the Q1wws.icu hijacker has the ability to gather a wide variety of marketing-type data about you like what web-pages you are opening, what you’re looking for the Internet and so on. This information, in the future, can be sold to third parties.
So, if you happen to encounter unwanted Q1wws.icu redirect, then be quick and take effort to remove hijacker infection responsible for changing your web-browser settings to Q1wws.icu immediately. Follow the steps below to get rid of Q1wws.icu home page. Let us know how you managed by sending us your comments please.
How to remove Q1wws.icu from Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge (Virus removal guide)
Fortunately, it’s not hard to remove the Q1wws.icu hijacker. In the following guide, we will provide two solutions to free your PC system of this browser hijacker. One is the manual removal way and the other is automatic removal solution. You can choose the method that best fits you. Please follow the removal guidance below to remove Q1wws.icu right now!
To remove Q1wws.icu, execute the following steps:
- Manual Q1wws.icu removal
- How to get rid of Q1wws.icu automatically with free software
- How to stop Q1wws.icu redirect
- How does your system get infected with Q1wws.icu browser hijacker
- To sum up
Manual Q1wws.icu removal
Read this section to know how to manually get rid of the Q1wws.icu browser hijacker. Even if the steps does not work for you, there are several free malware removers below that can easily handle such browser hijacker infections.
Uninstall Q1wws.icu related apps through the Control Panel of your machine
Some applications are free only because their install package contains a hijacker such as the Q1wws.icu. This unwanted apps generates profit for the developers when it is installed. Many hijackers can be removed by simply uninstalling them from the ‘Uninstall a Program’ that is located in MS Windows control panel.
- If you are using Windows 8, 8.1 or 10 then press Windows button, next press Search. Type “Control panel”and press Enter.
- If you are using Windows XP, Vista, 7, then click “Start” button and click “Control Panel”.
- It will show the Windows Control Panel.
- Further, press “Uninstall a program” under Programs category.
- It will open a list of all applications installed on the machine.
- Scroll through the all list, and delete dubious and unknown applications. To quickly find the latest installed software, we recommend sort apps by date.
See more details in the video instructions below.
Delete Q1wws.icu from Firefox by resetting web browser settings
If Mozilla Firefox startpage or search provider are hijacked by the Q1wws.icu, your web-browser shows intrusive pop up advertisements, then ‘Reset Firefox’ could solve these problems. However, your saved passwords and bookmarks will not be changed, deleted or cleared.
Click the Menu button (looks like three horizontal lines), and click the blue Help icon located at the bottom of the drop down menu like below.
A small menu will appear, click the “Troubleshooting Information”. On this page, click “Refresh Firefox” button like below.
Follow the onscreen procedure to restore your Firefox web browser settings to their default state.
Remove Q1wws.icu home page from Internet Explorer
First, launch the Internet Explorer. Next, click the button in the form of gear (). It will show the Tools drop-down menu, click the “Internet Options” as shown on the image below.
In the “Internet Options” window click on the Advanced tab, then press the Reset button. The Internet Explorer will show the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” window as on the image below. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box, then click “Reset” button.
You will now need to restart your machine for the changes to take effect.
Remove Q1wws.icu from Chrome
If Chrome newtab page, start page and search provider were hijacked by Q1wws.icu then ‘Reset Chrome’ is a method that allows to return the browser to its factory state. To reset Chrome to the original defaults, follow the step-by-step tutorial below.
Open the Chrome menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal dotes (). It will show the drop-down menu. Select More Tools, then press Extensions.
Carefully browse through the list of installed add-ons. If the list has the addon labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following instructions: Remove 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 displayed in the figure below and press the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
Confirm your action, click the “Reset” button.
How to get rid of Q1wws.icu automatically with free software
Anti-Malware applications differ from each other by many features like performance, scheduled scans, automatic updates, virus signature database, technical support, compatibility with other antivirus apps and so on. We advise you use the following free programs: Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM), MalwareBytes and Hitman Pro. Each of these applications has all of needed features, but most importantly, they can identify the browser hijacker and delete Q1wws.icu from the Microsoft Internet Explorer, Edge, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.
Scan and clean your machine of Q1wws.icu with Zemana Free
We suggest you run the Zemana Free that are completely clean your computer. Moreover, the tool will help you remove PUPs, malicious software, toolbars and adware that your computer may be infected too.
Now you can install and use Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) to remove Q1wws.icu from your browser by following the steps below:
Click the following link to download Zemana Anti Malware setup package called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup on your system. Save it on your Windows desktop or in any other place.
