What is Trends Finder?
Security professionals has determined that the Trends Finder is a potentially unwanted program (PUP) that belongs to the category of Browser hijackers. It performs changes on popular browsers installed on infected machine. Particularly, it modifies the user’s default homepage, newtab and search provider for their Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Google Chrome internet browsers.
Trends Finder is a PUP and browser hijacker
Typically, browser hijackers and potentially unwanted programs promote specially created web-pages by setting their address as the start page or search provider of the affected web browser. In this case, Trends Finder changes the browser settings to htrendsfinder[.]net. That is, in other words, browser hijacker were created for the sole purpose of forcing the user to visit a special address like htrendsfinder[.]net when the user opens the homepage or uses the search engine. Therefore, the only way to remove a browser redirect to this unwanted website is to completely delete the Trends Finder browser hijacker associated with it.
Trends Finder redirects user searchers to Yahoo
And finally, Trends Finder is able to collect a wide variety of marketing-type data about you like what websites you’re opening, what you are looking for the Internet and so on. This information, in the future, can be used for marketing purposes.
It is important, do not use Trends Finder website and don’t click on ads placed on it, as they can lead you to other unwanted web sites. The best option is to use the guide posted below to clean your PC system of hijacker, get rid of the Trends Finder, and thereby return your previous startpage and search engine.
How can Trends Finder get on your PC
Browser hijackers such as Trends Finde usually are bundled within another program in the same installation package. The risk of this is especially high for the various free applications downloaded from the Net. The creators of browser hijackers are hoping that users will use the quick installation method, that is simply to click the Next button, without paying attention to the information on the screen and don’t carefully considering every step of the install procedure. Therefore, it is very important to read all the information that tells the program during install, including the ‘Terms of Use’ and ‘Software license’. Use only the Manual, Custom or Advanced install mode. This mode will allow you to disable all optional and unwanted apps and components.
Threat Summary
| Name | Trends Finder |
| Type | browser hijacker, redirect virus, PUP, search engine hijacker, startpage hijacker |
| Affected Browser Settings | startpage, search provider, newtab page URL |
| Symptoms |
|
| Removal | Trends Finder removal guide |
How to remove Trends Finder from Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge
The following tutorial will allow you delete Trends Finder from the Internet Explorer, MS Edge, Google Chrome and Firefox. Moreover, this step-by-step instructions will help you remove other malware such as potentially unwanted programs, adware and toolbars that your PC may be affected too. Please do the instructions step by step. If you need assist or have any questions, then ask for our assistance or type a comment below. Read this manual carefully, bookmark it or open this page on your smartphone, because you may need to close your web-browser or restart your computer.
To remove Trends Finder, use the following steps:
- How to manually remove Trends Finder
- Automatic Removal of Trends Finder
- How to block Trends Finder
- Finish words
How to manually remove Trends Finder
If you perform exactly the few simple steps below you should be able to remove the Trends Finder browser hijacker from the Mozilla Firefox, Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer and MS Edge browsers.
Uninstall suspicious software using Microsoft Windows Control Panel
When troubleshooting a personal computer, one common step is go to Windows Control Panel and remove questionable apps. The same approach will be used in the removal of Trends Finder hijacker. Please use steps based on your Windows version.
Make sure you have closed all web-browsers and other apps. Next, remove any unrequested and suspicious applications from your Control panel.
Windows 10, 8.1, 8
Now, press the Windows button, type “Control panel” in search and press Enter. Choose “Programs and Features”, then “Uninstall a program”.
Look around the entire list of apps installed on your PC. Most probably, one of them is the Trends Finder hijacker. Select the questionable application or the program that name is not familiar to you and remove it.
Windows Vista, 7
From the “Start” menu in Microsoft Windows, choose “Control Panel”. Under the “Programs” icon, choose “Uninstall a program”.
Select the questionable or any unknown programs, then press “Uninstall/Change” button to uninstall this undesired application from your PC system.
