According to computer security professionals, PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic is a browser hijacker. Once started, it will make changes to your web browser’s settings, modifying search provider, new tab page and startpage, and install unwanted browser extension deep inside your PC. This is the main reason why you need to get rid of it from your computer and restore your web-browser search engine and homepage back to the default.
PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic makes unwanted changes to browser settings
PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic takes over your web browser’s default search provider and controls what will be shown to you whenever you do a searching. Other than the search results, it also provides a lot of annoying advertisements on the search page. Some of these advertisements made to trick you into buying some questionable products and programs.
And finally, PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic browser hijacker can be used to collect marketing-type data about you such as what web-sites you are opening, what you’re looking for the Web and so on. This information, in the future, may be transferred third party companies.
Threat Summary
| Name | PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic |
| Type | browser hijacker, search engine hijacker, home page hijacker, toolbar, unwanted new tab, redirect virus |
| Symptoms |
|
| Removal | PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic removal guide |
Therefore, browser hijacker is quite dangerous. So, we suggest you get rid of it from your machine immediately. Follow the tutorial presented below to remove PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic from your computer for free.
How to Remove PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic from Windows 10 (8, 7, XP)
Fortunately, it is not hard to delete PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic browser hijacker. In the following guide, we will provide two ways to clean your PC of this browser hijacker. One is the manual removal solution and the other is automatic removal method. You can select the way that best fits you. Please follow the removal guide below to remove PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic right now!
To remove PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic, execute the following steps:
- Manual PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic removal
- How to remove PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic with freeware
- How to stay safe online
- Don’t know how your internet browser has been hijacked by PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic?
- Finish words
Manual PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic removal
Read this section to know how to manually remove PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic browser hijacker. Even if the steps does not work for you, there are several free malware removers below that can easily handle such browser hijackers.
Uninstall PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic associated software by using MS Windows Control Panel
First, go to MS Windows Control Panel and uninstall questionable software, all programs you don’t remember installing. It is important to pay the most attention to programs you installed just before PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic appeared on your computer. If you don’t know what a program does, look for the answer on the Net.
- If you are using Windows 8, 8.1 or 10 then press Windows button, next click Search. Type “Control panel”and press Enter.
- If you are using Windows XP, Vista, 7, then click “Start” button and click “Control Panel”.
- It will open the Windows Control Panel.
- Further, click “Uninstall a program” under Programs category.
- It will open a list of all applications installed on the machine.
- Scroll through the all list, and delete dubious and unknown software. To quickly find the latest installed software, we recommend sort applications by date.
See more details in the video guidance below.
Remove PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic from Chrome
Resetting Google Chrome to original state is useful in removing PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic hijacker from your web browser. This way is always effective to follow if you have trouble in removing changes caused by hijacker.
- First, launch the Chrome and click the Menu icon (icon in the form of three dots).
- It will open the Google Chrome main menu. Select More Tools, then press Extensions.
- You will see the list of installed extensions. If the list has the addon labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following instructions: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
- Now open the Google Chrome menu once again, click the “Settings” menu.
- Next, click “Advanced” link, which located at the bottom of the Settings page.
- On the bottom of the “Advanced settings” page, press the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
- The Chrome will display the reset settings prompt as shown on the screen above.
- Confirm the web-browser’s reset by clicking on the “Reset” button.
- To learn more, read the article How to reset Google Chrome settings to default.
Remove PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic startpage from Internet Explorer
If you find that Internet Explorer web-browser settings such as new tab page, home page and search provider by default had been hijacked by PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic, then you may revert back your settings, via the reset web browser procedure.
First, run the Internet Explorer, click 
) button. Next, click “Internet Options” as displayed on the image below.
In the “Internet Options” screen select the Advanced tab. Next, press Reset button. The Microsoft Internet Explorer will open the Reset Internet Explorer settings dialog box. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box and click Reset button.
You will now need to reboot your system for the changes to take effect. It will delete PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic, disable malicious and ad-supported web-browser’s extensions and restore the Internet Explorer’s settings like new tab, homepage and default search engine to default state.
Remove PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic from Firefox by resetting web-browser settings
If Mozilla Firefox startpage or search engine are hijacked by PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic, your web-browser shows undesired pop up ads, then ‘Reset Mozilla Firefox’ could solve these problems. Essential information like bookmarks, browsing history, passwords, cookies, auto-fill data and personal dictionaries will not be removed.
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 shown on the image below.
A small menu will appear, press the “Troubleshooting Information”. On this page, press “Refresh Firefox” button like below.
Follow the onscreen procedure to restore your Mozilla Firefox web-browser settings to their original settings.
