How to remove Hohosearch.com

What is Hohosearch.com

Hohosearch.com is malicious search engine for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer browsers. Hijacker replaces default search engine and homepage and modifies newtab settings in browsers. Hohosearch.com is controlled by browser extension called “GsearchFinder”, so in order to get rid of virus you need to remove this add-on. Hohosearch.com redirects user searches to Google.com, Bing.com, Yahoo.com or some third party search engine. Main page of Hohosearch.com contains links to popular online games and shopping sites. Hijacker uses browser information for advertising purposes. Use free instructions below to remove Hohosearch.com.

How Hohosearch.com infected your PC

Hohosearch.com is promoted via adware installers along with free software installers. Developers are aware of the fact that users install tons of applications and do not pay much attention to the process of installation. They hide the details of additional system or browser modifications, that will take place after installing this or that program. It is recommended to use special programs that can detect and stop such programs. One of the good examples of such program is SpyHunter 5.

Download Removal Tool

Download Removal Tool

To remove Hohosearch.com completely we recommend you to use SpyHunter 5. It detects and removes all files, folders and registry keys of Hohosearch.com and several millions of other adware, hijackers, toolbars.

Remove Hohosearch.com manually for free

Here is manual step-by-step tutorial for full Hohosearch.com removal from your computer. This works 99% and was checked with the latest versions of Hohosearch.com installer on operating systems with latest updates and browser versions.

Remove Hohosearch.com from Control Panel

To start removing Hohosearch.com you should uninstall it using Control Panel. It can be present by different names – “hohosearch uninstall” or just “Hohosearch.com”. It should uninstall correctly, however, we recommend you to use IObit Uninstaller to clean leftover items after uninstalling. Here are instructions for Windows XP, Windows 7 and Windows 8.

Remove Hohosearch.com from Windows XP:

1. Click on Start button.
2. Choose Control Panel.
3. Click Add or Remove Programs.
4. Find hohosearch – Uninstall.
5. Click Uninstall.

Remove Hohosearch.com from Windows 7:

1. Click Start button.
2. Then go to Control Panel.
3. Click Uninstall a Program.
4. Find hohosearch – Uninstall and click Uninstall.

Remove Hohosearch.com from Windows 8:

1. Hover mouse pointer to the bottom-right corner to see Menu.
2. Click Search.
3. After that click Apps.
4. Then Control Panel.
5. Click Uninstall a Program under Programs.
6. Find hohosearch – Uninstall, click Uninstall.

Remove Hohosearch.com from Windows 10:

There are 2 ways to uninstall Hohosearch.com from Windows 10

Way one

1. Click on the Start button.
2. In opened menu choose Settings.
3. Click on the System tile.
4. Click Apps & features and locate hohosearch – Uninstall in the list.
5. Click on it and then click Uninstall button near it.

Way two (classic)

1. Right-click on the Start button.
2. In opened menu choose Programs and Features.
3. Locate hohosearch – Uninstall in the list.
4. Click on it and then click Uninstall button above.

Cannot uninstall Hohosearch.com

In some cases Hohosearch.com won’t uninstall and gives you message that “You do not have sufficient access to uninstall Hohosearch.com. Please, contact your system administrator” when you try to remove it from Control Panel or “Access denied” error when removing Hohosearch.com folder and files. This happens, because process or service does not allow you to do it. In this case I will recommend you to use SpyHunter 5 or Malwarebytes or uninstall Hohosearch.com in Safe Mode. To boot in Safe Mode do the following:

1. Reboot your computer.
2. While it starts booting press F8 button.
3. This will open Advanced Boot Options menu.
4. Choose Safe Mode and wait until Windows loads.
5. Go to Control Panel > Uninstall a program and remove “Hohosearch.com”

>> See detailed instructions and video tutorial on how to boot in Safe Mode

Remove malicious add-ons from your browsers

Uninstalling Hohosearch.com from Control Panel often does not bring desired effect. It sometimes have browser extension and it may still be active in Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Here are instructions on how to remove Hohosearch.com related extension from your browsers manually.

Google Chrome:

1. Start Google Chrome browser
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) chrome://extensions/.
3. Find GsearchFinder extension.
4. Click the trash can icon to remove them.
5. Also remove other suspicious extensions from the list.

Mozilla Firefox:

1. Start Mozilla Firefox browser.
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) about:addons.
3. Choose GsearchFinder extension.
4. Click Disable or Remove button.
5. Remove all suspicious extensions from the list.

