How to remove Watch Movies Live browser hijacker?

What is Watch Movies Live?

Watch Movies Live is a rogue application, promoted as a tool for quick access to movie streaming, news and other film-related websites. It is a browser hijacker, due to the changes it makes to browsers in order to promote a fake search engine - search.watchmovieslivetab.app.

Additionally, it has data tracking abilities, which the app employs to gather browsing-related information. Since most users install Watch Movies Live inadvertently, it is also considered to be a PUA (Potentially Unwanted Applications). It is often distributed alongside another PUAs called Hide My Searches.

After successful infiltration, browser hijackers assign the addresses of their illegitimate web searchers as browsers' homepage, new tab/window and default search engine URLs. With Watch Movies Live installed, these settings are changed to search.watchmovieslivetab.app.

While these changes may seem to be minor, they severely diminish browsing quality. As every new tab/window opened and every singe search query typed into the URL bar - redirect to search.watchmovieslivetab.app. This fake search engine is unable to generate search results and as most illegitimate web searching tools, it redirects to a genuine one - search.yahoo.com.

These modifications can appear relatively easy to undo, however that is not the case. Any changes users attempt to make to their browsers can be automatically reset, if access to the settings is not restricted or denied outright. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the browser hijacker to recover the affected browser.

As mentioned, Watch Movies Live has data tracking abilities, which is common for this type of application. It records users' browsing activity (URLs visited, pages viewed, search queries, etc.) and collects their personal information (IP addresses, geolocations and real-life details).

It is highly likely that this sensitive data will then be shared with third parties, seeking to misuse it for financial gain. Presence of data tracking content on devices can lead to serious privacy issues, financial losses and even identity theft.

To ensure browser and system integrity, as well as user safety, it is recommended to immediately remove all suspicious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins.

Threat Summary:

Name	Watch Movies Live
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab
Detection Names	Avast (Win32:Adware-gen [Adw]), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of Win32/WinWrapper.V Potentially Unwa), Fortinet (Riskware/WinWrapper), Malwarebytes (PUP.Optional.Spigot), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Browser Extension(s)	Watch Movies Live
Supposed Functionality	It supposedly provides easy access to movie streaming sites and other film-related content.
Promoted URL	search.watchmovieslivetab.app
Serving IP Address (search.watchmovieslivetab.app)	3.224.217.23
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.
Additional Information	Watch Movies Live is distributed with another browser hijacker called Hide My Searches.
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.

Utilitool, Search by Live PDF Converter, Daily Online Manuals and My Login Hub are a few examples of other browser hijackers. These apps appear legitimate and entice users into downloading/installing them with offers of various "useful" and "beneficial" functions. Rarely do the features actually work, in most cases - they are utterly nonoperational.

This extends to all PUAs - they look like genuine products, however they do not operate as advertised. Functionality is irrelevant, when the purpose of all unwanted content is to generate profit for their developers. PUAs are designed to modify browsers, run intrusive advertisement campaigns, cause redirects to untrustworthy/malicious sites and gather sensitive data.

How did Watch Movies Live install on my computer?

PUAs can be downloaded from "official" promotional webpages, but their most common proliferation method is via download/install setups of other software. "Bundling" is a term used to describe the false marketing method of pre-packing ordinary content with unwanted or malicious programs.

Rushed download/installation processes (e.g. skipped steps and sections, used pre-set options, etc.) - endanger devices with potential infiltrations and infections. Intrusive ads also spread PUAs, when they are clicked they can execute scripts to make such stealthy downloads/installations.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

It is recommended to research content, prior to downloading/installing it. Only official and verified download channels should be used, as opposed to untrustworthy sources, like - Peer-to-Peer sharing networks (BitTorrent, eMule, Gnutella, etc.), free file-hosting websites and other third party downloaders.

When downloading/installing, it is important to read terms, explore all available options, use the "Custom/Advanced" settings and opt-out from additional apps, tools, features and so on. Intrusive ads rarely look suspicious, however they redirect to various unreliable and questionable pages (e.g. adult-dating, pornography, gambling, etc.).

Should users experience adverts/redirects of this kind, they are urged to inspect the system and remove all dubious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins without delay. If your computer is already infected with Watch Movies Live, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.

Watch Movies Live browser hijacker installer set-up:

Watch Movies Live browser hijacker asking for various permissions:

Website promoting Watch Movies Live browser hijacker;

IMPORTANT NOTE! This deceptive site asks to enable web browser notifications:

Therefore, before commencing, perform these steps:

Google Chrome (PC):

• Click the Menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the screen
• Select "Settings", scroll down to the bottom and click "Advanced"
• Scroll down to the "Privacy and security" section, select "Content settings" and then "Notifications"
• Click three dots on the right hand side of each suspicious URL and click "Block" or "Remove" (if you click "Remove" and visit the malicious site once more, it will ask to enable notifications again)

Google Chrome (Android):

• Click on the Menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the screen and click "Settings"
• Scroll down, click on "Site settings" and then "Notifications"
• In the opened window, locate all suspicious URLs and click on them one-by-one
• Select "Notifications" in the "Permissions" section and set the toggle button to "OFF"

Mozilla Firefox:

• Click the Menu button (three bars) on the right upper corner of the screen
• Select "Options" and click on "Privacy & Security" in the toolbar on the left hand side of the screen
• Scroll down to the "Permissions" section and click the "Settings" button next to "Notifications"
• In the opened window, locate all suspicious URLs, click the drop-down menu and select "Block"

Internet Explorer:

• Click the Gear button on the right upper corner of the IE window
• Select "Internet options"
• Select the "Privacy" tab and click "Settings" under "Pop-up Blocker" section
• Select suspicious URLs under and remove them one by one by clicking the "Remove" button

Microsoft Edge:

• Click the menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the Edge window
• Scroll down, find and click "Settings"
• Scroll down again and click "View advanced settings"
• Click "Manage" under "Website permissions"
• Click the switch under each suspicious website

Safari (Mac):

• Click "Safari" button on the left upper corner of the screen and select "Preferences..."
• Select the "Websites" tab and then select "Notifications" section on the left pane
• Check for suspicious URLs and apply the "Deny" option for each

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Quick menu:

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

Watch Movies Live 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, "Watch Movies Live"), select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

After uninstalling the potentially unwanted applications (which cause browser redirects to the search.watchmovieslivetab.app website), scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.

Watch Movies Live browser hijacker removal from Internet browsers:

Video showing how to remove browser redirects:

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.watchmovieslivetab.app 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 "Watch Movies Live".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the search.watchmovieslivetab.app 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 "Watch Movies Live" and other recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons (e.g., "Hide My Searches"), 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, disable "Watch Movies Live" or "Hide My Searches", look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://search.watchmovieslivetab.app or hxxps://hidemysearches.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 look for "hxxp://search.watchmovieslivetab.app" and "hxxp://hidemysearches.com", 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.watchmovieslivetab.app 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 plugins from Mozilla Firefox:

Click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), select "Add-ons". Click on "Extensions" and remove "Watch Movies Live", as well as all other recently installed browser plug-ins (e.g., "Hide My Searches").

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 "Watch Movies Live" or "Hide My Searches", remove hxxp://search.watchmovieslivetab.app or hxxp://hidemysearches.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: "extensionControlled"
Set both results to "false" by either double-clicking each entry or clicking the button.

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with search.watchmovieslivetab.app 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.watchmovieslivetab.app 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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