How to remove Mapsnow.co (Windows and Mac)

What is Mapsnow.co

Mapsnow.co and Maps Now are, accordingly, unwanted search engine and browser add-on, that modifies and controls browser’s settings in Safari, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox on Windows or Mac. Hijacker overrides default or user-installed values of search engine, home page and new tab with www.mapsnow.co website, that, in its turn, redirects search queries to search.yahoo.com. Developers of Maps Now application claim, that it provides quick and convenient access to maps and directions from the start page of your browser. However, in fact, it creates third party search page, with links to well-known online maps, such as Google Maps, Bing Maps and MapQuest. Sole purpose of this extension is to earn on advertising revenue from redirecting to other search engine, and probably, from promoting other websites and programs. For example, on our test machine Maps Now offered to install Search Secure add-on, that also alters browser’s settings with similar www.directionsfindernow.com search page. To the time of writing this article, Mapsnow.co gained more than 95,000 users (according to Chrome Web Store) and number of victims is increasing. We prepared this detailed guide to help you remove Mapsnow.com hijacker and Maps Now add-on from all popular browsers and reset browser settings.

Mapsnow.co in Chrome on Windows

Mapsnow.co in Chrome on Mac

How Mapsnow.co infected your PC

Mapsnow.co landing pages catch people, searching for online maps, navigation sites and applications etc. Instead of getting Google Maps, Apple Maps, Bing Maps directly, users obtain doubtful, ad-supported extension, that, in addition, changes browser’s settings. Such behaviour influences online experience badly and Mapsnow.co is classified as hijacker, adware and potentially unwanted program by many reputable sites and security companies. Unfortunately, classic antiviruses, in many cases, cannot detect and remove this type of threats. For removal of those, we recommend using so-called anti-malware applications, like ones featured below. They are able to remove Mapsnow.co and fix browsing issues.

1. Download Mapsnow.co Removal Tool
2. Remove/Uninstall Mapsnow.co from Control Panel and Applications
3. Remove Mapsnow.co extensions from browsers
4. Reset browser search and homepage settings
5. Block Mapsnow.co search redirects
6. How to protect from threats like Mapsnow.co

Remove Mapsnow.co manually for free

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

Note: Mapsnow.co can be installed as Google Chrome extension as Administrator (you may see Installed by enterprise policy inscription near it), and this will not allow removal. Therefore, before starting removal process, perform these actions:

1. Start the Command Prompt by clicking the Start menu button and typing command prompt (or just searching for “command prompt” in Windows 10 search field). Right click on the Command Prompt result and choose Run as Administrator.



2. Type in and execute the following commands:

   
rd /S /Q "%WinDir%\System32\GroupPolicyUsers"
rd /S /Q "%WinDir%\System32\GroupPolicy"
gpupdate /force



Remove Mapsnow.co from Control Panel

To start removing Mapsnow.co you should uninstall it using Control Panel. It can be present by different names – “Maps Now” or just “Mapsnow.co”. 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 Mapsnow.co from Mac:

1. In the Finder sidebar, click Applications.
2. Mapsnow.co might have an Uninstaller.
3. Otherwise, drag Maps Now from the Applications folder to the Trash (located at the end of the Dock).
4. Then choose Finder > Empty Trash.

Remove Mapsnow.co from Windows XP:

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

Remove Mapsnow.co from Windows 7:

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

Remove Mapsnow.co 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 Maps Now, click Uninstall.

Remove Mapsnow.co from Windows 10:

There are 2 ways to uninstall Mapsnow.co 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 Maps Now 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 Maps Now in the list.
4. Click on it and then click Uninstall button above.

Cannot uninstall Mapsnow.co

In some cases, Mapsnow.co won’t uninstall and gives you the message, that “You do not have sufficient access to uninstall Mapsnow.co. Please, contact your system administrator” when you try to remove it from Control Panel or “Access denied” error when removing Mapsnow.co 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 Mapsnow.co 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 “Maps Now”

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

and for Mac:

If you can’t uninstall Mapsnow.co using instructions above, or it keeps coming back, you can use free AppCleaner for Mac to remove all residual data and libraries of Mapsnow.co. Follow instructions below:

1. Download free AppCleaner.
2. Drag Maps Now from Applications folder to AppCleaner window.
3. Choose files and folders you want to remove along with Maps Now.
4. Click Delete button.

Remove malicious add-ons from your browsers

Uninstalling Mapsnow.co 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 Mapsnow.co extension from your browsers manually.

Safari:

1. Start Safari on your Mac, click Safari to open drop-down menu and choose Preferences
2. Click Extensions tab.
3. Find Maps Now extension.
4. Click Uninstall button to remove it.

Google Chrome:

1. Start Google Chrome browser
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) chrome://extensions/.
3. Find Maps Now.
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 Maps Now.
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 Mapsnow.co from Internet Explorer, please, perform instructions for uninstalling program from Control Panel. To disable Mapsnow.co, 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 Maps Now.
6. Also disable other suspicious extensions from the list.

Opera Browser:

Generally, Mapsnow.co 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 Maps Now extension.
4. Click Uninstall button.
5. Also remove other suspicious extensions from the list.

Reset browsers settings (homepage, default search)

Maps Now installs search engine (Mapsnow.co), that hijacks your browsers. Here is instruction to reset your browsers homepage, newtab and search engine to default values.

Reset Safari:

1. Start Safari on your Mac, click Safari to open drop-down menu and choose Preferences
2. Go to the Privacy section of Safari’s preferences.
3. Click Remove All Website Data button.
4. In opened window click Remove Now button to remove data stored by websites in Safari.
5. Go to the Advanced section of Safari’s preferences.
6. Click the Show Develop menu in menu bar option.
7. In the menu click Develop and select Empty Caches from this menu.
8. Again, go to Safari menu and choose Clear History….
9. Choose to clear all history and click Clear History button.

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.

How to block redirects and pop-ups from Mapsnow.co


AdGuard main window

AdGuard general settings

AdGuard browser assistant

Mapsnow.co redirects, in most cases, are caused by a program installed on your PC or add-on installed in browsers. However, sometimes it can appear on a clean computer when visiting malicious website, using advertising script. Also, apps that generate “Mapsnow.co” are themselves installed from pop-ups. To protect your PC and browsers from phishing websites, pop-up ads, banners, malicious scripts it is recommended to use AdGuard. Download free trial here:

Download AdGuard for Windows

Download AdGuard for Mac

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 Mapsnow.co. 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 Mapsnow.co 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 anti-malware programs available on the market. One of the best anti-spyware and anti-malware programs is SpyHunter 5. It can protect your PC from threats, like Mapsnow.co.