Sogou virus - How to remove

Sogou virus is a browser hijacker that is distributed to random computers using Trojan viruses. The program attacks PCs that are located in China. It infiltrates into computers without users’ knowledge and makes some changes in browser settings. It usually replaces homepage with 123.sogou.com despite of which one you have been using before.

Sogou virus is categorized as a potentially unwanted program because of the methods it uses to get access to computers and its further actions on the infected system. This browser hijacker causes redirects to plenty of websites with the aim just to increase traffic there. It also displays pop up ads while you are making searches using an infected browser. The purpose of Sogou virus is to boost traffic of some websites and promote them. However, it is very disturbing for the computer user.

Beware that Sogou virus can also collect information about your browsing habits. This data can be later used for various marketing related purposes. This is another reason why security experts recommend removing this unwanted application. Below we provide removal instructions of Sogou virus. First, you will have to remove it from Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs list . It is recommended to uninstalling ALL programs added on the same date as problems have appeared. Some versions of this virus installs software that blocks browser settings from changing. To identify them, scanning with Spyhunter or other reputable antispyware tool might be useful. Then you can uninstall the extensions and reset settings in your browsers.

How to remove Sogou virus from Internet Explorer (older versions):

1. Click on the arrow on the right of the search box;
2. Do the following: on IE8-9 choose Manage Search providers, on IE7 click on Change search defaults;
3. Remove 123.sogou.com from the list.

How to remove Sogou virus from IE 11:

1. Click on the Settings icon (top right)->Manage Addons;
2. Select Search Providers;
3. Change the default search engine to Bing or Google;
4. If any of these search providers is not available, follow “Find more search providers” in the bottom of the screen and install Google.

How to remove Sogou virus from Firefox:

1. Enter “about:config” in url bar. This will open settings page;
2. Type “Keyword.url” in the search box. Right click and reset it;
3. Type “browser.search.defaultengine” in the search box. Right click it and reset it;
4. Type “browser.search.selectedengine” in the search box. Right click it and reset it;
5. Type “browser.startup.homepage” in the search box. Right click it and reset;
6. Search for “browser.newtab.url”. Right-click and reset. This will make sure that the search page won’t launch on every new tab;
7. If the settings revert and scan with anti-malware programs are clean: close Firefox, open file explorer and enter %AppData% in the address bar. Enter user.js in the search box. If this file exists, rename it and start Firefox again. You will have to repeat the steps above.

How to remove Sogou virus from Google Chrome:

1. Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on the browser toolbar;
2. Select Settings;
3. Select Basics ->Manage Search engines;
4. Remove unnecessary search engines from the list;
5. Go back to Settings. On Startup choose ‘Open blank page’ (you can remove undesired pages from the set pages link too);
6. If your New Tab page is hijacked, you will have to scan with anti-malware program or use New Tab Redirect extension from Chrome Store.

Remove shortcut hijack (all browsers) (optional):

If your browser opens 123.sogou.com page on startup only, try this:

1. Right click on your browser icon. Choose Properties;
2. Open Short cut tab;
3. Delete 123.sogou.com part from target field.

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