How to Use 'Malwarebytes AdwCleaner' for Browser Hijacks

What AdwCleaner Targets

Adware and browser hijackers don't behave like typical malware — they rarely try to steal data or encrypt files. Instead they ride in bundled with free software installers and quietly change your default search engine, install a "helpful" toolbar or extension you never asked for, or redirect your searches through an ad-injecting proxy. Standard antivirus tools often ignore this category entirely because it's technically not malicious code, just aggressive and unwanted. Malwarebytes AdwCleaner is a free, standalone scanner built specifically for this gray-area category: adware, potentially unwanted programs (PUPs), browser hijackers, and unwanted toolbars/extensions across Chrome, Edge, and Firefox.

Signs You Have a Browser Hijack

• Your default search engine changed without you doing it (often to an unfamiliar "search" site).
• Your new tab page or homepage was silently replaced.
• You see extra toolbars, browser extensions, or "helper" icons you don't remember installing.
• Search results are full of extra sponsored links, or clicking a legitimate link redirects you through an intermediate ad page first.
• Random popups appear even when no browser tab is open.

Downloading and Running AdwCleaner

1. Download it only from the official source: malwarebytes.com/adwcleaner. This category of tool is heavily impersonated on search results and download aggregator sites, so avoid anything else.
2. Run the downloaded executable. It's portable — no installation step, and it doesn't need to stay on your system afterward.
3. Accept the license terms, then click Scan Now on the main screen.
4. Let the scan finish. It checks installed programs, browser extensions and settings, scheduled tasks, registry keys, and known adware file locations. This typically takes a few minutes.

Reviewing and Cleaning Detections

When the scan completes, AdwCleaner groups results by category — Programs (Potentially Unwanted Programs), Registry, Chromium (covers Chrome and Edge), Firefox, and Preinstalled Software. Everything is checked by default.

1. Review the list before cleaning. AdwCleaner is generally reliable, but skim through for anything you recognize and actually want to keep — occasionally a legitimate but aggressively-bundled toolbar or a browser extension you installed on purpose gets flagged.
2. Uncheck anything you want to keep.
3. Click Clean & Repair (labeled Quarantine in some versions).
4. AdwCleaner will prompt you to close all open browser windows before it can remove browser-level entries, then it will need to restart your computer to finish removing some items (especially registry-level PUPs).

What Happens After the Reboot

After restarting, AdwCleaner automatically opens a log file (AdwCleaner[C0].txt or similar, saved in C:\AdwCleaner\Logs) listing exactly what was removed. Review it to confirm nothing unexpected got caught. Everything AdwCleaner removes is also quarantined for 30 days by default, not permanently deleted — if it turns out something was a false positive, you can restore it from the quarantine tab inside the app.

Cleaning Up Browser Settings Manually

AdwCleaner removes the hijacking software itself, but sometimes the settings it changed (default search engine, homepage, startup pages) need a manual reset afterward:

• Chrome: Settings > Search engine > Manage search engines and site search — remove anything unfamiliar and reset the default. Also check Settings > Extensions for anything you don't recognize.
• Edge: Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Address bar and search — same process, plus check edge://extensions.
• Firefox: Settings > Search > Default Search Engine, and check about:addons for unfamiliar extensions.

If a hijack was particularly aggressive, resetting the browser entirely is often faster than hunting down every setting — each browser has a built-in "Restore settings to their default" option (Chrome: Settings > Reset settings; Edge: Settings > Reset settings; Firefox: Help > More Troubleshooting Information > Refresh Firefox).

Preventing Reinfection

1. Always choose "Custom" or "Advanced" install options when installing free software, and uncheck any bundled offers.
2. Avoid third-party download sites for common software — go to the vendor's own site.
3. Keep a real-time antivirus running alongside AdwCleaner; they cover different threat categories and work well together.