Screen Watch Hijacker - How to remove

Screen Watch is a Chrome extension that replaces your new tab and home page in order to be able to spam you with ads. And though the extension can be quickly removed (the guide is below) and the functionality can easily be replicated, not everyone knows it and some just suffer through the excessive ads.

You know that your browser has this extension installed when your new tab page has the Screen Watch logo (something like screenwatch▶now) and your search settings have been altered. Whatever search engine you’ve been using before Screen Watch , it’s been replaced with search.mysearch.com.

Distribution of Screen Watch

It’s possible to find Screen Watch organically, by just typing the right words into your search engine. However, it’s more likely that Screen Watch has been recommended to you by adware. Screen Watch being advertised to you could indicate adware already being on your computer. Have you been seeing pop-up ads, or have new tabs on your browser been opening without your intervention?

With Screen Watch Now you can watch exciting new trailers from your New Tab page!

A page that vaguely describes Screen Watch as a “Must-Have Chrome New Tab for Movie Fans” might pop up, thanks to redirects by adware, deceptive ads, or rogue websites. A big green download button in the middle encourages people to press it, if only to see what it is about. The installation of Screen Watch starts — not just Screen Watch, but a couple of other extensions, too. This is called bundling, and is a deceptive practice of pushing promoted software to people who did not ask for it. If you agreed to install the promoted products (like MySearch), you might have some more bloatware on your browser than just Screen Watch.

Potentially unwanted extension

Screen Watch is promoted as allowing you to “Quickly access top streaming sites”, “Watch the hottest trailers”, “Explore movies and TV shows”, and is “Safe and easy to use”. What all this amounts to, though, is Screen Watch having a few links to different movie-themed websites on your new tab page. This is all there is that Screen Watch has to offer for movie fans.

The extension also puts a new search bar there. Screen Watch replaces your search engine with MySearch, and it’s worth reading about it if you want to know how it works and what information it collects and how it works. But, in short, among other private information, any searches performed using Screen Watch are recorded, and multiple ads injected into the search results. Not just a few — usually close to a dozen ads, all on top of the real search results, making looking for information online just a bit more frustrating.

Browser hijackers like Screen Watch — Movie Goat Default Search, MovieFlex, Search4Moviex — make money from displaying ads in the search results. The extension installer base provides a stable audience to the ads, and having access to all those people’s browsing history allows marketers to tailor the ads to each person, making them relevant and more effective. Screen Watch and the other extensions that act as the cover are, unfortunately, just not good. The companies that develop them usually focus on quantity over quality (that’s why there are so many browser hijackers) and only make the minimum product they need to justify it being an extension.

How to remove Screen Watch

You can get rid of Screen Watch by changing your browser settings: go to the menu, click on settings, settings again, then Extensions. However, if it was adware that recommended it to you, it’s worth scanning your computer with an antivirus program (for example, Spyhunter). Then, if any threats are found, you can remove them (manually or automatically) and avoid more dangerous and unwanted programs being recommended to you. Ads should also be very subdued after getting rid of adware, which would make browsing the Internet much more enjoyable and productive.

If you want to pin some ads to your new tab page, Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and the other browsers allow for varying amounts of customization. If you wish to use extensions for customization, be skeptical: research the developer, decide if the reviews look authentic, and, if you have the option, check what permissions the extension needs.

Automatic Malware removal tools

TopHow To remove Screen Watch 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 Screen Watch 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.