How to remove Stop Notifications from a browser?

Stop Notifications browser hijacker removal instructions

What is Stop Notifications?

Stop Notifications is a browser hijacker which hijacks browsers by changing some of their settings to stopnotifications.com - the address of a fake search engine. Also, it gathers browsing-related information. It is worthwhile to mention that most users download and install browser hijackers unknowingly. Therefore, Stop Notifications and other apps of this type are categorized as potentially unwanted applications (PUAs).

After installation Stop Notifications sets stopnotifications.com as the address of a homepage, new tab and default search engine. It is designed to make sure that the stopnotifications.com address would be opened every time when users open a browser, new tab and enter search queries into URL bar. Also, it is common that browser hijackers do not allow users to remove address of a fake search engine from browser settings as long as they are installed. Therefore, stopnotifications.com can be removed only when Stop Notifications is no longer installed. Stopnotifications.com is a fake search engine because it provides/displays results generated by Bing (it redirects users to bing.com). Furthermore, browser hijackers like Stop Notifications tend to be designed collect various data related to user's browsing activities. Usually they target IP addresses, URLs of visited websites, geolocations, entered search queries and other similar details. However, sometimes they can be designed to gather personal, sensitive information as well. What is worse, their developers could misuse collected data to generate revenue by selling it to third parties (potentially cyber criminals), or in some other way. Therefore, apps like Stop Notifications should never be downloaded and installed. They can cause problems related to browsing safety, online privacy, or even identity theft.

Threat Summary:

Name	Stop Notifications
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab
Browser Extension(s)	Stop Notifications
Supposed Functionality	Improved browsing experience
Promoted URL	stopnotifications.com
Serving IP Address (stopnotifications.com)	162.255.119.84
Affected Browser Settings	Homepage, new tab URL, default search engine
Symptoms	Manipulated Internet browser settings (homepage, default Internet search engine, new tab settings). Users are forced to visit the hijacker's website and search the Internet using their search engines.
Distribution methods	Deceptive pop-up ads, free software installers (bundling), fake Flash Player installers.
Damage	Internet browser tracking (potential privacy issues), display of unwanted ads, redirects to dubious websites.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Malwarebytes. ▼ Download Malwarebytes To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Malwarebytes. 14 days free trial available.

Some examples of potentially unwanted apps that are classified as browser hijackers are ConverterSearchPlus, Mytab App and New Tab Theme Buddy. Most of them are advertised as legitimate, useful applications - according to their developers, they supposed to include some features, improve browsing experience, etc. However, in most cases browser hijackers are useless to their users and can cause then various problems.

How did Stop Notifications install on my computer?

It is common that users cause downloads and/or installations of potentially unwanted applications through setups of other programs. To be more precise, when such apps are included in download and/or installation setups of other programs as additional offers. As a rule, such offers can be declined by unticking certain checkboxes or in settings like "Custom", "Advanced". However, not all users check those settings when they download and/or install programs. By leaving them unchanged users allow for included PUAs to be downloaded/and or installed together alongside with wanted programs. This distribution method is known as "bundling". Also, in some cases unwanted downloads and/or installations can be caused by clicking deceptive advertisements. However, only when those ads are designed run certain scripts.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

It is advised to download any software, files from official, reliable websites and via direct download links. Tools, sources like third party downloaders (and installers), torrent clients, eMule (or other Peer-to-Peer networks), unofficial pages, etc., should not be used. Also, it is recommended to check setups for "Advanced", "Custom" and other settings before completing downloads and installations. It is common that they can be used to decline offers to download and/or install unwanted software. Additionally, it is advised not to trust (click) advertisements that appear on pages related to gambling, pornography, adult dating, and other dubious sites. Those ads can be designed to open other shady pages or cause unwanted downloads, installations. Any suspicious, unwanted plug-ins, add-ons or extensions that are installed on a web browser should be eliminated. Programs of this kind installed on a computer should be uninstalled too. If your computer is already infected with Stop Notifications, we recommend running a scan with Malwarebytes for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.

Stopnotifications.com redirects to bing.com (GIF)

Notification saying that Stop Notifications can read and change certain data:

Instant automatic malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced computer skills. Malwarebytes is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Malwarebytes By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Malwarebytes. 14 days free trial available.

Quick menu:

• What is Stop Notifications?
• STEP 1. Uninstall Stop Notifications application using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove Stop Notifications browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
• STEP 3. Remove stopnotifications.com homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 4. Remove stopnotifications.com redirect from Safari.
• STEP 5. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.
• STEP 6. Remove stopnotifications.com redirect from Internet Explorer.

Stop Notifications browser hijacker removal:

Windows 7 users:

Click Start (Windows Logo at the bottom left corner of your desktop), choose Control Panel. Locate Programs and click Uninstall a program.

Windows XP users:

Click Start, choose Settings and click Control Panel. Locate and click Add or Remove Programs.

Windows 10 and Windows 8 users:

Right-click in the lower left corner of the screen, in the Quick Access Menu select Control Panel. In the opened window choose Programs and Features.

