Uninstall Booster Search browser hijacker – Removal guide

Booster Search is a potentially unwanted program (PUP) which falls under the category of Browser hijackers. It modifies browser search engine by default, homepage and new tab URL and can redirect your web browser to unwanted web pages. So, you’d better to remove Booster Search hijacker using the steps below and thereby restore your preferred home page and search engine.

When you are performing searches using the browser that has been affected by Booster Search, the search results will be returned from Yahoo Search. The authors of Booster Search are most probably doing this to generate advertisement profit from the ads displayed in the search results.

It is not a good idea to have Booster Search on your PC. The reason for this is simple, it doing things you do not know about. This PUP be able to gather marketing-type data about you that can be later sold to third party companies. You don’t know if your home address, account names and passwords are safe. And of course you completely do not know what will happen when you click on any advertisements on the Booster Search web-page.

Threat Summary

Name	Booster Search
Type	browser hijacker, search engine hijacker, home page hijacker, toolbar, unwanted new tab, redirect virus
Symptoms	advertising banners appear in places they shouldn’t be you keep getting redirected to questionable websites your personal computer starts automatically installing unwanted programs new toolbars suddenly added on your web browser your web browser settings are being altered without your request
Removal	Booster Search removal guide

 

How can a browser hijacker get on your computer

The Booster Search such as other PUPs can get added to your web-browser or computer when you visit a web-page and click an Install button, or when you download and run a dubious application, or when you install free application that includes a potentially unwanted program (PUP). Be very attentive when installing any software and make sure you deselect any options for third-party apps that you do not want.

To find out how to remove Booster Search, we recommend to read the steps below. The instructions was prepared by computer security specialists who discovered a solution to remove Booster Search out of the computer.

How to remove Booster Search (removal tutorial)

Without a doubt, the hijacker infection is harmful to your PC. So you need to quickly and completely remove this malware. To remove this hijacker infection, you can use the manual removal tutorial which are given below or free malware removal tools like Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM), MalwareBytes or HitmanPro (all are free). We advise you use automatic removal way that will allow you to remove Booster Search easily and safely. Manual removal is best used only if you are well versed in computer or in the case where browser hijacker is not removed automatically. Read it once, after doing so, please bookmark this page (or open it on your smartphone) as you may need to close your web browser or reboot your computer.

To remove Booster Search, execute the following steps:

1. Remove Booster Search without any utilities
   • Delete Booster Search associated software by using Windows Control Panel
   • Remove Booster Search from internet browsers
2. Automatic Removal of Booster Search
   • Run Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) to remove Booster Search
   • Get rid of Booster Search and unwanted extensions with HitmanPro
   • Use MalwareBytes to get rid of Booster Search
3. How to stay safe online
4. Finish words

Remove Booster Search without any utilities

If you perform exactly the few simple steps below you should be able to remove the Booster Search from the Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox and Edge web-browsers.

Delete Booster Search associated software by using Windows Control Panel

The main cause of startpage or search provider hijacking could be PUPs, adware or other unwanted applications that you may have unintentionally added on the system. You need to find and remove all suspicious apps.

1. If you are using Windows 8, 8.1 or 10 then press Windows button, next click Search. Type “Control panel”and press Enter.
2. If you are using Windows XP, Vista, 7, then press “Start” button and click “Control Panel”.
3. It will show the Windows Control Panel.
4. Further, press “Uninstall a program” under Programs category.
5. It will display a list of all software installed on the computer.
6. Scroll through the all list, and remove dubious and unknown programs. To quickly find the latest installed apps, we recommend sort apps by date.

See more details in the video guide below.

Remove Booster Search from internet browsers

If you have ‘Booster Search home page’ removal problem, then remove unwanted extensions can help you. In the steps below we will show you the way to delete harmful extensions without reinstall. This will also help to remove Booster Search redirect from your browser.

Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox
Click on ‘three dots menu’ button at the top right corner of the Chrome window. In the menu go to ‘More tools’, then ‘Extensions’. Click ‘Remove’ to uninstall an extension. Click ‘Remove’ in the dialog box. You can also try to remove Booster Search by reset Google Chrome settings.	Click on ‘menu’ button and select ‘Add-ons’. Go to ‘Extensions’ tab. To uninstall an add-on, click on ‘Remove’ button next to it. If you are still experiencing problems with Booster Search removal, you need to reset Firefox browser.
Internet Explorer	Safari
Click ‘Tools’ button in the top-right corner. Select ‘Manage add-ons’. In the drop-down menu under ‘Show’, select ‘All add-ons’. To delete an add-on, double-click it; in the new window click ‘Remove’. Another method to delete Booster Search from IE is reset Internet Explorer settings.	On the top menu select ‘Safari’, then ‘Preferences’. Select ‘Extensions’ tab. Select an extension you want to delete and click ‘Uninstall’ button next to it.

