How to remove the MyPlayCity browser hijacker?

What is MyPlayCity?

MyPlayCity is a browser hijacker that is designed to promote the myplaycity.com address, a fake search engine by making certain changes in browser settings and read browsing-related data. In most cases users download and install browser hijackers unintentionally, therefore, MyPlayCity (and other apps of this type) is categorized as potentially unwanted application (PUA).

Typically, when users have a browser hijacker installed on a browser and/or the operating system they are forced to visit a certain address when they open a browser, new tab and/or enter search queries into URL bar. It is because apps of this type are designed to assign that address as the address of a homepage, new tab and/or default search engine.

MyPlayCity changes these browser settings to myplaycity.com - a fake search engine that provides results generated by Bing, it redirects users to bing.com. Usually, browser hijackers do not allow users to undo the changes that were made by them (remove the address of fake search engine from the aforementioned settings) unless users uninstall them.

It means that in order to be able to remove myplaycity.com from settings users have to uninstall MyPlayCity first. Furthermore, most browser hijackers are designed to gather IP addresses, entered search queries, URLs of visited websites, geolocation, and other browsing-related data.

Although, there are browser hijackers that can access personal, sensitive details as well. There is always a possibility that collected data could be sold to third parties (potentially cyber criminals) or misused to generate revenue in other ways.

This could cause users problems related to web browsing safety, online privacy, some users may even become victims of identity theft.

Threat Summary:

Name	MyPlayCity
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab
Browser Extension(s)	MyPlayCity
Supposed Functionality	Improved browsing experience
Promoted URL	myplaycity.com
Serving IP Address (myplaycity.com)	174.127.99.1
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.

A couple of examples of other apps that are classified as browser hijackers too are UltraStreamSearch, BestMusicSearch and YourStreamSearch. To summarize, apps of this type are designed only to generate revenue for their developers - they are useless to their presence could be the culprit of various issues.

How did MyPlayCity install on my computer?

Sometimes PUAs can be downloaded and/or installed by clicking deceptive advertisements that are designed to execute certain scripts. However, more often they get downloaded and/or installed by users during download and/or installation processes of other programs.

More precisely, when they are included in download and/or installation setups of those programs and users do not decline offers to download and/or install them. In most cases such offers can be declined by unticking certain checkboxes or via "Custom", "Advanced" and other similar settings that are available in setups. This distribution method for PUAs is known as "bundling".

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Software should not be downloaded via third party downloaders, Peer-to-Peer networks like eMule, torrent clients, from unofficial pages, and so on, or installed via third party installers. It is recommended to download files and programs only from official websites and via direct download links.

Furthermore, setups that include checkboxes, settings like "Custom", "Advanced" should be checked for offers to download or install unwanted apps. Ads that appear on shady pages should not be trusted - they tend to be designed to open other untrustworthy sites or even download, install unwanted apps.

All unwanted extensions, plug-ins or add-ons that are installed on a browser and programs of this kind that are installed on a computer should be removed. If your computer is already infected with MyPlayCity, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.

Myplaycity.com redirects to bing.com (GIF):

Notification saying that MyPlayCity can read and change certain data:

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

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

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

MyPlayCity browser hijacker removal from Internet browsers:

Video showing how to remove browser redirects:

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 "MyPlayCity" 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 "MyPlayCity", look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://www.myplaycity.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 "myplaycity.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 myplaycity.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 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 "MyPlayCity", 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 "MyPlayCity", remove hxxp://myplaycity.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 myplaycity.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 myplaycity.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.

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://myplaycity.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 "MyPlayCity".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the myplaycity.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.

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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