What is PickMySearch?
The cyber threat analysts have determined that PickMySearch is a PUP (potentially unwanted program) from the group of Browser hijackers. A common tactic used by the developers behind PUPs is to alter web browser’s settings such as startpage, default search provider and new tab so that the affected browser goes to a website under the authors control. You need to perform the guidance below to delete PickMySearch and protect you from other browser hijackers and potentially unwanted apps.
Unwanted search ads
When your computer is affected with the browser hijacker you will be forced to use its own search engine. It could seem not to be dangerous, but you still should be very careful, since it can display unwanted and malicious advertisements developed to mislead you into buying some questionable programs or products, provide search results which may redirect your web-browser to some deceptive, misleading or harmful web pages. We recommend that you use only the reliable search engine like Google, Yahoo or Bing.
In addition to the above, it has the ability to collect privacy information that may 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 don’t know what will happen when you click on any ads on the PickMySearch web-page.
In order to get rid of browser hijacker from your PC, clean the affected internet browsers and revert back the Edge, IE, Mozilla Firefox and Chrome settings to its default state, please use the PickMySearch removal guidance below.
How can a browser hijacker get on your device
Potentially unwanted programs and browser hijackers actively distributed with free programs, as a part of the installer of these programs. Therefore, it is very important, when installing an unknown program even downloaded from well-known website, read the Terms of use and the Software license, as well as to choose the Manual, Advanced or Custom install mode. In this method, you can disable the setup of unneeded modules and apps and protect your computer from such browser hijackers as the PickMySearch.
Threat Summary
| Name | PickMySearch |
| Type | browser hijacker, search engine hijacker, PUP, redirect virus, home page hijacker |
| Affected Browser Settings | search engine, newtab page URL, home page |
| Distribution | suspicious popup ads, free programs installation packages, fake software updaters |
| Symptoms | Pop-ups and new tab pages are loaded without your request. Your web browser is redirected to webpages you did not want. New entries appear in your Programs folder. Unexpected web-browser extensions or toolbar keep coming back. Your browser home page has replaced and you are unable to change it back. |
| Removal | PickMySearch removal guide |
How to remove PickMySearch from Windows 10 (8, 7, XP)
We recommend opting for automatic PickMySearch removal in order to delete all browser hijacker related entries easily. This solution requires scanning the personal computer with reputable anti malware, e.g. Zemana Free, MalwareBytes or Hitman Pro. However, if you prefer manual removal steps, you can follow the guidance below in this blog post. Read this manual carefully, bookmark it or open this page on your smartphone, because you may need to exit your internet browser or restart your PC.
To remove PickMySearch, use the steps below:
- How to manually remove PickMySearch
- Automatic Removal of PickMySearch
- How to stop PickMySearch redirect
How to manually remove PickMySearch
If you perform exactly the step-by-step guidance below you should be able to remove the PickMySearch browser hijacker from the Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Edge and Firefox web-browsers.
Delete potentially unwanted apps using MS Windows Control Panel
One of the first things to attempt for removal of hijacker is to check your personal computer installed programs screen and look for undesired and dubious programs. If there are any apps you do not recognize or are no longer using, you should uninstall them. If that doesn’t work, then you may need to use malware removal tool such as Zemana.
Windows 8, 8.1, 10
First, press the Windows button
, then press 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 shown on the image below.
Next, click “Uninstall a program” 
It will open a list of all applications installed on your computer. Scroll through the all list, and uninstall any questionable and unknown apps. To quickly find the latest installed apps, we recommend sort apps by date in the Control panel.
Remove PickMySearch browser hijacker from Microsoft Internet Explorer
If you find that Internet Explorer internet browser settings like new tab, search engine and home page had been hijacked, then you may return your settings, via the reset internet browser procedure.
First, run the IE, 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 Microsoft Internet Explorer will display the Reset Internet Explorer settings prompt. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box and press Reset button.
You will now need to reboot your PC system for the changes to take effect. It will get rid of PickMySearch browser hijacker, disable malicious and ad-supported web browser’s extensions and restore the Internet Explorer’s settings such as default search engine, start page and new tab to default state.
Remove PickMySearch browser hijacker from Mozilla Firefox
If the Mozilla Firefox web browser application is hijacked, then resetting its settings can help. The Reset feature is available on all modern version of Mozilla Firefox. A reset can fix many issues by restoring Firefox settings like startpage, new tab page and default search engine to their original state. However, your saved passwords and bookmarks will not be changed, deleted or cleared.
Launch the Mozilla Firefox and click the menu button (it looks like three stacked lines) at the top right of the web-browser screen. Next, press the question-mark icon at the bottom of the drop-down menu. It will show the slide-out menu.
Select the “Troubleshooting information”. If you’re unable to access the Help menu, then type “about:support” in your address bar and press Enter. It bring up the “Troubleshooting Information” page as displayed on the screen below.
Click the “Refresh Firefox” button at the top right of the Troubleshooting Information page. Select “Refresh Firefox” in the confirmation prompt. The Firefox will begin a task to fix your problems that caused by the PickMySearch browser hijacker. Once, it’s done, press the “Finish” button.
