How to remove VLOPlayer

What is VLOPlayer

VLOPlayer tries to look like a legitimate alternative to a well-known and trusted VLC Player. Although it might perform the same features, VLOPlayer itself is spread through unwanted software categorized as a browser hijacker. It is called Search by VLO and is meant to alter browser settings to assign a fake search engine named vlosearch.com. This new address will be displayed instead of your default homepage and new tab. It will also redirect your search queries through legitimate engines like Bing, Google, and maybe others as well. This means vlosearch.com is unable to generate its own results, which downgrades its value of usage significantly. Software that has browser hijacking abilities is recommended to be removed from your system due to its suspicious and potentially dangerous behavior. It is also necessary to mention that many hijackers access browser settings to get data-tracking abilities (of passwords, IP addresses, geolocations, and other sensitive data), which is another argument for its removal. To succeed in full and trace-free deletion, we advise you to stick to our instructions below.

How VLOPlayer infected your computer

As mentioned, VLOPlayer comes along with the discussed browser hijacker. Usually, unwanted software like hijackers tends to originate from third-party installers of freeware (including pirated and cracked) programs. Many users rush through the installation of the desired program which results in missing important information about additional offers. These offers can be disguised as useful apps actually meant to promote unreliable features. As a rule, they can be found and deselected by users inside of “Advanced”, “Custom”, or similar sections. Unless you pose the initiative and untick such offers while completing the set-up yourself, an unwanted program will be automatically installed to promote the above-discussed features. To ensure you are better protected against such threats in the future, follow our guide below.

1. Download VLOPlayer Removal Tool
2. Remove/Uninstall VLOPlayer from Control Panel
3. Cannot remove/uninstall VLOPlayer using standard methods
4. Remove Search by VLO extension from browsers
5. Reset browser search and homepage settings
6. Remove VLOPlayer files, folders and registry keys
7. Block pop-ups promoting VLOPlayer
8. How to protect from threats, like VLOPlayer

Remove VLOPlayer manually for free

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

Remove VLOPlayer from Control Panel

To start removing VLOPlayer you should remove it using Control Panel. 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, and Windows 11.

Remove VLOPlayer from Windows XP:

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

Remove VLOPlayer from Windows 7:

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

Remove VLOPlayer 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 VLOPlayer, click Uninstall.

Remove VLOPlayer from Windows 10:

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

Remove VLOPlayer 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 VLOPlayer 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.

Cannot uninstall VLOPlayer

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

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

Remove malicious add-ons from your browsers

Uninstalling VLOPlayer from Control Panel often does not bring the desired effect. It sometimes has a browser extension (Search by VLO) and it may still be active in Safari, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox. Here are instructions on how to remove Search by VLO extension from your browsers manually.

Google Chrome:

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

Opera Browser:

Generally, Search by VLO does not install in Opera browser however you can always double check. Do the following:

1. Start Opera browser and click on Opera icon in the top-left corner.
2. Choose Extensions > Extensions.
3. Find Search by VLO extension.
4. Click Details button and scroll down to the bottom.
5. Click Remove extension link and confirm the action by clicking Remove button on opened dialog window.
6. Also remove other suspicious extensions from the list.

Reset browsers settings (homepage, default search)

VLOPlayer installs a search engine (feed.vlosearch.com) that hijacks your browsers. Here is an 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.

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.

Remove files, folders and registry keys of VLOPlayer

VLOPlayer files:


VLOPlayer.exe


VLOPlayer folders:

C:\Program Files (x86)\VLOPlayer
C:\Users\{yourusername}\AppData\Roaming\VLOPlayer

VLOPlayer registry keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VLOPlayer

How to block ads and pop-ups, offering to download VLOPlayer

As VLOPlayer is mostly distributed via special ads and pop-ups promising to fix windows errors or remove viruses, a good way to avoid the installation of VLOPlayer is to block such ads in browsers. There are a couple of programs that have such functions. We recommend you use AdGuard to remove ads by VLOPlayer from browsers. Download free trial here:

Download AdGuard

Get the best internet security to protect from threats, like VLOPlayer, in the future

One of the most famous and reputable security programs for Windows is SpyHunter 5. Advanced algorithms and large databases help SpyHunter detect and remove various types of threats. Get complete protection from ransomware, adware, spyware, trojans, viruses, and potentially unwanted programs (PUPs), like VLOPlayer, with SpyHunter 5. Download it here:

Download SpyHunter 5