The BrowsePrivately is a Google Chrome exension, already at the first sight of which there are various doubts. Its appearance in your web browser means that your internet browser has become the victim of potentially unwanted program (PUP) from the browser hijacker family. This type of software does not delete files or infect them, but it can alter some computer settings such as the home page, new tab and default search provider. So, the BrowsePrivately is not created in order to show relevant search results. It’s designed to redirect your on various ads and other unwanted web-pages.
The BrowsePrivately extension, which set an unknown site as your home page may also set this annoying web-page as your search provider. You will encounter the fact that the search in the browser has become uncomfortable to use, because the search results will consist of a ton of advertisements, links to ad and unwanted web-sites and a small amount of regular links, which are obtained from a search in the major search engines. Therefore, look for something using BrowsePrivately would be a waste of time.
And finally, the BrowsePrivately add-on may gather personal information such as what pages you are opening, what you’re looking for the Internet and so on. This information, in the future, may be used for marketing purposes.
Therefore it is very important to clean your PC of add-on as soon as possible. Follow the guidance below to get rid of BrowsePrivately add-on, as well as other malware and ad-supported software, which may be installed onto your system along with it.
Remove BrowsePrivately add-on
Fortunately, we have an effective solution that will help you manually or/and automatically delete BrowsePrivately from your machine and bring your web-browser settings, including home page, newtab and default search provider, back to normal. Below you will find a removal tutorial with all the steps you may need to successfully delete this addon and its traces. Read this manual carefully, bookmark or print it, because you may need to exit your web browser or reboot your computer.
How to get rid of BrowsePrivately add-on without any software
The useful removal tutorial for the BrowsePrivately addon. The detailed procedure can be followed by anyone as it really does take you step-by-step. If you follow this process to delete BrowsePrivately extension let us know how you managed by sending us your comments please.
Remove potentially unwanted software using MS Windows Control Panel
The best way to start the personal computer cleanup is to remove unknown and suspicious software. Using the MS 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 programs can clean up the Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Microsoft Internet Explorer from popup advertisements hijackers and so on.
- If you are using Windows 8, 8.1 or 10 then click Windows button, next click Search. Type “Control panel”and press Enter.
- If you are using Windows XP, Vista, 7, then press “Start” button and click “Control Panel”.
- It will show the Windows Control Panel.
- Further, click “Uninstall a program” under Programs category.
- It will display a list of all applications installed on the computer.
- Scroll through the all list, and delete suspicious and unknown applications. To quickly find the latest installed applications, we recommend sort applications by date.
See more details in the video guidance below.
Remove BrowsePrivately extension from Google Chrome
If your Chrome browser is redirected to annoying BrowsePrivately page, it may be necessary to completely reset your web-browser program to its default settings.
- First launch the Google Chrome and press Menu button (small button in the form of three horizontal stripes).
- It will display the Google Chrome main menu. Select “Settings” option.
- You will see the Chrome’s settings page. Scroll down and click “Show advanced settings” link.
- Scroll down again and press the “Reset settings” button.
- The Google Chrome will display the reset profile settings page as on the image above.
- Next click the “Reset” button.
- Once this procedure is finished, your web browser’s startpage, newtab and default search provider will be restored to their original defaults.
- To learn more, read the post How to reset Google Chrome settings to default.
How to remove BrowsePrivately add-on with free applications
Potentially unwanted programs sych as the BrowsePrivately add-on can hide its components which are difficult for you to find out and get rid of completely. This can lead to the fact that after some time, the plugin once again infect your system and alter internet browsers settings. Moreover, I want to note that it’s not always safe to delete extension manually, if you don’t have much experience in setting up and configuring the MS Windows operating system. The best method to find and remove plugins is to use free malware removal programs.
How to remove BrowsePrivately with Zemana Anti-Malware
You can delete BrowsePrivately extension automatically with a help of Zemana Anti Malware (ZAM). We recommend this malicious software removal utility because it can easily get rid of extensions, potentially unwanted programs, ad supported software and toolbars with all their components such as folders, files and registry entries.
Download Zemana Anti Malware from the link below. Save it on your Windows desktop.
164035 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
After the download is complete, close all programs and windows on your PC system. Double-click the install file named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up as displayed on the image below, click the “Yes” button.
It will open the “Setup wizard” that will help you install Zemana on your personal computer. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
Once setup is complete successfully, Zemana Anti Malware (ZAM) will automatically start and you can see its main screen as shown below.
