Uninstall PieSearch virus (Free Removal Guide) - Aug 2016 updated
PieSearch virus Removal Guide
Description of PieSearch virus
What should I know about Piesearch virus?
Developers claim that Piesearch is a search engine, but, actually, it is a browser hijacker. Beware that this ‘search engine’ is designed for marketing and advertising purposes only. For this reason, you shouldn’t trust any of search results from Piesearch.com. Besides, this virus can infiltrate your computer without your approval. How? Usually, it is secretly installed with the free software. Once this browser hijacker is installed, it makes illegal modifications in all of your web browsers (Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Safari). After getting into your computer, the first task that Piesearch virus has to do is to change your homepage and default search provider on these browsers. No one likes this kind of changes! These modifications can easily affect your browsing experience and can even lead to you malicious domains. To prevent these activities, we recommend you to remove PieSearch from the system.
The reason of these redirects is simple – this ‘search engine’ is created for marketing purpose. At first, it seems that you are seeing Google search results when using this PUP as your search engine. However, this not true. Piesearch.com shows search results which are sponsored by third parties. All of your search results are just sponsored links that can lead you to affiliate websites. So, the search results displayed by this hijacker are inaccurate when compared with Google search results. Therefore, you may notice Piesearch redirect issue and similar problems as well.
Another unpleasant issue arises from the fact that this browser hijacker collects non-private data about its users. According to the Privacy Policy of this PUP, its developers spy on their users in order to know their browsing habits, search history, email address and similar data. After their continuous research is finished, they start causing even pre-selected advertisements that are expected to catch people’s attention. Finally, like many other browser hijackers, it might slow down your browser and freeze or crash it once in a while, so if you can’t stand such crashes, make sure you take care of Piesearch removal. For that, FortectIntego is recommended.
How did this program hijack my computer?
The majority of browser hijackers gets into computers with free software, and Piesearch virus is not an exception. Usually, this PUP comes bundled with PDF creators, media players, download managers or other free software. Generally, letting the virus get into a computer is user’s fault because users fail to check what additional programs are added to the main program. By skipping this step and choosing default installation methods instead of ‘Advanced’ or ‘Custom’, you can let this thing enter your computer. Be careful with what you install and select one of previously-mentioned installation methods to keep your computer at its best state!
Another way how can Piesearch hijack show up on your computer is misleading advertising. You might get redirected to the unreliable website that claims that this search site is safe, useful and you definitely need it. Sometimes users fall for such claims; however, they should be very careful with such recommendations because they may end up with unwanted tools.
How to remove Piesearch?
It is possible to remove Piesearch virus from your computer with the help of two different ways: manual or automatic. It is your decision which method to use. However, we strongly recommend using automatic Piesearch removal, especially if you don’t feel like an advanced computer user. Beware that browser hijackers and similar PUPs can be tricky and might try to install their unwanted files on your computer without asking your permission for that. It is hard to find all these components manually. If you want to be sure that your computer is not in danger, you should scan it with anti-spyware.
You may remove virus damage with a help of FortectIntego. SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner and Malwarebytes are recommended to detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.
Getting rid of PieSearch virus. Follow these steps
Uninstall PieSearch in Windows systems
Terminate suspicious programs from Windows 10/8 machines by following these instructions:
- Type Control Panel into Windows search and once the result shows up hit Enter.
- Under Programs, choose Uninstall a program.
- Find components related to suspicious programs.
- Right-click on the application and select Uninstall.
- Click Yes when User Account Control shows up.
- Wait for the process of uninstallation to be done and click OK.
Windows 7/XP instructions:
- Click on Windows Start and go to Control Panel on the right pane.
- Choose Add/Remove Programs.
- Select Uninstall a program under Programs in Control Panel.
- Click once on the unwanted application.
- Click Uninstall/Change at the top.
- Confirm with Yes.
- Click OK and finish the removal.
Uninstall PieSearch in Mac OS X system
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Users who use OS X should click on Go button, which can be found at the top left corner of the screen and select Applications.
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Wait until you see Applications folder and look for PieSearch or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash.
Eliminate PieSearch virus from Microsoft Edge browser
Delete suspicious extensions from MS Edge:
- Go to the Menu by clicking on the three horizontal dots at the top-right.
- Then pick Extensions.
- Choose the unwanted add-ons on the list and click on the Gear icon.
- Click on Uninstall at the bottom.
Clear cookies and other data:
- Click on the Menu and from the context menu select Privacy & security.
- Under Clear browsing data, select Choose what to clear.
- Choose everything except passwords, and click on Clear.
Alter new tab and homepage settings:
- Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
- Then find On startup section.
- Click Disable if you found any suspicious domain.
Reset MS Edge fully:
- Click on the keyboard Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Choose More details arrow at the bottom.
- Go to Details tab.
- Now scroll down and locate every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it.
- Right-click on each of them and select End Task to stop MS Edge from running.
When none of the above solves the issue, you might need an advanced Edge reset method, but you need to backup your data before proceeding.
