Are you facing a problem with the MS Edge, Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox web-browsers that constantly redirects to a dubious web site named Qte-search.com? Then, there are chances that are your machine is affected by browser hijacker. It is created for the purpose of modifying certain internet browser settings (like newtab, search engine by default and start page) without the user’s consent or knowledge. If you want to change web-browser home page or search provider back to default, you will not succeed, because the Qte-search.com hijacker infection is very stubborn. But with the help of the tutorial listed below, you surely can get rid of Qte-search.com completely from your web-browsers.
When you’re performing searches using the web-browser that has been affected with Qte-search.com, the search results will be returned from Bing, Yahoo or Google Custom Search. The devs behind Qte-search.com hijacker are most likely doing this to generate advertisement money from the ads shown in the search results.
Threat Summary
| Name | Qte-search.com |
| Type | browser hijacker, search provider hijacker, home page hijacker, toolbar, unwanted new tab, redirect virus |
| Symptoms |
|
| Removal | Qte-search.com removal guide |
If you are unfortunate have browser hijacker, adware or malicious software running on your machine, you can follow the tutorial here to remove Qte-search.com from your internet browser.
How to remove Qte-search.com
According to IT security researchers, Qte-search.com removal can be done manually and/or automatically. These utilities which are listed below will allow you remove hijacker infection, harmful internet browser extensions, adware and PUPs . However, if you’re not willing to install other apps to delete Qte-search.com redirect, then use following instructions to restore internet browser startpage, new tab page and default search provider to their previous states.
To remove Qte-search.com, follow the steps below:
- Get rid of Qte-search.com redirect without any utilities
- How to automatically remove Qte-search.com
- How to block Qte-search.com
- How to prevent Qte-search.com browser hijacker infection from getting inside your computer
- To sum up
Get rid of Qte-search.com redirect without any utilities
Steps to remove Qte-search.com hijacker without any apps are presented below. Be sure to carry out the step-by-step guide completely to fully remove this unwanted Qte-search.com .
Remove Qte-search.com associated software by using Windows Control Panel
One of the first things to attempt for removal of hijacker is to check your computer installed programs screen and look for undesired and suspicious programs. If there are any software you do not recognize or are no longer using, you should uninstall them. If that doesn’t work, then you may need to run malware removal tool such as Zemana Free.
Windows 8, 8.1, 10
First, click Windows button
, then press Search 
. Type ‘Control panel’and press Enter as shown on the screen below.
When the ‘Control Panel’ opens, press the ‘Uninstall a program’ link under Programs category as on the image below.
You will see the ‘Uninstall a program’ panel as displayed in the following example.
Very carefully look around the entire list of applications installed on your computer. Most likely, one of them is the Qte-search.com hijacker and other web browser’s malicious plugins. If you have many apps installed, you can help simplify the search of harmful software by sort the list by date of installation. Once you’ve found a dubious, unwanted or unused application, right click to it, after that click ‘Uninstall’.
Windows XP, Vista, 7
First, press ‘Start’ button and select ‘Control Panel’ at right panel like below.
After the Windows ‘Control Panel’ opens, you need to click ‘Uninstall a program’ under ‘Programs’ as on the image below.
You will see a list of apps installed on your PC. We recommend to sort the list by date of installation to quickly find the programs that were installed last. Most likely, it is the hijacker which modifies web browser settings to replace your search provider by default, new tab page and start page with Qte-search.com webpage. If you’re in doubt, you can always check the application by doing a search for her name in Google, Yahoo or Bing. After the program which you need to delete is found, simply click on its name, and then press ‘Uninstall’ as on the image below.
Delete Qte-search.com from IE
First, launch the Internet Explorer, then press ‘gear’ icon 
. It will open the Tools drop-down menu on the right part of the browser, then press the “Internet Options” as displayed in the figure below.
In the “Internet Options” screen, select the “Advanced” tab, then click the “Reset” button. The Internet Explorer will open the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” prompt. Further, click the “Delete personal settings” check box to select it. Next, press the “Reset” button as on the image below.
Once the task is finished, click “Close” button. Close the IE and reboot your PC system for the changes to take effect. This step will help you to restore your web browser’s new tab, default search provider and home page to default state.
Remove Qte-search.com from Google Chrome
Reset Chrome settings to get rid of Qte-search.com. If you are still experiencing issues with Qte-search.com, you need to reset Google Chrome browser to its default state. This step needs to be performed only if browser hijacker has not been removed by the previous steps.
- First, launch the Google Chrome and press the Menu icon (icon in the form of three dots).
- It will open the Chrome main menu. Choose More Tools, then press Extensions.
- You’ll see the list of installed extensions. If the list has the extension labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following guidance: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
- Now open the Chrome menu once again, click the “Settings” menu.
- Next, click “Advanced” link, which located at the bottom of the Settings page.
- On the bottom of the “Advanced settings” page, click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
- The Google Chrome will open the reset settings dialog box as shown on the screen above.
- Confirm the web-browser’s reset by clicking on the “Reset” button.
- To learn more, read the blog post How to reset Google Chrome settings to default.
Remove Qte-search.com from Firefox by resetting internet browser settings
If your Firefox internet browser home page has modified to Qte-search.com without your permission or an unknown search engine opens results for your search, then it may be time to perform the web-browser reset. Essential information such as bookmarks, browsing history, passwords, cookies, auto-fill data and personal dictionaries will not be removed.
First, open the Mozilla Firefox and click 
button. It will show the drop-down menu on the right-part of the web browser. Further, click the Help button (
) as displayed 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 browser adress bar and press Enter. It will display the “Troubleshooting Information” page as displayed below. In the upper-right corner of this screen, press the “Refresh Firefox” button.
