How to Remove Search.hquckspeedcheck.com (Browser Hijacker/PUP)

What is Search.hquickspeedcheck.com? And how does it function?

Search.hquickspeedcheck.com is a browser extension developed by Polarity Technologies Ltd. that supposedly functions as an application that can help users test their internet connection speed. In addition to that functionality, it also offers a search engine and quick access links to news and sites like Amazon, Gmail, Yahoo, Facebook, as well as information about the local time and weather updates and so on.
As soon as you install this dubious browser extension, every time you browse the internet, you start getting redirected to Search.hquickspeedcheck.com. This is because, the moment you install it, it will change the default settings of your browser without your permission. Thus, your browser’s New tab page, home page and search provider are now set to Search.hquickspeedcheck.com. Because of such trait, security experts dubbed this browser extension as a browser hijacker. This isn’t really surprising, considering the fact that it is created by a company known to spawn dozens of browser hijackers. What’s more is that you will also start seeing all kinds of sponsored content – from pop-ups, in-text links, banners, and so on. These sponsored contents are shown on every website you visit, some of which can get pretty intrusive as you will have a hard time getting rid of them. As a result, it will overload your CPU and RAM and you’ll be forced to restart your computer. And note that some of these ads could also redirect you to suspicious websites that might be harmful to your computer – as if that doesn’t enough, this browser hijacker is also known to collect information about its users which include browsing history, search queries, ads clicked, websites visited and many more. The information obtained may be shared to its affiliated sites and may be used to generate more customized and personalized content to increase its profit via pay-per-click marketing.
How is Search.hquickspeedcheck.com distributed over the web?
Like other browser hijackers created by Polarity Technologies Ltd., Search.hquickspeedcheck.com is distributed via software bundles found on free sharing sites. Along with other unwanted programs, Search.hquickspeedcheck.com is added as one of the optional components in a software bundle that could end up getting installed when you don’t use the Custom or Advanced setup. So the next time you install this kind of software package, make sure to use the aforementioned setup instead of the quick or standard one.
To get rid of Search.hquickspeedcheck.com from your computer, refer to the instructions laid out below.
Step 1: The first thing you need to do to delete Search.hquickspeedcheck.com is to open the Control Panel. To do so, tap the Windows key + R, then type in appwiz.cpl and then click OK or press Enter.

Step 2: Look for any suspicious program that is affiliated with Search.hquickspeedcheck.com and then Uninstall it.

Step 3: Close all the browsers infected with Search.hquickspeedcheck.com. If you’re having a hard time closing them, you can close them using the Task Manager just tap on Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
Step 4: After you open the Task Manager, go to the Processes tab and look for the infected browser’s process and end it.
Step 5: Edit your Hosts File

Tap the Win + R keys to open then type in %WinDir% and then click OK.
Go to System32/drivers/etc.
Open the host’s file using Notepad.
Delete all the entries containing Search.hquickspeedcheck.com.
After that, save the changes you’ve made and close the file.

Step 6: Reset all your browsers to default to their default state.
Google Chrome

Launch Google Chrome, press Alt + F, move to More tools, and click Extensions.
Look for Search.hquickspeedcheck.com or any other unwanted add-ons, click the Recycle Bin button, and choose Remove.
Restart Google Chrome, then tap Alt + F, and select Settings.
Navigate to the On Startup section at the bottom.
Select “Open a specific page or set of pages”.
Click the More actions button next to the hijacker and click Remove.

Mozilla Firefox

Open the browser and tap Ctrl + Shift + A to access the Add-ons Manager.
In the Extensions menu Remove the unwanted extension.
Restart the browser and tap keys Alt + T.
Select Options and then move to the General menu.
Overwrite the URL in the Home Page section and then restart the browser.

Internet Explorer

Launch Internet Explorer.
Tap Alt + T and select Internet options.
Click the General tab and then overwrite the URL under the homepage section.
Click OK to save the changes.

Step 7: Hold down Windows + E keys simultaneously to open File Explorer.
Step 8: Navigate to the following directories and look for suspicious files associated to browser hijacker such as the software bundle it came with and delete it/them.

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

Step 9: Close the File Explorer.
Step 10: Empty the Recycle Bin.
Follow the advanced instructions below to ensure the removal of Search.hquickspeedcheck.com as well as all the file residues it left behind using a trusted program named [product-name].
Perform a full system scan using [product-code]. To do so, follow these steps:

Turn on your computer. If it’s already on, you have to reboot
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.

To navigate the Advanced Option use 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 Box will show up.
Type in the URL address, [product-url] in the Run dialog box and then tap Enter or click OK.
After that, it will download the program. Wait for the download to finish and then open the launcher to install the program.
Once the installation process is completed, run [product-code] to perform a full system scan.