Wajam - How to remove

Wajam adware virus is a rather creepy browser extension that incorporates your friends’ posts into the search queries you receive via preferred browsers. The infection is the most active in Spain, Brazil, United States of America, India and Australia, which means that people from multiple continents should be able to recognize this inconvenience.

If you are from Spain we invite you to read a Spanish version of this article. To create some links, we should compare Wajam malware with such ad-serving nightmares likes Muvlifx And Jungle Arcade adware parasites. This potentially unwanted program (PUP) does not allow people to uninstall it manually by displaying “Wait for it to uninstall”.

Why Wajam adware is dangerous

If you are from Spain we invite you to read a Spanish version of this article. To create some links, we should compare Wajam malware with such ad-serving nightmares likes Muvlifx And Jungle Arcade adware parasites. This potentially unwanted program (PUP) does not allow people to uninstall it manually by displaying “Wait for it to uninstall”.

Even authoritative security researchers have clearly emphasized that Wajam virus, proclaimed to be a social search browser add-on, is incorporated into cybercrime. Specialists stressed out that a suspicious code was slipped into browsers’ sessions; a result of this addition is that people are exposed to content that is attempting to pursue malvertising strategies. While this ad-service can present legitimate and totally secure adverts, this stream will be accompanied by a double amount of infectious material.

According to MyWOT website, multiple people have expressed negative feedback about this service. Take a good look at these comments:

• Installs unwanted programs and software without your consent such as adware that are sometimes difficult to remove and annoying. This site installs browser add-ons that contain nothing but ads.
• Avoid this site and do NOT download anything from here!
• This browser hijacker tries to install toolbars and unnecessary things onto your computer, known as bloatware. Don’t recommend.
• Adware that comes bundled with software.
• Infests your system including the registry, almost impossible to remove, installs itself without permission, reinstalls itself without permission. Is bloatware, malware, adware etc.
• Installed without consent, another data mining op.

How Wajam can infect your computer

After becoming familiar with these evaluations of this service, you should feel very strongly about using an aggressive tactic to get rid of this infection as soon as possible. To support our arguments even further, we present you with a scan which clearly shows that Wajam_setup.exe is clearly a malicious program. These are the results that many anti-virus applications showed after investigating this deceptive installer: AdInject.Wajam, Adware.Searcher.2467, Win32/Wajam.D, PUP.Optional.Wajam, Artemis!DB96605BAAEE, Trojan.Win32.Obfuscate.ctkvqm.

Wajam is a browser extension that is considered to be a potentially unwanted program because of its relations with redirections and other unwanted activities on your browser. The application is presented as a social search engine and it is possible to download it at its official website – wajam.com. However, lately, it was noticed that Wajam is installed on computers without even asking for users’ permission, usually together with other software that users are downloading by themselves from the Internet.

It comes bundled to free music or video players, PDF creators, download managers and similar applications. Some of the programs that are known to include Wajam are 1ClickDownload, FBPhotoZoom, Superfish, and Yontoo. IF you have recently installed any of them on your computer, it is not surprising you also see Wajam virus.

The program is presented as a social search engine, which will allow you to see recommendations from your friends, by using social networks, like Facebook or Twitter. It is compatible with Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome browsers. Despite it says it can make your searches social, in fact, it is not as reliable and safe as it tries to show. The truth is Wajam uses information provided on your Facebook or Twitter in order to give you personal results from friends based on what you search.

More information about this rogue tool

The program can also collect data about your browsing activities, it may use cookies, pixels and/or other means to collect your ID address, URLs of the pages you visit and other information, as well as involve you into various advertising-related campaigns. Although Wajam claims you can also opt out this third-party advertising and remove or disable this browser add-on at any time, it can actually be quite tricky to do that. While it runs on your system, you may receive various ads, experience redirection to unknown and possible malicious websites or even be infected with malicious programs.

You should also know that Wajam doesn’t work as a proper search engine. It causes tons of redirects to malicious websites, modifies your browser settings, which means it can also change your homepage and default search provider to suspicious search pages, which will include sponsored websites in your search results, trying to creating traffic to particular pages. This is not a fair activity. As you see, Wajam is an annoying application that will only interfere with your work on the Internet.

How to remove/avoid Wajam virus

As this type of browser extensions come along other applications, you can avoid installing them to your browsers. A lot of computer users don’t pay much attention to the installation process of their new downloads. They choose Basic installation (it is often listed as recommended one), as it takes less time and seems to be less confusing.

