EasyDirectionsFinder Hijacker - How to remove

EasyDirectionsFinder is a browser hijacker. It gets installed on your browser and changes your homepage to hp.myway.com/EasyDirectionsFinder/ttab02/index.html. It also reads your search history to enable targeted advertising. And though EasyDirectionsFinder can help you find driving directions, it doesn’t need to hijack your browser to do it.

In short about EasyDirectionsFinder:

Classification	Browser hijacker, adware, newtab virus.
How it gets installed	With bundlers, promoted by shady sites.
Problems with EasyDirectionsFinder	Hijacks your browser, reads your search history, doesn’t provide useful and unique functionality that would make it worth using.
Remove EasyDirectionsFinder	Delete malware (you can use programs like SpyHunter for Windows, Combo Cleaner for Mac OS, Malwarebytes, and others), get rid of unwanted browser extensions.

How to remove EasyDirectionsFinder

First, you might want to check your computer for malware. For example, it’s possible that EasyDirectionsFinder was installed by a bundler (a program whose installer installs stuff that you weren’t warned about), and that would be useful for you to know – to avoid an infection like this in the future.

Any good anti-malware program can do the job, for example, there’s Spyhunter for PC, Combo Cleaner for Mac, Malwarebytes, and others.

Then, open your web browser and see what extensions you have installed. More detailed instructions are in the last section of this article, but basically, you need to open the page where all of your browser add-ons are listed and remove all the ones that you don’t want to be installed. If you don’t use it, remove it.

Why EasyDirectionsFinder should be uninstalled

It gets installed dishonestly

EasyDirectionsFinder is made by Mindspark – company infamous for creating many toolbars and browser newtabs, and for using some deceptive installation tactics to spread these adware infections.

It’s not entirely clear how EasyDirectionsFinder is distributed, but based on its Chrome Web Store pages, most people who have it don’t know that they do. For example, there are only two reviews from the up to 51 thousand users of EasyDirectionsFinder. This is very unusual for normal extensions, but extremely common for browser hijackers.

EasyDirectionsFinder is advertised online and it looks like a lot of those ads may be shown by notification spammers and pirating sites. These sites often show ads for Mindspark’s browser extensions. They redirect to EasyDirectionsFinder, hoping that you’ll install the add-on.

The thing with hijackers is that they target users who aren’t very comfortable using a computer. Some people don’t know how browser extensions work, so they’re not as careful as they should be about installing them. And they might not know how to remove them.

If a site opens an extension installation page or asks you to install an extension, don’t feel obliged to listen. Often these sorts of ads are third-party ads that have nothing to do with the site you’re on. It’s just dishonest marketing.

It’s also possible that EasyDirectionsFinder got installed on your computer by some unrelated free program as part of a pay-per-install campaign. Basically, EasyDirectionsFinder’s creators paid some freeware distributors to install EasyDirectionsFinder together with their freeware.

It’s adware

EasyDirectionsFinder is actually adware. It changes your new tab page to get you to use Myway.com – a search engine that makes money from ads and is made by the same company as EasyDirectionsFinder. Also, EasyDirectionsFinder can read your web search queries – valuable data for advertisers.

You can learn all about that by just reading EasyDirectionsFinder’s privacy policy.

If your browser is opening Ask.com when you search for stuff online, you can blame that on EasyDirectionsFinder, too. Ask.com is owned by a company closely related to Mindspark. From EasyDirectionsFinder’s Chrome permissions, it can:

• read and change your data on Easydirectionsfinder.com, as well as some ask.com and myway.com sites,
• see and manage your browser extensions,
• show you notification pop-ups (these are often misused to show ads),
• and read your browsing history.

So yeah, all that EasyDirectionsFinder really does is help Mindspark and Ask Applications make a bit of advertising money – at your and thousands of other people’s expense.

It’s unnecessary

EasyDirectionsFinder can help you find directions – it shows the needed pop-up if you click on the leftmost icon under the Myway search bar. You type in your addresses and it takes you to an online map site that does indeed find online directions.

But, instead of EasyDirectionsFinder, you can use almost any competent online map and it will do the job – without hijacking your browser. Default new tab pages of most browsers already have a quick link to an online map site, so EasyDirectionsFinder is not doing anything uniquely helpful.

EasyDirectionsFinder is not even the only Mindspark’s extension based on maps and directions: it’s also released MapMyWayFree, SmartEasyMaps, MyMapsExpress, FindYourMaps, MapsGalaxy, and many others.

Automatic Malware removal tools

EasyDirectionsFinder browser extension removal

TopRemoving EasyDirectionsFinder Hijacker 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 EasyDirectionsFinder. Click on the trash bin icon next to EasyDirectionsFinder Hijacker 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 EasyDirectionsFinder, 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 EasyDirectionsFinder Hijacker 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 EasyDirectionsFinder Hijacker. Click on the "Remove" icon next to EasyDirectionsFinder 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 EasyDirectionsFinder Hijacker 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 EasyDirectionsFinder 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 EasyDirectionsFinder Hijacker, 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.

TopRemove malicious extensions from Internet Explorer

• Press on the Gear icon→Manage Add-ons.
  
• Go through Toolbars and extensions. Remove everything related to EasyDirectionsFinder and items you do not know that are made not by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Oracle or Adobe.
  
• Close the Options.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

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

• Press on the Gear icon->Internet Options.
  
• Choose the Advanced tab and click on the Reset button.
  
• Select a “Delete personal settings” checkbox and click on the Reset button.
  
• Click on the Close button on the confirmation box, then close your browser.
  

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