How to remove 1M Search [Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge]

The 1M Search is an annoying page that installed as your start page with the help of browser hijacker. Once started, it’ll change the settings of web browsers like Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Edge. So, every time when you launch a web browser, it will always be forced to show 1M Search page, even as your start page has been set to a completely different page. On current date, this hijacker continues to increase the number of machines that have been infected.

Most often, the 1M Search browser hijacker affects most common internet browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Internet Explorer. But such browser hijacker infections as well may infect another browsers by changing its shortcuts (adding ‘http://site.address’ into Target field of web browser’s shortcut). So every time you start the web browser, it’ll show 1M Search web site. Even if you setup your home page again, it’s still the first thing you see when you open the internet browser will be the annoying 1M Search web site.

Besides the fact that 1M Search hijacker replaces your start page, this unwanted web-page can set yourself as your search engine. But, obviously, it does not give you a good search results, as they will consist of a large number of ads, links to harmful and misleading web-sites and only the remaining part is search results for your query from the major search engines. Of course, the very fact that you encounter with the inability to properly search the Net, is an unpleasant moment. Moreover, the 1M Search hijacker may collect information about you, and in the future to transfer it to third parties. What creates the risk of theft of your personal data.

Often, the PC system that has been infected with 1M Search hijacker infection, will be also infected with adware (sometimes called ‘ad-supported’ software) that opens a huge number of various advertisements. It may be pop-ups, text links in the pages, banners where they never had. What is more, the adware may replace the legitimate advertisements with malicious ads that will offer to download and install malware and unwanted applications or visit the various dangerous and misleading web pages.

We recommend you to clean your PC as quickly as possible. Use the step-by-step guide below which will allow to remove 1M Search and unwanted software, which can be installed onto your machine along with it.

How can you prevent your personal computer from the attack of 1M Search browser hijacker

Most often, the free applications installer includes the optional potentially unwanted software such as this hijacker. So, be very careful when you agree to install anything. The best way – is to choose a Custom, Advanced or Manual installation mode. Here disable (uncheck) all optional software in which you are unsure or that causes even a slightest suspicion. The main thing you should remember, you do not need to install the optional applications which you do not trust! The only thing I want to add. Once the free applications is installed, if you uninstall this software, the startpage, new tab page and default search engine of your favorite internet browser will not be restored. This must be done by yourself. Just follow the few simple steps below.

How to manually remove 1M Search

If you perform exactly the steps below you should be able to delete the 1M Search . Read it once, after doing so, please print this page as you may need to close your web-browser or reboot your computer.

1. Delete 1M Search associated software by using Windows Control Panel
2. Remove 1M Search from FF
3. Get rid of 1M Search from Google Chrome
4. Get rid of 1M Search from Internet Explorer
5. Disinfect the browser’s shortcuts to remove 1M Search

Uninstall 1M Search associated software by using Windows Control Panel

The best way to begin the system cleanup is to remove unknown and suspicious applications. Using the Windows Control Panel you can do this quickly and easily. This step, in spite of its simplicity, should not be ignored, because the removing of unneeded software can clean up the FF, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and Edge from pop-up ads hijackers and so on.

1. If you are using Windows 8, 8.1 or 10 then click Windows button, next click Search. Type “Control panel”and press Enter.
2. If you are using Windows XP, Vista, 7, then press “Start” button and press “Control Panel”.
3. It will show the Windows Control Panel.
4. Further, press “Uninstall a program” under Programs category.
5. It will show a list of all applications installed on the system.
6. Scroll through the all list, and remove suspicious and unknown applications. To quickly find the latest installed applications, we recommend sort software by date.

See more details in the video step-by-step guide below.

Remove 1M Search from FF

If the Mozilla Firefox settings like home page, newtab page and search provider by default have been changed by the infection, then resetting it to the default state can help.

First, start the Firefox and press button. It will show the drop-down menu on the right-part of the internet browser. Further, click the Help button () as shown on the screen below

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In the Help menu, select the “Troubleshooting Information” option. Another way to open the “Troubleshooting Information” screen – type “about:support” in the browser adress bar and press Enter. It will display the “Troubleshooting Information” page as shown on the screen below. In the upper-right corner of this screen, click the “Refresh Firefox” button.

It will display the confirmation dialog box. Further, press the “Refresh Firefox” button. The Firefox will start a procedure to fix your problems that caused by the 1M Search hijacker. Once, it’s finished, click the “Finish” button.

Get rid of 1M Search from Google Chrome

Reset Google Chrome settings is a simple way to remove the browser hijacker, malicious and adware extensions, as well as to restore the web-browser’s homepage and search engine by default that have been changed by infection.

1. First, start the Chrome and press the Menu icon (icon in the form of three horizontal stripes).
2. It will display the Google Chrome main menu, click the “Settings” menu.
3. Next, click “Show advanced settings” link, that located at the bottom of the Settings page.
4. On the bottom of the “Advanced settings” page, click the “Reset settings” button.
5. The Chrome will open the reset settings prompt as shown on the image above.
6. Confirm the internet browser’s reset by clicking on the “Reset” button.
7. To learn more, read the blog post How to reset Google Chrome settings to default.

Get rid of 1M Search from Internet Explorer

To restore the home page, newtab page and search provider by default you need to reset the Internet Explorer to the state, which was when the Windows was installed on your computer.

