How to Remove ByteFence Browser Hijacker

What Is ByteFence?

ByteFence is a legitimate anti-malware product, however if you get it unintentionally, with Java update or while installing some software, on top of malware scanner you’ll get a browser hijacker that sets start page and default search in browsers to search.bytefence.com or search.yahoo.com. Another app that usually accompanies ByteFence in these cases is Chromium browser that is oriented mostly towards computer specialists and enthusiasts, while non-tech savvy users will be better off with Chrome or other popular web-browsers. To get rid of ByteFence, browser hijacker and Chromium follow the directions on this page.

How to Remove ByteFence Hijacker

The simplest method to uninstall ByteFence hijacker is to run an anti-malware program capable of detecting browser hijackers in general and ByteFence hijacker in particular. Norton Security is one of such tools; it finds and removes all files, folders and registry entries left by ByteFence hijacker.

Download SpyHunter

Other software that may be able to get rid of ByteFence hijacker:

Norton (Windows, macOS, iOS, Android) The link may not work correctly if your country is currently under sanctions.

You can also try to remove ByteFence hijacker by hand using the following instructions.

Remove ByteFence Hijacker, ByteFence Anti-Malware and Chromium From Programs and Features:

Go to Programs and Features, uninstall ByteFence Module and Search Provided by Yahoo if you can find it. Uninstall also ByteFence Anti-Malware and Chromium if you have no need in them.

Windows XP:

1. Click Start.
2. In the Start menu select Settings => Control Panel.
3. Find and click Add or Remove Programs.
4. Look for ByteFence Module in the list. If you find the app, highlight it.
5. Click Remove.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for other unwanted programs.

Windows Vista:

1. Click Start.
2. In the Start menu select Control Panel.
3. Find and click Uninstall a program.
4. Look for ByteFence Module in the list. If you find the app, highlight it.
5. Click Uninstall.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for other unwanted programs.

Windows 7:

1. Click Start.
2. In the Start menu select Control Panel.
3. Find and select Programs and Features or Uninstall a program.
4. Look for ByteFence Module in the list. If you find the app, highlight it.
5. Click Uninstall.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for other unwanted programs.

Windows 8 / Windows 8.1:

1. Press and hold Windows key and hit X key.
2. Select Programs and Features from the menu.
3. Look for ByteFence Module in the list. If you find the app, highlight it.
4. Click Uninstall.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for other unwanted programs.

Windows 10:

1. Press and hold Windows key and hit X key.
2. Select Programs and Features from the menu.
3. Look for ByteFence Module in the list. If you find the app, highlight it.
4. Click Uninstall.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for other unwanted programs.

Remove ByteFence Hijacker From Browsers:

To get rid of ByteFence hijacker, either reset browser settings or set new tab page and default search provider.

Reset Google Chrome Settings:

Note: This will disable your extensions and themes, clear cookies and site data, as well as change content settings, start page, new tab page and search engine to default.

1. Open a new tab.
2. Copy and paste into the address bar: chrome://settings/resetProfileSettings
3. Press Enter.
4. In the dialog box click Reset.

Alternative Way to Get Rid of ByteFence Hijacker in Google Chrome:

1. Click on three dots menu button at the top right corner of the window.
2. Select More tools ⇒ Extensions.
3. To remove an extension, click on a trashcan to the right of it.
4. Click Remove in the dialog box.
5. Right-click the address bar and select Edit search engines….
6. Click on three dots button next to the search provider you want and select Make default.
7. Click on three dots button next to hijacker search engine and select Remove from list.
8. Click on back arrow at the top of the page (near Manage search engines).
9. Under On startup section select Open the New Tab page.
10. Scroll to the top. Under Appearance section enable Show Home button setting.
11. Clear the textfield of the existing address. Put the one you want or select New Tab page.
12. Close Settings tab.

