A browser hijacker changes your homepage, new tab page, search engine, or redirects without your clear permission. It usually arrives through bundled free software or an extension with too much access. Most hijackers are more irritating than destructive, but they can push you toward scammy search results and ads, so cleanup is worth doing carefully.
Does this affect you?
Use this when Chrome, Edge, or Firefox on Windows suddenly opens an unfamiliar start page, sends searches through an odd site, shows toolbars you did not choose, or keeps changing settings back after you fix them. Chrome menu names are common in examples, but the same cleanup logic applies to Edge and Firefox.
Remove the hijacker from your browser and computer
Work in order because many hijackers install both a browser extension and a normal Windows program.
- Open the extensions page: chrome://extensions in Chrome, edge://extensions in Edge, or Menu > Add-ons and themes in Firefox.
- Remove extensions you do not recognize, did not install intentionally, or that appeared around the same time the redirects started. Use Remove instead of only disabling them.
- Open Windows Settings > Apps, or search for Add or remove programs.
- Sort by install date and uninstall suspicious recent items, especially toolbars, optimizers, driver tools, converters, or helper apps you did not knowingly choose.
- Put your homepage, new tab page, and default search engine back to the settings you actually want.
- Run a full scan from Windows Security under Virus & threat protection > Scan options > Full scan, or use Malwarebytes Free for a second opinion.
- Restart the PC after the scan, even if the scanner reports nothing serious.
Restarting matters because some unwanted components stay active until Windows fully reloads.
Reset the browser if it keeps returning
If the hijacker reappears after removing extensions and programs, use the browser reset tool. In Chrome or Edge, open Settings > Reset settings > Restore settings to their original defaults. This turns off extensions and restores core browser settings without deleting bookmarks or saved passwords. In Firefox, use Refresh Firefox from the troubleshooting page if normal cleanup fails.
More control
Watch bundled installers
Hijackers often ride along with free PDF tools, video players, download managers, or driver updaters. Choose Custom installation when available and uncheck extra offers before continuing.
Check every installed browser
If you have Chrome, Edge, and Firefox installed, inspect all of them. Some hijackers modify more than one browser at the same time, even if you noticed symptoms in only one.
Protect accounts after suspicious behavior
If you also saw strange account activity, unexpected password prompts, or login problems, change important passwords from a device you trust and enable two-factor authentication where possible.
Sources
- Microsoft Support – Remove malware or other unwanted software (2025)
- Google Chrome Help – Remove malware or unwanted software from your computer (2025)
- Malwarebytes – Browser hijacker: what it is and how to remove it (2025)