Search.pandaviewer.com. How to delete? (Removal tutorial)
Panda Viewer is a browser hijacker which targets to force people using its services
Panda Viewer is a potentially unwanted program (PUP) which, aims to take over most popular browsers, like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, etc. Its primary goal is to manipulate your browser's settings to make sure that you will use its services on a daily basis. Likewise, this program is neither useful, not reliable.
| Name | Panda Viewer; Search.Pandaviewer.com |
|---|---|
| Type | Browser Hijacker |
| Distribution | Reaches target system in software-bundles |
| Symptoms | Search.Pandaviewer.com is assigned to new tab URL, homepage, and default search engine. Also, can deliver annoying ads on frequently visited pages, and prevent you from deleting it |
| Potential dangers | Redirects to various shady websites and malware-laden ads can put your computer's security at risk as well as collect some information about its users |
| Removal | The most convenient way to uninstall Panda viewer is to get an antivirus and run a full system scan. For that, we suggest using Reimage |
Note that this potentially unwanted program is not highly malicious software. However, it has gained Panda viewer virus name for its unfair distribution technique and arbitrary activity. Once it settles on the system, users are continuously redirected to this fake search engine every time they surf the Internet.
Unfortunately, if you wonder how to remove Panda Viewer, this process is not an easy one. The developers of this browser hijacker have designed it to not only alter browser's settings once but reset them each time the user attempts to change them to the primary state.
Furthermore, after Panda Viewer hijack or installation of Panda Image Viewer Secure Search extension, people can notice a significant increase in advertising content during their browsing sessions. This is because the authors of this potentially unwanted program are operating according to the pay-per-click marketing scheme which allows them to increase revenue from the delivered ads.
Likewise, people not only see annoying ads on their frequently visited pages but receive altered search results as well. In other terms, users can be deceived to click on the link to the affiliate websites since it is advertised once he/she performs a search. Thus, we want to warn you that you shouldn't trust this shady software.
Keep in mind that even if such actions seem harmless, there is a high risk that Panda Viewer redirect tendency can lead to infections of other potentially unwanted programs or even malware. If that is not enough, the Privacy Policy claims that this software collects the following information:
- Internet Protocol (IP) address;
- Internet Service Provider (ISP);
- Referring/exit pages;
- Operating system;
- Click stream data;
- Date/time stamp and browser type.
Therefore, if you value your privacy and want to protect your computer from malware infections, we strongly suggest you perform Panda Viewer removal as soon as possible. As we have already mentioned, it is not an easy procedure. So, the quickest way to finish it with the help of a professional antivirus. Our top choice is Reimage.
Go to 'Start -> Control Panel -> Programs and Features' (if you are 'Windows XP' user, open 'Add/Remove Programs').
If you are 'Windows 10 / Windows 8' user, click on Windows icon in the lower left corner of the screen to open 'Quick Access Menu'. Then click 'Control Panel' and select 'Uninstall a Program'.
Right-click every suspicious program and select 'Uninstall'
Right-click on web browsers' icon and click 'Properties'
Open 'Shortcut' tab and erase 'http://isearch.babylon.com...' or other shady URL
Click on 'Go' to open a drop-down menu and select 'Applications'.
Click on each malicious application and select 'Move to Trash'
Open browser menu and go to 'Manage add-ons'
To eliminate malicious applications, right-click on each of them and click 'Disable'
Delete suspicious URL, type in your preferable site name and click 'Apply' to save
In 'Advanced' tab, click 'Reset'. Then tick 'Delete personal settings' and click 'Reset'.
Open Settings and click on 'Choose what to clear' button
Click 'Clear'
Right-click the Start button again and choose 'Task Manager'
Right-click on 'Microsoft Edge' and choose 'Go to details' option
If 'Go to details' option does not show up, choose 'More details' instead
Locate all entries that relate to Microsoft Edge and click 'End Task'
Open Microsoft Edge folder on your PC, click every entry with the right mouse button and select 'Delete'
Locate where Windows PowerShell is, right-click on it and click on 'Run as administrator' option
Copy and then paste the necessary command and hit 'Enter'
Open browser menu and go to 'Add-ons'
Go to 'Extensions' and locate malicious browser add-ons. Hit 'Remove' button to delete each entry
Open 'General' tab and delete the URL from 'Home Page' field or just simply click 'Restore to Default'. Then click on 'OK' button to apply changes.
Open menu by clicking on the indicated icon and on '?'. Then select 'Troubleshooting Information'.