Note: If you cannot access the Extensions page, click on the top left corner of Chrome window and open Task Manager. End processes for any unfamiliar extensions that are running. Then go to the Extensions page and delete these extensions.
Alternatively, go to %LocalAppData%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions (just copy that path and paste into the address bar of Windows Explorer/File Explorer). Delete all folders within (that will remove all your installed extensions) or search the Internet for the folders’ names to figure out which extension compares to which folder and delete suspicious ones.

Reset Mozilla Firefox Settings:

Note: Your extensions and themes, among other things, will get deleted.

1. Click on menu button .
2. Click on help button and select Troubleshooting Information.
3. Click Refresh Firefox… in the top-right corner.
4. In the dialog box click Refresh Firefox.

Alternative Way to Get Rid of ByteFence Hijacker in Mozilla Firefox:

1. Click on the search icon in the search bar and click Change Search Settings.
2. Select search engine you want from the drop-down menu.
3. Highlight the hijacker search engine in the table below and click Remove.
4. Go to General tab.
5. Under Startup section click Restore to Default button.

Reset Internet Explorer Settings:

Note: This will remove most of your saved browser data, including extensions, passwords and the majority of browser settings.

1. Click Tools button in the top-right corner.
2. Select Internet options.
3. Go to Advanced tab.
4. Click Reset… button.
5. Put checkmark in Delete personal settings checkbox.
6. Click Reset.

Alternative Way to Get Rid of ByteFence Hijacker in Internet Explorer:

1. Click Tools button in the top-right corner.
2. Select Manage add-ons.
3. Go to Search Providers tab.
4. Right-click the search engine you want and click Set as default.
5. Right-click the hijacker search engine and click Remove.
6. Click Close.
7. Click Tools button .
8. Select Internet options.
9. Under Home page section click Use new tab or enter the URL you want.
10. Click OK.

Reset Opera Settings:

Note: This will delete all saved data including bookmarks and passwords and return the browser to freshly installed state.

1. Exit Opera browser.
2. Open File Explorer.
3. Go to C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Opera\Opera, where username is the name of your Windows account.
4. Find and delete Operapref.ini file.

Alternative Way to Get Rid of ByteFence Hijacker in Opera:

1. Click on the top-left corner, select Settings.
2. In the Search section select one of the search engines from the list.
3. In the On startup section select Open the start page.
4. Click OK.

How to Protect Your PC From ByteFence Hijacker and Other Browser Hijackers

• Get a powerful anti-malware software, capable of detecting and eliminating PUPs. Having several on-demand scanners would be a good idea too.
• Keep Windows firewall enabled or get a third-party one.
• Keep your OS, browsers and security utilities updated. Malware creators find new browser and OS vulnerabilities to exploit all the time. Software writers, in turn, release patches and updates to get rid of the known vulnerabilities and lesser the chance of malware penetration. Antivirus program’s signature databases get updated every day and even more often to include new virus signatures.
• Adjust your browsers’ settings to block pop-ups and to load plug-ins only when clicked.
• Download and use Adblock, Adblock Plus, uBlock or one of the similar trustworthy extensions for blocking third-party advertisements on web-sites.
• Don’t just click on any link you see while browsing the web. That applies particularly to links in comments, on forums, or in instant messengers. Pretty often these are spam links. Sometimes they are used for increasing the traffic to websites, but often enough they will land you on pages that will try to execute a malicious code and infect your computer. Links from your friends are suspect too: the person who shares a cute video might not know that the page contains threatening script.
• Don’t download software from unverified web-sites. You can easily download a trojan (malware that pretends to be a useful application); or some unwanted programs could get installed along with the app.
• When installing freeware or shareware, be sensible and don’t rush through the process. Choose Custom or Advanced installation mode, look for checkboxes that ask for your permission to install third-party apps and uncheck them, read End User Licence Agreement to make sure nothing else is going to get installed. You can make exceptions for the apps you know and trust, of course. If declining from installing unwanted programs is not possible, we advise you to cancel the installation completely.