Internet Explorer (9, 10, 11):

Note: There is no feature to remove browser extensions from browser in latest version of Internet Explorer. To remove Hohosearch.com from Internet Explorer, please, perform instructions for uninstalling program from Control Panel. To disable Hohosearch.com, please, do the following:

1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. Click on gear/asterisk icon in the top-right corner.
3. In opened menu Manage Add-ons.
4. Select Toolbars and Extensions.
5. Click Disable GsearchFinder.
6. Also disable other suspicious extensions from the list.

Opera Browser:

Generally, Hohosearch.com does not install in Opera browser however you can always double check. Do the following:

1. Start Opera browser.
2. Go to Tools > Extensions > Manage Extensions.
3. Find GsearchFinder extension.
4. Click Uninstall button.
5. Also remove other suspicious extensions from the list.

Reset browsers settings (homepage, default search)

Hohosearch.com installs search engine that hijacks your browsers. Here is instruction to reset your browsers homepage, newtab and search engine to default values.

Google Chrome:

1. Start Google Chrome browser
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) chrome://settings/.
3. Scroll down and find Show advanced settings link.
4. Click on it and scroll down to the bottom again.
5. Click Reset browser settings button and click Reset to confirm.

Mozilla Firefox:

1. Start Mozilla Firefox browser.
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) about:support.
3. Click Reset Firefox… button.
4. Click Reset Firefox to confirm.

Internet Explorer (9, 10, 11):

1. Start Internet Explorer.
2. Click on gear/asterisk icon in the top-right corner.
3. In opened menu choose Internet options.
4. Click Advanced tab.
5. Click Reset button.
6. Choose Delete personal settings and click Reset.

Opera Browser:

1. Close Opera and open command prompt from the start menu.
2. Type following command del %AppData%\Opera\Opera\operaprefs.ini
3. Start Opera.

Hohosearch.com files:


CCeuter.exe
gredity.exe
hiqege.exe
Lnspmekiingcachesrv.exe
Lnspmekiingcachetsk.exe
Uninst.exe
@E9438230-A7DF-4D1F-8F2D-CA1D0F0F7924.xpi
conf.json


Hohosearch.com folders:


C:\Program Files\hohobnd
C:\Program Files (x86)\hohobnd
C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\3810282D-6C19-47B0-8283-5C6C29A7E108\
C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\CCACCBF1-7AB4-4CF5-B32D-668C686A539


Hohosearch.com registry keys:


HKU\S-1-5-18\SOFTWARE\{A16B1AF7-982D-40C3-B5C1-633E1A6A6678}
HKLM\SOFTWARE\{A16B1AF7-982D-40C3-B5C1-633E1A6A6678}
HKLM\SOFTWARE\MOZILLA\FIREFOX\{EB52F1AB-3C2B-424F-9794-833C687025CF}
HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432NODE\hohosearchSoftware
HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432NODE\MOZILLA\FIREFOX\{EB52F1AB-3C2B-424F-9794-833C687025CF}
HKLM\SYSTEM\CURRENTCONTROLSET\SERVICES\BugreportW
HKCU\SOFTWARE\MOZILLA\FIREFOX\{EB52F1AB-3C2B-424F-9794-833C687025CF}
HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432NODE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENTVERSION\UNINSTALL\UNINSTALL - AMZ


Alternative way to remove adware browser extensions and reset browser settings

For safe and effective browser extension removal use avast! Browser Cleanup utility. Run it with administrator privileges and remove all extensions with bad rating including related to Hohosearch.com. You can also reset your browser settings for each of your browsers: Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox.

Download Avast Browser Cleanup

Cleaning browsers shortcuts

You can clean your browser shortcuts manually right-clicking on your browser icon, choosing “Properties” and removing hijacker address from “Target” field (leave just the path to your browser). However it is easier to use free Shortcut Cleaner from BleepingComputer. Download it here – its FREE:

Download Shortcut Cleaner

Final tips

Be careful surfing the internet and downloading software, as programs like Hohosearch.com may become a real headache as they are hard to remove and break your privacy. To keep safe from such threats we recommend you always use antivirus and one of antimalware programs available on the market. One of the best anti-spyware and antimalware programs is SpyHunter 5. It can protect your PC from threats like Hohosearch.com.