Now press the “Scan” button to begin checking your personal computer for the BrowsePrivately add-on and other kinds of potential threats like malware and ad-supported software. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of files on your computer and the speed of your personal computer. When a threat is detected, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the scanning is done.
When the scanning is finished, Zemana will display a list of found threats. You may move items to Quarantine (all selected by default) by simply press “Next” button. The Zemana AntiMalware will remove BrowsePrivately plugin which developed to reroute your internet browser to an annoying web-page and add threats to the Quarantine. Once finished, you may be prompted to reboot the computer.
Automatically delete BrowsePrivately plugin with Malwarebytes
We recommend using the Malwarebytes Free that are completely clean your personal computer of the addon. The free utility is an advanced malicious software removal application made by (c) Malwarebytes lab. This program uses the world’s most popular anti malware technology. It’s able to help you remove plugins, potentially unwanted software, malicious software, adware, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your computer for free.
Download MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) by clicking on the following link. Save it on your Desktop.
326387 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
When the downloading process is finished, close all windows on your PC system. Further, run the file named mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up as on the image below, press the “Yes” button.
It will show the “Setup wizard” that will help you install MalwareBytes Free on the computer. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
Once install is done successfully, click Finish button. Then MalwareBytes will automatically run and you may see its main window as shown below.
Next, press the “Scan Now” button for checking your system for the BrowsePrivately plugin that reroutes your web browser to intrusive web-pages. Depending on your computer, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour.
After MalwareBytes Anti Malware completes the scan, you can check all items found on your computer. You may move threats to Quarantine (all selected by default) by simply click “Quarantine Selected” button.
The MalwareBytes Free will start to get rid of BrowsePrivately extension that alters web-browser settings to replace your new tab page, startpage and search engine by default. When that process is finished, you can be prompted to reboot your personal computer. We recommend you look at the following video, which completely explains the process of using the MalwareBytes to get rid of browser hijacker infections, ad supported software and other malware.
Run AdwCleaner to delete BrowsePrivately from the computer
AdwCleaner is a free removal utility which can check your computer for a wide range of security threats like ad-supported software, malware, potentially unwanted software as well as BrowsePrivately extension and other web browser’s malicious addons. It will perform a deep scan of your personal computer including hard drives and Microsoft Windows registry. When a malicious software is detected, it will help you to remove all detected threats from your computer with a simple click.
- Download AdwCleaner on your machine by clicking on the link below.
AdwCleaner download
225264 downloads
Version: 8.4.1
Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
Category: Security tools
Update: October 5, 2024
- Select the folder in which you saved it as Desktop, and then click Save.
- When the download is finished, launch the AdwCleaner, double-click the adwcleaner_xxx.exe file.
- If the “User Account Control” prompts, click Yes to continue.
- Read the “Terms of use”, and click Accept.
- In the AdwCleaner window, click the “Scan” to perform a system scan for the BrowsePrivately add-on related files, folders and registry keys. Depending on your PC system, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. When a malicious software, ad supported software or potentially unwanted programs are detected, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the scanning is complete.
- After the scanning is finished, AdwCleaner will open you the results. All found items will be marked. You can get rid of them all by simply click “Clean”. If the AdwCleaner will ask you to restart your computer, press “OK”.
The guide shown in detail in the following video.
How to stay safe online
Run ad blocker program such as AdGuard in order to stop advertisements, malvertisements, pop-ups and online trackers, avoid having to install malicious and adware browser plug-ins and add-ons which affect your PC performance and impact your PC system security. Surf the Internet anonymously and stay safe online!
Download AdGuard program from the following link. Save it on your Windows desktop.
26627 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
Once downloading is finished, run the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen as shown on the image below.
Follow the prompts. When the installation is complete, you will see a window as shown on the image below.
You can press “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” button to see an quick tutorial which will allow 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 launch your computer, AdGuard will start automatically and block pop up advertisements, as well as other malicious or misleading sites. For an overview of all the features of the application, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the AdGuard icon, that is located on your desktop.
To sum up
After completing the step by step guide outlined above, your PC system should be clean from BrowsePrivately add-on and other unwanted software. The Chrome, Firefox, MS Edge and Internet Explorer will no longer show an annoying home page on startup. Unfortunately, if the few simple steps does not help you, then you have caught a new addon, and then the best way – ask for help.
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. Wait for one of our trained “Security Team” or Site Administrator to provide you with knowledgeable assistance tailored to your problem with the intrusive BrowsePrivately extension.