First, launch the Microsoft Internet Explorer, then click ‘gear’ icon . It will show the Tools drop-down menu on the right part of the internet browser, then click the “Internet Options” as shown on the screen below.

In the “Internet Options” screen, select the “Advanced” tab, then click the “Reset” button. The Microsoft Internet Explorer will open the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” dialog box. Further, press the “Delete personal settings” check box to select it. Next, click the “Reset” button as on the image below.

Once the procedure is done, press “Close” button. Close the Internet Explorer and reboot your computer for the changes to take effect. This step will help you to restore your browser’s homepage, new tab page and search engine by default to default state.

Disinfect the browser’s shortcuts to remove 1M Search

Now you need to clean up the browser shortcuts. Check that the shortcut referring to the right exe-file of the internet browser, and not on any unknown file. Right click to a desktop shortcut for your web browser. Choose the “Properties” option.

It will open the Properties window. Select the “Shortcut” tab here, after that, look at the “Target” field. The browser hijacker can modify it. If you are seeing something such as “…exe http://site.address” then you need to remove “http…” and leave only, depending on the web-browser you are using:

• Google Chrome: chrome.exe
• Opera: opera.exe
• Firefox: firefox.exe
• Internet Explorer: iexplore.exe

Look at the example as shown on the image below.

Once is done, click the “OK” button to save the changes. Please repeat this step for browser shortcuts which redirects to an annoying web sites. When you have completed, go to next step.

Delete 1M Search startpage with Malwarebytes

Delete 1M Search manually is difficult and often the browser hijacker is not completely removed. Therefore, we recommend you to use the Malwarebytes Free that are completely clean your PC system. Moreover, the free program will help you to remove malware, adware (sometimes called ‘ad-supported’ software) and toolbars that your personal computer may be infected too.

Download Malwarebytes by clicking on the link below.

Once downloaded, close all programs and windows on your PC. Open a directory in which you saved it. Double-click on the icon that’s named mbam-setup as shown in the figure below.

When the setup starts, you will see the “Setup wizard” which will help you install Malwarebytes on your system.

Once installation is done, you will see window as on the image below.

Now click the “Scan Now” button to begin checking your computer for the browser hijacker infection that cause a redirect to 1M Search. This procedure can take some time, so please be patient.

When the scan is finished, make sure all entries have “checkmark” and click “Quarantine Selected” button.

The Malwarebytes will start removing 1M Search hijacker related files, folders, registry keys. Once disinfection is finished, you may be prompted to restart your personal computer.

The following video explains guide on how to delete browser hijacker with Malwarebytes Anti-malware.

Stop 1M Search redirect and other unwanted web-pages

To increase your security and protect your computer against new annoying ads and malicious web-pages, you need to use an program that stops access to dangerous advertisements and web sites. Moreover, the program can block the display of intrusive advertising, that also leads to faster loading of sites and reduce the consumption of web traffic.

Download AdGuard program from the following link.

After downloading is complete, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen as shown on the image below.

Follow the prompts. When the setup is finished, you will see a window as shown on the image below.

You can click “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” button to see an quick tutorial which will help you get to know AdGuard better.

In most cases, the default settings are enough and you do not need to change anything. Each time, when you start your PC system, AdGuard will launch automatically and block pop-up ads, web pages such 1M Search, as well as other harmful or misleading web pages. For an overview of all the features of the program, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the AdGuard icon, that is located on your desktop.

If the problem with 1M Search redirect is still remained

If MalwareBytes Anti-malware cannot get rid of this hijacker, then we suggests to use the AdwCleaner. AdwCleaner is a free removal utility for browser hijackers, adware, PUPs, toolbars.

1. Download AdwCleaner from the link below.
   

   AdwCleaner download
   225264 downloads
   Version: 8.4.1
   Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: October 5, 2024
   
2. Double click the AdwCleaner icon. Once this tool is launched, press “Scan” button . This will start scanning the whole PC to find out 1M Search browser hijacker.
3. Once the checking is done, the AdwCleaner will display a scan report. Review the report and then click “Clean” button. It will display a prompt, click “OK”.

These few simple steps are shown in detail in the following video guide.

Finish words

After completing the instructions shown above, your computer should be clean from malware and browser hijackers. The Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, FF and Microsoft Edge will no longer open 1M Search unwanted homepage on startup. Unfortunately, if the step-by-step guide does not help you, then you have caught a new browser hijacker, and then the best way – ask for help.

1. Download HijackThis by clicking on the link below and save it to your Desktop.
   

   HijackThis download
   4692 downloads
   Version: 2.0.5
   Author: OpenSource
   Category: Security tools
   Update: November 7, 2015
   
2. Double-click on the HijackThis icon. Next click “Do a system scan only” button.
3. Once the scanning is finished, the scan button will read “Save log”, press it. Save this log to your desktop.
4. Create a Myantispyware account here. Once you’ve registered, check your e-mail for a confirmation link, and confirm your account. After that, login.
5. Copy and paste the contents of the HijackThis log into your post. If you are posting for the first time, please start a new thread by using the “New Topic” button in the Spyware Removal forum. When posting your HJT log, try to give us some details about your problems, so we can try to help you more accurately.
6. Wait for one of our trained “Security Team” or Site Administrator to provide you with knowledgeable assistance tailored to your problem with the annoying 1M Search redirect.