How to remove MSN Homepage [Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge]

The MSN Homepage extension is not a virus, but the virus behaves similarly. As a rootkit hides in the system, can make changes to settings of installed browsers, and blocks them from modifying. Also this add-on may install additional web-browser add-ons and modules that will show ads and popups. And finally, the MSN Homepage extension may collect a wide variety of personal info such as what sites you’re opening, what you are looking for the Internet and so on. This information, in the future, may be transferred to third parties.

Most often, the MSN Homepage plugin affects most common web-browsers like Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge. But such addons as well can infect other web browsers by modifying its shortcuts (adding ‘http://site.address’ into Target field of web-browser’s shortcut). So every time you launch the web browser, it’ll show MSN Homepage web site. Even if you setup your start page again, the annoying MSN Homepage web-page will be the first thing that you see when you start the browser.

It’s important, do not use MSN Homepage site and don’t click on ads placed on it. The best option is to use the step-by-step tutorial posted below to free your system of plugin, remove the MSN Homepage extension, and thereby restore your previous startpage and search engine.

Remove MSN Homepage add-on

Fortunately, it is not hard to remove the MSN Homepage extension. In the following tutorial, we will provide two solutions to free your machine of this extension. One is the manual removal way and the other is automatic removal way. You can select the method that best fits you. Please follow the removal guide below to delete MSN Homepage right now!

How to remove MSN Homepage plugin without any software

The instructions will help you remove MSN Homepage addon. These MSN Homepage removal steps work for the Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Firefox and Edge, as well as every version of Windows operating system.

Uninstall PUPs through the MS Windows Control Panel

First of all, check the list of installed applications on your computer and uninstall all unknown and recently installed software. If you see an unknown application with incorrect spelling or varying capital letters, it have most likely been installed by malware and you should clean it off first with malicious software removal tool like Zemana Anti-malware.

It will display the Windows Control Panel as shown below.

Next, click “Uninstall a program”
It will display a list of all software installed on your computer. Scroll through the all list, and delete any suspicious and unknown programs. To quickly find the latest installed software, we recommend sort software by date in the Control panel.

Get rid of MSN Homepage addon from Chrome

Run the Reset web-browser tool of the Google Chrome to reset all its settings such as start page, newtab page and default search provider to original defaults. This is a very useful tool to use, in the case of internet browser hijacks such as MSN Homepage.

Open the Google Chrome menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (). It will display the drop-down menu. Next, click to “Settings” option.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the “Show advanced settings” link. Now scroll down until the Reset settings section is visible, as shown on the screen below and press the “Reset settings” button.

Confirm your action, click the “Reset” button.

Get rid of MSN Homepage plugin from Internet Explorer

In order to restore all web browser newtab page, start 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 machine.

First, launch the IE. Next, click the button in the form of gear (). It will show the Tools drop-down menu, click the “Internet Options” as shown in the figure below.

In the “Internet Options” window click on the Advanced tab, then click the Reset button. The Internet Explorer will display the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” window as shown on the image below. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box, then press “Reset” button.

You will now need to reboot your computer for the changes to take effect.

Get rid of MSN Homepage from Firefox by resetting web browser settings

If your Mozilla Firefox web browser home page has replaced to MSN Homepage without your permission or an unknown search provider displays results for your search, then it may be time to perform the internet browser reset.

First, launch the Firefox and click button. It will open the drop-down menu on the right-part of the internet browser. Further, press the Help button () like below

.

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 on the image below. In the upper-right corner of this screen, click the “Refresh Firefox” button.

It will show the confirmation dialog box. Further, click the “Refresh Firefox” button. The Mozilla Firefox will begin a process to fix your problems that caused by the MSN Homepage extension. After, it is complete, click the “Finish” button.

Run free malware removal utilities to completely remove MSN Homepage extension

Manual removal is not always as effective as you might think. Often, even the most experienced users can not completely remove extension from the infected personal computer. So, we recommend to check your PC for any remaining malicious components with free extension removal software below.

How to remove MSN Homepage with Zemana Anti-malware

We suggest you to use the Zemana Anti-malware which are completely clean your computer. Moreover, the tool will allow you to remove potentially unwanted programs, malicious software, toolbars and ‘ad supported’ software that your personal computer can be infected too.

Download Zemana Anti Malware by clicking on the link below.

Once the downloading process is complete, start it and follow the prompts. Once installed, the Zemana Anti Malware will try to update itself and when this process is finished, click the “Scan” button to perform a system scan with this tool for the MSN Homepage addon and other kinds of potential threats like malware and adware.

Depending on your personal computer, the scan may take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. When a threat is found, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the scanning is complete. All detected items will be marked. You can remove them all by simply click “Next” button.

