There are certain potentially unwanted programs known as browser hijacker infections that once get installed onto your system alters your Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer and Edge internet browser, modify your startpage with an unwanted one, set a search engine which may redirect your internet queries to web-sites with intrusive advertisements and pop-ups. You’re probably reading this post because your machine is infected with Polaris Search browser hijacker and you are searching for method to remove Polaris Search from your system for free.
The Polaris Search hijacker infection can also alter the search provider selected in the web browser. When you try to search on the affected browser, you will be presented with search results, consisting of advertisements and Google (or Yahoo, or Bing) search results for your query. Among these search results may occur links that lead to undesired and ad pages.
It is not a good idea to have an unwanted application such as Polaris Search browser hijacker on your machine. The reason for this is simple, it doing things you don’t know about. The browser hijacker can be used to collect confidential data about you that can be later sold to third parties. You do not know if your home address, account names and passwords are safe. And of course you completely do not know what will happen when you click on any ads on the Polaris Search site.
The instructions below explaining steps to delete Polaris Search problem. Feel free to use it for removal of the hijacker infection that may attack Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and MS Edge and other popular internet browsers. The step-by-step instructions will allow you revert back your settings of installed web browsers that previously replaced by browser hijacker.
How to remove Polaris Search from personal computer
Fortunately, we have an effective solution which will help you manually or/and automatically remove Polaris Search from your PC system and bring your browser settings, including search provider, newtab page and startpage, back to normal. Below you’ll find a removal tutorial with all the steps you may need to successfully get rid of this hijacker and its components. Some of the steps below will require you to exit this web site. So, please read the instructions carefully, after that bookmark or print it for later reference.
To remove Polaris Search, execute the steps below:
- Manual Polaris Search removal
- Scan your PC and get rid of Polaris Search with free tools
- Use AdBlocker to block Polaris Search and stay safe online
- How can you prevent your personal computer from the attack of Polaris Search browser hijacker
- To sum up
Manual Polaris Search removal
The useful removal guidance for the Polaris Search. The detailed procedure can be followed by anyone as it really does take you step-by-step. If you follow this process to remove Polaris Search homepage let us know how you managed by sending us your comments please.
Uninstall potentially unwanted programs using Windows Control Panel
We suggest that you start the personal computer cleaning process by checking the list of installed programs and uninstall all unknown or questionable apps. This is a very important step, as mentioned above, very often the malicious apps such as adware and hijacker infections may be bundled with free software. Remove the unwanted software can remove the undesired ads or browser redirect.
Windows 8, 8.1, 10
First, press the Windows button , then click Search . Type “Control panel”and press Enter.
Windows XP, Vista, 7
First, click “Start” and select “Control Panel”.
It will show the Windows Control Panel as displayed in the following example.
Next, click “Uninstall a program”
It will display a list of all apps installed on your PC system. Scroll through the all list, and delete any dubious and unknown software. To quickly find the latest installed software, we recommend sort software by date in the Control panel.
Remove Polaris Search from FF
If the Firefox settings like default search engine, homepage and new tab have been replaced by the browser hijacker, then resetting it to the default state can help.
First, start the Mozilla Firefox and press button. It will open the drop-down menu on the right-part of the web browser. Further, click the Help button () as on the image 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 open the “Troubleshooting Information” page as shown on the image below. In the upper-right corner of this screen, click the “Refresh Firefox” button.
It will display the confirmation prompt. Further, click the “Refresh Firefox” button. The Firefox will start a process to fix your problems that caused by the hijacker responsible for redirecting user searches to Polaris Search. After, it’s finished, press the “Finish” button.
Get rid of Polaris Search from Internet Explorer
The Microsoft Internet Explorer reset is great if your internet browser is hijacked or you’ve unwanted extensions or toolbars on your web-browser, that installed by a malicious software.
First, open the Internet Explorer, click ) button. Next, click “Internet Options” like below.
In the “Internet Options” screen select the Advanced tab. Next, click Reset button. The Microsoft Internet Explorer will open the Reset Internet Explorer settings prompt. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box and click Reset button.
You will now need to reboot your machine for the changes to take effect. It will remove browser hijacker responsible for changing your web browser settings to Polaris Search, disable malicious and ad-supported web-browser’s extensions and restore the Internet Explorer’s settings like newtab, homepage and search provider to default state.
Remove Polaris Search from Chrome
If your Chrome internet browser is rerouted to undesired Polaris Search page, it may be necessary to completely reset your browser program to its default settings.
- First, start the Google Chrome and click the Menu icon (icon in the form of three dots).
- It will display the Chrome main menu. Select More Tools, then click Extensions.
- You will see the list of installed addons. If the list has the plugin labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following steps: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
- Now open the Google Chrome menu once again, press the “Settings” menu.
- Next, press “Advanced” link, that located at the bottom of the Settings page.
- On the bottom of the “Advanced settings” page, click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
- The Google Chrome will display the reset settings dialog box as on the image above.
- Confirm the browser’s reset by clicking on the “Reset” button.
- To learn more, read the blog post How to reset Google Chrome settings to default.
Scan your PC and get rid of Polaris Search with free tools
Use malware removal tools to delete Polaris Search automatically. The free programs tools specially developed for browser hijacker infection, adware and other potentially unwanted apps removal. These utilities may remove most of hijacker from Chrome, Firefox, IE and Microsoft Edge. Moreover, it can remove all components of Polaris Search from Windows registry and system drives.
