My TotalSearch Hijacker (www.mytotalsearch.com)
My TotalSearch is often referred to as http://www.mytotalsearch.com hijacker is an adware program. It uses browser helper object (BHO) to control some browser settings. It can also configure browser to redirect the browser to a page that contains heavy advertisements. In most occasions, computer users who are rerouted to malware website are those that are using the search box from mytotalsearch.com.
Computer user’s first impression to My TotalSearch is favorable. It contains nicely designed console with links to popular sites. It is a realistic search tool if not only for its aggressiveness in promoting products and services. Most users find it very annoying. Moreover, My TotalSearch’s undesirable change to the browser is invasive. It will trade your existing home page to its own search box without getting permission.
To be able to remove this adware completely, you must first uninstalling the culprit program. Then, any plug-ins or extensions of My TotalSearch must be deleted from all affected Internet browser. Lastly, scanning the system with an effective anti-malware program ensures that no more components of My TotalSearch are left inside the computer. For complete details, you may proceed to the special section on this page.
| Type | Hijacker |
| Sub-Type | Adware |
| OS Affected | Windows |
What are the Symptoms of My TotalSearch Hijacker?
Symptoms of this adware are very obvious. It redirects the home page to www.mytotalsearch.com so that users will use the custom search box instead of the usual search engine.
Follow these Procedures to Remove My TotalSearch
Procedure 1: Uninstall My TotalSearch from Windows Control Panel
1. To begin, click on Windows Start located at bottom left part of the screen. Alternatively, you can press 'Start' button on your keyboard. From the selection, click on Control Panel. This will open a Window allowing you to adjust computer settings.
2. Under Programs, click on Uninstall a program. It will open a program and features window where-in you can uninstall, change, or repair installed software.
3. Look for the name My TotalSearch or any related term. Please note that the adware may change the title anytime. This part is risky. Find any suspicious file that you deemed is linked to the adware. Once found, please select the item you wanted to remove.
My Total Search, My Web Search, or Mindspark
4. Click on Uninstall button to remove the program automatically.
5. If it prompts for confirmation, please click OK to proceed.
Procedure 1: Start Windows in Safe Mode with Networking
Restart your computer in Safe Mode with Networking
- After turning On the power of the computer, just before Windows start, press F8.
- From the selections, choose Safe Mode with Networking. Please use keyboard's arrow up/down to navigate between selections and press Enter to proceed.
Procedure 2: Scan and remove My TotalSearch files with MalwareBytes Anti-Malware
To remove My TotalSearch, download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware by clicking on the button below. This tool is effective in getting rid of Trojans, viruses and malware.
1. After downloading, please install the program using the default settings.
2. At the end of the installation, please make sure that it will download necessary updates.
3. Once update has completed. The tool will launch.
4. Thoroughly scan the computer and remove all threats detected by this anti-malware program.
Procedure 3: Manually remove settings created by My TotalSearch.
If the hijacker was not removed properly during the scan, you can use this guide to uninstall it from the computer. We prepared procedures to remove this unknown search program from various Internet browsers including Internet Explorer 8/9, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.Uninstall My TotalSearch from Internet Explorer 8:
1. Launch the program Internet Explorer 8.
2. On top menu, please navigate to Tools > Internet Options.
3. It will open the options window; make sure that you are viewing the General tab. Look for the area that says "Search" and click the Settings button.
4. You will see a list of search providers. Select your preferred search provider and click the button Set as default to replace My TotalSearch.
My Total Search, My Web Search, or Mindspark
5. You may now remove My TotalSearch from the list. Highlight the item and click on Remove button.
For Internet Explorer 9:
1. Launch the program Internet Explorer 9.
2. On top menu, please navigate to Tools > Internet Options.
3. On General tab, proceed to Change search defaults and click the Settings button.
4. You will see a list of search providers. Select your desired search provider and click the button Set as default to replace My TotalSearch.
5. You may now remove My TotalSearch from the list.
Instructions to remove My TotalSearch from Mozilla Firefox:
1. Launch the program Mozilla Firefox.
2. On the address bar, type about:config and press Enter on the keyboard to view the list of preferences.
3. If it display a warning message stating that the action might void your warranty, just click "I'll be careful, I promise!"
4. Type My TotalSearch (or Root Name Only) in the search box to display the list of references that were altered by the adware. Please refer to the image below.
5. There is no button to remove the preference set by My TotalSearch. All you need to do is restore it to Firefox's default settings. Right-click on the item and select Reset from the drop-down list.
6. After resetting all affected preferences, you can now restart Firefox.
7. Navigate to toolbar and on Google's Search box, click the arrow down sitting right beside the 'G' logo.
8. Click on Manage Search Engines... from the drop-down list to see all search engines installed in Firefox.
9. Choose your preferred default search provider by placing it at the top most position. Highlight the item and click on Move up until it reaches the first spot.
My Total Search, My Web Search, or Mindspark
10. To remove My TotalSearch from Firefox, highlight on its name and click the Remove button.
Delete My TotalSearch from Google Chrome:
1. Launch the program Google Chrome.
2. Click on the Wrench or 3-Bars icon on top right corner of the browser.
3. Choose Settings from the drop down list. It will open a window containing Google Chrome settings.
4. Find the area that says "Search". This is located in the middle part of the page.
5. Click on Manage search engines. It will show a list of Search engines including the default one.
6. Mouse-over to your preferred search engine and click Make default.
My Total Search, My Web Search, or Mindspark
7. Then, to remove My TotalSearch from Google Chrome, mouse-over to that item and click on the X mark.
Protect your PC from My TotalSearch or Similar Attack
Turn On Safe Browsing Features
Internet Explorer - Activate SmartScreen Filter
Internet Explorer versions 8 and 9 has this feature called SmartScreen Filter. It helps detect phishing web sites and protect you from downloading malicious files online. To turn on SmartScreen Filter, follow these steps:
1. Please open Internet Explorer.
2. On top menu, select Tools (IE 9). For IE 8, please look for Safety menu.
3. Select SmartScreen Filter from the drop-down list and click on Turn on SmartScreen Filter.
4. Please restart Internet Explorer.
Google Chrome's Enable Phishing and Malware Protection
With Google Chrome's Phishing and Malware Detection feature, you will have lesser risks browsing the web. It will display a warning when the site you are trying to visit is suspicious. To enable Phishing and Malware Protection, please do these steps:
1. Open Google Chrome.
2. Click on the Customize and control Google Chrome (3-Bars Icon) located on top right corner of the browser.
3. Select Settings from the drop-down list.
4. Once on the settings page, click on Show advanced settings... at the bottom of the page to see the rest of the Chrome setup.
5. Locate Privacy section and mark 'Enable phishing and malware protection'.
6. Please restart Google Chrome. New settings keep your browser safe while surfing the web.
Mozilla Firefox - Block Attack Sites and Web Forgeries
Phishing and Malware Protection is a built-in feature on Firefox version 3 or later. It warns you when a page you are trying to visit contains phishing content or an attack site designed to drop threats on the computer. To help you keep safe while browsing the Internet using Firefox, please follow this guide:
1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser.
2. On top menu, click on Tools. Then select Options from the list.
3. Select Security and put a check mark on the following items:
- Warn me when sites try to install add-ons
- Block reported attack sites
- Block reported web forgeries
Remove My TotalSearch & Protect Your Computer Now!
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