Duckduckgo.com Removal Guide

If your home page gets changed to Duckduckgo.com, it is very likely that you have been infected with a browser hijacker. This website is not malicious, because it is a genuine search engine that was launched back in 2008. It even offers you a function that allows you to set is as your default search engine on Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer web browsers. However, if your home page gets changed without your permission it means that your security has been breached and you need to remove Duckduckgo.com immediately.

It is possible to restore your browser settings to default manually, so it should not be a problem to get your old home page back by simply tweaking a few things in browser settings. Nevertheless, if Duckduckgo.com has been set as your default search engine by browser hijacker, it means you are infected with malware. Regular computer users are not encouraged to attempt manual malware removal, as it involves working with Registry Editor which does not have an undo function, and it may result in deleting some important system files, especially if you are not exactly sure of what you are doing.

Hence, to remove Duckduckgo.com and the browser hijacker responsible for infecting you completely you should scan your system with a powerful antimalware tool and that will detect all the potentially dangerous files and malware infections. If you are not sure how to determine malicious files, use SpyHunter free scanner to check for what dangerous applications you need to remove.

How did Duckduckgo.com get set as your default home page? You most probably downloaded a freeware application from a third party website that was bundled with the browser hijacker. The browser hijacker exploits Duckduckgo.com by setting it as your default home page and then it most probably collects your internet browsing information in order to make use of it later on for marketing purposes.

You also cannot rule out the possibility that this sudden browser settings modification might lead to other dangerous infections. Hence, in order to prevent serious malware infection from entering your PC, it is important to reset browser settings to default and then remove Duckduckgo.com along with all the other malicious files from the system ASAP. Consequently invest in a powerful computer security application that will protect the PC from other malicious threats.

How to reset browser settings to default

Internet Explorer

1. Press Alt+T and click Internet options.
2. Select Advanced tab and press Reset.
3. Mark Delete personal settings and click Reset.
4. When the reset is complete click Close.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Press Firefox button and navigate to Help.
2. Click Troubleshooting information and press Reset Firefox on a new tab.
3. Click Reset Firefox on a pop-up dialog box.
4. When the reset is complete click Finish.

Google Chrome

1. Press Alt+F and click Tools.
2. Go to Extensions and remove unwanted plugins.
3. Click Settings on the left and mark Open a specific page or set of pages.
4. Click Set pages and change your home page address. Press OK.
5. Select Manage search engines under Search.
6. Set a new default search engine and remove DuckDuckGo. Click Done.

In case you need any assistance or DuckDuckGo.com removal doesn’t go smoothly, inform us by leaving a comment below.