What is Launchpage.org? And how does it function?

Launchpage.org is yet another browser extension created by Mindspark Interactive that functions as a search engine. It claims to enhance users’ browsing experience by giving them improved search results as they browse the internet. It also provides quick access links to several popular websites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google Maps, YouTube, Gmail, Amazon and more. This may appear like a legitimate-looking search engine but it’s not – it’s actually a browser hijacker and a potentially unwanted program designed to modify the default settings in your browser without your permission. The deceptive appearance of this browser hijacker has tricked many users into installing it in their browsers.
If installed, Launchpage.org it inputs http://launchpage.org as the new default homepage, search provider, and new tab page. After these changes, the next time you pull up your browser, it will display Launchpage.org instead of your usual homepage. Aside from the newly set homepage, search provider, and new tab page, you will also start seeing a bunch of ads such as banners, in-text links and pop-ups no matter what website you visit. This is because all these sponsored content is from third parties affiliated with Launchpage.org. Some of these ads can get really intrusive and could block content on the website you’re visiting. What’s even bothering is that they could also take you to suspicious web pages that might harm your computer or obtain your personal information. What’s even worse is that it could also monitor all your browsing habits in order to harvest information. The harvested information can either be personal or non-personally identifiable ones like browsing history, websites you visit often, ads clicked, search queries and more. Thus, nothing good can come from using Launchpage.org so you need to delete it from your browser as soon as possible.
How does Launchpage.org spread online?
As other browser hijackers, Launchpage.org spread via software bundles along with other unknown and unwanted programs. Needless to say, when you install this kind of software package, there’s a big possibility that you could also end up installing the extra programs in the bundle instead of just the main one. If you don’t want that happening, you must use the Custom or Advanced setup when installing software bundles – with this recommended setup, you have the option to get rid of any add-ons in the package before you proceed with the installation.
Follow the removal guide prepared below to ensure the successful removal of Launchpage.org from your computer.
Step 1: The first thing you have to do to get rid of Launchpage.org from your computer is to close all the affected browsers manually. If you find it hard to do so, you can close them using the Task Manager just tap on Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
Step 2: Once you’ve pulled up the Task Manager, go to the Processes tab and look for the affected browser’s process and end it.
Step 3: Reset all your browsers to default to their default state.
Internet Explorer

1. Launch Internet Explorer.
2. Tap Alt + T and select Internet options.
3. Click the General tab and then overwrite the URL under the homepage section.
4. Click OK to save the changes.
5. Now switch to the Advanced tab and click the Reset button.
6. Then check the box for “Delete personal settings” and then click Reset again.

Google Chrome

1. Launch Google Chrome, press Alt + F, move to More tools, and click Extensions.
2. Look for Launchpage.org or any other unwanted add-ons, click the Recycle Bin button, and choose Remove.
3. Restart Google Chrome, then tap Alt + F, and select Settings.
4. Navigate to the On Startup section at the bottom.
5. Click on Advanced.
6. After that, click the Reset button to reset Google Chrome.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Open the browser and tap Ctrl + Shift + A to access the Add-ons Manager.
2. In the Extensions menu Remove the unwanted extension.
3. Restart the browser and tap keys Alt + T.
4. Select Options and then move to the General menu.
5. Overwrite the URL in the Home Page section.
6. Tap Alt + H to access Help.
7. Next, select “Troubleshooting information” and click “Refresh Firefox” at the top of the page.
8. Now click “Refresh Firefox” again to confirm the reset.

Step 4: Open Control Panel by pressing the Windows key + R, then type in appwiz.cpl and then click OK or press Enter.

Step 5: Look for Launchpage.org among the list of installed programs and any other suspicious program could be affiliated to it and then Uninstall it.

Step 6: Hold down Windows + E keys simultaneously to open File Explorer.
Step 7: Navigate to the following directories and look for suspicious files related to Launchpage.org and delete it/them.

• %USERPROFILE%\Downloads
• %USERPROFILE%\Desktop
• %TEMP%

Step 8: Close the File Explorer.
Step 9: Empty the Recycle Bin.
Getting rid of Launchpage.org browser hijacker won’t be enough so you have to follow the advanced removal guide prepared below.
Perform a full system scan using [product-code]. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Turn on your computer. If it’s already on, you have to reboot
2. After that, the BIOS screen will be displayed, but if Windows pops up instead, reboot your computer and try again. Once you’re on the BIOS screen, repeat pressing F8, by doing so the Advanced Option shows up.

3. To navigate the Advanced Option use the arrow keys and select Safe Mode with Networking then hit
4. Windows will now load the Safe Mode with Networking.
5. Press and hold both R key and Windows key.

6. If done correctly, the Windows Run Box will show up.
7. Type in the URL address, [product-url] in the Run dialog box and then tap Enter or click OK.
8. After that, it will download the program. Wait for the download to finish and then open the launcher to install the program.
9. Once the installation process is completed, run [product-code] to perform a full system scan.

10. After the scan is completed click the “Fix, Clean & Optimize Now”button.