Automatic Removal of Booster Search

The manual guidance above is tedious to follow and can not always help to delete Booster Search completely. Here I am telling you an automatic way to delete this hijacker infection from your personal computer fully. Zemana, MalwareBytes and HitmanPro are anti-malware tools that can search for and get rid of all kinds of malware including Booster Search and other web browser’s malicious extensions.

Run Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) to remove Booster Search

Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) is a lightweight utility which designed to run alongside your antivirus software, detecting and removing malicious software, adware and potentially unwanted applications that other programs miss. Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) is easy to use, fast, does not use many resources and have great detection and removal rates.

Download Zemana Free by clicking on the link below.

After the download is done, start it and follow the prompts. Once installed, the Zemana AntiMalware will try to update itself and when this procedure is done, click the “Scan” button to perform a system scan with this tool for Booster Search PUP.

Depending on your system, the scan may take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. While the Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) tool is checking, you can see how many objects it has identified as being affected by malicious software. Next, you need to press “Next” button.

The Zemana AntiMalware will remove Booster Search.

Get rid of Booster Search and unwanted extensions with HitmanPro

If the Booster Search problem persists, use the HitmanPro and check if your personal computer is affected by browser hijacker. The HitmanPro is a downloadable security utility that provides on-demand scanning and helps get rid of adware, PUPs, and other malicious software. It works with your existing antivirus.

Please go to the link below to download Hitman Pro. Save it on your Desktop.

Once the download is finished, open the file location and double-click the Hitman Pro icon. It will start the HitmanPro utility. If the User Account Control prompt will ask you want to open the program, click Yes button to continue.

Next, click “Next” to perform a system scan with this tool for Booster Search and other unwanted software. A system scan may take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your personal computer. When a malicious software, adware or potentially unwanted software are found, the count of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the checking is done.

Once the scan get finished, Hitman Pro will open you the results as displayed below.

Make sure all threats have ‘checkmark’ and press “Next” button. It will open a prompt, press the “Activate free license” button. The HitmanPro will delete Booster Search and add the selected items to the Quarantine. Once disinfection is finished, the tool may ask you to restart your system.

Use MalwareBytes to get rid of Booster Search

Manual Booster Search removal requires some computer skills. Some files and registry entries that created by the browser hijacker can be not fully removed. We recommend that run the MalwareBytes that are fully clean your computer of browser hijacker infection. Moreover, this free program will help you to remove malware, PUPs, adware software and toolbars that your PC can be infected too.

Download MalwareBytes on your system by clicking on the following link.

When downloading is complete, close all programs and windows on your machine. Double-click the set up file called mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up as on the image below, click the “Yes” button.

It will open the “Setup wizard” which will help you setup MalwareBytes Free on your system. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.

Once setup is done successfully, press Finish button. MalwareBytes Free will automatically start and you can see its main screen as shown on the image below.

Now click the “Scan Now” button . MalwareBytes AntiMalware application will scan through the whole system for Booster Search and other PUPs. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your system. While the tool is scanning, you can see count of objects and files has already scanned.

Once finished, MalwareBytes Free will display you the results. Make sure to check mark the threats that are unsafe and then press “Quarantine Selected” button. The MalwareBytes Free will remove Booster Search and move the selected items to the program’s quarantine. When disinfection is complete, you may be prompted to reboot the personal computer.

We suggest you look at the following video, which completely explains the procedure of using the MalwareBytes Free to remove adware, browser hijacker and other malicious software.

How to stay safe online

One of the worst things is the fact that you cannot block all unwanted websites using only built-in Windows capabilities. However, there is a program out that you can use to stop unwanted browser redirects, ads and popups in any modern web-browsers including Microsoft Internet Explorer, Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome. It’s called Adguard and it works very well.

Download AdGuard from the link below.

After downloading it, launch the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen as displayed below.

Follow the prompts. Once the installation is complete, you will see a window like below.

You can press “Skip” to close the setup application and use the default settings, or press “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 don’t need to change anything. Each time, when you launch your machine, AdGuard will start automatically and stop unwanted advertisements, block 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 is located on your desktop.

Finish words

Now your computer should be clean of Booster Search. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted ads and unwanted malicious web sites) and Zemana (to periodically scan your PC system for new browser hijackers and other malicious software). 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 delete Booster Search from the Microsoft Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Edge, then ask for help here here.