Use Zemana Anti Malware to get rid of browser hijacker infection
We suggest using the Zemana Anti Malware (ZAM) that are completely clean your PC of the hijacker. The utility is an advanced malware removal program created by (c) Zemana lab. It is able to help you remove potentially unwanted programs, hijackers, adware, malicious software, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your PC for free.
Click the following link to download Zemana Free. Save it to your Desktop.
164035 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
When the download is done, close all apps and windows on your PC system. Open a directory in which you saved it. Double-click on the icon that’s named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup as on the image below.
When the installation begins, you will see the “Setup wizard” that will allow you set up Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) on your PC system.
Once installation is finished, you will see window as on the image below.
Now click the “Scan” button . Zemana Free program will scan through the whole machine for the hijacker responsible for redirecting user searches to Polaris Search. This process can take some time, so please be patient. When a threat is detected, the count of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the checking is complete.
After Zemana completes the scan, Zemana Free will display you the results. When you’re ready, click “Next” button.
The Zemana will get rid of hijacker which cause Polaris Search web site to appear and add items to the Quarantine.
How to automatically remove Polaris Search with Malwarebytes
Remove Polaris Search hijacker 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 personal computer. Moreover, the free program will help you to get rid of malicious software, potentially unwanted software, toolbars and adware that your system can be infected too.
Click the following link to download the latest version of MalwareBytes Free for MS Windows. Save it on your Microsoft Windows desktop.
326388 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
Once the downloading process is finished, close all windows on your machine. Further, launch the file called mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as shown on the screen below, press the “Yes” button.
It will open the “Setup wizard” that will assist you install MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) on the machine. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
Once install is finished successfully, click Finish button. Then MalwareBytes Free will automatically run and you can see its main window as on the image below.
Next, click the “Scan Now” button to start scanning your computer for the hijacker infection that changes internet browser settings to replace your search provider by default, new tab page and startpage with Polaris Search web-site. This process may take quite a while, so please be patient. When a threat is detected, the number of the security threats will change accordingly.
When MalwareBytes Free completes the scan, a list of all items found is produced. When you’re ready, click “Quarantine Selected” button.
The MalwareBytes will begin to delete hijacker responsible for Polaris Search. After finished, you may be prompted to restart your machine. We suggest you look at the following video, which completely explains the process of using the MalwareBytes Anti Malware to get rid of browser hijackers, adware and other malicious software.
Double-check for potentially unwanted apps with AdwCleaner
AdwCleaner is a free portable application that scans your system for ad supported software, PUPs and hijackers such as Polaris Search and allows remove them easily. Moreover, it’ll also allow you delete any malicious web-browser extensions and add-ons.
Installing the AdwCleaner is simple. First you’ll need to download AdwCleaner by clicking on the following link. Save it directly to your Windows Desktop.
225264 downloads
Version: 8.4.1
Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
Category: Security tools
Update: October 5, 2024
Download and run AdwCleaner on your system. Once started, click “Scan” button . AdwCleaner utility will begin scanning the whole machine to find out browser hijacker that redirects your browser to annoying Polaris Search page. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your PC system. While the AdwCleaner program is checking, you can see how many objects it has identified as threat..
After the scan get completed, you’ll be displayed the list of all found threats on your computer. Once you’ve selected what you want to remove from your computer, click Clean button.
All-in-all, AdwCleaner is a fantastic free utility to free your PC from any unwanted software. The AdwCleaner is portable program that meaning, you do not need to install it to use it. AdwCleaner is compatible with all versions of MS Windows OS from MS Windows XP to Windows 10. Both 64-bit and 32-bit systems are supported.
Use AdBlocker to block Polaris Search and stay safe online
Use ad-blocker application like AdGuard in order to stop ads, malvertisements, pop-ups and online trackers, avoid having to install harmful and adware browser plug-ins and add-ons which affect your computer performance and impact your computer security. Browse the Internet anonymously and stay safe online!
- Click the link below to download the latest version of AdGuard for MS Windows. Save it directly to your Windows Desktop.
Adguard download
26627 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
- After the download is complete, launch the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
- Once the installation is done, click “Skip” to close the installation application and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial which will help you get to know AdGuard better.
- In most cases, the default settings are enough and you don’t need to change anything. Each time, when you start your PC system, AdGuard will run automatically and stop advertisements, Polaris Search redirect, as well as other malicious or misleading web-sites. 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.
How can you prevent your personal computer from the attack of Polaris Search browser hijacker
The browser hijacker responsible for redirecting user searches to Polaris Search, can be defined as potentially unwanted application (PUA) which mostly comes on the machine with other free programs. In many cases, this undesired application comes without the user’s knowledge. Therefore, many users aren’t even aware that their computer has been hijacked with malicious software. Please follow the easy rules in order to protect your system from any undesired software: don’t install any suspicious applications, read the user agreement and choose only the Custom, Manual or Advanced installation option, do not rush to press the Next button. Also, always try to find a review of the program on the Net. Be careful and attentive! If Polaris Search redirect has already come into your machine, then you need to check your PC for browser hijacker infection and other malicious software. Use our detailed guide that are listed above.
To sum up
Now your system should be clean of the Polaris Search browser hijacker and other web browser’s malicious extensions. Delete AdwCleaner. We suggest that you keep Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) (to periodically scan your system for new hijacker infections and other malicious software) and AdGuard (to help you block undesired pop-up advertisements and harmful sites). Moreover, to prevent hijackers, please stay clear of unknown and third party software, make sure that your antivirus program, turn on the option to detect PUPs.
If you need more help with Polaris Search related issues, go to our Spyware/Malware removal forum.