How to Remove Hoho Search (Uninstall Guide)

Suddenly Hoho Search took over your homepage and you cannot remove it.

No, there’s nothing funny about the Hoho Search virus. And if you’re unlucky enough to catch it, you’ll certainly not feel like laughing when you surf the Web. Hoho Search is nothing but a troublesome browser hijacker with a fancy name. It’s incredibly annoying, very aggressive and it takes over your entire Internet experience in a heartbeat. Remember, you’re dealing with a cyber infection. There is simply no plausible scenario in which keeping Hoho Search on board doesn’t put you in danger. The one concern for this program is to generate as much web traffic as possible. This is how hackers gain profit and this is what makes Hoho Search so unreliable. Once your machine gets infected, Hoho Search firstly goes after your browsers. Yes, all of them. As we mentioned, this thing is very dangerous. You will notice that the virus has sneakily replaced both your default search engine and default browser homepage with its own highly questionable domain. Of course, your permission was not required. Now you’re forced to use the hijacker’s search engine every single time you surf the Web. As we mentioned, though, Hoho Search only generates sponsored web links. By clicking a corrupted link disguised as an “accurate” search result, you’re practically infecting your own machine even further. Therefore, you have to stay away from all potentially malicious links this nasty hijacker continually forces on you. That includes search results, software updates, various pop-ups in various shapes, etc. The parasite might even install some additional toolbars (again, without your permission) which are just as unreliable as anything else Hoho Search brings upon you. Despite the fact this thing’s developers try to present it as a perfectly safe search engine, you know better than to trust hackers. Or at least you should. This infection was never really supposed to be beneficial for you; it was only supposed to help crooks gain dubious revenue online. And it’s doing a pretty good job in that department. Keep in mind that as long as your machine is infected, you’re constantly one click away from malware. The more time Hoho Search manages to spend on board, the bigger the damage it could cause you. The virus also significantly slows down the PC speed and even creates Internet connection issues. As if that wasn’t enough, Hoho Search also spies on your browsing-related activities and sends some private data straight into the greedy hands of hackers. All in all, this infection doesn’t give you a single reason to keep it on your computer system. It does give you plenty of reasons to get rid of it for good.

Remove Hoho Search

How did I get infected with?

One thing you should know about infections – they are sneaky. More often than not, parasites travel the Web via lies and deceit so not only do you end up infected, but you also remain completely oblivious to the fact your machine is no longer virus-free. You see why this is dangerous, don’t you? Hijackers aren’t even among the most virulent infections out there and yet they cause harm; you could fall victim to some much more troublesome programs such as Trojans and ransomware. One of the most popular infiltration methods is called freeware/shareware bundling. It provides hackers a quick, easy way to compromise your PC in silence. To prevent it, you have to watch out for infections every time you download software. Especially if it comes bundled and especially if it comes for free. Opting for the Custom or Advanced option could help you protect your machine even though it will take more time than clicking the “I accept” button. Rushing is what brought to you Hoho Search in the first place and rushing might result in even more serious damage. Avoid unverified freeware/shareware bundles and always take your time in the installation process. This might save you much more time and energy in the long run.

Why is this dangerous?

As you could imagine, Hoho Search has to be uninstall the minute you encounter its unwanted presence. The virus starts wreaking havoc immediately and goes out of hand in no time. In addition, it serves as a back door to malware, disturbs you on a daily basis and modifies your browser settings behind your back. Long story short, Hoho Search doesn’t belong on your system. Its malicious browser extension (or add-on) works just fine with Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer. That means you will have to use the hijacker’s search engine practically all the time. Make sure you avoid clicking ANYTHING displayed by the virus as it’s simply unreliable. Apart from sponsored (and potentially very harmful) web links, this program has nothing to offer. It also poses the immense danger of identity theft because once your computer gets infected, your private life online isn’t private anymore. To uninstall this utter nuisance manually, please follow the detailed removal guide that you will find down below.

If you perform exactly the steps below you should be able to remove the Hoho Search infection. Please, follow the procedures in the exact order. Please, consider to print this guide or have another computer at your disposal. You will NOT need any USB sticks or CDs.

The Hoho Search adware is specifically designed to make money. It generates web traffic, collects sales leads for other dubious sites, and will display advertisements and sponsored links within your web browser.

STEP 1: Uninstall Hoho Search from Add\Remove Programs

STEP 2: Clean Hoho Search from Chrome Firefox or Internet Explorer

STEP 3: Permanently Remove Hoho Search leftovers from the System

Simultaneously press the Windows Logo Button and then “R” to open the Run Command Window

run command

 

Type “regedit

regedit

 

navigate to HKCU\software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main

Modify the string with a value data and set it to google.com for example.

STEP 2 : Remove Hoho Search homepage from Chrome, Firefox and IE

  • Open Google Chrome

  • In the Main Menu, select Tools then Extensions
  • Remove the Hoho Search by clicking on the little recycle bin
  • Reset Google Chrome by Deleting the current user to make sure nothing is left behind

disable Hoho Search from chrome

  • Open Mozilla Firefox

  • Press simultaneously Ctrl+Shift+A
  • Disable the unwanted Extension
  • Go to Help
  • Then Troubleshoot information
  • Click on Reset Firefox

remove Hoho Search from firefox

  • Open Internet Explorer

  • On the Upper Right Corner Click on the Gear Icon
  • Click on Internet options
  • go to Toolbars and Extensions and disable the unknown extensions
  • Select the Advanced tab and click on Reset

remove Hoho Search from ie

  • Restart Internet Explorer

To make sure manual removal is successful, we recommend to use a free scanner of any professional antimalware program to identify possible registry leftovers or temporary files.

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