The Zemana AntiMalware will get rid of MSN Homepage plugin which modifies web browser settings to replace your newtab, homepage and search provider by default and add threats to the Quarantine.

Run Malwarebytes to get rid of addon

We suggest using the Malwarebytes Free which are completely clean your PC of the plugin. The free tool is an advanced malicious software removal application made by (c) Malwarebytes lab. This program uses the world’s most popular antimalware technology. It is able to help you remove addons, PUPs, malicious software, ad-supported software, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your PC system for free.

Download Malwarebytes Free on your personal computer by clicking on the link below. Save it on your desktop.

Once the downloading process is complete, close all windows on your machine. Further, open the file called mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as on the image below, click the “Yes” button.

It will show the “Setup wizard” which will help you install Malwarebytes on the system. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.

Once install is done successfully, click Finish button. Then Malwarebytes will automatically launch and you can see its main window as shown below.

Next, click the “Scan Now” button to perform a system scan with this tool for the MSN Homepage plugin that alters your startpage and search engine. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your PC system.

When the scanning is finished, it’ll display you the results. You may move threats to Quarantine (all selected by default) by simply click “Quarantine Selected” button.

The Malwarebytes will begin to get rid of MSN Homepage extension which changes your homepage and search provider. After that process is finished, you can be prompted to reboot your machine. We recommend you look at the following video, which completely explains the procedure of using the Malwarebytes to delete hijackers, ‘ad supported’ software and other malware.

Get rid of MSN Homepage addon from web-browsers with AdwCleaner

The AdwCleaner tool is free and easy to use. It may scan and delete plugin such as MSN Homepage, malware, potentially unwanted programs and ‘ad supported’ software in Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, MS Edge and Internet Explorer browsers and thereby restore their default settings (start page, newtab and default search provider). AdwCleaner is powerful enough to find and remove malicious registry entries and files that are hidden on the computer.

Download AdwCleaner tool from the link below. Save it to your Desktop so that you can access the file easily.

Once the download is finished, open the file location and double-click the AdwCleaner icon. It will run the AdwCleaner utility and you will see a screen as shown on the screen below. If the User Account Control dialog box will ask you want to open the program, click Yes button to continue.

Next, click “Scan” to perform a system scan for the MSN Homepage extension and other security threats. Depending on your computer, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. When a malware, ad-supported software or potentially unwanted applications are detected, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the scanning is complete.

When the scan get finished is finished, it’ll open a scan report as shown on the image below.

Make sure all items have ‘checkmark’ and click “Clean” button. It will open a prompt. Click “OK” button. The AdwCleaner will get rid of MSN Homepage addon that changes your startpage and search engine and move items to the program’s quarantine. When the task is done, the utility may ask you to restart your PC system. After reboot, the AdwCleaner will display the log file.

All the above steps are shown in detail in the following video instructions.

How to stay safe online

Run an ad-blocking utility like AdGuard will protect you from harmful ads and content. Moreover, you may find that the AdGuard have an option to protect your privacy and stop phishing and spam sites. Additionally, adblocker software will allow you to avoid intrusive pop-up advertisements and unverified links that also a good way to stay safe online.

1. Download AdGuard program by clicking on the following link.
   

   Adguard download
   26627 downloads
   Version: 6.4
   Author: © Adguard
   Category: Security tools
   Update: November 15, 2018
   
2. After downloading is complete, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
3. Once the install is done, press “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial which will help you get to know AdGuard better.
4. In most cases, the default settings are enough and you do not need to change anything. Each time, when you run your computer, AdGuard will start automatically and block popup ads, web-sites such MSN Homepage, 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 icon named AdGuard, that is located on your desktop.

Why is my browser redirected to MSN Homepage?

Many hijackers such as MSN Homepage come from web browser toolbars, web browser extensions, BHOs (browser helper objects) and third-party software. Most commonly, these items claim itself as programs which improve your experience on the Net by providing a fast and interactive home page or a search engine that does not track you. Remember, how to avoid the unwanted programs. Be cautious, start only reputable software which download from reputable sources. NEVER install an unknown and suspicious program.

To sum up

Now your PC should be free of the MSN Homepage addon. Remove AdwCleaner. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted pop up ads and undesired malicious pages) and Malwarebytes (to periodically scan your system for new extensions, malware and adware). Probably you are running an older version of Java or Adobe Flash Player. This can be a security risk, so download and install the latest version right now.

If you are still having problems while trying to remove MSN Homepage add-on from the Chrome, Firefox, Edge and IE, then ask for help in our Spyware/Malware removal forum.