How to remove the IncognitoSearchPro browser hijacker?

IncognitoSearchPro browser hijacker removal instructions

What is IncognitoSearchPro?

IncognitoSearchPro browser hijacker modifies browser's settings to force users to visit the incognitosearchpro.com address/to use a fake search engine. Also, it reads browsing data. Most of the times users download and install apps like IncognitoSearchPro unknowingly, therefore, they are categorized as potentially unwanted applications (PUAs).

IncognitoSearchPro promotes incognitosearchpro.com by making it as the address of a default search engine, homepage and new tab in the settings of a hijacked browser. Therefore, it redirects to that address when users open a browser, new tab and enter search queries into URL bar. When used to search the web, incognitosearchpro.com redirects users to search.yahoo.com/provides results generated by Yahoo. In other words, incognitosearchpro.com does not generate individual, unique results - it is useless. Like most browser hijackers, IncognitoSearchPro prevents users from removing address of its fake search engine from browser's settings as long as it is installed. Therefore, previous settings can be restored only when the IncognitoSearchPro is no longer installed. Furthermore, it is common that browser hijackers collect browsing data such as IP addresses, entered search queries, addresses of visited pages, geolocations, etc. In some cases they can be designed to gather sensitive details as well. Moreover, collected data could be misused to generate revenue by selling that data to third parties (potentially cyber criminals) or in other ways. It means that users of hijacked browsers are at risk of encountering problems related to privacy, browsing safety, or even becoming victims of identity theft.

Threat Summary:

Name	IncognitoSearchPro
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab
Browser Extension(s)	IncognitoSearchPro
Supposed Functionality	Improved browsing experience
Promoted URL	incognitosearchpro.com
Serving IP Address (incognitosearchpro.com)	104.24.102.222
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.

In conclusion, two most common and main similarities between different browser hijackers is that they are designed to promote fake search engines and collect browsing-related (and sometimes other) details. Also, it is common that they are useless to their users even if they are advertised as legitimate, useful applications that supposed to include some features, etc. Either way, it is advised not to trust (download and install) browser hijackers. PDFConverterSearchBee, Funsearch and IncognitoSearcher are a couple of examples of other apps like IncognitoSearchPro.

How did IncognitoSearchPro install on my computer?

In most cases users download and/or install PUAs together with other, desired programs - when potentially unwanted apps are included in download or installation setups of those programs as extra offers. In most cases offers to download and/or install additionally included apps can be declined via "Custom", "Advanced" (or other settings) or by unticking checkboxes that are available in setups. When users download and/or install programs that have PUAs included in their setups without changing the aforementioned settings, they agree with offers to download and/or install PUAs too. This distribution method for unwanted apps is known as "bundling". Also, unwanted downloads and installations can be caused by clicking deceptive advertisements that are designed to execute certain scripts.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Software should not be downloaded via third party downloaders, Peer-to-Peer networks like eMule, torrent clients, from unofficial pages, and so on, or installed via third party installers. it is advised to use only official websites and direct download links for that. Download and/or installation setups with "Custom", "Advanced" and other similar settings on them should b checked for offers to download or install unwanted apps before completing download or installation process. Ads on shady pages should not be trusted (clicked), it is common that when users click those ads they open potentially untrustworthy sites or cause downloads, installations of unwanted apps. There should not be any unwanted, suspicious extensions, plug-ins or add-ons installed on a browser (and/or programs of this kind installed on a computer). If your computer is already infected with IncognitoSearchPro, we recommend running a scan with Malwarebytes for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.

Incognitosearchpro.com browser redirects to search.yahoo.com (GIF):

Notification saying that IncognitoSearchPro can read browsing data:

Websites promoting IncognitoSearchPro browser hijacker:

IMPORTANT NOTE! One of these websites asks to enable web browser notifications.

Therefore, before commencing, perform these steps:

Google Chrome (PC):

• Click the Menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the screen
• Select "Settings", scroll down to the bottom and click "Advanced"
• Scroll down to the "Privacy and security" section, select "Content settings" and then "Notifications"
• Click three dots on the right hand side of each suspicious URL and click "Block" or "Remove" (if you click "Remove" and visit the malicious site once more, it will ask to enable notifications again)

Google Chrome (Android):

• Click on the Menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the screen and click "Settings"
• Scroll down, click on "Site settings" and then "Notifications"
• In the opened window, locate all suspicious URLs and click on them one-by-one
• Select "Notifications" in the "Permissions" section and set the toggle button to "OFF"

Mozilla Firefox:

• Click the Menu button (three bars) on the right upper corner of the screen
• Select "Options" and click on "Privacy & Security" in the toolbar on the left hand side of the screen
• Scroll down to the "Permissions" section and click the "Settings" button next to "Notifications"
• In the opened window, locate all suspicious URLs, click the drop-down menu and select "Block"

Internet Explorer:

• Click the Gear button on the right upper corner of the IE window
• Select "Internet options"
• Select the "Privacy" tab and click "Settings" under "Pop-up Blocker" section
• Select suspicious URLs under and remove them one by one by clicking the "Remove" button

Microsoft Edge:

• Click the menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the Edge window
• Scroll down, find and click "Settings"
• Scroll down again and click "View advanced settings"
• Click "Manage" under "Website permissions"
• Click the switch under each suspicious website

Safari (Mac):

• Click "Safari" button on the left upper corner of the screen and select "Preferences..."
• Select the "Websites" tab and then select "Notifications" section on the left pane
• Check for suspicious URLs and apply the "Deny" option for each

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

IncognitoSearchPro 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, "IncognitoSearchPro"), select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

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

IncognitoSearchPro 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 "IncognitoSearchPro" 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 "IncognitoSearchPro", look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://www.incognitosearchpro.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 "incognitosearchpro.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 incognitosearchpro.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 "IncognitoSearchPro", 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 "IncognitoSearchPro", remove hxxp://incognitosearchpro.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 incognitosearchpro.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 incognitosearchpro.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://incognitosearchpro.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 "IncognitoSearchPro".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the incognitosearchpro.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 incognitosearchpro.com redirect from your Internet browsers, please ask for assistance in our malware support forum.

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