MaskSearch - How to remove

MaskSearch falls into the category of browser hijackers. Even though this infection is not very dangerous, we suggest to remove it from your computer because it can cost you some cyber security damage. If you have discovered that your computer is infected MaskSearch – you have come to the right place because in this article we will teach you how to eliminate infections like this and protect your computer from similar viruses in the future.

MaskSearch can be easily removed manually and we have instructions for you – scroll down below this article and take a look at our step-by-step MaskSearch manual removal guide. We have explained what actions you have to take in order to eliminate this malware from your computer.

In case you have no time to do that or this process seems to complicated to you, you can always use some help from a trustworthy anti-malware application, such as Spyhunter. Download and install one of these apps and scan your computer with it. It will detect and remove infection automatically. It will also protect your computer from similar infections in the future, so it’s worth to keep it installed.

Read further to find out more about specific features of MaskSearch virus. If you have some questions regarding this topic, feel free to ask them in the comments section below.

About MaskSearch browser hijacker

It’s not very difficult to indicate whether your computer is infected with this malware or not because it changes some setting on your web browsers. MaskSearch changes homepage and default search engine on all of your web browsers, so you will notice it immediately.

Even though MaskSearch looks like legitimate search engine, you should not use it. First of all, it displays lots of sponsored results that are not relevant to your search queries. This way you will waste your time. Moreover, those sponsored sites might be owned by various cyber criminals, so you are at risk. If you go to one of those sites your computer might be infected with other viruses or if you attempt to purchase something there you can even get scammed and lose your hard earned money.

MaskSearch is like advertising network for cyber criminals. Since they are banned from all legitimate advertising networks like Google Adwords or Facebook ads, they use browser hijackers like this to drive some traffic to their websites and infect more computers. This being said, if you keep MaskSearch installed on your computer, spammers and scammers will be able to reach you right on your web browsers on a daily basis.

MaskSearch operates as browser add-on that can be added to all most common web browsers, including Microsoft Edge, Windows Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or even Safari. That means Apple users can get infected as well.

Distribution Methods of MaskSearch browser hijacker

MaskSearch is traveling the same way as most of other malware of this type – bundled with various freeware that can be downloaded from the Internet. For instance, if you download and install some PDF generator or media player, there is a chance that MaskSearch will be downloaded and installed alongside, without you even being aware of that happening. That’s why you should pay close attention to the installation process of freeware.

Always opt out for a custom or advanced install mode so you will be able to see all available options and make needed changes. Don’t rush because some important information might be displayed in a very tiny font and you don’t want to miss it. Some checkpoints might be already checked for you so look for them very closely. And of course, keep your system secured with reliable anti-malware software all the time.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Manual removal of MaskSearch virus

How to remove MaskSearch using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like MaskSearch 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 MaskSearch . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make MaskSearch 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 MaskSearch from macOS

Delete MaskSearch from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the MaskSearch 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.

TopHow To remove MaskSearch 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 MaskSearch, 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 MaskSearch from Firefox:Top

• 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 MaskSearch 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.
  
• If your homepage was changed, click on the Firefox menu in the top right corner, select Options → General. Enter a preferable URL to the homepage field and click Restore to Default.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to MaskSearch, 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.
  
• ChooseTroubleshooting Information on the Help menu.
  
• Click on theReset Firefox button.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button on the confirmation box. Mozilla Firefox will close and change the settings to default.
  

If the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program to identify malicious entries.

How to remove MaskSearch 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 MaskSearch, 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.

How to remove MaskSearch from Safari:Top

Remove malicious extensions

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences.
  
• Select Extensions and uninstall MaskSearch and other suspicious extensions.
  
• If your homepage was changed, click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences and choose General tab. Enter preferable URL to the homepage field.
  

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

• Click on 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.

Manual removal