It will show the confirmation dialog box. Further, click the “Refresh Firefox” button. The Firefox will begin a process to fix your problems that caused by the Qte-search.com browser hijacker. Once, it is complete, press the “Finish” button.
How to automatically remove Qte-search.com
Experienced security experts have built efficient malware removal tools to aid users in removing hijackers , adware software and potentially unwanted software. Below we will share with you the best malicious software removal utilities with the ability to search for and remove Qte-search.com and other PUPs.
Scan and clean your system of Qte-search.com with Zemana Free
Zemana AntiMalware is a tool which can remove adware, PUPs, hijackers and other malware from your PC system easily and for free. Zemana Free is compatible with most antivirus software. It works under MS Windows (10 – XP, 32 and 64 bit) and uses minimum of computer resources.
Please go to the link below to download the latest version of Zemana AntiMalware for Microsoft Windows. Save it to your Desktop so that you can access the file easily.
164112 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
Once the download is finished, close all applications and windows on your PC. Open a directory in which you saved it. Double-click on the icon that’s named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup as on the image below.
When the setup starts, you will see the “Setup wizard” that will allow you set up Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) on your PC system.
Once installation is done, you will see window as displayed on the image below.
Now press the “Scan” button . Zemana Free program will scan through the whole PC for the Qte-search.com browser hijacker and other internet browser’s malicious addons. This process can take some time, so please be patient. While the utility is checking, you may see number of objects and files has already scanned.
Once the system scan is finished, you will be displayed the list of all detected items on your PC. Next, you need to click “Next” button.
The Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) will begin to remove hijacker responsible for redirecting user searches to Qte-search.com.
Remove Qte-search.com from web browsers with HitmanPro
Hitman Pro cleans your PC from adware, potentially unwanted programs, unwanted toolbars, web-browser extensions and other unwanted apps like hijacker that responsible for web-browser reroute to the unwanted Qte-search.com web-page. The free removal tool will help you enjoy your computer to its fullest. HitmanPro uses advanced behavioral detection technologies to search for if there are unwanted applications in your computer. You can review the scan results, and select the threats you want to remove.
- Installing the Hitman Pro is simple. First you’ll need to download Hitman Pro from the link below. Save it on your Windows desktop.
- When the downloading process is finished, double click the HitmanPro icon. Once this utility is launched, click “Next” button to perform a system scan for the hijacker infection which cause Qte-search.com web-site to appear. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the count of files on your computer and the speed of your system. While the utility is checking, you may see count of objects and files has already scanned.
- As the scanning ends, a list of all threats detected is prepared. In order to remove all threats, simply click “Next” button. Now click the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial to remove all malicious software found.
Use MalwareBytes to remove browser hijacker
If you’re still having problems with the Qte-search.com redirect — or just wish to check your system occasionally for browser hijacker and other malware — download MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM). It is free for home use, and finds and deletes various unwanted programs that attacks your system or degrades computer performance. MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) can remove adware software, potentially unwanted apps as well as malware, including ransomware and trojans.
Download MalwareBytes from the link below. Save it directly to your MS Windows Desktop.
326462 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
After the downloading process is complete, close all applications and windows on your system. Double-click the install file named mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up as displayed in the figure below, click the “Yes” button.
It will open the “Setup wizard” which will help you install MalwareBytes Anti-Malware on your personal computer. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
Once install is finished successfully, press Finish button. MalwareBytes will automatically start and you can see its main screen as shown on the screen below.
Now press the “Scan Now” button to perform a system scan with this tool for the browser hijacker responsible for redirecting user searches to Qte-search.com. A system scan may take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your personal computer. While the MalwareBytes Anti Malware is scanning, you may see how many objects it has identified either as being malicious software.
When MalwareBytes Free completes the scan, MalwareBytes Anti Malware will create a list of unwanted programs adware software. In order to remove all items, simply press “Quarantine Selected” button. The MalwareBytes Free will get rid of browser hijacker that cause Qte-search.com web-page to appear and add items to the Quarantine. When disinfection is complete, you may be prompted to restart the PC.
We recommend you look at the following video, which completely explains the procedure of using the MalwareBytes Anti-Malware to delete adware, hijacker and other malware.
How to block Qte-search.com
By installing an ad blocker program such as AdGuard, you’re able to block Qte-search.com, autoplaying video ads and remove a ton of distracting and intrusive ads on webpages.
Download AdGuard by clicking on the link below.
26657 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
After downloading is complete, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen like below.
Follow the prompts. After the installation is done, you will see a window as on the image below.
You can click “Skip” to close the installation application 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 start your system, AdGuard will start automatically and stop undesired advertisements, block Qte-search.com, as well as other malicious or misleading webpages. 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 can be found on your desktop.
How to prevent Qte-search.com browser hijacker infection from getting inside your computer
The Qte-search.com browser hijacker usually gets on your personal computer along with various free applications. Most commonly, it may be bundled within the setup files from Softonic, Cnet, Soft32, Brothersoft or other similar web sites. So, you should run any files downloaded from the Web with great caution, read the User agreement, Software license and Terms of use. In the process of installing a new application, you should select a Manual, Advanced or Custom install type to control what components and third-party programs to be installed, otherwise you run the risk of infecting your computer with an hijacker such as Qte-search.com.
To sum up
Now your computer should be free of the hijacker that causes web-browsers to open unwanted Qte-search.com web-site. We suggest that you keep Zemana Free (to periodically scan your PC system for new hijacker infections and other malicious software) and AdGuard (to help you block annoying pop-up ads and malicious web sites). Moreover, to prevent any browser hijacker, please stay clear of unknown and third party applications, make sure that your antivirus application, turn on the option to look for PUPs.
If you need more help with Qte-search.com related issues, go to here.
