How to remove the Insta Forms Finder unwanted app

What is Insta Forms Finder?

Insta Forms Finder is a browser hijacker which changes certain browser settings to hinstaformfinder.com, the address of a fake search engine. Browser hijackers also collect details relating to users' browsing activities. Note that users mostly download and install apps such as Insta Forms Finder (browser hijackers) inadvertently.

For this reason they are categorized as potentially unwanted applications (PUAs).

Usually, browser hijackers promote fake search engine addresses by changing browser settings such as the address of the homepage, default search engine and new tab. Insta Forms Finder sets them to hinstaformfinder.com.

Therefore, when users of a hijacked browser open the browser, a new tab or enter search queries into the URL bar, they are forced to visit hinstaformfinder.com. This is a fake search engine, since it redirects to search.yahoo.com and simply displays results generated by Yahoo. I.e., hinstaformfinder.com does not generate unique results.

Note that users who have a browser hijackers installed on their browsers and/operating systems cannot undo the changes made, unless they uninstall the app. Therefore, hinstaformfinder.com can be stopped from being opened only by removing Insta Forms Finder.

These apps should also be removed since they often collect data relating to users' browsing habits. Generally, they target IP addresses, entered search queries, addresses of visited pages, geolocations, etc. In some cases, they gather sensitive, personal details as well.

The developers misuse collected data to generate revenue. For example, they may sell it to third parties (potentially, cyber criminals). Therefore, users of hijacked browsers can experience problems relating to online privacy and browsing safety or even become victims of identity theft.

Threat Summary:

Name	Insta Forms Finder
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab.
Detection Names	Avast (Win32:Adware-gen [Adw]), AVG (Win32:Adware-gen [Adw]), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of Win32/WinWrapper.V Potentially Unwanted), Kaspersky (Not-a-virus:HEUR:Downloader.Win32.WinWrapper.gen), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Browser Extension(s)	Insta Forms Finder
Supposed Functionality	Improved web browsing experience.
Promoted URL	hinstaformfinder.com
Serving IP Address (hinstaformfinder.com)	3.222.131.109
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.

Some more examples of apps that are designed to promote fake search engines are My Apps Center, One Search Pro and Package Tracker Guru. Typically, they are advertised as useful, legitimate apps, which supposedly improve the browsing experience, include various features, provide quick access to certain web pages, etc.

In fact, browser hijackers are useless and designed only to generate revenue for the developers.

How did Insta Forms Finder install on my computer?

Users do not often download or install PUAs intentionally. This usually happens when they click deceptive ads that execute certain scripts, or when the apps are distributed by including them into the download/installation set-ups of other programs. This distribution method is known as "bundling".

In most cases, PUAs are included as 'additional offers' in "Advanced", "Custom", "Manual" or other similar settings. Many users often download and install programs without checking and changing these settings, thereby agreeing by default with offers to download and install PUAs.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

Commonly, unwanted apps are distributed through third party downloaders, installers, Peer-to-Peer networks (e.g., torrent clients, eMule), unofficial pages, etc. Therefore, do not download or install software or files through these means. The safest way to download files and programs is through official pages and direct links.

Check all "Advanced", "Custom", and "Manual" settings and decline offers to download or install additional, unwanted software. Do not click intrusive advertisements that are displayed on dubious pages, since they can open untrusted pages. In some cases, they can cause unwanted downloads and installations.

Remove any extensions, add-ons and plug-ins installed on the browser. Also remove programs of this kind that are installed on the operating system. If your computer is already infected with Insta Forms Finder, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.

hinstaformfinder.com redirects to search.yahoo.com (GIF):

Insta Forms Finder browser hijacker installer set-up:

Website promoting Insta Forms Finder browser hijacker:

Instant automatic malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ 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 Insta Forms Finder?
• STEP 1. Uninstall Insta Forms Finder application using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove hinstaformfinder.com redirect from Internet Explorer.
• STEP 3. Remove Insta Forms Finder browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove hinstaformfinder.com homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 5. Remove hinstaformfinder.com redirect from Safari.
• STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.

Insta Forms Finder 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, "Insta Forms Finder"), select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

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

Insta Forms Finder 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://hinstaformfinder.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 "Insta Forms Finder".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the hinstaformfinder.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 "Insta Forms Finder" 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 "Insta Forms Finder", look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://www.hinstaformfinder.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 "hinstaformfinder.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 hinstaformfinder.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 "Insta Forms Finder", 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 "Insta Forms Finder", remove hxxp://hinstaformfinder.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 hinstaformfinder.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 hinstaformfinder.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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