What is One Dark?
According to computer security professionals, One Dark is a browser extension that belongs to the “Browser hijackers” family. The aim of browser hijackers is to earn advertising revenue. For example, a browser hijacker redirects the user’s homepage to the browser hijacker’s page that contains ads or sponsored links; a browser hijacker redirects the user web searches to a link the browser hijacker wants the user to see, rather than to legitimate search engine results. When the user clicks on ads in the search results, browser hijackers authors gets paid. The the developers behind browser hijackers can gather privacy data such as user browsing habits as well as browsing history and sell this information to third parties for marketing purposes.
Unwanted search ads
The One Dark browser hijacker takes over your web-browser’s default search provider and controls what will be displayed to you whenever you do a searching. Other than the search results, it also provides lots of annoying ads on the search page. Some of these advertisements designed to trick you into buying some questionable products and apps. Moreover, sometimes, those ads could redirect you to misleading or malicious web-pages.
Another reason why you need to remove One Dark is its online data-tracking activity. It can collect user data, including:
- IP addresses;
- URLs visited;
- search queries/terms;
- clicks on links and ads;
- web-browser version information.
Browser hijackers are usually written in ways common to malware, spyware and adware. In order to get rid of browser hijacker and thus remove One Dark, you will need perform the steps below or use free removal utility listed below.
How can a browser hijacker get on your PC
Browser hijackers and potentially unwanted programs usually are bundled with certain freeware that users download off of the World Wide Web. To avoid infection, in the Setup wizard, you should be be proactive and carefully read the ‘Terms of use’, the ‘license agreement’ and other installation screens, as well as to always select the ‘Manual’ or ‘Advanced’ installation method, when installing anything downloaded from the Internet.
Threat Summary
| Name | One Dark |
| Type | redirect virus, browser hijacker, PUP, homepage hijacker, search provider hijacker |
| Affected Browser Settings | startpage, search engine, newtab page URL |
| Distribution | free applications setup files, fake updaters, shady pop-up advertisements |
| Symptoms | You experience lots of of unwanted advertisements. Your browser is redirected to web pages you did not want. Your personal computer starts automatically installing unwanted software. New internet browser extensions suddenly installed on your web-browser. Your web-browser search engine has changed without your permission. |
| Removal | One Dark removal guide |
How to remove One Dark hijacker
Even if you’ve the up-to-date classic antivirus installed, and you have scanned your PC for malware and removed anything found, you need to do the guidance below. The One Dark hijacker removal is not simple as installing another antivirus. Classic antivirus programs are not created to run together and will conflict with each other, or possibly crash Microsoft Windows. Instead we recommend complete the manual steps below after that run Zemana AntiMalware, MalwareBytes Free or HitmanPro, which are free malware removal tools dedicated to search for and remove malicious software such as One Dark browser hijacker. Run these tools to ensure the hijacker is removed.
To remove One Dark, complete the following steps:
How to manually remove One Dark
Most common hijackers may be uninstalled without any antivirus applications. The manual hijacker removal is steps that will teach you how to remove One Dark browser hijacker. If you do not want to remove One Dark in the manually due to the fact that you are an unskilled computer user, then you can run free removal utilities listed below.
Delete One Dark associated software by using Microsoft Windows Control Panel
Check out the MS 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.
Make sure you have closed all internet browsers and other software. Next, uninstall any unwanted 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. Select “Programs and Features”, then “Uninstall a program”.
Look around the entire list of software installed on your computer. Most likely, one of them is the One Dark hijacker. Select the questionable program or the program that name is not familiar to you and remove it.
Windows Vista, 7
From the “Start” menu in Windows, choose “Control Panel”. Under the “Programs” icon, select “Uninstall a program”.
Choose the dubious or any unknown applications, then press “Uninstall/Change” button to delete this unwanted application from your computer.
Windows XP
Click the “Start” button, select “Control Panel” option. Click on “Add/Remove Programs”.
Choose an undesired application, then click “Change/Remove” button. Follow the prompts.
Delete One Dark hijacker from Microsoft Internet Explorer
In order to restore the hijacked browser settings you need to reset the IE to the state, which was when the Windows was installed on your personal computer.
First, launch the Microsoft Internet Explorer. Next, click the button in the form of gear (
). It will open the Tools drop-down menu, click the “Internet Options” like below.
In the “Internet Options” window click on the Advanced tab, then click the Reset button. The Internet Explorer will show the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” window as shown on the image below. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box, then click “Reset” button.
You will now need to restart your personal computer for the changes to take effect.
Remove One Dark from Google Chrome
If your Chrome is hijacked by malware, then you can try to remove it by resetting Chrome to its default state. It will also clear cookies, content and site data, temporary and cached data. When using the reset feature, your personal information such as passwords, bookmarks, browsing history and web form auto-fill data will be saved.
- First start the Chrome and click Menu button (small button in the form of three dots).
- It will open the Google Chrome main menu. Choose More Tools, then click Extensions.
- You’ll see the list of installed addons. 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.
- Now open the Google Chrome menu once again, press the “Settings” menu.
- You will see the Google Chrome’s settings page. Scroll down and click “Advanced” link.
- Scroll down again and click the “Reset” button.
