How to remove Websearch.hotsearches.info

What is Websearch.hotsearches.info

Websearch.hotsearches.info is typical browser search and homepage hijacker. Usually, it affects Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer. It can be removed via changing browser settings, but usually there is persistent module that reverts your changes back to Websearch.hotsearches.info. This search may redirect you to legal search pages like Google or Yahoo, but it should not be trusted as it can track your activity and display extra advertising. Read instructions below in order to remove Websearch.hotsearches.info from your browsers.

How Websearch.hotsearches.info infected your PC

Websearch.hotsearches.info can be set as your default search engine, newtab and homepage while you install free programs. Developers of free programs get paid for distributing hijackers and adware. Hijackers like Websearch.hotsearches.info then earn on users clicks on advertising or sell private information about users behavior. It is usually accompanied with so called “search protectors” – modules that prevent users from changing installed settings. Usually, activity of such programs can be seen in the taskbar. They do not create entries in Add/Remove programs, that’s why only way to remove Websearch.hotsearches.info is manually, or using special removal tools.

Download Removal Tool

Download Removal Tool

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

Remove Websearch.hotsearches.info manually for free

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

Remove Websearch.hotsearches.info from Control Panel

To start removing Websearch.hotsearches.info you should uninstall it using Control Panel. It can be present by different names – just look for unknown or suspicious (lately installed) programs. 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.

Latest versions of Websearch.hotsearches.info hijacker are protected by program called XTab that is located in C:\Program Files\XTab. This program is not present in the list of installed programs, but you can uninstall it manually by going to this folder and running uninstall.exe file. Or you can use SpyHunter 5 antimalware to remove it completely.

Remove Websearch.hotsearches.info from Windows XP:

1. Click on Start button.
2. Choose Control Panel.
3. Click Add or Remove Programs.
4. Find programs related to Websearch.hotsearches.info.
5. Click Uninstall.

Remove Websearch.hotsearches.info from Windows 7:

1. Click Start button.
2. Then go to Control Panel.
3. Click Uninstall a Program.
4. Find programs related to Websearch.hotsearches.info and click Uninstall.

Remove Websearch.hotsearches.info 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 programs related to Websearch.hotsearches.info, click Uninstall.

Cannot uninstall Websearch.hotsearches.info

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

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

Remove malicious add-ons from your browsers

Uninstalling Websearch.hotsearches.info 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 Websearch.hotsearches.info 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 suspicious extensions.
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 suspicious 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 Websearch.hotsearches.info from Internet Explorer, please, perform instructions for uninstalling program from Control Panel. To disable Websearch.hotsearches.info, 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 Websearch.hotsearches.info.
6. Also disable other suspicious extensions from the list.

Opera Browser:

Generally, Websearch.hotsearches.info 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 Websearch.hotsearches.info extension.
4. Click Uninstall button.
5. Also remove other suspicious extensions from the list.

Reset browsers settings (homepage, default search)

Websearch.hotsearches.info 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.

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 extension with bad rating including related to Websearch.hotsearches.info. 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 Websearch.hotsearches.info 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 Websearch.hotsearches.info.