If your web browser’s home page or search provider are being re-directed to the web-page called Browsing Guard, then you most likely have a hijacker installed on your personal computer. The hijacker will change your web browser’s homepage, newtab page and search engine by default so that they automatically open the Browsing Guard and use it for searches. If you would like to delete Browsing Guard and are unable to do so, you can use the instructions below to detect and remove this hijacker and any other malicious software for free.
The Browsing Guard hijacker will modify your internet browser’s search provider so that all searches are sent via Browsing Guard, which redirections to Bing, Yahoo or Google Custom Search engine which displays the search results for your query. The authors of this hijacker infection are using legitimate search provider as they may generate revenue from the ads that are opened in the search results.
It’s not a good idea to have an unwanted program such as Browsing Guard hijacker infection on your PC system. The reason for this is simple, it doing things you don’t know about. The browser hijacker can collect user info which may be later transferred third party companies. 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 Browsing Guard web-site.
The Browsing Guard browser hijacker may alter web-browsers settings, but often that the undesired software can also infect all types of internet browsers by changing their desktop shortcuts. Thus forcing the user to see Browsing Guard undesired website every time open the internet browser.
To find out how to remove Browsing Guard redirect, we recommend to read the few simple steps added to this blog post below. The tutorial was prepared by security researchers who discovered a way to get rid of the annoying Browsing Guard hijacker out of the computer.
Remove Browsing Guard Search from Windows 10 (8, 7, XP)
Without a doubt, the browser hijacker is harmful to your computer. So you need to quickly and completely remove this malware. To remove this browser hijacker, you can use the manual removal guidance that are given below or free malicious software removal tool like Zemana Free, MalwareBytes Free or HitmanPro (all are free). We recommend you use automatic removal method which will allow you to get rid of Browsing Guard startpage easily and safely. Manual removal is best used only if you are well versed in PC or in the case where hijacker is not removed automatically. Read this manual carefully, bookmark or print it, because you may need to close your browser or restart your machine.
To remove Browsing Guard, follow the steps below:
- How to remove Browsing Guard redirect without any software
- Delete potentially unwanted software through the Windows Control Panel
- Delete Browsing Guard search from Internet Explorer
- Delete Browsing Guard from FF by resetting internet browser settings
- Get rid of Browsing Guard home page from Chrome
- Disinfect the internet browser’s shortcuts to get rid of Browsing Guard redirect
- Scan your PC and remove Browsing Guard with free tools
- How to stop Browsing Guard redirect
- How can you prevent the Browsing Guard browser hijacker
- Finish words
How to remove Browsing Guard redirect without any software
If you perform exactly the steps below you should be able to delete the Browsing Guard from the Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, MS Edge and FF web-browsers.
Delete potentially unwanted software through the Windows Control Panel
Check out the Microsoft Windows Control Panel (Programs and Features section) to see all installed applications. We recommend to click on the “Date Installed” in order to sort the list of software by the date you installed them. If you see any unknown and suspicious programs, they are the ones you need to uninstall.
Windows 8, 8.1, 10
First, click Windows button , then click Search . Type ‘Control panel’and press Enter as displayed on the screen below.
After the ‘Control Panel’ opens, click the ‘Uninstall a program’ link under Programs category as shown below.
You will see the ‘Uninstall a program’ panel as on the image below.
Very carefully look around the entire list of applications installed on your system. Most likely, one of them is the hijacker which designed to redirect your browser to the Browsing Guard web page. If you’ve many apps installed, you can help simplify the search of harmful software by sort the list by date of installation. Once you’ve found a dubious, unwanted or unused program, right click to it, after that click ‘Uninstall’.
Windows XP, Vista, 7
First, click ‘Start’ button and select ‘Control Panel’ at right panel as on the image below.
When the Windows ‘Control Panel’ opens, you need to press ‘Uninstall a program’ under ‘Programs’ like below.
You will see a list of applications installed on your personal computer. We recommend to sort the list by date of installation to quickly find the applications that were installed last. Most likely, it’s the hijacker that cause Browsing Guard web-site to appear. If you’re in doubt, you can always check the program by doing a search for her name in Google, Yahoo or Bing. When the program which you need to delete is found, simply press on its name, and then click ‘Uninstall’ as displayed on the screen below.
Delete Browsing Guard search from Internet Explorer
The IE reset is great if your internet browser is hijacked or you have unwanted extensions or toolbars on your web-browser, that installed by a malware.
