Hola Search browser hijacker - Won't remove
cooler
Posts: 13,024 Forum Member
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Today, this annoying browser hijacker called Hola Search has hijacked all three web browsers, I.E, Chrome and Firefox. When I start the browser, Hola Search appears.
So far, in attempt to remove it I've uninstalled the two instances of it in "Uninstall programs" in Control Panel. I ran Malwarebytes, it found two instances of something, but im not sure if it was related to Hola Search.
After this, Hola Search still appears. Even if I use Windows search to search for something, it goes straight to a browser window and opens Hola Search. What way is there to get rid of this?
I followed the browser specific instructions to remove it here, but I don't see any sign of Hola Search on the settings page they say to go on.
So far, in attempt to remove it I've uninstalled the two instances of it in "Uninstall programs" in Control Panel. I ran Malwarebytes, it found two instances of something, but im not sure if it was related to Hola Search.
After this, Hola Search still appears. Even if I use Windows search to search for something, it goes straight to a browser window and opens Hola Search. What way is there to get rid of this?
I followed the browser specific instructions to remove it here, but I don't see any sign of Hola Search on the settings page they say to go on.
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Comments
Would a full scan with Malwarebytes be necessary?
This is a good helpful site. I often have these type problems to solve when my friend manages to have his browser hijacked on a bi-weekly basis. I feel when I go round there I am regularly sorting it out. He cooks me some din dins as payment.
Maybe not necessary, but definitely recommended. Better to be safe than sorry.
It does not work like that. Hijackers get into the registry.
I stopped it appearing when I.E or Firefox starts by changing the default home page.
How do I ensure there is nothing left of it in the registry?
Hola Search is still appearing so it still isn't properly removed. When I use Windows search to search for anything, it opens the web browser and goes to the Hola Search page.
You might care to look in Control Panel and Add/Remove Programs and see if any search bar trash or similar has been installed that way too. Then it's a case of a standard uninstal program. In addition to running Malware bytes on complete, full scan, I'd also suggest downloading Superantispyware and running that on full scan too. Good luck!
PS I'd also go along with fresh browser install as has been suggested above.
Add/Remove programs was the first thing I went on and I removed 2 instances of it.
If I do a random search of anything in Windows search then it goes to Windows Explorer as usual and displays a list of search results, but if I type hola when searching it opens Internet Explorer and goes to the Hola Search homepage.
Im not sure if that means that there is still some traces of it on my computer or if it's supposed to do that.
In which case it looks like the Internet Explorer options have been messed with. Go to Tools --> Internet Options and run through the tabs manually changing back the home page to what it was, etc.
Sounds like it is removed but has left IE with some changed settings. I'd suggest resetting IE completely by going to Tools > Internet Options > Advanced > Reset.
What do you mean by searching "hola" in Windows Explorer and then pressing enter? Does the search term "hola" bring up any files/shortcuts, which are being opened upon pressing Enter?
I mean, when clicking the Start button in the left corner of the screen and searching hola in the box Start Search.
Im using Windows Vista.
By just typing hola without pressing enter, it comes up with 5 different search results.
One of the results is a shortcut to hola search home page, listed under "Favourites and History". The other 4 results shown are text files.
Delete the short cuts then it should not open the Hola page.
What i recommend you to do is
On firefox:
Open Firefox
Go to your extension menu and look for BrowserProtec , if you have that extension disable that
then go to your Manage Search menu and remove Hola if it appears there, also go to the Options tab by Clicking on the Firefox icon and see that Hola is not set as your Main Homepage
Last thing ,in the Address Bar of your firefox browser type About:Config, click enter and approve the upcoming message, then in the search window below the address bar type Hola and click on enter, in the list that will appear delete any feature that has Hola, just right click on anything with Hola and choose reset to remove it and close your browser when you are done and reopen it.
Then Open Google Chrome, Click on the 3 bars icon (on the top right side) and go to Settings, then in the "On Startup" section click on Set Pages, in there put your mouse on the Holasearch line and click on the X symbol on the side to remove it , then you can add your favorite Homepage as you'd like.
In the same Setting page go to Appearance section click Change,
if you don't see the Change Button then mark the "Show Home Button" option, and then click on change
Remove the Holasearch address or choose the add a new page option to add a new page by entering its URL and hit OK to complete the modification.
then last thing go to Manage Search Engines
and choose a different Search Engine and make it your default and then remove the Hola search by putting the mouse on it and clicking the X Symbol
when done go to the Extensions menu and look for any Holasearch extension, or BrowserProtect or BrowserManager and remove it
close your browser and reopen it for the settings to apply
Select Control Panel from the Start Menu. From the control panel select Uninstall a Program. Find Hola toolbar on IE in the list, select it and click on the Uninstall button near the top of that window.
Open Internet Explorer. Click on the Menu Icon (the small gear) and select Manage Add-ons.
From Manage Add-ons menu, Select Toolbars and Extensions. Uninstall everything related to Hola from the list that you do not want by clicking on the program name and then clicking on the Disable button on the bottom right of the screen.
Next, Select Search Providers from the left hand side of the Manage Ad-ons screen. First of all, choose a search engine and make it your default search provider (set as default). Then select Search the web (Hola) and click Remove button to uninstall it (lower right corner of the window). Finally, click close.