How to remove PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic with freeware
AntiMalware programs differ from each other by many features such as performance, scheduled scans, automatic updates, virus signature database, technical support, compatibility with other antivirus applications and so on. We suggest you run the following free programs: Zemana Free, MalwareBytes Anti Malware and HitmanPro. Each of these programs has all of needed features, but most importantly, they can locate the hijacker and get rid of PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic from the MS Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer.
Remove PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic with Zemana Anti Malware (ZAM)
Download Zemana to remove PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic automatically from all of your web browsers. This is a free program specially created for malware removal. This tool can delete adware, hijacker from Firefox, MS Edge, IE and Google Chrome and Windows registry automatically.
Zemana Free can be downloaded from the following link. Save it to your Desktop.
164032 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
After the downloading process is finished, close all apps and windows on your machine. Double-click the install file called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up as displayed in the figure below, click the “Yes” button.
It will open the “Setup wizard” which will help you setup Zemana on your system. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
Once setup is done successfully, Zemana Anti Malware (ZAM) will automatically start and you can see its main screen as shown on the image below.
Now click the “Scan” button . Zemana program will scan through the whole PC system for PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic. This procedure may take some time, so please be patient. While the utility is scanning, you may see count of objects and files has already scanned.
When finished, Zemana Free will display you the results. Once you have selected what you wish to remove from your PC system click “Next” button. The Zemana will remove PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic and other unwanted software. Once the clean up is done, you may be prompted to reboot the computer.
Remove PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic with Hitman Pro
If Zemana cannot get rid of this hijacker infection, then we recommends to use the HitmanPro. The Hitman Pro is a free powerful, professional removal utility for malicious software, adware software, potentially unwanted programs, toolbars as well as PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic. It completely removes all traces and remnants of the infection.
- Hitman Pro can be downloaded from the following link. Save it on your MS Windows desktop or in any other place.
- Once the downloading process is done, double click the HitmanPro icon. Once this utility is started, click “Next” button to detect PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic. Depending on your machine, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. During the scan Hitman Pro will scan for threats exist on your computer.
- After the scan is finished, Hitman Pro will open a screen which contains a list of malicious software that has been detected. You may remove items (move to Quarantine) by simply press “Next” button. Now press the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial to get rid of all malware found.
Use MalwareBytes Free to remove PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic
If you’re still having problems with PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic removal — or just wish to check your computer occasionally for hijacker and other malware — download MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM). It is free for home use, and finds and removes various unwanted software that attacks your personal computer or degrades machine performance. MalwareBytes Free can delete adware software, PUPs as well as malware, including ransomware and trojans.
Visit the following page to download the latest version of MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) for Windows. Save it on your MS Windows desktop or in any other place.
326384 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
When the downloading process is finished, run it and follow the prompts. Once installed, the MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) will try to update itself and when this process is done, press the “Scan Now” button to perform a system scan with this tool for PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic. Depending on your personal computer, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. While the tool is checking, you can see count of objects and files has already scanned. All found items will be marked. You can delete them all by simply click “Quarantine Selected” button.
The MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) is a free application that you can use to remove all detected folders, files, services, registry entries and so on. To learn more about this malware removal tool, we advise you to read and follow the step-by-step tutorial or the video guide below.
How to stay safe online
It is important to use ad-blocking apps like AdGuard to protect your computer from malicious web-sites. Most security experts says that it’s okay to stop ads. You should do so just to stay safe! And, of course, the AdGuard may to stop annoying ads and block unwanted webpages.
Visit the page linked below to download the latest version of AdGuard for Windows. Save it on your 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 launch it. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen as displayed on the screen 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 instructions as displayed in the figure below.
Click “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will assist you get to know AdGuard better.
Each time, when you start your PC system, AdGuard will start automatically and stop unwanted ads, block harmful or misleading webpages. For an overview of all the features of the program, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the AdGuard icon, which is located on your desktop.
Don’t know how your internet browser has been hijacked by PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic?
PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic hijacker actively distributed with free applications, as a part of the installer of these programs. Therefore, it is very important, when installing an unknown application even downloaded from well-known or big hosting site, read the Terms of use and the Software license, as well as to select the Manual, Advanced or Custom installation option. In this mode, you can disable the install of unneeded modules and programs and protect your machine from such hijackers as PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic.
Finish words
Now your PC system should be free of PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic browser hijacker responsible for redirecting user searches. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted popups and intrusive malicious web-sites) and Zemana AntiMalware (to periodically scan your computer for new browser hijackers and other malware). 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 PUP.Optional.MindSpark.Generic from the Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Chrome, then ask for help here here.