- Find the following folder on the PC: C:\\Users\\%username%\\AppData\\Local\\Packages\\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe.
- Press Ctrl + A on your keyboard to select all folders.
- Right-click on the selection and choose Delete
- Right-click on the Start button and pick Windows PowerShell (Admin).
- Copy and paste the following command, and then press Enter:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\\AppXManifest.xml” -Verbose
Instructions for Chromium-based Edge
Delete extensions:
- Open Edge and click Settings.
- Then find Extensions.
- Delete unwanted extensions with the Remove.
Clear cache and site data:
- Click on Menu and then Settings.
- Find Privacy and services.
- Locate Clear browsing data, then click Choose what to clear.
- Time range.
- Click All time.
- Select Clear now.
Reset Chromium-based MS Edge browser fully:
- Go to Settings.
- On the left side, choose Reset settings.
- Select Restore settings to their default values.
- Click Reset.
Delete PieSearch from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
Remove suspicious Firefox extensions:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the three horizontal lines at the top-right to open the menu.
- Select Add-ons in the context menu.
- Choose plugins that are creating issues and select Remove.
Reset the homepage on the browser:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner.
- This time select Options.
- Under Home section, enter your preferred site for the homepage that will open every time you launch Mozilla Firefox.
Clear cookies and site data:
- Click Menu and pick Options.
- Find the Privacy & Security section.
- Scroll down to choose Cookies and Site Data.
- Click on Clear Data… option.
- Click Cookies and Site Data, Cached Web Content and press Clear.
Reset Mozilla Firefox:
If none of the steps above helped you, reset Mozilla Firefox as follows:
- Open Mozilla Firefox and go to the menu.
- Click Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.
- Locate Give Firefox a tune-up section, click on Refresh Firefox…
- Confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox on the pop-up.
Chrome browser reset
Find and remove suspicious extensions from Google Chrome:
- In Google Chrome, open the Menu by clicking three vertical dots at the top-right corner.
- Select More tools > Extensions.
- Once the window opens, you will see all the installed extensions.
- Find any suspicious add-ons related to any PUP.
- Uninstall them by clicking Remove.
Clear cache and web data from Chrome:
- Click the Menu and select Settings.
- Find Privacy and security section.
- Choose Clear browsing data.
- Select Browsing history.
- Cookies and other site data, also Cached images and files.
- Click Clear data.
Alter settings of the homepage:
- Go to the menu and choose Settings.
- Find odd entries in the On startup section.
- Click on Open a specific or set of pages.
- Then click on three dots and look for the Remove option.
Reset Google Chrome fully:
You might need to reset Google Chrome and properly eliminate all the unwanted components:
- Go to Chrome Settings.
- Once there, scroll down to expand Advanced section.
- Scroll down to choose Reset and clean up.
- Click Restore settings to their original defaults.
- Click Reset settings again.
Delete PieSearch from Safari
Get rid of questionable extensions from Safari:
- Click Safari.
- Then go to Preferences…
- Choose Extensions on the menu.
- Select the unwanted extension and then pick Uninstall.
Clear cookies from Safari:
- Click Safari.
- Choose Clear History…
- From the drop-down menu under Clear, find and pick all history.
- Confirm with Clear History.
Reset Safari fully:
- Click Safari and then Preferences…
- Choose the Advanced tab.
- Tick the Show Develop menu in the menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop.
- Then select Empty Caches.
Even if you have completed all the steps above, we still strongly recommend you to scan your computer system with a powerful anti-malware software. It is advisable to do that because an automatic malware removal tool can detect and delete all remains of PieSearch, for instance, its registry keys. The anti-malware program can help you to easily detect and eliminate possibly dangerous software and malicious viruses in an easy way. You can use any of our top-rated malware removal programs: FortectIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes.
How to prevent from getting browser hijacker
A proper web browser and VPN tool can guarantee better safety
As online spying becomes an increasing problem, people are becoming more interested in how to protect their privacy. One way to increase your online security is to choose the most secure and private web browser. But if you want complete anonymity and security when surfing the web, you need Private Internet Access VPN service. This tool successfully reroutes traffic across different servers, so your IP address and location remain protected. It is also important that this tool is based on a strict no-log policy, so no data is collected and cannot be leaked or made available to first or third parties. If you want to feel safe on the internet, a combination of a secure web browser and a Private Internet Access VPN will help you.
Reduce the threat of viruses by backing up your data
Due to their own careless behavior, computer users can suffer various losses caused by cyber infections. Viruses can affect the functionality of the software or directly corrupt data on your system by encrypting it. These problems can disrupt the system and cause you to lose personal data permanently. There is no such threat if you have the latest backups, as you can easily recover lost data and get back to work.
It is recommended to update the backups in parallel each time the system is modified. This way, you will be able to access the latest saved data after an unexpected virus attack or system failure. By having the latest copies of important documents and projects, you will avoid serious inconveniences. File backups are especially useful if malware attacks your system unexpectedly. We recommend using the Data Recovery Pro program to restore the system.
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