How to remove PerfectNav

What is PerfectNav

PerfectNav is a malicious browser extension that primarily targets users of Internet Explorer, although it can also affect other browsers that utilize similar structures for handling add-ons and plugins. This unwanted software often comes bundled with legitimate applications, notably Kazaa Media Desktop, and functions as a browser helper object that redirects users’ URL typing errors to its own web page. Instead of facilitating genuine browsing experiences, it hijacks search queries and can lead to unsolicited advertisements, potentially compromising users’ privacy and security. The presence of PerfectNav can result in a frustrating browsing experience, as it alters default search settings and homepage configurations without permission. Additionally, it may track user activities to gather data for marketing purposes, thereby increasing the risk of further unwanted software installations. Users looking to remove this extension must engage in a thorough uninstallation process, including manual registry edits and file deletions, to completely eradicate its presence from their systems.

How PerfectNav infects computers

PerfectNav primarily infects computers through the bundling of its software with legitimate applications, most notably Kazaa Media Desktop. When users download and install software from unofficial or third-party sources, they may inadvertently consent to the installation of PerfectNav, which operates as a browser helper object. This integration allows PerfectNav to redirect users’ URL typing errors to its own web page, often leading to a frustrating user experience. Once installed, it can modify browser settings and create persistent entries in the system registry, making it difficult for users to remove without specific tools or manual intervention. Additionally, its presence can lead to unwanted advertisements and tracking of user behavior, further compromising system integrity and privacy. To avoid such infections, users should exercise caution when downloading software and consider using reputable security solutions to monitor and manage their applications.

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

Remove PerfectNav manually for free

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

Note: PerfectNav 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 PerfectNav from Control Panel or Applications

To start removing PerfectNav you should uninstall it using Control Panel. It can be present by different names – “PerfectNav”. 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 PerfectNav from Windows XP:

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

Remove PerfectNav from Windows 7:

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

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

Remove PerfectNav from Windows 10:

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

Remove PerfectNav 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 PerfectNav-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 PerfectNav from Mac:

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

Cannot uninstall PerfectNav in Windows

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

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

Cannot uninstall PerfectNav in MacOS

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

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

Remove malicious add-ons from your browsers

Uninstalling PerfectNav 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 PerfectNav extension from your browsers manually.

Google Chrome:

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

Opera Browser:

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

Reset browsers settings (homepage, default search)

PerfectNav 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 PerfectNav


AdGuard main window

AdGuard general settings

AdGuard browser assistant

PerfectNav, in most cases, is promoted by ads and pop-ups on doubtful websites. These sites can redirect users’ browsers to PerfectNav 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 PerfectNav 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 PerfectNav, in future


SpyHunter 5 Dashboard

SpyHunter 5 Results

SpyHunter 5 System Guard

Be careful surfing the internet and downloading software, as programs like PerfectNav 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 PerfectNav.

Download SpyHunter for Windows

Download SpyHunter for Mac