Remove PickMySearch from Chrome
Reset Google Chrome settings to remove PickMySearch. If you are still experiencing issues with PickMySearch, you need to reset Chrome browser to its original state. This step needs to be performed only if browser hijacker has not been removed by the previous steps.
Open the Google Chrome menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal dotes (
). It will display the drop-down menu. Select More Tools, then click Extensions.
Carefully browse through the list of installed extensions. If the list has the extension labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following tutorial: 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 image below and click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
Confirm your action, click the “Reset” button.
Automatic Removal of PickMySearch
If your PC is still infected with the PickMySearch browser hijacker, then the best method of detection and removal is to run an antimalware scan on the computer. Download free malware removal utilities below and start a full system scan. It will help you remove all components of the hijacker from hardisk and Windows registry.
Use Zemana AntiMalware to remove PickMySearch hijacker
Zemana Anti-Malware is a free program for MS Windows OS to locate and remove potentially unwanted apps, adware software, harmful web-browser add-ons, browser toolbars, and other unwanted programs like PickMySearch browser hijacker.
Visit the following page to download Zemana. Save it on your MS Windows desktop.
164028 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
When downloading is complete, close all windows on your computer. Further, open the install file named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up as shown in the following example, click the “Yes” button.
It will open the “Setup wizard” which will assist you install Zemana Free on the computer. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
Once installation is complete successfully, Zemana Free will automatically run and you may see its main window as shown below.
Next, press the “Scan” button to perform a system scan with this tool for the PickMySearch browser hijacker. Depending on your computer, the scan may take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. While the Zemana Anti-Malware is checking, you may see number of objects it has identified either as being malware.
As the scanning ends, Zemana Free will show a list of detected threats. In order to remove all threats, simply click “Next” button.
The Zemana Anti-Malware will remove PickMySearch hijacker and move the selected items to the program’s quarantine. Once the clean-up is finished, you can be prompted to restart your computer.
Delete PickMySearch browser hijacker and malicious extensions with HitmanPro
HitmanPro will help get rid of PickMySearch hijacker that slow down your PC. The hijackers, adware and other potentially unwanted applications slow your browser down and try to mislead you into clicking on shady ads and links. HitmanPro deletes the browser hijacker and lets you enjoy your PC system without PickMySearch hijacker.
- Installing the Hitman Pro is simple. First you’ll need to download Hitman Pro by clicking on the following link.
- Once the downloading process is complete, start the HitmanPro, double-click the HitmanPro.exe file.
- If the “User Account Control” prompts, press Yes to continue.
- In the Hitman Pro window, click the “Next” to start scanning your computer for the PickMySearch browser hijacker. This process can take quite a while, so please be patient. While the tool is checking, you may see number of objects and files has already scanned.
- After the scan is done, it will show the Scan Results. You may delete items (move to Quarantine) by simply press “Next”. Now, press the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial to remove all malicious software found.
How to get rid of PickMySearch with MalwareBytes Free
Manual PickMySearch hijacker removal requires some computer skills. Some files and registry entries that created by the browser hijacker can be not completely removed. We recommend that use the MalwareBytes AntiMalware that are fully clean your device of hijacker. Moreover, this free program will allow you to delete malware, PUPs, adware and toolbars that your PC may be infected too.
- Download MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) from the following link.
Malwarebytes Anti-malware
326379 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
- At the download page, click on the Download button. Your internet browser will show the “Save as” dialog box. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
- Once the downloading process is finished, please close all programs and open windows on your device. Double-click on the icon that’s named MBSetup.
- This will open the Setup wizard of MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) onto your PC. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
- When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) will start and show the main window.
- Further, press the “Scan” button to detect PickMySearch browser hijacker. A scan may take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the count of files on your device and the speed of your PC system. When a threat is detected, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the scanning is complete.
- Once that process is complete, you may check all threats found on your PC system.
- Review the results once the utility has done the system scan. If you think an entry should not be quarantined, then uncheck it. Otherwise, simply click the “Quarantine” button. Once finished, you may be prompted to restart the personal computer.
- Close the AntiMalware and continue with the next step.
Video instruction, which reveals in detail the steps above.
How to stop PickMySearch redirect
It’s also critical to protect your web browsers from harmful web-pages and ads by using an ad-blocker program such as AdGuard. Security experts says that it will greatly reduce the risk of malware, and potentially save lots of money. Additionally, the AdGuard may also protect your privacy by blocking almost all trackers.
Click the following link to download the latest version of AdGuard for Windows. Save it directly to your MS Windows Desktop.
26627 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
When the download is finished, double-click the downloaded file to run it. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen as shown in the figure 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 like below.
Click “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick guide that will assist you get to know AdGuard better.
Each time, when you launch your PC system, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop unwanted advertisements, block PickMySearch redirects, as well as other harmful 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 AdGuard icon, which can be found on your desktop.
To sum up
Once you have removed the browser hijacker using this steps, Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Chrome will no longer show the PickMySearch website on startup. Unfortunately, if the step-by-step guidance 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 PickMySearch browser hijacker.
