FreeAuctionFinder Hijacker - How to remove

FreeAuctionFinder is a browser extension that replaces your home page. It promotes the Myway.com and possibly Ask.com search engines and it tracks your search history and other browsing data.

Although FreeAuctionFinder is not harmful, it could be considered to be a potentially unwanted program and even a browser hijacker. Therefore, it might be best to uninstall this extension.

About FreeAuctionFinder:

Classification	Potenitally unwanted program, browser hijacker, adware.
How FreeAuctionFinder changes the browser	It replaces the home page and the new tab, it promotes Myway.com and Ask.com, it tracks search history, browsing history, and other data, it can display notifications and ads in the browser.
How hijackers get installed	Advertised online, bundled with other, related extensions, bundled with free programs.
How to get rid of FreeAuctionFinder	Find and remove malware with anti-malware tools (Spyhunter for PC, Combo Cleaner for Mac, etc.), delete the FreeAuctionFinder extension and other unwanted extensions, check the settings in your browser.

How FreeAuctionFinder works

FreeAuctionFinder replaces the home page

FreeAuctionFinder is a browser add-on that promises to help you “find auctions online and in your area”… plus web search.

It was released by Ask Applications, the company behind Mindspark. It’s very similar to GetSeniorResources, EasyWebPagePrint, MyAudioTab, EasyDirectionsFinder, and tens of other similar extensions.

FreeAuctionFinder gets added to a browser, then replaces its home page with one of its own. FreeAuctionFinder offers a search box in the middle of the page and a few links to popular auction sites. The search box leads to Myway, a search engine that, like FreeAuctionFinder, belongs to Ask Applications.

FreeAuctionFinder lacks a lot of customization features that I think are essential to new tab/home page extensions, such as the ability to choose a preferred search engine and customize the links pinned to the home page.

Other changes made by FreeAuctionFinder

Replacing the new tab page is not all that FreeAuctionFinder does:

• It also gets permission to show notifications. It can show little pop-up ads in your browser.
• It can manage your browser extensions.
• FreeAuctionFinder also reads your browsing history, search history, which ads you click, and uses that data to show you targeted ads.

Reading your search data to show you targeted ads is also mentioned in FreeAuctionFinder’s privacy policy. Advertising seems to be FreeAuctionFinder’s main function, even though the extension doesn’t deliver good enough features to justify those ads.

This doesn’t mean that FreeAuctionFinder is malicious or dangerous. It’s just a potentially unwanted program and a mild adware extension. If you like it, there’s nothing wrong with continuing to use it.

But FreeAuctionFinder looks and acts much like a typical browser hijacker:

• It promotes related websites, even though that makes the extension worse.
• It tracks user a lot of user data.
• Its features are minimal, just a few links to relevant websites put on your home page.

You could do better by just using the default features in web browsers. You can change the look of your home/new tab page (How to Customize the Google Chrome New Tab Page Without Extensions) and you can use bookmarks to organize links to important websites and access them quickly and easily (Rediscover the Magic of Browser Bookmarks—And How to Keep Them in Order).

This would also be much better for your privacy.

How to get rid of FreeAuctionFinder

You can use antivirus programs, like Spyhunter for Windows or Combo Cleaner for macOS, to find and remove browser hijackers and other malware.

But you can also uninstall FreeAuctionFinder manually (the instructions can be found below). It’s just that hijackers like FreeAuctionFinder very often get installed in little groups, so if there’s one, there’s probably a couple of others, as well.

Open your browser’s extension settings and review your third-party add-ons. Remove those that are unfamiliar, that you don’t use, and that you don’t remember installing yourself.

Check your new tab and default search engine settings. The instructions for this can also be found below.

Finally, review your notification settings. Block notifications from unwanted websites.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Instructions for manual removal

How to remove FreeAuctionFinder Hijacker using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like FreeAuctionFinder Hijacker install some of their components as regular Windows programs as well as additional software. This part of malware can be uninstalled from the Control Panel. To access it, do the following.

• Start→Control Panel (older Windows) or press Windows Key→Search and enter Control Panel and then press Enter (Windows 8, Windows 10).
• Choose Uninstall Program (if you don't see it, click in the upper right next to "View by" and select Category).
• Go through the list of programs and select entries related to FreeAuctionFinder Hijacker . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make FreeAuctionFinder Hijacker easier to find.
• Click the Uninstall button. If you're asked if you really want to remove the program, click Yes.
• In many cases anti-malware programs are better at detecting related parasites, thus I recommend installing Spyhunter to identify other programs that might be a part of this infection.

How to remove FreeAuctionFinder Hijacker from macOS

Delete FreeAuctionFinder Hijacker from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the FreeAuctionFinder Hijacker app.
5. Select it and right-click it (or hold the Ctrl and click the left mouse button).
6. In the dropdown, click Move to Bin/Trash. You might be asked to provide your login password.

TopRemove malicious extensions from Internet Explorer

• Press on the Gear icon→Manage Add-ons.
  
• Go through Toolbars and extensions. Remove everything related to FreeAuctionFinder Hijacker 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 FreeAuctionFinder 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.

TopRemoving FreeAuctionFinder 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 FreeAuctionFinder Hijacker. Click on the trash bin icon next to FreeAuctionFinder 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 FreeAuctionFinder Hijacker, 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.

TopRemoving FreeAuctionFinder 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 FreeAuctionFinder Hijacker 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 FreeAuctionFinder 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.

How to remove FreeAuctionFinder 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 FreeAuctionFinder Hijacker. Click on the "Remove" icon next to FreeAuctionFinder 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 Microsoft Edge.

TopRemoving FreeAuctionFinder Hijacker from Safari (Mac OS X)

• Click on the Safari menu.
• Choose Preferences.
  
• Click on the Extensions Tab.
• Click on the Uninstall button near the FreeAuctionFinder Hijacker. Remove all other unknown or suspicious entries too. If you are not sure whether you need the extension or not, you can simply uncheck the Enable check-box to disable the extension temporarily.
  
• Restart Safari.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

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

• Click on the Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Reset Safari.
  
• Select which options you want to reset (usually all of them come preselected) and click on the Reset button.
  

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