Hit 'Reset Firefox' button a few times
Open browser's menu, then click 'Tools' and 'Extensions'
Find malicious extensions and click on the Trash bin icon to remove them
Open browser's menu, then go to 'Settings' and select 'Set pages' under 'On startup' section
Remove malicious search sites by clicking 'X'
Once you open browser's 'Settings', click on 'Manage search engines...' button
Remove malicious search sites by clicking 'X'
When in 'Settings', click Show advanced settings and then find 'Reset browser settings' button. Click on it.
Click 'Reset' to finish the removal process.
Click on 'Safari' and then select 'Preferences'
Go to 'Extensions' and remove untrustworthy extensions
Go to 'General' section and find Homepage field. Delete suspicious URL and replace it with a URL of your choice.
Click on 'Safari' and then select 'Reset Safari...'
Select all checkboxes and click 'Reset'
Attention during the installation of free software is the key to a safe computer
This browser hijacker is distributed similarly to other potentially unwanted programs via bundling technique. In other terms, it is offered to users during the installation of freeware. However, since a vast of people skip many steps during the procedure, they often unconsciously let it in.
This happens when users accept to run the installation of third-party programs with Quick or Recommended settings — browser hijackers are hidden among optional components, and people are unable to detect them. Therefore, it is vital to pick Advanced or Custom settings if you want to avoid potentially unwanted programs.
Also, one must pay extreme attention and de-select all check marks which have been selected without your direct permission. Although, the easiest way to protect your system from browser hijackers is to have a professional antivirus installed and running at all times.
Get rid of Panda Viewer virus and protect your system
As it has been mentioned before, Search.Pandaviewer.com is designed to protect itself against easy uninstall. Likewise, if you try to reset the altered settings manually, this browser hijacker might reappear after some time. Therefore, we suggest you rely on more effective elimination techniques.
Get a professional security software and run a full system scan. Once all the potentially harmful components are detected, the antivirus will remove Panda Viewer virus automatically. Likewise, this is the easiest and the most effective way to protect your system.
After Panda Viewer removal, you should reset the affected browsers. For that, check the instructions at the end of this article which will guide you through the process.
You can remove virus damage automatically with a help of one of these programs: Reimage, Malwarebytes MalwarebytesCombo Cleaner, Plumbytes Anti-MalwareMalwarebytes Malwarebytes. We recommend these applications because they detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.
To remove Search.pandaviewer.com virus, follow these steps:
Uninstall Search.pandaviewer.com in Windows systems
The guidelines below are designed to help Windows users who have Panda Viewer virus present on their systems.
-
Go to Start → Control Panel → Programs and Features (if you are Windows XP user, open Add/Remove Programs).
-
If you are Windows 10 / Windows 8 user, click on Windows icon in the lower left corner of the screen to open Quick Access Menu. Then click Control Panel and select Uninstall a Program.
- Remove Search.pandaviewer.com and programs related to it
Now, take a look at the list of programs and find Search.pandaviewer.com or other programs that you do not remember installing. -
Right-click on these programs and select "Uninstall." Then click OK to save changes.
- Delete Search.pandaviewer.com from Windows shortcuts
Right-click on the shortcut of Mozilla Firefox and click Properties. -
Now, go to Shortcut tab and find Target field. Then delete the URL that is associated with your virus.
Follow the same steps as explained above with all other shortcuts of Internet browsers, including Google Chrome and Internet Explorer. Please check Start Menu, Desktop, and taskbar to find all shortcuts.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariUninstall Search.pandaviewer.com in Mac OS X system
-
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.
-
Wait until you see Applications folder and look for Search.pandaviewer.com or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash.
Delete Search.pandaviewer.com from Internet Explorer (IE)
I
-
Delete suspicious browser add-ons
Launch Internet Explorer, and then open IE by clicking on the Gear icon, which is located at the top right corner of the Internet browser. Then, click Manage Add-ons. -
Manage Add-ons window will appear on your screen. Now, search for Search.pandaviewer.com and other questionable browser add-ons. Right-click them on each of them and select Disable.
-
If virus altered your homepage, change it:
Click the Gear icon at the top right corner of the Internet browser and then click Internet Options. Stay in General section. -
Now, delete malicious URL and enter
-
Reset all Internet Explorer settings
Click on Gear icon and then opt for Internet options. Then go to Advanced section. - Click Reset.
