How to remove MetaXenonor

What is MetaXenonor

MetaXenonor is a malicious browser extension that primarily functions as a hijacker, infiltrating users’ web browsers to inject unwanted advertisements and redirect search queries without consent. This extension targets popular browsers including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Apple Safari, making it a widespread nuisance across various platforms. Once installed, it alters browser settings to favor dubious affiliate marketing search engines, significantly diminishing users’ online experience and privacy. Users may encounter an increase in intrusive ads while browsing, which not only disrupts their activities but also poses risks by redirecting them to potentially harmful websites. The extension is particularly insidious due to its ability to leverage the “Managed by your organization” policy, complicating the removal process and preventing straightforward uninstallation. As a result, users are often left frustrated, seeking effective methods to reclaim control over their browsing experiences while ensuring their systems remain secure.

How MetaXenonor infects computers

MetaXenonor primarily infects computers through deceptive tactics that often exploit user interactions with malicious advertisements and compromised websites. Users may unknowingly install the extension when clicking on enticing ads that promise enhanced functionality or benefits, leading to the injection of unwanted software. Additionally, it often travels bundled with other free software, a common tactic known as “bundling,” where users inadvertently agree to install multiple programs during the setup process. Once installed, MetaXenonor employs the “Managed by your organization” policy, making it challenging for users to remove it without advanced technical skills. The extension then begins its operations by injecting intrusive advertisements into web pages, redirecting search queries to questionable engines, and altering browser settings to ensure its persistence. This multifaceted approach not only compromises user experience but can also expose users to further security risks, making awareness and preventive measures crucial.

1. Download MetaXenonor Removal Tool
2. Remove MetaXenonor from Control Panel and Applications
3. Remove MetaXenonor extensions from browsers
4. Reset browser search and homepage settings
5. Alternative way to remove MetaXenonor search redirects
6. Clean browser shortcuts from MetaXenonor
7. How to protect from threats like MetaXenonor

Remove MetaXenonor manually for free

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

Note: MetaXenonor can be installed as Google Chrome extension as Administrator (you may see Installed by enterprise policy or Your browser is managed by your organization 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 MetaXenonor from Control Panel or Applications

To start removing MetaXenonor you should uninstall it using Control Panel. It can be present by different names – “MetaXenonor”. 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, Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows 11, or Mac.

Remove MetaXenonor from Windows XP:

1. Click on Start button.
2. Choose Control Panel.
3. Click Add or Remove Programs.
4. Find MetaXenonor-related or other suspicious program.
5. Click Uninstall.

Remove MetaXenonor from Windows 7:

1. Click Start button.
2. Then go to Control Panel.
3. Click Uninstall a Program.
4. Find MetaXenonor-related or other suspicious program and click Uninstall.

Remove MetaXenonor 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 MetaXenonor-related or other suspicious program, click Uninstall.

Remove MetaXenonor from Windows 10:

There are 2 ways to uninstall MetaXenonor 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 MetaXenonor-related or other suspicious program 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 MetaXenonor-related or other suspicious program in the list.
4. Click on it and then click Uninstall button above.

Remove MetaXenonor from Windows 11:

1. Right-click on the Start button.
2. In opened menu choose Settings.
3. Click on the Apps tab on the left side.
4. Click Apps & features and locate MetaXenonor-related or other recently installed suspicious program in the list.
5. Click on 3-dots icon near it and then click Uninstall button near it.
6. Depending on the type of application (Windows Store app or classic Win32 app) it will be removed immediately or you will need to confirm the action and go through standard uninstall procedure.

Remove MetaXenonor from Mac:

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

Cannot uninstall MetaXenonor in Windows

In some cases, MetaXenonor won’t uninstall and gives you the message, that “You do not have sufficient access to uninstall MetaXenonor. Please, contact your system administrator” when you try to remove it from Control Panel or “Access denied” error when removing the MetaXenonor folder and files. This happens because the 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 MetaXenonor 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 MetaXenonor or other suspicious program

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

Cannot uninstall MetaXenonor in MacOS

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

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

Remove malicious add-ons from your browsers

Uninstalling MetaXenonor from Control Panel or Applications often does not bring the desired effect. It sometimes has a browser extension and it may still be active in Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Here are instructions on how to remove MetaXenonor extension from your browsers manually.

Google Chrome:

1. Start Google Chrome browser
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) chrome://extensions.
3. Find MetaXenonor extension.
4. Click the Remove button 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. Find MetaXenonor extension.
4. Click three-dots icon near it and choose Remove in the menu.
5. In opened dialog window click Remove button to confirm the action.
6. Remove all suspicious extensions from the list.

Safari:

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

Microsoft Edge:

1. Start Microsoft Edge browser.
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) edge://extensions.
3. Find MetaXenonor extension.
4. Click Remove link under the name of extension.
5. In opened dialog window click Remove button to confirm the action.
6. 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 MetaXenonor from Internet Explorer, please, perform instructions for uninstalling program from Control Panel. To disable MetaXenonor, 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 MetaXenonor or other suspicious extensions.
6. Also disable other suspicious extensions from the list.

Opera Browser:

Generally, MetaXenonor 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 MetaXenonor or other suspicious extensions.
4. Click Uninstall button.
5. Also remove other suspicious extensions from the list.

Reset browsers settings (homepage, default search)

MetaXenonor installs a search engine, that hijacks your browsers. Here is the instruction to reset your browser’s homepage, new tab, and search engine to default values.

Google Chrome:

1. Start Google Chrome browser
2. In address box type (or copy-paste) chrome://settings.
3. On the left panel expand Advanced options.
4. Choose Reset and clean up.
5. Click on Restore settings to their original defaults link and confirm by clicking Reset button.

Google Chrome > Settings > Advanced

Reset and clean up

Reset Google Chrome

Mozilla Firefox:

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

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.

Microsoft Edge:

1. Start Microsoft Edge browser
2. Click on 3-dots icon in the top-right corner and choose Settings.
3. On the left panel find and click Reset settings option.
4. Click on Restore settings to their default values link and confirm by clicking Reset button.

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. Start Opera browser and click on Opera icon in the top-left corner.
2. Choose Settings and click Advanced on the left side and choose Browser.
3. Scroll down to the very bottom and click on Restore settings to their original defaults link.
4. Confirm by clicking Reset button.

How to block ads and pop-ups, promoting MetaXenonor


AdGuard main window

AdGuard general settings

AdGuard browser assistant

MetaXenonor, in most cases, is promoted by ads and pop-ups on doubtful websites. These sites can redirect users’ browsers to MetaXenonor ads, generating advertising revenue for the attackers. The malware is often offered through these ads, leaving users puzzled about the origin of the software. In some cases, users may unknowingly install the MetaXenonor extension, which then injects advertisements into the websites they visit and redirects their search queries. Additionally, the malware can be distributed through other channels such as peer-to-peer file-sharing networks, misleading ads, and compromised or shady websites that trigger automatic downloads 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

How to protect from threats, like MetaXenonor, in future


SpyHunter 5 Dashboard

SpyHunter 5 Results

SpyHunter 5 System Guard

Be careful surfing the internet and downloading software, as programs like MetaXenonor 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 the anti-malware programs available on the market. One of the best anti-virus programs is SpyHunter 5. It can protect your PC from threats like MetaXenonor.

Download SpyHunter for Windows

Download SpyHunter for Mac