Removal instructions for the Quick Weather Search browser hijacker

What is Quick Weather Search?

Quick Weather Search is a deceptive application that, according to the developers, allows users to easily check weather forecasts.

Judging on appearance alone, this app may seem legitimate and useful, however, it is categorized as a potentially unwanted application (PUA) and a browser hijacker. The main reasons for these negative associations are stealth installation without users' consent, promotion of a fake search engine (search.quickweathersearch.com), and information tracking.

Quick Weather Search promotes the search.quickweathersearch.com search engine. To achieve this, Quick Weather Search hijacks popular browsers and assigns the new tab URL, default search engine, and homepage options to search.quickweathersearch.com.

These changes may seem insignificant, however, users are unable to revert them, since search.quickweathersearch.com reassigns browser options when attempts are made to change them. Therefore. returning browsers to their previous states becomes impossible.

Ultimately, users are forced to visit search.quickweathersearch.com when they open a new browser tab or search via the URL bar. This significantly diminishes the browsing experience. In addition, search.quickweathersearch.com redirects to search.yahoo.com when a search query is entered.

Users end up searching via the Yahoo search engine, thus rendering search.quickweathersearch.com redundant. Another significant downside is information tracking. Browser hijackers and fake search engines often record IP addresses, website URLs visited, pages viewed, search queries, and other data relating to browsing activity.

This information is shared with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) who generate revenue by misusing private data. Therefore, data tracking can lead to serious privacy issues or even identity theft. You are strongly advised to uninstall the Quick Weather Search browser hijacker and never return to search.quickweathersearch.com

Threat Summary:

Name	Quick Weather Search
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab
Detection Names	Avast (Win32:AdwareSig [Adw]), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of Win32/WinWrapper.V Potentially Unwanted), Kaspersky (Not-a-virus:Downloader.Win32.AdLoad.afaqc), McAfee (PUP-HOQ), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Browser Extension(s)	Weather, Quick Weather Search
Supposed Functionality	Weather forecasts.
Promoted URL	search.quickweathersearch.com
Serving IP Address (search.quickweathersearch.com)	34.192.52.193
Affected Browser Settings	Homepage, new tab URL, default search engine
Symptoms	Manipulated Internet browser settings (homepage, default Internet search engine, new tab settings). Users are forced to visit the hijacker's website and search the Internet using their search engines.
Distribution methods	Deceptive pop-up ads, free software installers (bundling), fake flash player installers.
Damage	Internet browser tracking (potential privacy issues), display of unwanted ads, redirects to dubious websites.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick Weather Search developers have released dozens of browser-hijacking applications, all of which are virtually identical. By offering "useful functions", browser hijackers such as Get Maps And Directions, Login To My Email, and Easy Speed Test App (and many others) attempt to give the impression of legitimacy and trick users to install.

In fact, apps such as Quick Weather Search have just one purpose: to generate revenue for the developers. Rather than giving any value for regular users, they cause redirects and gather information, thereby significantly diminishing the browsing experience and posing a threat to your privacy.

How did Quick Weather Search install on my computer?

This browser hijacker is free for anyone to download on an 'official' website. In most cases, however, Quick Weather Search infiltrates computers without users' consent, since developers proliferate it using intrusive advertising and "bundling" methods.

Intrusive advertisements (which are usually delivered by adware-type applications) redirect to dubious websites and, in some cases, execute scripts that download/install PUAs. "Bundling", on the other hand, is stealth installation of third party applications together with regular software. Developers know that many users often rush these procedures and skip steps.

Therefore, all "bundled" applications are hidden behind "Custom/Advanced" settings (or other sections) of the download/installation processes. Furthermore, many users often carelessly rush these procedures, skip steps, and click advertisements. In doing so, they expose their systems to risk of various infections and compromise their privacy.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Lack of knowledge of these threats and careless behavior are the main reasons for computer infections. Caution is the key to its safety. Therefore, pay close attention when browsing the Internet and downloading/installing software. Carefully analyze each window of the download/installation dialogs using the "Custom" or "Advanced" settings.

Opt-out of additionally-included programs and decline offers to download/install them. Avoid using third party downloaders/installers, since most are monetized using the "bundling" method. Download programs from official sources only, preferably using direct download links.

Bear in mind that intrusive advertisements usually redirect to dubious websites (gambling, adult dating, pornography, and similar).

Ads of this type are usually delivered by adware-type apps. Therefore, if you encounter ads and redirects frequently, remove all suspicious applications and browser plug-ins immediately. If your computer is already infected with Quick Weather Search, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.

Quick Weather Search browser hijacker installer set-up:

Website promoting Quick Weather Search browser hijacker:

Quick Weather Search browser hijacker asking for permissions:

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▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick menu:

• What is Quick Weather Search?
• STEP 1. Uninstall Quick Weather Search application using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove search.quickweathersearch.com redirect from Internet Explorer.
• STEP 3. Remove Quick Weather Search browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove search.quickweathersearch.com homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 5. Remove search.quickweathersearch.com redirect from Safari.
• STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.

Quick Weather Search browser hijacker removal:

Windows 11 users:

Right-click on the Start icon, select Apps and Features. In the opened window search for the application you want to uninstall, after locating it, click on the three vertical dots and select Uninstall.

Windows 10 users:

Right-click in the lower left corner of the screen, in the Quick Access Menu select Control Panel. In the opened window choose Programs and Features.

