PicRec - How to remove

PicRec is quite an interesting application. It offers users the ability to search things from images. It works very simply – for example, if you see some picture of a vehicle and you can’t recognise what kind of car it is but you would like to know it, PicRec should scan it and deliver you the possible answers of this query. It is described as some kind of a new search engine that is based on pictures. And it’s all for free! However, it is just too good to be true. Even though developers of this application promise you all this goodness with tons of benefits, you will get none of them. They describe PicRec as such a powerful and useful tool only to convince you to install it. You should not believe it because PicRec is listed as an adware and a PUP (potentially unwanted program) due to several malicious actions that it performs.

Once installed, PicRec will display tons of ads on your web browser in various forms, such as pop-ups, pop-unders or banner ads. It works as a browser add-on that can be added to all most popular web browsers, such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer. It works on all Windows versions from Windows XP to Windows 8.1. You can visit their official website at www.picrec.com for further information but don’t be too naive and don’t fall for every word on that website. PicRec works as a middleman between you (user) and third parties who want to promote their products and services. There are two problems about this fact. First one, is that those ads are really annoying and they will interrupt your web browsing all the time. Secondly, PicRec allows everyone to use their advertising network. This means that various cyber criminals and scammers may access your PC using those ads. They promote their products or/and services via PicRec. And that’s why we do not recommend clicking on those ads. If you do so, you will be immediately redirected to the third parties websites that may be infected and cause some sort of harm to your computer or you can even get scammed.

You can notice that there are no valid contact information on their official website. That means that there is no one who would hold the responsibility for the damage done to you or your computer. If you read their Privacy Policy closely, you can find a lot of faulty points. One of them is that your personal information can be shared with the third parties “in order to improve your web browsing experience”. The truth is that PicRec will collect your personal information, such as browsing history, search queries, IP address and Top visited sites and transfer this data to the mentioned third parties later on. They adjust their ads according to the given findings by making it more attractive and relevant to your browsing habits this way, so the chances that you will click on one of those ads rise. The main goal of this malicious application is to make you click on one of the promotions because the owners of this application make money this way. The tool helps to generate web traffic and collect sales leads. Even though it’s not a dangerous virus itself that can cause a lot of damage, it can lead you to some serious cyber security problems, therefore it needs to be removed as soon as possible.

If you have noticed that PicRec is operating on your computer but you don’t remember ever installing it, it might be that you have activated it bundled with some other free software downloaded from the Internet. It is distributed bundled with freebies or hidden in spammy emails, so you have to be very careful if you don’t want to get into any trouble. To avoid installing PicRec or any similar adware that is spread bundled with other freeware, you should pay close attention to the installation process of software downloaded from websites with a questionable reputation. Do not skip any steps (don’t just click “next” and “agree” buttons before reading the whole thing first) and opt out for a custom or advanced install mode if possible. This will allow you to see all available options. Look for various check boxes, because it is a very common practice that come of them are already selected for you. If you see that some software that you are not aware is being installed alongside – do not allow it. This should protect your PC from installing any unwanted applications. If it is too late and your computer is already infected, you should wait no more and take needed actions to get rid of it right now. There are several ways to do this. Probably the best and easiest one is to scan your computer with a trustworthy anti-malware, such as Spyhunter or malwarebytes. It will detect and remove the virus automatically. If you’re not into downloading some anti-virus software and want to perform this all by yourself, you can do it by following our step-by-step PicRec removal guide given below.

How to uninstall PicRec Virus

How to remove PicRec Virus using Windows Control Panel

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

Delete PicRec from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the PicRec Virus 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 PicRec 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 PicRec Virus, 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 PicRec 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 PicRec Virus. Click on the trash bin icon next to PicRec 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 PicRec Virus, 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 PicRec 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 PicRec Virus 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 PicRec, 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 PicRec 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 PicRec Virus. Click on the "Remove" icon next to PicRec 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 PicRec Virus from Safari (Mac OS X)

• Click on the Safari menu.
• Choose Preferences.
  
• Click on the Extensions Tab.
• Click on the Uninstall button near the PicRec. 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 PicRec Virus, 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.