What is Mail.ru?
Now, let’s get this straight: Mail.ru is a legitimate Russian search engine which also has many additional features like its own email service, cloud storage, social networking website and so on. To be honest, its search engine is more of an optional offer and many Russian users visit Mail.ru not for searching the web. Though it’s totally legitimate, its distribution method is contested. The thing is that owners of Mail.ru invest huge amounts of money in promoting their website with the help of browser hijackers. Browser hijacker is a sort of malware that usually comes with freeware programs. So if you wonder how it was installed on your computer, then you just failed to disable additional components offered by the download client. Following infiltration, it modifies browser configuration and sets https://mail.ru/ as your defaults homepage, new tab, and search engine. Additionally, the hijacker installs related files which pose a challenge for users who want to get rid of it easily. You may follow this guide to uninstall browser hijacker and remove Mail.ru redirect.
Mail.ru also collects the user’s personal information related to his browsing habits. All collected data is transferred to third-party companies which may use them for selfish purposes. To completely remove Mail.ru and all its leftovers, you may seek assistance from the anti-malware program, it’s the most convenient way. Experienced users may use the manual way. Both methods are provided below.
How Mail.ru got installed on your computer?
Mail.ru injects in the browser through the bundles with free programs. A virus presented as a useful extension or app. Developers do not show information about hijacker – they hide this it within “Custom” settings or other sections of the installation processes. So, you shouldn’t give access to installation Mail.ru on your device. It is the best way to avoid the implementation of hijackers. But if your system already infected by a virus, you can follow instructions below to remove Mail.ru from browsers.
How to remove Mail.ru?
To make sure that the hijacker won’t appear again, you need to delete Mail.ru completely. For this, you need to remove the application from the Control Panel and then check the drives for such leftovers as Mail.ru files and registry entries. We should warn you that performing some of the steps may require above-average skills, so if you don’t feel experienced enough, you may apply to the automatic removal tool.
Performing an antimalware scan with Norton would automatically search out and delete all elements related to Mail.ru. It is not only the easiest way to eliminate Mail.ru, but also the safest and most assuring one.
Norton Antivirus is a well-established tool for Mac users that can clear your computer from malware like Mail.ru and all related files from your computer. Another important advantage of the program is an up-to-date database of computer threats which is perfect to protect your computer in case of a new malware attack.
Steps of Mail.ru manual removal
As it was stated before, more likely that the hijacker appeared on your system brought by other software. So, to get rid of Mail.ru you need to call to memory what you have installed recently.
How to remove Mail.ru from Mac
- Open a Finder window
- Click Applications line on the sidebar
- Select the application related to Mail.ru right-click it and choose Move to Trash
How to remove Mail.ru from Windows XP
- Click the Start button and open Control Panel
- Go to Add or Remove Programs
- Find the application related to Mail.ru and click Uninstall
How to remove Mail.ru from Windows 7/Vista
- Click the Start button and open Control Panel
- Go to Uninstall Program
- Find the application related to Mail.ru and click Uninstall
How to remove Mail.ru from Windows 8/8.1
- Right-click the menu icon in left bottom corner
- Choose Control Panel
- Select the Uninstall Program line
- Uninstall the application related to Mail.ru
How to remove Mail.ru from Windows 10
- Press Win+X to open Windows Power menu
- Click Control Panel
- Choose Uninstall a Program
- Select the application related to Mail.ru and remove it
If you experience problems with removing Mail.ru from Control Panel: there is no such title on the list, or you receive an error preventing you from deleting the application, see the article dedicated to this issue.
Read what to do if program won’t uninstall from Control Panel
Remove Mail.ru from browsers
How to unlock Windows Group Policies
Before you will started to remove Mail.ru from browser you should perform following instructions in Command Prompt
This step is necessary to delete Windows Group Policies created by Mail.ru
- Start Command Prompt as Administrator
- To do this in Windows 10/8 or Windows 7 click Start and in the search box type cmd. Right-click on the found result and choose Run as Administrator.
- While in command prompt type:
rd /S /Q "%WinDir%\System32\GroupPolicyUsers" - Press Enter button.
- Then type:
rd /S /Q "%WinDir%\System32\GroupPolicy" - Press Enter button.
- Finally, type:
gpupdate /force - Press Enter button.
Since some of the hijacker threats use a disguise of a browser add-on, you will need to check the list of extensions/add-ons in your browser.
How to remove Mail.ru from Safari
- Start Safari
- Click on Safari menu button, then go to the Extensions
- Delete Mail.ru or other extensions that look suspicious and you don’t remember installing them
How to remove Mail.ru from Google Chrome
- Start Google Chrome
- Click on More tools, then go to the Extensions
- Delete Mail.ru or other extensions that look suspicious and you don’t remember installing them
How to remove Mail.ru from Internet Explorer
- Launch Internet Explorer
- Click on the Tools/Gear icon, then select Manage Add-ons
- Delete Mail.ru or other extensions that look suspicious and you don’t remember installing them
How to remove Mail.ru from Mozilla Firefox
- Start Mozilla Firefox
- Click on the right-upper corner button
- Click Add-ons, then go to Extensions
- Delete Mail.ru or other extensions that look suspicious and you don’t remember installing them
How to remove Mail.ru from Microsoft Edge
- Start Microsoft Edge
- Click the three-dot button in the upper right corner
- Choose Extensions
- Click the gear icon near Mail.ru or other extensions that look suspicious and you don’t remember installing them
- Choose Remove
Reset your browsers
How to reset settings in Google Chrome
- Click on the icon in the right-upper corner
- Choose Settings
- Click Advanced settings
- Click the Reset button
- In “reset” window click the Reset button
How to reset settings in Mozilla Firefox
- Click the icon in the upper right corner
- Choose Help
- Select Troubleshooting Information
- Click the Refresh Firefox… button
How to reset settings in Internet Explorer
- Click on the Tools button
- Go to Internet options
- Go to the Advanced tab
- Click Reset
How to reset settings in Microsoft Edge
- Start Microsoft Edge
- Click the three-dot button in the upper right corner
- Choose Settings
- Under the Clear browsing data category select Choose what to clear
- Select everything and click Clear
If the above-mentioned methods didn’t help in eliminating the threat, then it’s better to rely on an automatic way of deleting Mail.ru.
We also recommend to download and use Norton to scan the system after Mail.ru removal to make sure that it is completely gone. The antimalware application will detect any vicious components left among system files and registry entries that can recover Mail.ru.
