How to reset Internet Browsers to their default settings?

Internet Explorer
Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox
Safari
Microsoft Edge

Reset Internet Explorer settings

Resetting Internet Explorer settings will return them to the state they were in when Internet Explorer was first installed on your computer. Internet Explorer settings reset can help when removing browser hijackers, adware and potentially unwanted applications. Notice that this procedure is not reversible. By following these steps you will reset your browsing history, search providers, Accelerators, home pages, Tracking Protection, and ActiveX Filtering data.

To reset Internet Explorer settings:

1. Open Internet Explorer and click on the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer).

2. Select "Internet Options".

3. In the opened window select the "Advanced" tab.

4. In the "Advanced" options screen click on the "Reset" button.

5. In the opened window check the Delete personal settings box and confirm that you want to reset your Internet Explorer settings to default by clicking on a "Reset" button.

6. Restart your Internet Explorer for changes to take effect.

Here's a video showing how to reset Internet Explorer settings to default:

Internet Explorer
Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox
Safari
Microsoft Edge

Reset Mozilla Firefox settings

Resetting Mozilla Firefox will restore this browser to it's factory settings. The reset feature is capable of fixing various issues related to browser hijackers and adware. Notice that Firefox reset will save your essential information such as bookmarks and open tabs. By following these steps you will reset your extensions and themes, search engines, security settings, plugin settings, toolbar customization, user styles and other settings.

1. Open Mozilla Firefox and click on the "Firefox" button (at the top left corner of the main window).

2. In the opened menu move your mouse cursor over "Help" sub-menu and select "Troubleshooting Information".

3. In the Troubleshooting information page click on the "Reset Firefox" button.

4. In the opened windows confirm that you want to reset your Mozilla Firefox settings to default by clicking on the "Reset Firefox" button.

5. Mozilla Firefox will restart and your settings will be set to factory default.

Here's a video showing how to reset Mozilla Firefox settings to default:

Internet Explorer
Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox
Safari
Microsoft Edge

Reset Google Chrome settings

Google Chrome reset feature restores this browser to it's factory defaults. By resetting Google Chrome settings users can roll back unwanted changes made by adware and various browser hijackers. Notice that resetting settings won't remove your bookmarks and saved passwords. By following these steps you will reset your default search engine, homepage, default startup tabs and disable extensions.

1. Open Google Chrome and click on the "bars" (menu) icon (at the top right corner of the main window).

2. In the settings windows scroll to the bottom of the page and click on "Show advanced settings".

3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the "Reset browser settings" button.

4. In the opened "Reset browser settings" window click on the "Reset" button.

 

5. Restart Google Chrome for changes to take effect.

Here's a video showing how to reset Google Chrome to default settings:

Internet Explorer
Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox
Safari
Microsoft Edge

Reset Safari settings

Resetting Safari settings can help when removing browser hijackers, adware and potentially unwanted extensions. By following these steps you will reset you browsing history, disable extensions, change your homepage and remove website data. Notice that Safari browser (prior to version 8) had a “Reset” menu item that could be reached by clicking “Safari” and choosing “Reset”. Safari 8 users wishing to reset their browsers can follow these instructions.

1. Make sure you Safari browser is active and click “Safari” menu. From the drop down menu choose “Preferences...”

2. Disable all installed Safari extensions by navigating to the “Extensions” tab and moving the extensions slider to the “Off” position.

3. Check if the homepage is set to your preferred URL. When in “Preferences...” window select the “General” tab and make sure that your homepage settings are not altered by some browser hijacker.

4. Check if you default Internet search engine settings are not altered – when in “Preferences...” window select the “Search” tab and choose your preferred Internet search engine (for example – Google).

5. Clear your Safari browser Cache – when in “Preferences...” window select the “Advanced” tab and click “Show develop menu in menu bar”.

Click the “Develop” menu and choose “Empty Caches”.

6. Clear browsing history and website data – Click the “Safari” menu and choose “Clear History and Website data...”, select “all history” and click “Clear History”.

Notice that in some cases potentially unwanted programs can reinstall themselves using their running processes or program files, in such cases the removal of adware/browser hijackers gets quite complicated. If you have followed all the steps provided in this article jet you still encounter browser redirects or unwanted ads it’s recommended to run Adware Medic - this software will automatically scan your Mac for rogue processes and eliminate adware or potentially unwanted applications.

Internet Explorer
Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox
Safari
Microsoft Edge

Reset Microsoft Edge settings

Microsoft Edge has become an integral part of Windows so resetting this browser can be complicated. The steps below will show you how to reset Microsoft Edge using it’s settings or by using an advanced method involving file removal. Using these steps you will clear your browsing history, cookies and saved website data, cached data and files, download history, form data and passwords.

To reset Edge settings:

1. Open Microsoft Edge and click on the “More actions” button (three horizontal dots) at the top right corner of the screen and choose “Settings”.

2. In the opened panel click on the “Choose what to clear” button.

3. In the opened panel choose which data you want to clear and click on the “Clear” button.

4. Right click on the Windows logo and choose “Task Manager”.

5. In the Task Manager search from a process named “Microsoft Edge”, right click on it and select “Go to details”.

6. In the “Details” tab locate all entries named “Microsoft Edge”, right click on each and click “End Task”.

ADVANCED METHOD:

If the above steps didn’t help you, please follow this advanced Edge settings reset method. Before using this method please backup your data.

1. Navigate to this folder: C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe

2. Select everything present in this folder, right click your mouse and select “Delete”.

3. Click the Windows logo and type “powershell”. From the Best matches right click the “Windows PowerShell” and select “Run as administrator”.

4. In the opened windows paste this command and press Enter: Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml” -Verbose}

5. This Window will indicate that command execution is finished, you can close Windows PowerShell and start using your Edge browser. After this procedure your Edge browser should be reset to it’s default settings.

Here's a video showing how to reset Microsoft Edge browser to default settings: