Get Rid of Kickay (Browser Hijacker)

What is Kickay? And how does it function?

Kickay is a Google Chrome browser extension which has caught cyber security’s attention as it behaves like a browser hijacker. It described itself as “Find all the few clicks with us”. If installed, Kickay causes any search queries entered unto the address bar from certain search engines to be redirected through other sites and eventually to Yahoo.com which generates the search results. And when you first open the browser, this suspicious browser extension will pull up a site at http://wethma.com/?keyword= and then redirects users to Yahoo. It then redirects all the searches made to http://vouseat.webcam/?sid=[sid]&aid=[aid]&keyword=[keyword] and then redirects them to search.yahoo.com.
Kickay extension’s purpose is to participate in Yahoo’s affiliate program and generate revenue from online advertising. And to achieve that goal, its developers track all its users’ browsing information such as IP address, browser history, search queries, websites they frequently visit, and so on. The information collected is analyzed to help create targeted and customized ads and deliver them to users.
So if you don’t want Kickay to continue its shady data tracking, you must get rid of it before it gets out of hand and cause you your security and privacy. Keep in mind that it isn’t enough to uninstall it but you also have to remove its related files. The complete removal instructions will be discussed later on.
How is Kickay disseminated online?
Kickay’s official website is currently not working and the extension is no longer available at the Chrome Web Store. Therefore, it is safe to say that its developers continue to distribute it through other shady distribution methods one of which is through software bundles. This kind of technique takes advantage of inattentive users who only selected the quick setup instead of the Custom or Advanced setup. For future reference, make sure that when you install any kind of freeware or shareware, you must always opt for the Custom or Advanced installation method.
Follow the long but detailed process below to remove the Kickay Extension from your browser and computer.
Step 1: Open your Google Chrome browser and click the wrench icon. And from the drop-down menu click on Tools and then select Extensions.

Step 2: Under the Extensions tab, select Kickay Extension and other suspicious browser extensions related to it and then click on the Trash icon.

Step 3: Click on Remove button from the confirmation dialog box.

Step 4: Reset Google Chrome. To do that, click the three stripes icon located at the upper-right corner of your screen. And then select Settings.

Step 5: under Settings, look for Show advanced settings at the bottom of the page and click on it.
Step 6: Then click on the Reset browser settings button.

Step 7: After that, a dialog box pops up, click the Reset button to Reset Chrome.

Step 8: After you reset Chrome, enable the Phishing and Malware Protection in Chrome to prevent browser hijackers like Kickay Extension from infecting your computer again in the future. To do that, click Settings once again.

Step 9: Select the Show advanced settings again.

Step 10: Go to the Privacy section and check the Enable phishing and malware protection option.

Step 11: Restart Chrome and tap the Win + R keys to open Run and then type in appwiz.cpl to open Control Panel to uninstall any suspicious program related to the browser hijacker.
Step 12: Look for Kickay under the list of installed programs. Once you’ve found it, uninstall it.

Step 13: Close the Control Panel and tap the Win + E keys to open File Explorer. Navigate to the following directories and look for the adware installer like the software bundle it came with as well as other suspicious files and delete them.

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

Step 14: Close the File Explorer and empty your Recycle Bin.
Follow the advanced steps below to completely remove Kickay and its residues from your computer.
Perform a full system scan using SpyRemover Pro. To do so, follow these steps:

Turn on your computer. If it’s already on, you have to reboot
After that, the BIOSscreen 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.

To navigate the Advanced Optionuse the arrow keys and select Safe Mode with Networking then hit
Windows will now load the SafeMode with Networking.
Press and hold both R key and Windows key.

If done correctly, the Windows Run Boxwill show up.
Type in explorer http://www.fixmypcfree.com/install/spyremoverpro

A single space must be in between explorer and http. Click OK.

A dialog box will be displayed by Internet Explorer. Click Run to begin downloading the program. Installation will start automatically once download is done.