MyPrivacyManager Hijacker - How to remove

When MyPrivacyManager (a browser add-on) gets installed, it replaces the homepage and gets access to browsing data. Though MyPrivacyManager is said to help people manage their online privacy, it fails to provide good features for this and even has the opposite effect – it collects a lot of user data for use in targeted advertising. Its main purpose is to advertise to the user, as well as to spy on them.

About MyPrivacyManager:

Type of threat	Adware, browser hijacker.
Problems with MyPrivacyManager	Flagged by antivirus apps, collects a lot of data about the user, fails to provide useful features, restricts browser customization for no good reason.
How adware gets installed	Advertised deceptively, bundled with free apps.
Removing MyPrivacyManager	Uninstall MyPrivacyManager and other malicious extensions, use an anti-malware app like Spyhunter for PC, Combo Cleaner for Mac, and others to remove other malware, block notifications.

MyPrivacyManager is bad for privacy

Potentially dangerous add-on

MyPrivacyManager offers to help you stay on top of your privacy and stay safe online. Sounds like a noble goal. Unfortunately, this add-on is actually adware and pretty bad for your privacy. Here’s its installer being scanned and flagged by antivirus apps – VirusTotal.com. Dishonest developers will say anything to get more people to use their products.

MyPrivacyManager is a browser add-on. Browser add-ons are little programs that change how the browser works. People create and use them to add features and enhance and personalize their browsers. However, add-ons have access to the browser and power over it. Thus, only reputable and trusted ones should be installed.

MyPrivacyManager has a lot of problems that all add up to it being basically malware:

• MyPrivacyManager replaces the home page, which takes away the user’s ability to customize it.
• The “features” that MyPrivacyManager offers are a bunch of links to various websites. A calculator, a file converter, a speed tracker, and various guides and articles. It’s a mess.
• When MyPrivacyManager is installed, it gets a bunch of permissions, including one to send notifications to your browser, reading your browsing history, and seeing what other browser extensions you have installed.

Not good for privacy

It’s funny – MyPrivacyManager is supposed to be focused on privacy but it’s actually detrimental. Here are some ways in which MyPrivacyManager hurts your online privacy:

• The Ask Applications privacy policy applies to MyPrivacyManager. It reveals that data collected by it can include your IP and other technical data, your search queries, which search results you click on, which sites you look at, and what software you have installed on your computer.
• In addition, the company behind MyPrivacyManager works to target ads to you online.
• There’s a widget on MyPrivacyManager’s home page for testing out the strength of your password. Obviously, it doesn’t steal the password that you type in it, but still, it teaches people terrible habits. Never write down your password where third parties could access it.

In the end, MyPrivacyManager is adware and a search hijacker. It redirects your traffic to affiliated sites, displays ads on your screen, and logs your browsing habits. And it offers nothing valuable in return.

How hijackers spread

MyPrivacyManager is made by MyWay/Ask Applications. It’s related to Wallpapers by Myway, Recipe Hub, MyAudioTab, and a bunch of other browser add-ons. It’s not surprising that there’s such a variety of add-ons that this company makes; they all use the same template and the “features” are no better than the ones in MyPrivacyManager, often limited to links to third-party sites. It’s hijacking the home page that matters.

With such low quality, MyPrivacyManager can’t entice users to install it. So, it sneaks its way onto computers instead.

For example, you can get MyPrivacyManager from Myprivacymanager.com. Ads for Myprivacymanager.com may be posted online, on various websites related to privacy in some way. Because of how the ads look (imitating buttons with words like “Start”) and how Myprivacymanager.com’s call to action is “Continue” and not “Install”, these things add up in a way that confuses people (Dark pattern).

Get Easy Access to Privacy Tools,

Safe Browser Settings

& update your New Tab Page search to MyWay.com

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If you read some complaints about browser add-ons similar to MyPrivacyManager, you see people saying that they thought that they were accessing a specific webpage or getting the results to a search query and that they didn’t expect for something to be installed on their browser.

Other times, freeware developers monetize their apps by including browser add-ons and other software as optional offers. That way, you can download a free application and install it to find five new programs that you’d never heard of before installed on your device. The freeware distributors are usually paid for each successful installation.

How to remove MyPrivacyManager

Use an anti-malware app, such as Spyhunter for Windows, Combo Cleaner for macOS, and others. MyPrivacyManager is flagged by antivirus scanners as malicious, as are some potentially unwanted apps that may have carried MyPrivacyManager.

You can remove MyPrivacyManager manually by going into your browser’s settings (if you can’t, check out this post – some add-ons abuse system settings to remain installed). You should review the other browser add-ons, too.

If you’re still getting notification pop-ups in your browser, read this article on managing notifications.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Remove suspicious browser extensions

TopRemoving MyPrivacyManager 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 MyPrivacyManager. Click on the trash bin icon next to MyPrivacyManager 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 MyPrivacyManager, 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.

TopRemove malicious extensions from Internet Explorer

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

How to remove MyPrivacyManager 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 MyPrivacyManager Hijacker. Click on the "Remove" icon next to MyPrivacyManager 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 MyPrivacyManager 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 MyPrivacyManager 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 MyPrivacyManager 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.