First, run the Internet Explorer, click ) button. Next, click “Internet Options” as shown on the image below.
In the “Internet Options” screen select the Advanced tab. Next, click Reset button. The Internet Explorer will display the Reset Internet Explorer settings dialog box. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box and click Reset button.
You will now need to restart your computer for the changes to take effect. It will delete browser hijacker that causes browsers to open intrusive Browsing Guard web page, disable malicious and ad-supported web browser’s extensions and restore the IE’s settings such as default search provider, newtab page and homepage to default state.
Delete Browsing Guard from FF by resetting internet browser settings
Press the Menu button (looks like three horizontal lines), and click the blue Help icon located at the bottom of the drop down menu as displayed in the figure below.
A small menu will appear, click the “Troubleshooting Information”. On this page, click “Refresh Firefox” button as displayed on the screen below.
Follow the onscreen procedure to restore your FF web browser settings to its original state.
Get rid of Browsing Guard home page from Chrome
Run the Reset internet browser utility of the Chrome to reset all its settings like homepage, new tab page and search engine by default to original defaults. This is a very useful utility to use, in the case of internet browser hijacks like Browsing Guard.
Open the Google Chrome menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal dotes (). It will show the drop-down menu. Choose More Tools, then click Extensions.
Carefully browse through the list of installed extensions. If the list has the add-on labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following guidance: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy otherwise, just go to the step below.
Open the Chrome main menu again, click to “Settings” option.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the “Advanced” link. Now scroll down until the Reset settings section is visible, as shown on the screen below and click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
Confirm your action, click the “Reset” button.
Disinfect the internet browser’s shortcuts to get rid of Browsing Guard redirect
Once installed, the hijacker infection responsible for redirections to Browsing Guard, may add an argument such as “http://site.address” into the Target property of the desktop shortcut for the Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Chrome and Internet Explorer. Due to this, every time you start the internet browser, it will show an unwanted page.
Click the right mouse button to a desktop shortcut file which you use to open your internet browser. Next, choose the “Properties” option. Important: necessary to click on the desktop shortcut file for the web browser which is redirected to the Browsing Guard or other undesired web site.
Further, necessary to look at the text which is written in the “Target” field. The browser hijacker that causes internet browsers to open undesired Browsing Guard web-site can modify the contents of this field, which describes the file to be launch when you run your internet browser. Depending on the web-browser you’re using, there should be:
- Google Chrome: chrome.exe
- Opera: opera.exe
- Firefox: firefox.exe
- Internet Explorer: iexplore.exe
If you are seeing an unknown text like “http://site.addres” which has been added here, then you should remove it, like below.
Next, click the “OK” button to save the changes. Now, when you start the web browser from this desktop shortcut, it does not occur automatically redirect on the Browsing Guard website or any other annoying webpages. Once the step is complete, we recommend to go to the next step.
Scan your PC and remove Browsing Guard with free tools
The browser hijacker infection can hide its components which are difficult for you to find out and remove completely. This can lead to the fact that after some time, the hijacker again infect your computer and alter settings of installed browsers to Browsing Guard. Moreover, I want to note that it is not always safe to remove hijacker manually, if you don’t have much experience in setting up and configuring the Windows operating system. The best method to detect and get rid of hijackers is to run free malicious software removal apps.
Scan and clean your machine of Browsing Guard with Zemana
Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) highly recommended, because it can scan for security threats such adware and browser hijacker infections that most ‘classic’ antivirus applications fail to pick up on. Moreover, if you have any Browsing Guard hijacker infection removal problems which cannot be fixed by this utility automatically, then Zemana Anti Malware provides 24X7 online assistance from the highly experienced support staff.
Please go to the following link to download Zemana Free. Save it on your Desktop.
164028 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
Once the download is complete, close all windows on your PC system. Further, open the install file named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up like below, click the “Yes” button.
It will display the “Setup wizard” that will help you install Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) on the machine. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
Once installation is finished successfully, Zemana Free will automatically start and you may see its main window as on the image below.
Next, press the “Scan” button to start scanning your system for the hijacker which changes web browser settings to replace your search engine by default, new tab and startpage with Browsing Guard web page. When a malware, ‘ad supported’ software or PUPs are detected, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the checking is complete.
When that process is complete, the results are displayed in the scan report. All found items will be marked. You can remove them all by simply click “Next” button.
The Zemana will get rid of browser hijacker infection that responsible for web browser redirect to the intrusive Browsing Guard page and add threats to the Quarantine. After that process is done, you can be prompted to restart your machine.