Windows XP
Click the “Start” button, select “Control Panel” option. Click on “Add/Remove Programs”.
Select an unwanted application, then click “Change/Remove” button. Follow the prompts.
Remove Trends Finder from Chrome
In this step we are going to show you how to reset Chrome settings. PUPs like the Trends Finder can make changes to your internet browser settings including start page, newtab page and default search provider, add toolbars and undesired extensions. By resetting Google Chrome settings you will remove Trends Finder and reset unwanted changes caused by browser hijacker. When using the reset feature, your personal information like passwords, bookmarks, browsing history and web form auto-fill data will be saved.
First run the Google Chrome. Next, click the button in the form of three horizontal dots (
).
It will display the Chrome menu. Select More Tools, then click Extensions. Carefully browse through the list of installed addons. If the list has the extension signed with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following guidance: Remove Google Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
Open the Chrome menu once again. Further, click the option named “Settings”.
The internet browser will open the settings screen. Another method to open the Chrome’s settings – type chrome://settings in the web browser adress bar and press Enter
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the “Advanced” link. Now scroll down until the “Reset” section is visible, such as the one below and click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
The Google Chrome will display the confirmation dialog box as shown on the screen below.
You need to confirm your action, click the “Reset” button. The web-browser will launch the task of cleaning. Once it’s complete, the web-browser’s settings including search engine by default, new tab and homepage back to the values that have been when the Chrome was first installed on your personal computer.
Remove Trends Finder hijacker from IE
The IE reset is great if your web browser is hijacked by Trends Finder or you’ve unwanted extensions or toolbars on your web browser, which installed by a malware.
First, run the Internet Explorer. Next, press the button in the form of gear (
). It will display the Tools drop-down menu, press the “Internet Options” as shown on the screen below.
In the “Internet Options” window click on the Advanced tab, then press the Reset button. The Microsoft Internet Explorer will display the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” window as shown in the following example. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box, then click “Reset” button.
You will now need to restart your PC for the changes to take effect.
Remove Trends Finder from Firefox by resetting web-browser settings
The Mozilla Firefox reset will delete unwanted search provider and home page like Trends Finder, modified preferences, extensions and security settings. However, your saved bookmarks and passwords will not be lost. This will not affect your history, passwords, bookmarks, and other saved data.
Click the Menu button (looks like three horizontal lines), and click the blue Help icon located at the bottom of the drop down menu such as the one below.
A small menu will appear, press the “Troubleshooting Information”. On this page, click “Refresh Firefox” button like below.
Follow the onscreen procedure to revert back your Firefox web-browser settings to their default state.
Automatic Removal of Trends Finder
The manual guidance above is tedious to follow and can not always help to get rid of Trends Finder browser hijacker completely. Here I am telling you an automatic solution to get rid of this hijacker from your web-browser easily. Zemana Anti Malware (ZAM), MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) and Hitman Pro are antimalware tools that can detect and remove all kinds of malware including Trends Finder browser hijacker infection.
Get rid of Trends Finder hijacker with Zemana Anti Malware
Thinking about remove Trends Finder browser hijacker from your internet browser? Then pay attention to Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM). This is a well-known tool, originally created just to search for and remove malicious software, adware software and PUPs. But by now it has seriously changed and can not only rid you of malware, but also protect your system from malware and adware, as well as identify and remove common viruses and trojans.
Installing the Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) is simple. First you’ll need to download Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) by clicking on the link below.
164032 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
After the downloading process is done, close all windows on your personal computer. Further, open the install file called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as displayed in the figure below, click the “Yes” button.
It will show the “Setup wizard” that will help you install Zemana Free on the system. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
Once installation is finished successfully, Zemana Free will automatically run and you can see its main window as shown in the following example.
Next, press the “Scan” button . Zemana utility will begin scanning the whole system to find out the Trends Finder hijacker. A system scan may take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your personal computer.