- The Google Chrome will open the reset profile settings page as shown on the image above.
- Next press the “Reset” button.
- Once this procedure is finished, your browser’s homepage, search provider by default and newtab page will be restored to their original defaults.
- To learn more, read the blog post How to reset Google Chrome settings to default.
Get rid of One Dark from Mozilla Firefox by resetting browser settings
The Mozilla Firefox reset will remove unwanted search provider and start page, fix modified preferences, disable malicious extensions and restore security settings. However, your themes, bookmarks, history, passwords, and web form auto-fill information will not be deleted.
First, start the Firefox and click 
button. It will display the drop-down menu on the right-part of the web-browser. Further, click the Help button (
) as displayed 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 show the “Troubleshooting Information” page like the one below. In the upper-right corner of this screen, press the “Refresh Firefox” button.
It will display the confirmation prompt. Further, click the “Refresh Firefox” button. The Mozilla Firefox will begin a process to fix your problems that caused by the One Dark hijacker. When, it is complete, press the “Finish” button.
Automatic Removal of One Dark
If you are not expert at computers, then all your attempts to delete One Dark hijacker by following the manual steps above might result in failure. To find and remove all of the One Dark related files and registry entries that keep this hijacker on your personal computer, use free anti malware software like Zemana Free, MalwareBytes AntiMalware and HitmanPro from our list below.
Use Zemana to get rid of One Dark hijacker
Zemana is a free program for MS Windows OS to look for and get rid of potentially unwanted software, adware, harmful web-browser add-ons, browser toolbars, and other unwanted applications like One Dark browser hijacker.
- Visit the page linked below to download Zemana AntiMalware. Save it to your Desktop.
Zemana AntiMalware
164028 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
- After the downloading process is complete, close all apps and windows on your PC. Open a folder in which you saved it. Double-click on the icon that’s named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
- Further, click Next button and follow the prompts.
- Once installation is finished, click the “Scan” button . Zemana Anti Malware program will scan through the whole PC for the One Dark browser hijacker. This procedure can take some time, so please be patient.
- After the scan is complete, you’ll be shown the list of all found threats on your PC. Review the report and then click “Next”. When disinfection is finished, you can be prompted to reboot your PC system.
Use Hitman Pro to delete One Dark from the PC
HitmanPro is a free removal utility that can be downloaded and run to remove browser hijackers, adware software, malicious software, potentially unwanted apps, toolbars and other threats from your computer. You may use this utility to search for threats even if you have an antivirus or any other security application.
Hitman Pro can be downloaded from the following link. Save it on your Microsoft Windows desktop.
Download and use Hitman Pro on your computer. Once started, click “Next” button to perform a system scan for the One Dark browser hijacker. .
When the checking is finished, you will be displayed the list of all detected items on your PC system.
Once you’ve selected what you want to remove from your computer click Next button.
It will display a dialog box, click the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial to remove all malicious software found.
Delete One Dark hijacker with MalwareBytes Free
Remove One Dark browser hijacker manually is difficult and often the browser hijacker is not fully removed. Therefore, we suggest you to use the MalwareBytes Anti Malware that are fully clean your PC system. Moreover, this free program will help you to remove malicious software, potentially unwanted applications, toolbars and adware that your computer can be infected too.
Download MalwareBytes Free on your computer from the link below.
326381 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
When the download is finished, close all windows on your computer. Further, start the file named MBSetup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up like below, click the “Yes” button.
It will open the Setup wizard which will assist you install MalwareBytes on the personal computer. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
Once install is complete successfully, click “Get Started” button. Then MalwareBytes will automatically launch and you can see its main window like below.
Next, press the “Scan” button to perform a system scan with this tool for the One Dark hijacker. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the count of files on your computer and the speed of your computer. While the MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) program is checking, you can see how many objects it has identified as threat.
When the checking is finished, it will open the Scan Results. Make sure to check mark the items which are unsafe and then press “Quarantine” button.
The MalwareBytes will remove One Dark hijacker. When that process is complete, you can be prompted to reboot your computer. We suggest you look at the following video, which completely explains the process of using the MalwareBytes Free to delete browser hijackers, adware and other malware.
How to stop One Dark redirect
If you want to remove unwanted ads, web browser redirects and pop-ups, then install an ad blocking application like AdGuard. It can block One Dark redirects, stop unwanted advertisements, popups and stop websites from tracking your online activities when using the Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, MS Edge and Google Chrome. So, if you like surf the Web, but you don’t like intrusive ads and want to protect your computer from harmful web-sites, then the AdGuard is your best choice.
- Visit the page linked below to download AdGuard. Save it to your Desktop.
Adguard download
26627 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
- After downloading it, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
- After the installation is complete, press “Skip” to close the installation 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 run your computer, AdGuard will start automatically and stop undesired ads, block malicious and misleading webpages. 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.
To sum up
Once you have removed the hijacker using this tutorial, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Chrome will no longer open an unwanted homepage on startup. Unfortunately, if the few simple steps does not help you, then you have caught a new hijacker, and then the best way – ask for help.
Please create a new question by using the “Ask Question” button in the Questions and Answers. 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 One Dark browser hijacker.
