Browseprotect.co Hijacker - How to remove

Browseprotect.co is a browser-hijacking website. It appears briefly in your address bar when you perform an internet search.

Browseprotect.co comes with a browser add-on, most likely – Chrome Protect — Smart Search. This add-on controls the search settings in your browser, allowing Browseprotect.co to take over.

In short about Browseprotect.co:

Classification	Browser hijacker, potentially unwanted program.
How to remove Browseprotect.co	Uninstall the Chrome Protect — Smart Search extension, check your device for other unwanted software (you can use anti-malware programs like Spyhunter for PC, Combo Cleaner for Mac, and others), review your browser settings.
How Browseprotect.co changes the browser	It takes over the default search engine, it collects user browsing data.
How it is installed	Advertised as a privacy tool, promoted

How to stop Browseprotect.co redirects

Once the Chrome Protect — Smart Search extension is installed, it makes one change to your browser: it replaces the default search engine.

This means that Browseprotect.co is only messing with your searches because of the browser add-on called Chrome Protect — Smart Search. Remove the extension, check your search engine settings, and Browseprotect.co will disappear. The instructions can be found at the bottom of this post.

You can also use antivirus programs, such as Spyhunter for Windows, Combo Cleaner for macOS, and others. They can help you check for unsafe and potentially unwanted programs. After all, if one search hijacker is installed, others are more likely to be, too.

How Browseprotect.co affects web browsers

It changes your search engine

Browseprotect.co is a website, while Chrome Protect — Smart Search is a browser extension. Browseprotect.co advertises the extension as a privacy add-on that’s also supposed to improve your internet search experience.

After it’s installed, Chrome Protect — Smart Search changes one setting in your browser: the default search engine. This is the site that your browser opens when you type a search query into your address bar. Now, that site is Browseprotect.co. For me, it would briefly open Browseprotect.co and then immediately open Google.com.

Browseprotect.co does have a new tab page that has a search box and a few quick links on it. This new tab page has a green shield icon and a green search button, matching the icons of Chrome Protect — Smart Search.

It might be bad for privacy

It seems like this would make Chrome Protect — Smart Search bad for your privacy and confidentiality. Ordinarily, when you use a site that supports an encrypted connection (HTTPS), your communication with that site is already private – it’s between you and the site. And the vast majority of mainstream sites are protected this way, thanks to more accessible encryption software.

It doesn’t guarantee that the site won’t misuse your information, but then who can say that Browseprotect.co won’t? There are plenty of browser extensions that present as privacy add-ons but misuse your information for advertising purposes: Historyhide.com, Hidemyhistory.co, Incognito Searches, etc.

Also, Browseprotect.co is very similar to Searchwarden.com. In fact, you can encounter it while using Searchwarden.com.

What exactly Browseprotect.co does with your data is unclear because the privacy policy is very vague. All it says is that it might collect information about your browsing habits, your computer, and your browser.

How Chrome Protect — Smart Search is installed

Browseprotect.co advertises Chrome Protect — Smart Search as a privacy tool and a tool that improves their browsing experience. This doesn’t seem accurate to what Browseprotect.co actually does – replace your default search engine. You can install the Browseprotect.co extension on the Chrome Web Store.

But it might also be included in the installers of various free programs as an optional offer. Or it might be offered by other browser extensions during their installation.

Even though Browseprotect.co is not very harmful, it does lack any useful features. As a result, it’s very unlikely that users install it on their own, voluntarily. You can see that Chrome Protect — Smart Search has no reviews despite apparently having more than a thousand users. This is common for browser hijackers, but not very common for normal, useful extensions. It might indicate unwanted extension installations.

Some advertisements that can cause that sort of thing are Download Ready ads, Recommended Extension ads, and other misleading advertisements.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Fix browser settings

TopHow To remove Browseprotect.co Hijacker from Google Chrome:

• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select More Tools→Extensions
  
• Select all malicious extensions and delete them.
  
• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select Settings
  
• Select Manage Search engines
  
• Remove unnecessary search engines from the list
  
• Go back to settings. On Startup choose Open blank page (you can remove undesired pages from the set pages link too).
• If your homepage was changed, click on Chrome menu on the top right corner, select Settings. Select Open a specific page or set of pages and click on Set pages.
  
• Delete malicious search websites at a new Startup pages window by clicking “X” next to them.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to Browseprotect.co Hijacker, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on a Chrome’s menu button (three horizontal lines) and select Settings.
• Scroll to the end of the page and click on theReset browser 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 Browseprotect.co Hijacker from Microsoft Edge:Top

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

• Select all malicious extensions and delete them.

• Click on the three-dot menu on the browser toolbar and Select Settings

• Select Privacy and Services and scroll down. Press on Address bar.

• Choose Manage search engines.

• Remove unnecessary search engines from the list: open the three-dot menu and choose Remove.

• Go back to Settings. Open On start-up.
• Delete malicious search websites at Open specific page or pages by opening the three-dot menu and clicking Delete.

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

• Click on Edge's menu button and select Settings. Click on the Reset Settings button on the left.
• Press the Restore settings to their default values option.

• 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.