Once the system scan is complete, Zemana Anti-Malware will display a scan report. Review the report and then click “Next” button.
The Zemana Anti Malware will delete Trends Finder hijacker and move the selected threats to the program’s quarantine. Once the procedure is done, you can be prompted to restart your computer.
Remove Trends Finder browser hijacker and malicious extensions with Hitman Pro
In order to make sure that no more harmful folders and files linked to Trends Finder hijacker are inside your machine, you must run another effective malware scanner. We recommend to use HitmanPro. No installation is necessary with this tool.
First, click the link below, then click the ‘Download’ button in order to download the latest version of HitmanPro.
Download and use HitmanPro on your system. Once started, press “Next” button . Hitman Pro program will scan through the whole computer for the Trends Finder browser hijacker. Depending on your PC system, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. When a malicious software, adware or PUPs are detected, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. .
Once the scan is finished, Hitman Pro will show a list of detected threats.
Review the report and then click Next button.
It will open a prompt, click the “Activate free license” button to start the free 30 days trial to remove all malware found.
Use MalwareBytes Free to remove Trends Finder hijacker
If you’re still having problems with the Trends Finder hijacker — or just wish to check your computer occasionally for hijacker and other malware — download MalwareBytes Free. It is free for home use, and detects and deletes various unwanted software that attacks your computer or degrades machine performance. MalwareBytes Free can delete adware, potentially unwanted programs as well as malicious software, including ransomware and trojans.
First, visit the following page, then click the ‘Download’ button in order to download the latest version of MalwareBytes Free.
326385 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
After the downloading process is finished, close all windows on your machine. Further, launch the file called MBSetup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up as shown on the image below, click the “Yes” button.
It will display the Setup wizard that will assist you install MalwareBytes on the computer. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
Once installation is complete successfully, press “Get Started” button. Then MalwareBytes Free will automatically launch and you may see its main window as displayed on the image below.
Next, press the “Scan” button for scanning your system for the Trends Finder browser hijacker. Depending on your computer, the scan can 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.
When MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) is finished scanning your PC system, MalwareBytes Anti Malware will show a list of all threats detected by the scan. Review the results once the tool has complete the system scan. If you think an entry should not be quarantined, then uncheck it. Otherwise, simply click “Quarantine” button.
The MalwareBytes Free will remove Trends Finder hijacker and move the selected threats to the Quarantine. After the cleaning process is complete, you can be prompted to reboot your computer. We recommend you look at the following video, which completely explains the procedure of using the MalwareBytes to delete browser hijacker infections, adware software and other malware.
How to block Trends Finder
To put it simply, you need to use an ad blocker utility (AdGuard, for example). It will stop and protect you from all unwanted web pages such as Trends Finder, ads and popups. To be able to do that, the ad blocking program uses a list of filters. Each filter is a rule that describes a malicious webpage, an advertising content, a banner and others. The ad-blocker application automatically uses these filters, depending on the webpages you are visiting.
- Visit the following page to download AdGuard. Save it on your Microsoft Windows desktop.
Adguard download
26627 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
- Once downloading is done, launch the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
- Once the installation is complete, press “Skip” to close the setup program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial which will assist 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 computer, AdGuard will start automatically and stop undesired advertisements, block Trends Finder, as well as other malicious or misleading web-pages. For an overview of all the features of the application, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the icon named AdGuard, that is located on your desktop.
Finish words
Now your PC system should be free of the Trends Finder browser hijacker. We suggest that you keep Zemana Free (to periodically scan your PC for new browser hijackers and other malware) and AdGuard (to help you stop annoying pop-up advertisements and malicious web pages). Moreover, to prevent any browser hijacker, please stay clear of unknown and third party applications, make sure that your antivirus program, turn on the option to scan for potentially unwanted programs.
If you need more help with Trends Finder related issues, go to here.