164115 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
Launch the install package after it has been downloaded successfully and then follow the prompts to install this utility on your personal computer.
During installation you can change some settings, but we recommend you do not make any changes to default settings.
When installation is finished, this malicious software removal utility will automatically launch and update itself. You will see its main window as displayed in the following example.
Now press the “Scan” button to perform a system scan for the hijacker which alters web-browser settings to replace your search provider by default, newtab and home page with Q1wws.icu webpage. Depending on your computer, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. During the scan Zemana Free will locate threats present on your system.
When Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) has finished scanning, a list of all threats detected is created. Next, you need to click “Next” button.
The Zemana will get rid of browser hijacker which created to redirect your web-browser to the Q1wws.icu site and add threats to the Quarantine. When the cleaning procedure is finished, you may be prompted to reboot your PC system to make the change take effect.
Get rid of Q1wws.icu home page from web browsers with Hitman Pro
HitmanPro is a portable tool that searches for and deletes undesired applications such as hijackers, adware, toolbars, other browser add-ons and other malicious software. It scans your PC for hijacker related to Q1wws.icu and prepares a list of threats marked for removal. HitmanPro will only erase those unwanted apps that you wish to be removed.
- Download HitmanPro by clicking on the link below.
- When the downloading process is done, double click the Hitman Pro icon. Once this utility is opened, press “Next” button to search for browser hijacker that developed to redirect your web-browser to the Q1wws.icu page. This process can take some time, so please be patient. During the scan HitmanPro will detect threats present on your personal computer.
- Once the scanning is finished, Hitman Pro will open a scan report. All found threats will be marked. You can get rid of them all by simply press “Next” button. Now press the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial to delete all malware found.
How to remove Q1wws.icu with MalwareBytes Free
You can delete Q1wws.icu start page automatically with a help of MalwareBytes Free. We recommend this free malicious software removal tool because it can easily remove browser hijacker, adware, potentially unwanted software and toolbars with all their components such as files, folders and registry entries.
Download MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) by clicking on the link below.
326468 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
After the downloading process is finished, close all apps and windows on your machine. Double-click the install file called mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as shown in the following example, click the “Yes” button.
It will open the “Setup wizard” that will help you install MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) on your computer. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
Once installation is done successfully, click Finish button. MalwareBytes will automatically start and you can see its main screen like below.
Now click the “Scan Now” button to begin scanning your computer for the browser hijacker that responsible for web browser redirect to the annoying Q1wws.icu web site. A system scan may take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your computer. When a threat is found, the number of the security threats will change accordingly.
Once the scan is finished, MalwareBytes AntiMalware will show a screen which contains a list of malicious software that has been detected. Make sure all threats have ‘checkmark’ and press “Quarantine Selected” button. The MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) will remove hijacker infection responsible for redirecting your web browser to Q1wws.icu webpage and add items to the Quarantine. Once the cleaning process is done, you may be prompted to reboot the personal computer.
We advise you look at the following video, which completely explains the procedure of using the MalwareBytes to remove adware software, browser hijacker and other malicious software.
How to stop Q1wws.icu redirect
We suggest to install an adblocker application which may stop Q1wws.icu and other undesired web-sites. The ad-blocking utility such as AdGuard is a program that basically removes advertising from the Net and stops access to malicious websites. Moreover, security experts says that using ad-blocking apps is necessary to stay safe when surfing the Web.
Visit the page linked below to download AdGuard. Save it directly to your Microsoft Windows Desktop.
26660 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
After the download is finished, double-click the downloaded file to run it. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen as shown on the image 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 tutorial as displayed on the image below.
Click “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick guidance that will assist you get to know AdGuard better.
Each time, when you launch your PC, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop undesired ads, block Q1wws.icu, 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, that is located on your desktop.
How does your system get infected with Q1wws.icu browser hijacker
The Q1wws.icu hijacker spreads bundled with various free programs, as a supplement, which is installed automatically. This is certainly not an honest way to get installed onto your system. To avoid infecting of your personal computer and side effects in the form of changing your internet browser settings to Q1wws.icu homepage, you should always carefully read the Terms of Use and the Software license. Additionally, always choose Manual, Custom or Advanced installation option. This allows you to disable the install of unnecessary and often harmful applications.
To sum up
After completing the step-by-step tutorial above, your PC system should be clean from browser hijacker which made to reroute your internet browser to the Q1wws.icu web page and other malicious software. The IE, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Edge will no longer open intrusive Q1wws.icu webpage on startup. Unfortunately, if the step-by-step instructions does not help you, then you have caught a new browser hijacker, and then the best way – ask for help here.