MyTransitGuide Hijacker - How to remove

MyTransitGuide is a rogue browser toolbar developed by MindSpark (MS) Interactive Network Inc. This kind of rogue extensions is generally regarded as a browser hijacker. Commonly hijackers tend to promote themselves as useful optimization tools but, actually, they are wolves in sheep’s clothing. There are definitely more cons than pros (if there are any) of having MyTransitGuide browser hijacker on your computer.

The MyTransitGuide extension is created to take advantage of web users who don’t know how to manage browser extensions. The extension is useless — what functions MyTransitGuide offers are inferior to some online map sites. Victims of this add-on have MyWay set as their default browser and their traffic is monetized by displayed excessive ads to them in search results. This business model is recognized as malicious and predatory, which is why so many anti-malware programs warn their users to not use MyTransitGuide.

In addition to the ads in search results, MyTransitGuide is also installed without regard for ethics or user’s consent. Many people don’t know how browser extensions work — that they’re little add-ons to the browser which can track your activity, as well as change how each website is displayed. This gives MyTransitGuide the ability to inject ads into various websites, as well as track your actions.

There are many legitimate browser extensions, of course — ones that don’t sneak into people’s browsers secretly and that are not developed by a company like Mindspark that’s already known for releasing dozens of malicious browser hijackers.

MyTransitGuide is not a useful extension and should be removed as soon as possible:

MyTransitGuide details	Browser extension called MyTransitGuide Can be downloaded from MyTransitGuide.com Sets a home page at hp.myway.com/mytransitguide MyWay is used as the default search engine
Classification	Browser hijacker Adware extension Potentially unwanted program (PUP)
Problems for the user	Privacy violation Low-quality ads in search results Ads injected in other websites Installation of MyTransitGuide performed without consent
Removal	Automatically remove unwanted programs (Combo Cleaner for Mac OS,SpyHunter fo Windows) Manually uninstall browser hijackers

About MyTransitGuide Browser Hijacker

MyTransitGuide is promoted as ‘‘a free trip planner’’ giving access to the best transportation websites. It has its official website at mytransitguide.com with a free download option and is available on the Chrome web store for free as well. When MyTransitGuide gets installed, your default homepage (start page), new tab URL, and the search engine are replaced with mytransitguide.com. This extension affects all the most popular web browsers including Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera, and Safari (if you made a little search you would come up with threads on how to remove it from Mac). MyTransitGuide is capable of replacing the biggest search providers such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing on your browser.

The purpose of the modifications referred to above is to increase web traffic to 3rd party websites and generate PPC (pay-per-click) revenue. Search results influenced by MyTransitGuide rank 3rd party domains highly. Additionally, it injects a stack of advertisements into the non-affiliate websites you might use. These ads encompass pop-ups, pop-unders, banners, interstitial ads, floating ads, full window ads, etc. They offer various fake shopping benefits and make other suggestions of various kinds depending on the page you visit. This, in turn, means that MyTransitGuide tracks your browsing and NPII (non-personally identifiable information). It is quite difficult to tolerate spam ads and redirection to irrelevant websites, but these are only the clearly noticeable vices of this plug-in. What remains unnoticeable is the dubious content of 3rd party websites, specifically, malware or even spyware or ransomware infections for which the responsibility falls on your shoulders.

How does MyTransitGuide Browser Hijacker Infiltrate Your Computer?

MyTransitGuide is typically bundled with other freeware/shareware available on the Internet. This stealthy practice of unwanted software infiltration is called ‘‘bundling’’. MyTransitGuide is just another PUP (potentially unwanted program) similar to OnlineMapSearch, MapsGalaxy, OnlineMapFinder, etc., which employ bundling. Usually, the most popular free download websites such as download.com, softonic.com and soft32.com, are targeted. And the most popular downloads are bundled with, including Flash Players, Adobe Readers, etc. Thus, installation is a procedure not to be overlooked. Always opt for Advanced/Custom setup mode and deselect optional installs. Do not exit the installation wizard without having accomplished this task. Furthermore, do not visit unreliable links such as gaming websites or pornographic sites.

If MyTransitGuide has invaded your computer, make use of credible malware removal tools such as Spyhunter for Windows, Malwarebytes, or Combo Cleaner for Mac OS. These anti-malware utilities will perform an automatic removal of this PUP. Follow the detailed instructions for the removal of MyTransitGuide below.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Manual removal of MyTransitGuide

How to remove MyTransitGuide using Windows Control Panel

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

Delete MyTransitGuide Hijacker from your applications.

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

How to remove MyTransitGuide Hijacker from Safari:Top

Remove malicious extensions

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences.
  
• Select Extensions and uninstall MyTransitGuide 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 MyTransitGuide Hijacker, 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