Windows 7 users:

Click Start (Windows Logo at the bottom left corner of your desktop), choose Control Panel. Locate Programs and click Uninstall a program.

macOS (OSX) users:

Click Finder, in the opened screen select Applications. Drag the app from the Applications folder to the Trash (located in your Dock), then right click the Trash icon and select Empty Trash.

In the uninstall programs window: look for any recently installed suspicious applications (for example, "Quick Weather Search"), select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

After uninstalling the potentially unwanted applications that cause browser redirects to the search.quickweathersearch.com website, scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.

Quick Weather Search browser hijacker removal from Internet browsers:

Video showing how to remove browser redirects (Windows OS):

Video showing how to remove Quick Weather Search browser hijacker using Combo Cleaner (MacOS):

Remove malicious add-ons from Internet Explorer:

Click the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Manage Add-ons". Look for any recently installed suspicious extensions, select these entries and click "Remove".

Change your homepage:

Click the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Internet Options", in the opened window, remove hxxp://search.quickweathersearch.com and enter your preferred domain, which will open each time you launch Internet Explorer. You can also enter about: blank to open a blank page when you start Internet Explorer.

Change your default search engine:

Click the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Manage Add-ons". In the opened window, select "Search Providers", set "Google", "Bing", or any other preferred search engine as your default and then remove "Quick Weather Search".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the search.quickweathersearch.com redirect, reset your Internet Explorer settings to default.

Windows XP users: Click Start, click Run, in the opened window type inetcpl.cpl In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 users: Click the Windows logo, in the start search box type inetcpl.cpl and click enter. In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows 8 users: Open Internet Explorer and click the gear icon. Select Internet Options.

In the opened window, select the Advanced tab.

Click the Reset button.

Confirm that you wish to reset Internet Explorer settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "More tools" and click "Extensions". Locate "Quick Weather Search" and other recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons, and remove them.

Change your homepage:

Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "Settings". In the "On startup" section, look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://www.search.quickweathersearch.com) below the “Open a specific or set of pages” option. If present, click on the three vertical dots icon and select “Remove”.

Change your default search engine:

To change your default search engine in Google Chrome: Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "Settings", in the "Search engine" section, click "Manage search engines...", in the opened list, disable "Quick Weather Search", look for "search.quickweathersearch.com", and when located, click the three vertical dots near this URL and select "Remove from list".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the search.quickweathersearch.com redirect, reset your Google Chrome browser settings. Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome) and select Settings. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen. Click the Advanced… link.

After scrolling to the bottom of the screen, click the Reset (Restore settings to their original defaults) button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Google Chrome settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Remove malicious plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox:

Click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), select "Add-ons". Click on "Extensions" and remove "Quick Weather Search" (or simply "Weather"), as well as all other recently installed browser plug-ins.

Change your homepage:

To reset your homepage, click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), then select "Options", in the opened window, disable "Quick Weather Search" remove hxxp://search.quickweathersearch.com and enter your preferred domain, which will open each time you start Mozilla Firefox.

Change your default search engine:

In the URL address bar, type about:config and press Enter.
Click "I'll be careful, I promise!".
In the search filter at the top, type: "quickweathersearch"
Right-click on the found preferences and select "Reset" to restore default values.

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with search.quickweathersearch.com redirect removal can reset their Mozilla Firefox settings.

Open Mozilla Firefox, at the top right corner of the main window, click the Firefox menu, in the opened menu, click Help.

Select Troubleshooting Information.

In the opened window, click the Refresh Firefox button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Mozilla Firefox settings to default by clicking the Refresh Firefox button.

Remove malicious extensions from Safari:

Make sure your Safari browser is active and click Safari menu, then select Preferences...

In the preferences window select the Extensions tab. Look for any recently installed suspicious extensions and uninstall them.

In the preferences window select General tab and make sure that your homepage is set to a preferred URL, if its altered by a browser hijacker - change it.

In the preferences window select Search tab and make sure that your preferred Internet search engine is selected.

Optional method:

Make sure your Safari browser is active and click on Safari menu. From the drop down menu select Clear History and Website Data...

In the opened window select all history and click the Clear History button.

Remove malicious extensions from Microsoft Edge:

Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Extensions". Locate any recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons, and remove them.

Change your homepage and new tab settings:

Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Settings". In the "On startup" section look for the name of the browser hijacker and click "Disable".

Change your default Internet search engine:

To change your default search engine in Microsoft Edge: Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Privacy and services", scroll to bottom of the page and select "Address bar". In the "Search engines used in address bar" section look for the name of the unwanted Internet search engine, when located click the "Disable" button near it. Alternatively you can click on "Manage search engines", in the opened menu look for unwanted Internet search engine. Click on the puzzle icon near it and select "Disable".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the search.quickweathersearch.com redirect, reset your Microsoft Edge browser settings. Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge) and select Settings.

In the opened settings menu select Reset settings.

Select Restore settings to their default values. In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Microsoft Edge settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

• If this did not help, follow these alternative instructions explaining how to reset the Microsoft Edge browser.

Summary:

A browser hijacker is a type of adware infection that modifies Internet browser settings by assigning the homepage and default Internet search engine settings to some other (unwanted) website URL. Commonly, this type of adware infiltrates operating systems through free software downloads. If your download is managed by a download client, ensure that you decline offers to install advertised toolbars or applications that seek to change your homepage and default Internet search engine settings.

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