TelevisionFanatic Search Hijacker - How to remove

TelevisionFanatic is considered to be a potentially unwanted application that makes unnecessary changes to your computer in order to show you ads. But it is also an incredibly popular and widespread add-on that promises to help users watch online TV for free. The description of TelevisionFanatic actually says that With TelevisionFanatic™, you can enjoy FREE episodes of your favorite shows — with one click, so even if you were skeptical, that promise might make you curious.

A lot of people were curious. They found TelevisionFanatic and installed it, hoping to use its amazing promised features. However, a lot of them were disappointed, accusing TelevisionFanatic of being unfinished, malicious, and presented other complaints as reasons for getting rid of (or trying to) the add-ons. The users’ complaints include:

• Can’t remove the add-on from their browser.
• TelevisionFanatic doesn’t work as promised.
• The extension makes unexpected changes to their browser, such as replacing the new tab page and the search engine.
• The new tab page that TelevisionFanatic sets is ugly.
• The add-on installs unexpectedly (this one does not apply to everyone).

These complaints are consistent with other browser hijackers and search-redirecting add-ons, which explains why TelevisionFanatic is found to be suspicious by reputable and trusted anti-malware programs.

Is TelevisionFanatic useful?

It’s actually rare to see any reviews on one of these products. They’re usually distributed in such a way that does not incentivize reviews. As you can see, there are not many new reviews, despite the extension being still popular and actively distributed.

So, you install TelevisionFanatic because it promises free, convenient TV episodes in one place. Is it some sort of an aggregator? Is it actually all free? How? Is it even legal? Well, the truth is boring and disappointing. The extension does not really aggregate your favorite TV episodes, nor does it show free shows of commercial TV Shows; it just gives you easily accessible links to sites, usually paid subscription video streaming sites.

TelevisionFanatic is a toolbar created by Mindspark and uses the MyWay search engine. If you know Mindspark, TelevisionFanatic’s new tab page must look very familiar to you: the different add-ons by this developer use the exact same template. In TelevisionFanatic’s case, it shows a lot of tile-links to online TV websites, like Fox, Showtime, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and others. Its similar extensions, like ReadingFanatic, Daily Bible Guide, and FilmFanatic, are meant for different subjects, but barely look any different.

TelevisionFanatic replaces your new tab, so if you carefully crafted it yourself or with the help of some other extension, TelevisionFanatic will sweep in and hijack it, ignoring your hard work. The design of this toolbar-like add-on is very outdated, but modern browser hijackers are slowly improving their user interface and adopting the designs that legitimate extensions have figured out years ago.

Why TelevisionFanatic hijacks your search

Mindspark has its own partner search engines — MyWay and Ask — that it funnels people to. If you installed TelevisionFanatic on the Chrome browser from TelevisionFanatic’s home page, you were suggested the Ask extension during the installation process. It has nothing to do with streaming video — Ask is bundled with many of Mindspark’s extensions. It could be argued that most of the company’s add-ons are made with the single main purpose of taking people to search.myway.com. The reason? Ads in the search results.

Some users of browser hijackers experience pop-up and banner ads on top of having their search redirected. TelevisionFanatic can use the push notifications process to show unwanted ads. These hijackers are also made in a way to cooperate with other suspicious applications, so different users will experience a different amount of ads. But the bottom line is that each user is new audience for ads, allowing Mindpsark to monetize their extensions in a roundabout way.

Being able to control and monitor your browser also gives TelevisionFanatic an opportunity to watch what you do, such as what your search for and which links and ads are interesting to you. So, TelevisionFanatic breaches your expected privacy in order to improve the ads shown to you. This is normal for free commercial browser extensions and the permissions that TelevisionFanatic asks for reveal that (though not every browser has a permission system).

How to remove TelevisionFanatic

Here are the ways that people encounter the hijacker online:

• TelevisionFanatic (or some of its versions) can be found by searching for a free way to watch some television. Few people do, but it is possible.
• Ads online also advertise TelevisionFanatic, and the ads are usually published on video streaming and piracy sites. Some of the ads are normal, others are quite aggressive (redirects).
• TelevisionFanatic is distributed by adware sites like adaranth.com. These can look the same as normal ads, so there’s not much practical difference, but it shows that TelevisionFanatic’s developers are willing to work with some very deceptive sites.
• The people who did not install TelevisionFanatic themselves go tit in software bundles — these are most often responsible for unexpected installations.

In most cases, removing this extension (if you want to) should be simple — the instructions below this article include screenshots and apply for the most popular web browsers. You can use an antivirus tool that is sensitive to PUPs and other non-virus threats, such as Malwarebytes (for PC and Mac), Combo-Cleaner (Mac), and Spyhunter (Windows).

You might notice that TelevisionFanatic is advertised similarly to other potentially unwanted programs, which means that people who have this add-on are also somewhat likely to have some other suspicious, unwanted, privacy-breaching programs and extensions on their computer. That’s why I recommend that you review what you have installed and think if you are using those programs. Remove them if you don’t need them. If an anti-malware scan uncovers a suspicious program, consider why it might have a poor reputation — it might be better off deleted.

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to remove TelevisionFanatic using Windows Control Panel

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

Delete TelevisionFanatic Search Hijacker from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the TelevisionFanatic 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 TelevisionFanatic Search 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 TelevisionFanatic, 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 TelevisionFanatic Search 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 TelevisionFanatic. Click on the trash bin icon next to TelevisionFanatic Search 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 TelevisionFanatic, 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 TelevisionFanatic Search 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 TelevisionFanatic 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 TelevisionFanatic Search 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.

How to remove TelevisionFanatic Search 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 TelevisionFanatic. Click on the "Remove" icon next to TelevisionFanatic Search 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 Microsoft Edge.

TopRemoving TelevisionFanatic from Safari (Mac OS X)

• Click on the Safari menu.
• Choose Preferences.
  
• Click on the Extensions Tab.
• Click on the Uninstall button near the TelevisionFanatic Search Hijacker. 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 TelevisionFanatic, 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.