Get rid of Browsing Guard browser hijacker and malicious extensions with HitmanPro
HitmanPro is a free tool that can identify hijacker which changes browser settings to replace your start page, search provider and newtab page with Browsing Guard site. It is not always easy to locate all the undesired software that your computer might have picked up on the Net. HitmanPro will find out the adware, browser hijacker infections and other malware you need to remove.
Installing the HitmanPro is simple. First you’ll need to download HitmanPro from the link below. Save it directly to your Windows Desktop.
When the downloading process is finished, open the directory in which you saved it and double-click the HitmanPro icon. It will start the HitmanPro utility. If the User Account Control prompt will ask you want to launch the application, click Yes button to continue.
Next, click “Next” . HitmanPro utility will start scanning the whole personal computer to find out browser hijacker infection which designed to reroute your web-browser to the Browsing Guard site. Depending on your PC, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. While the HitmanPro utility is scanning, you can see how many objects it has identified as being infected by malicious software.
Once finished, a list of all threats detected is prepared as shown on the screen below.
In order to delete all items, simply press “Next” button. It will display a dialog box, click the “Activate free license” button. The Hitman Pro will get rid of Browsing Guard browser hijacker and other browser’s harmful addons and add items to the Quarantine. Once the process is done, the utility may ask you to reboot your computer.
Scan and free your PC system of hijacker infection with Malwarebytes
You can remove Browsing Guard search automatically with a help of Malwarebytes Free. We suggest this free malware removal utility because it can easily remove hijackers, ‘ad supported’ software, PUPs and toolbars with all their components such as files, folders and registry entries.
- Visit the page linked below to download MalwareBytes Anti Malware. Save it on your Desktop.
Malwarebytes Anti-malware
326381 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
- When the download is done, close all programs and windows on your computer. Open a file location. Double-click on the icon that’s named mb3-setup.
- Further, press Next button and follow the prompts.
- Once installation is done, click the “Scan Now” button to search for browser hijacker infection which cause Browsing Guard web page to appear. This task can take some time, so please be patient. While the MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) is scanning, you may see how many objects it has identified either as being malicious software.
- Once MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) has completed scanning, you’ll be opened the list of all found threats on your PC system. You may remove threats (move to Quarantine) by simply click “Quarantine Selected”. After finished, you can be prompted to restart your PC.
The following video offers a step-by-step instructions on how to remove hijackers, ad supported software and other malware with MalwareBytes Free.
How to stop Browsing Guard redirect
If you want to remove undesired advertisements, web browser redirects and pop-ups, then install an ad blocking program like AdGuard. It can stop Browsing Guard redirect, ads, popups and stop webpages from tracking your online activities when using the Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome and Edge. So, if you like browse the Web, but you do not like annoying ads and want to protect your machine from harmful web pages, then the AdGuard is your best choice.
Visit the page linked below to download the latest version of AdGuard for MS Windows. Save it on your MS Windows desktop or in any other place.
26627 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
After downloading it, double-click the downloaded file to start it. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen as shown below.
Follow the prompts. AdGuard will then be installed and an icon will be placed on your desktop. A window will show up asking you to confirm that you want to see a quick guide as displayed in the following example.
Click “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick guide which will help you get to know AdGuard better.
Each time, when you run your PC, AdGuard will run automatically and stop popups, sites such as Browsing Guard, as well as other malicious or misleading sites. 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.
How can you prevent the Browsing Guard browser hijacker
The majority of browser hijackers such as Browsing Guard gets on your computer as a part of free programs or even paid apps that Internet users can easily download online. The setup files of such programs, most often, clearly indicate that they will install optional software. The option is given to users to block the install of any bundled applications. So, in order to avoid the installation of any browser hijackers: read all disclaimers and install screens very carefully, choose only Custom or Advanced install mode and uncheck all optional programs in which you are unsure.
Finish words
Now your personal computer should be clean of the browser hijacker that responsible for web-browser redirect to the unwanted Browsing Guard website. We suggest that you keep Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) (to periodically scan your PC system for new hijackers and other malware) and AdGuard (to help you block undesired pop up advertisements and harmful web pages). Moreover, to prevent any hijacker, please stay clear of unknown and third party apps, make sure that your antivirus application, turn on the option to search for potentially unwanted software.
If you need more help with Browsing Guard startpage related issues, go to our Spyware/Malware removal forum.