How to remove the WinkiSearch browser hijacker

What is WinkiSearch?

The WinkiSearch browser hijacker promotes winki-search.com (a fake search engine) by changing certain browser settings. It also gathers browsing-related information. Note that users often download and install browser hijackers inadvertently and, for this reason, they are classified as potentially unwanted applications (PUAs).

Generally, browser hijackers promote fake search engine addresses by changing certain browser settings: homepage, address of a new tab and default search engine. After installation, WinkiSearch assigns them to winki-search.com.

Therefore, users who have this app installed on their browsers are forced to visit winki-search.com when they open a browser, new tab or enter search queries into the URL bar. Note that winki-search.com is a fake search engine, since it redirects to search.yahoo.com and simply displays results generated by Yahoo.

To remove winki-search.com from browser settings, WinkiSearch must first be uninstalled, otherwise this app will prevent any changes. As mentioned, WinkiSearch collects information relating to users' browsing habits. These apps target IP addresses, geolocations, entered search queries, addresses of opened/visited sites, etc.

In some cases, browser hijackers are capable of accessing and recording sensitive information. The developers misuse collected data to generate revenue. For example, they might sell it to third parties (potentially, cyber criminals). This can cause problems relating to online privacy and browsing safety, and it is possible that users will even become victims of identity theft.

Threat Summary:

Name	WinkiSearch
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab.
Browser Extension(s)	WinkiSearch
Supposed Functionality	Improved web browsing experience.
Promoted URL	winki-search.com
Serving IP Address (winki-search.com)	184.168.221.61
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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In most cases, browser hijackers promote addresses of fake search engines and collect certain data. PUAs are advertised as useful and legitimate, and supposedly improve the browsing experience, include various features, provide quick access to web pages and services, and are useful in other ways.

In fact, they do not function as promised and are designed only to generate revenue for the developers. More examples of PUAs of this type are ShortcutTab, Super PDF Convert Tab, and Checking My Email.

How did WinkiSearch install on my computer?

Users often download and install browser hijackers (and other PUAs) with other programs. They are included into the set-ups as 'additional offers'. Many users download and install their programs without checking and changing "Custom", "Advanced" and other settings, and they fail to decline offers to download or install PUAs.

This potentially unwanted software distribution method is known as "bundling". PUAs also infiltrate by clicking deceptive ads that execute certain scripts.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

You are advised to download programs and files only from official websites, and via direct links. Avoid third party downloaders/installers, Peer-to-Peer networks (torrent clients, eMule), and unofficial pages. Check all "Custom" and "Advanced" settings and decline offers to download/install PUAs.

Do not click advertisements on web pages relating to gambling, pornography, adult dating, or other dubious sites, since the can open other malicious pages and cause unwanted downloads and installations of unwanted software.

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

winki-search.com redirects to search.yahoo.com (GIF):

Notification stating that WinkiSearch can read and change certain data:

Websites promoting WinkiSearch browser hijacker:

IMPORTANT NOTE! At least one of these sites 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 WinkiSearch?
• STEP 1. Uninstall WinkiSearch application using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove winki-search.com redirect from Internet Explorer.
• STEP 3. Remove WinkiSearch browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove winki-search.com homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 5. Remove winki-search.com redirect from Safari.
• STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.

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

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

WinkiSearch 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://winki-search.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 "WinkiSearch".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the winki-search.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 "WinkiSearch" 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 "WinkiSearch", look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://www.winki-search.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 "winki-search.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 winki-search.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 "WinkiSearch", 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 "WinkiSearch", remove hxxp://winki-search.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 winki-search.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 winki-search.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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