How to remove Browse-Secure (Virus Removal Guide)
Browse-Secure harvests your personal information from Facebook and LinkedIn; changes your browser’s default search engine to track your IP and search activitiy
Browse-Secure (also called Browse-Secure for Chrome) is a malicious browser extension that attempts to harvest your information and changes your browser settings. The description for the Browse-Secure for Chrome extension says “Keep your search secure with Browse-Secure: the anonymous, encrypted search engine and privacy tool.”
Once the extension is installed, it will connect to Facebook and LinkedIn. It will harvest your email address, first and last name, date of birth, mobile phone number, and address if you are logged in.
The extension will also modify your homepage, the page that shows when you open a new tab, and default search engine with browse-secure.com. When you search the web you will redirect to http://www.browse-secure.com/search?q= which then redirects to https://www.google.com/webhp without stopping on the browse-secure.com site. The extension redirects you initially to browse-secure.com in order to track your IP address and obtain the terms you searched for.
One of the biggest concerns with the extension is that it is often advertised on websites that display malicious advertisements and host malware. If you found the Browse-Secure extension attached to your browser or have visited a website that displays Browse-Secure advertisements, it is likely that your computer has become infected with other threats (such as MyStart Space and Search grab) that should be removed.
Browse-Secure removal steps
The Browse-Secure removal steps on this page will help you remove the Browse-Secure extension, malware, viruses, and other threats from your computer.
STEP 1: Remove the browser extension
STEP 2: Scan your computer for malware with Malwarebytes
STEP 3: Clean up and repair settings with CCleaner
STEP 1: Remove the browser extension
Google Chrome
1. Click the Customize and control Google Chrome icon and go to More tools > Extensions.
2. Click the trashcan icon next to the Browse-Secure extension to remove it.
Mozilla Firefox
1. Open the Menu and click Add-ons.
2. Click Remove next to the Browse-Secure add-on to remove it.
Microsoft Internet Explorer
1. Go to Tools (Alt+X) and click Manage add-ons.
2. Select the Browse-Secure add-on with your mouse and click Remove.
Apple Safari
1. Go to Safari > Preferences > Extensions.
2. Click the Uninstall button next to the Browse-Secure extension to remove it.
STEP 2: Scan your computer for malware with Malwarebytes
1. Open your browser window and download Malwarebytes 3.0 Premium or Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free.
2. Open the executable file (mb3-setup.exe or other) to begin installing Malwarebytes.
3. In some versions of the installation file you can simply select your language and click Next to install the program; Otherwise, select your language, click Next, then select “I accept the agreement,” click the Next button several times, and then click the Install button to install Malwarebytes. Click Finish once the install process is complete.
4. Open Malwarebytes and click the Scan Now button on the Dashboard to begin scanning your computer.
5. Click the Quarantine Selected button once the scan is finished.
6. If Malwarebytes says “All selected items have been removed successfully. A log file has been saved to the logs folder. Your computer needs to be restarted to complete the removal process. Would you like to restart now?” click the Yes button to restart your computer.
STEP 3: Clean up and repair settings with CCleaner
1. Open your browser window and download CCleaner Professional or CCleaner Free.
2. Open the executable file (ccsetup.exe or other) to begin installing CCleaner.
3. Click the Install button to begin stalling the program.
4. Click Run CCleaner to open the program when installation is complete.
5. Select the Cleaner tab and click the Analyze button.
6. When the Analyze process is complete click the Run Cleaner button to clean all files.
7. Next, select the Registry tab and click the Scan for Issues button to scan for issues in your registry.
8. When the scan is complete click the Fix selected Issues button and Fix All Selected Issues button to fix the issues.
9. Next, select the Tools tab and click Startup. Examine each area, search for suspicious entries, and delete any suspicious startup entries by selecting the entry and clicking the Delete button.
10. Next, click Browser Plugins and search each internet browser for unwanted browser add-ons and extensions. Click the extension you want to delete and click the Delete button to remove it.
