AutoPurged Search Redirects - How to remove

AutoPurged is a browser extension that deletes your browsing history when you close your browser. It also replaces your search engine with Yahoo. It’s not a dangerous extension, but be careful and make sure you’re comfortable with its search behavior and its privacy policy before you use it.

About AutoPurged:

Type of threat	Search hijacker.
How AutoPurged changes the browser	It makes Autopurged.com the new search engine, it erases your history when you close the browser.
Problems and issues	The search engine change may be unwanted and it is not good for privacy.
How to remove AutoPurged	Uninstall AutoPurged and other potentially unwanted browser extensions, remove junkware manually or with an anti-malware program (Combo Cleaner for Mac, Spyhunter for PC, and others).

Is AutoPurged safe?

A so-so extension

I came across AutoPurged while looking at PrivacySearching.com, a browser hijacker. It and AutoPurged share some of their description text. They may not be related, but nevertheless, I decided to look closer at AutoPurged.

AutoPurged claims to delete your browsing history. But once installed on your browser, it changes your default search engine to its own, which ultimately opens Yahoo.

AutoPurged is an okay browser add-on. It provides the service that it promised – deleting your browsing history when you close your browser. It lacks any settings to customize your experience, which is disappointing. But it does do what was promised.

Just don’t make the mistake of thinking that AutoPurged is good for your privacy. It is not.

A search hijacker

Besides deleting your browsing history, AutoPurged replaces the default search engine. It calls it “a”. The text “Search a or type a URL” may appear in your address bar when you open an empty page in your browser.

It’s just Autopurged.com. When you type a search query into your omnibar, it is sent to Autopurged.com, which then sends it to Yahoo and then returns the Yahoo.com search results.

According to AutoPurged’s privacy policy, it collects your IP address, search terms, and which ads you clicked. This is required for the Autopurged.com search to work. It helps AutoPurged improve its search engine and ads served.

Like so many other extensions, AutoPurged is just another Yahoo redirect virus. It could function without redirecting your searches, but it needs to make money.

Not good for privacy

The browsing history is a record of what sites you visited. You can delete it to prevent your family or the people in the public library from seeing what you were doing online. AutoPurged is great for that.

Just remember that it does nothing to help your online privacy. Google, Bing, Yahoo, and other sites still keep your records (unless you delete them) regardless of your local history or cookies.

AutoPurged doesn’t really tell you that. It says it’s there to “keep your web search history safe”, but what does that even mean? Before you installed AutoPurged, your search engine (like Google) could see your search history. With AutoPurged installed, that’s Yahoo, but also Autopurged.com. AutoPurged is still ad-supported, so I don’t see how this is better.

How to remove AutoPurged

If you decide to remove AutoPurged, uninstalling it is very easy – just go to the upper right corner of your browser (in Chrome, that’s where the puzzle button is), click the AutoPurged menu, and remove it from there. Or follow the instructions below.

Additionally, you may want to scan your computer with an antivirus scanner, such as Combo Cleaner for macOS, Spyhunter for Windows, and others. I see that, despite having over 5,000 users on the Chrome Store, AutoPurged has only two ratings. This sort of mismatch could be the result of unusual (for example, unintentional) installations.

I recommend using Guest mode, Private windows, and other tools that internet browsers already provide to help people not expose their history to others.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Remove unwanted extensions

TopRemoving AutoPurged Search Redirects from Chrome

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Google Chrome window. Select “Settings”.
  
• Click “Extensions” on the left menu bar.
• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to AutoPurged Search Redirects. Click on the trash bin icon next to AutoPurged Search Redirects or other add-ons you want to remove.
  
• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.
  
• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.
  
• Restart Chrome.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to AutoPurged Search Redirects, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on Chrome’s menu button (three horizontal lines) and select Settings.
  
• Scroll to the end of the page and click on the Reset settings button.
  
• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How to remove AutoPurged Search Redirects from Microsoft Edge:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Microsoft Edge window. Select “Extensions”.

• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to AutoPurged Search Redirects. Click on the "Remove" icon next to AutoPurged Search Redirects or other add-ons you want to remove.

• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.

• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.

• Restart Microsoft Edge.

TopRemoving AutoPurged Search Redirects from Firefox

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla window and select the “Add-ons” icon (or press Ctrl+Shift+A on your keyboard).
  
• Go through Extensions and Addons list, remove everything AutoPurged Search Redirects related and items you do not recognise. If you do not know the extension and it is not made by Mozilla, Google, Microsoft, Oracle or Adobe then you probably do not need it.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to AutoPurged Search Redirects, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla Firefox window. Click on the Help button.
  
• Choose Troubleshooting Information on the Help menu.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button on the confirmation box. Mozilla Firefox will close and change the settings to default.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.