Mac OSX users:

Click Finder, in the opened screen select Applications. Drag the app from the Applications folder to the Trash (located in your Dock), then right click the Trash icon and select Empty Trash.

In the uninstall programs window: look for any recently installed suspicious applications (for example, "Stop Notifications"), select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

After uninstalling the potentially unwanted applications (which cause browser redirects to the stopnotifications.com website), scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.

Stop Notifications browser hijacker removal from Internet browsers:

Video showing how to remove browser redirects:

Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "More tools" and click "Extensions". Locate "Stop Notifications" and other recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons, and remove them.

Change your homepage:

Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "Settings". In the "On startup" section, disable "Stop Notifications", look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://www.stopnotifications.com) below the “Open a specific or set of pages” option. If present click on the three vertical dots icon and select “Remove”.

Change your default search engine:

To change your default search engine in Google Chrome: Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "Settings", in the "Search engine" section, click "Manage search engines...", in the opened list look for "stopnotifications.com", when located click the three vertical dots near this URL and select "Remove from list".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the stopnotifications.com redirect, reset your Google Chrome browser settings. Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome) and select Settings. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen. Click the Advanced… link.

After scrolling to the bottom of the screen, click the Reset (Restore settings to their original defaults) button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Google Chrome settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Remove malicious plugins from Mozilla Firefox:

Click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), select "Add-ons". Click on "Extensions" and remove "Stop Notifications", as well as all other recently installed browser plug-ins.

Change your homepage:

To reset your homepage, click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), then select "Options", in the opened window disable "Stop Notifications", remove hxxp://stopnotifications.com and enter your preferred domain, which will open each time you start Mozilla Firefox.

Change your default search engine:

In the URL address bar, type about:config and press Enter.
Click "I'll be careful, I promise!".
In the search filter at the top, type: "extensionControlled"
Set both results to "false" by either double-clicking each entry or clicking the button.

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with stopnotifications.com redirect removal can reset their Mozilla Firefox settings.

Open Mozilla Firefox, at the top right corner of the main window, click the Firefox menu, in the opened menu, click Help.

Select Troubleshooting Information.

In the opened window, click the Refresh Firefox button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Mozilla Firefox settings to default by clicking the Refresh Firefox button.

Remove malicious extensions from Safari:

Make sure your Safari browser is active and click Safari menu, then select Preferences...

In the preferences window select the Extensions tab. Look for any recently installed suspicious extensions and uninstall them.

In the preferences window select General tab and make sure that your homepage is set to a preferred URL, if its altered by a browser hijacker - change it.

In the preferences window select Search tab and make sure that your preferred Internet search engine is selected.

Optional method:

Make sure your Safari browser is active and click on Safari menu. From the drop down menu select Clear History and Website Data...

In the opened window select all history and click the Clear History button.

Remove malicious extensions from Microsoft Edge:

Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Extensions". Locate any recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons, and remove them.

Change your homepage and new tab settings:

Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Settings". In the "On startup" section look for the name of the browser hijacker and click "Disable".

Change your default Internet search engine:

To change your default search engine in Microsoft Edge: Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Privacy and services", scroll to bottom of the page and select "Address bar". In the "Search engines used in address bar" section look for the name of the unwanted Internet search engine, when located click the "Disable" button near it. Alternatively you can click on "Manage search engines", in the opened menu look for unwanted Internet search engine. Click on the puzzle icon near it and select "Disable".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the stopnotifications.com redirect, reset your Microsoft Edge browser settings. Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge) and select Settings.

In the opened settings menu select Reset settings.

Select Restore settings to their default values. In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Microsoft Edge settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

• If this did not help, follow these alternative instructions explaining how to reset the Microsoft Edge browser.

Remove malicious add-ons from Internet Explorer:

Click the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Manage Add-ons". Look for any recently installed suspicious extensions, select these entries and click "Remove".

Change your homepage:

Click the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Internet Options", in the opened window remove hxxp://stopnotifications.com and enter your preferred domain, which will open each time you launch Internet Explorer. You can also enter about: blank to open a blank page when you start Internet Explorer.

Change your default search engine:

Click the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Manage Add-ons". In the opened window, select "Search Providers", set "Google", "Bing", or any other preferred search engine as your default and then remove "Stop Notifications".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the stopnotifications.com redirect, reset your Internet Explorer settings to default.

Windows XP users: Click Start, click Run, in the opened window type inetcpl.cpl In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 users: Click the Windows logo, in the start search box type inetcpl.cpl and click enter. In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows 8 users: Open Internet Explorer and click the gear icon. Select Internet Options.

In the opened window, select the Advanced tab.

Click the Reset button.

Confirm that you wish to reset Internet Explorer settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Summary:

A browser hijacker is a type of adware infection that modifies Internet browser settings by assigning the homepage and default Internet search engine settings to some other (unwanted) website URL. Commonly, this type of adware infiltrates operating systems through free software downloads. If your download is managed by a download client, ensure that you decline offers to install advertised toolbars or applications that seek to change your homepage and default Internet search engine settings.

Removal assistance:
If you are experiencing problems while trying to remove stopnotifications.com redirect from your Internet browsers, please ask for assistance in our malware support forum.

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