-
A new window appears, and then you have to tick Delete personal settings and click Reset to finalise Search.pandaviewer.com removal.
Eliminate Search.pandaviewer.com virus from Microsoft Edge browser
Reset settings in Microsoft Edge (Technique No.1):
- Open Microsoft Edge browser, then click on More button, which is situated at the top right edge of the screen
- Select Settings from the drop down menu.
-
When the Settings panel appears, find Clear browsing data section and hit Choose what to clear button.
-
Then mark all components that you wish to delete and after that hit Clear.
-
Right-click the Start button (that has Windows logo on it) and choose Task Manager.
- Go to Processes tab and look for Microsoft Edge.
-
Right-click on it and select Go to details. If there is no Go to details option, select More details and carry out previous instructions.
-
Once Details tab appears, look for entries that contain Microsoft Edge name. Right-click on such individual entries and choose End Task option to terminate them.
Reset Microsoft Edge (Technique No.2):
In case the Technique No.1 did not help you to fix the problem, use advanced Edge reset option.
- Important: you must backup your files before you use these tips
- Locate this folder on your PC:
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe. -
Select all items in this folder and right-click with your mouse. Select Delete.
- Click on the Start button (that has Windows Logo on it) and in Search my stuff field, type in window power.
-
With the right button of your mouse, click on every entry and select Run as administrator.
- Once you get Admin's rights, Windows PowerShell window should show up shortly. Paste this line:
after PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> and hit Enter.Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml -Verbose}
After completing these steps, Microsoft Edge should be Search.pandaviewer.com-free.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariDelete Search.pandaviewer.com from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
You can fix Mozilla by deleting all suspicious entries that might harm your computer and browser.
-
Delete suspicious browser extensions
Launch Mozilla Firefox, and then open menu (click a button at the top right corner). Then, go to Add-ons → Extensions. -
Now, locate Search.pandaviewer.com and other suspicious extensions. Click Remove to eliminate them.
-
If virus altered your homepage, change it:
Open Firefox menu (click the button at the top right corner), and go to Options → General. - Delete malicious URL and then enter the address of the website that you want to set as your homepage.
-
Click OK to save the changes.
-
Reset all Mozilla Firefox settings
Click on the Firefox at the top left corner and then click the question mark. Then, select Troubleshooting Information. -
Reset Firefox to its default state message should appear then. You will see Reset Firefox button. Click this button a few times and finalise Search.pandaviewer.com removal.
Delete Search.pandaviewer.com from Google Chrome
The final step to delete Panda Viewer from Chrome is shown below:
-
Remove malicious extensions
Launch Google Chrome, and then open menu (click a button at the top right corner). Then, go to Tools → Extensions. -
Now, look for Search.pandaviewer.com and other suspicious extensions and then click the trash icon to remove them.
-
If virus altered your homepage, change it:
Open menu and select Settings. -
Find Open a specific page or set of pages under On startup section and click Set pages.
- An additional window should pop-up. Here, remove dubious URLs and add a new page that you wish to set as a homepage.
-
Open Chrome menu and go to Settings → Manage Search engines under the Search section.
-
In Search Engines..., configure default search engine settings. Remove untrustworthy ones. We advise you to leave only Google or another reputable website of your choice.
-
Reset all Google Chrome settings
Open menu by clicking the button at the top right corner of Google Chrome, and go to Settings. -
Scroll down to find Reset browser settings button. Click on it.
-
Click Reset to approve this action and finish Search.pandaviewer.com removal.
Delete Search.pandaviewer.com from Safari
- Delete suspicious browser extensions
Open Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu at the top left of the screen. Once you do this, select Preferences. -
Here, select Extensions and look for Search.pandaviewer.com or other suspicious entries. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid each of them.
-
If virus altered your homepage, change it:
Open your Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu section. Here, select Preferences as it was displayed previously and select General. -
Here, look at the Homepage field. If it was altered by Search.pandaviewer.com, remove unwanted link and enter the one that you want to use for your searches. Remember to include the "http://" before typing in the address of the page.
-
Reset all Safari settings
Open Safari browser and click on Safari in menu section at the top left of the screen. Here, select Reset Safari.... -
Now you will see a detailed dialog window filled with reset options. All of those options are usually checked, but you can specify which of them you want to reset. Click the Reset button to complete Search.pandaviewer.com removal process.
About the author
If you found this free removal tutorial helpful, please consider making a donation to support us. Even the smallest amount will be appreciated and will help to keep this service alive.