However, you should always go for Custom or Advanced installation. This way, you will be able to see all additional programs that come along the main software and you will be able to refuse to add them.

Usually, you will have to deselect several checkmarks next to options to add unknown programs, like Wajam. Some of the downloads may offer to change your homepage or search provider too. Do not accept it either, unless you are sure about the reliability of suggested websites.

We highly recommend removing Wajam from your computer once you detected its existence on any of your browsers. at first, Go to Control Panel -> Add and Remove programs list and uninstall it from there. You should also check browser extensions for Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome and remove it from there. If you do not see Wajam listed, you should use antimalware tools like Spyhunter or SpyHunter and scan your computer with it. If you had to redirect issues, you might need to reset your home page and search engine to the one you used before:

Automatic Malware removal tools

Special Wajam removal instructions

How to remove Wajam using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like Wajam install some of their components as regular Windows programs as well as additional software. This part of malware can be uninstalled from the Control Panel. To access it, do the following.

• Start→Control Panel (older Windows) or press Windows Key→Search and enter Control Panel and then press Enter (Windows 8, Windows 10).
• Choose Uninstall Program (if you don't see it, click in the upper right next to "View by" and select Category).
• Go through the list of programs and select entries related to Wajam . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make Wajam easier to find.
• Click the Uninstall button. If you're asked if you really want to remove the program, click Yes.
• In many cases anti-malware programs are better at detecting related parasites, thus I recommend installing Spyhunter to identify other programs that might be a part of this infection.

How to remove Wajam from macOS

Delete Wajam from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the Wajam app.
5. Select it and right-click it (or hold the Ctrl and click the left mouse button).
6. In the dropdown, click Move to Bin/Trash. You might be asked to provide your login password.

TopHow To remove Wajam from Google Chrome:

• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select More Tools→Extensions
  
• Select all malicious extensions and delete them.
  
• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select Settings
  
• Select Manage Search engines
  
• Remove unnecessary search engines from the list
  
• Go back to settings. On Startup choose Open blank page (you can remove undesired pages from the set pages link too).
• If your homepage was changed, click on Chrome menu on the top right corner, select Settings. Select Open a specific page or set of pages and click on Set pages.
  
• Delete malicious search websites at a new Startup pages window by clicking “X” next to them.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to Wajam, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on a Chrome’s menu button (three horizontal lines) and select Settings.
• Scroll to the end of the page and click on theReset browser settings button.
  
• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How To remove Wajam from Firefox:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla window and select the “Add-ons” icon (Or press Ctrl+Shift+A on your keyboard).
  
• Go through Extensions and Addons list, remove everything Wajam related and items you do not recognise. If you do not know the extension and it is not made by Mozilla, Google, Microsoft, Oracle or Adobe then you probably do not need it.
  
• If your homepage was changed, click on the Firefox menu in the top right corner, select Options → General. Enter a preferable URL to the homepage field and click Restore to Default.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to Wajam, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla Firefox window. Click on the Help button.
  
• ChooseTroubleshooting Information on the Help menu.
  
• Click on theReset Firefox button.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button on the confirmation box. Mozilla Firefox will close and change the settings to default.
  

If the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program to identify malicious entries.

How to remove Wajam from Microsoft Edge:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Microsoft Edge window. Select “Extensions”.

• Select all malicious extensions and delete them.

• Click on the three-dot menu on the browser toolbar and Select Settings

• Select Privacy and Services and scroll down. Press on Address bar.

• Choose Manage search engines.

• Remove unnecessary search engines from the list: open the three-dot menu and choose Remove.

• Go back to Settings. Open On start-up.
• Delete malicious search websites at Open specific page or pages by opening the three-dot menu and clicking Delete.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to Wajam, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings

• Click on Edge's menu button and select Settings. Click on the Reset Settings button on the left.
• Press the Restore settings to their default values option.

• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How to remove Wajam from Safari:Top

Remove malicious extensions

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences.
  
• Select Extensions and uninstall Wajam and other suspicious extensions.
  
• If your homepage was changed, click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences and choose General tab. Enter preferable URL to the homepage field.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings(older versions) If you are still experiencing any issues related to Wajam, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Reset Safari…
  
• Select which options you want to reset (usually all of them come preselected) and click on the Reset button.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

Please note, it is very important to scan your computer with a reliable antimalware program after Wajam is removed as it might be your system got infected with viruses while having it.