How to uninstall the Maps Assist browser hijacker

What is Maps Assist?

The Maps Assist application supposedly allows users to search for maps, however, it actually changes certain browser settings to promote mapsassist.com (a fake search engine). Therefore, Maps Assist is classified as a browser hijacker. These apps also collect various user-system information.

Many users tend to download and install browser hijackers inadvertently, and for this reason they are classified as potentially unwanted applications (PUAs).

Generally, browser hijackers promote the addresses of fake search engines by assigning them to the homepage, new tab and default search engine URLs. Maps Assist assigns the settings to mapsassist.com, and thus users are forced to visit mapsassist.com when they open a browser, new tab or enter search queries into the URL bar.

In most cases, users who wish to remove the address of the fake search engine from browser settings must uninstall the browser hijacker that originally assigned it (browser hijackers do not allow users to make changes to the settings as long as they are installed).

In this case, mapsassist.com can be stopped from being opened on certain occasions by uninstalling Maps Assist. Note that mapsassist.com redirects users to search.yahoo.com and, therefore, provides results generated by the Yahoo search engine. This renders mapsassist.com redundant and useless.

Furthermore, most browser hijackers gather browsing-related information. For example, addresses of visited websites, entered search queries, geolocations, IP addresses, and other browsing data, however, some of these apps record personal, sensitive information as well.

Developers of PUAs sell the information to third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) who misuse in other ways. Therefore, browser hijackers such as Maps Assist and other PUAs should never be downloaded or installed, since users risk experiencing problems relating to privacy, browsing safety or they might even become victims of identity theft.

Threat Summary:

Name	Maps Assist
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab.
Browser Extension(s)	Maps Assist
Supposed Functionality	Quick access to various maps.
Promoted URL	mapsassist.com
Serving IP Address (mapsassist.com)	172.64.140.23
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.
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.
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SearchZilla, Twisted Search and Booster Search are PUAs that are also classified as browser hijackers. Unfortunately, there are many other apps of this type on the internet, and the number is growing daily. Generally, browser hijackers promote fake search engines and/or collect user-system information.

They deliver no useful features or any other value, and simply cause problems. Therefore, never download or install these PUAs.

How did Maps Assist install on my computer?

Potentially unwanted applications are distributed by including them into the download/installation set-ups of other (usually free) programs. This distribution method is known as "bundling". These PUAs are usually presented as "additional offers" and can be found in "Custom", "Advanced" or other settings of the set-ups.

Many users download and install software without checking these settings, thereby often agreeing by default with offers to download and install additionally-included apps. In some cases, unwanted downloads and installations are caused by clicking deceptive ads that execute certain scripts (this cannot happen, unless the deceptive ads are clicked).

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

Software and files should be downloaded through official, trustworthy websites and direct download links. Other sources and tools such as third party downloaders, installers, Peer-to-Peer networks (for example, torrent clients, eMule), unofficial websites should not be trusted.

Unwanted downloads and installations can be prevented by checking settings such as "Custom" and "Advanced" of the download/installation setups and declining offers to download or install additionally-included apps.

Do not click intrusive advertisements, since they often cause redirects to potentially malicious websites or download/installations of unwanted applications. Typically, ads of this kind are displayed on dubious websites, however, they might also appear on legitimate sites.

Remove any unwanted, suspicious extensions, plug-ins, and add-ons installed on the browser, and programs of this kind installed on the computer, and remove them immediately. If your computer is already infected with Maps Assist, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.

Notification stating that Maps Assist can read and change various data on Chrome:

 Notification stating that Maps Assist can access various data on Firefox:

Website promoting Maps Assist browser hijacker:

IMPORTANT NOTE! This website asks for a permission 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 Maps Assist?
• STEP 1. Uninstall Maps Assist application using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove mapsassist.com redirect from Internet Explorer.
• STEP 3. Remove Maps Assist browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove mapsassist.com homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 5. Remove mapsassist.com redirect from Safari.
• STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.

Maps Assist 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, "Maps Assist"), select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

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

Maps Assist 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://mapsassist.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 "Maps Assist".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the mapsassist.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 "Maps Assist" 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, disable "Maps Assist", look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://www.mapsassist.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 "mapsassist.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 mapsassist.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 "Maps Assist", 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 "Maps Assist", remove hxxp://mapsassist.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 mapsassist.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 mapsassist.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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