DailyProductivityTools Hijacker - How to remove

DailyProductivityTools (found on Dailyproductivitytools.com) is a browser extension that adds to your home page a bunch of utilities, like a calendar, recipe search, tasks, and reminders.

It also makes various unwanted changes to the browser, such as replacing the home page and opening unwanted new tabs that lead to affiliated websites. This is why DailyProductivityTools is called a browser hijacker and adware that’s considered a problem by anti-malware programs (as you can see on this Virustotal page.

DailyProductivityTools is made by a company known for creating browser hijackers and using deceptive installation tactics to spread them. Users affected by DailyProductivityTools might not know it, but their web searching is being monetized and their browsing habits are being recorded for later use in advertising.

DailyProductivityTools is a browser hijacker, a type of potentially unwanted software that should be avoided, but is not seriously dangerous:

Type of threat	Adware, browser hijacker.
Distribution and installation	Misleading advertisements, freeware bundling.
DailyProductivityTools’ browser hijacking	Replaces the new tab and home page, promotes MyWay.com and Ask.com, tracks users’ browsing history and search terms.
How to remove DailyProductivityTools	Uninstall unwanted extensions, find and delete adware and malware (Combo Cleaner for MacOS, SpyHunter for Windows, etc.).

How DailyProductivityTools gets installed

DailyProductivityTools is installed by freeware bundles and is promoted by misleading ads.

Misleading ads usually work by redirecting you from site to site with messages that try to convince you that you must install some extension to get access to whatever site you’re on. Sometimes, the ads look like download buttons on download sites. Alternative search engines like Shop4deals-search.com might also show such ads in their search results – these ads might have titles like “Download Now” and “Install Free”, which is misleading when they appear when searching for unrelated software.

DailyProductivityTools might also get installed by another program, bundled with it as an optional offer. Such optional offers are installed as long as you don’t specifically refuse them in the setup screens. I have no idea why it’s okay to install potentially unwanted software by default, but that tactic is used a lot by programs that people don’t want (browser hijackers, paid driver updaters, etc.) to infiltrate computers. So, be careful. The distributors of the bunder programs get paid for each installation of the additional junkware, so they’re not incentivized to help you avoid it.

Together with DailyProductivityTools, other browser hijackers are installed too, mainly – Search Extension by Ask. Both of these apps are made by the same company, Ask Applications, and they have a bit of a history of hijacking browsers.

How Dailyproductivitytools.com takes over the browser

Search hijacking

The main thing that DailyProductivityTools does is add a search box to your home page. Instead of your favorite search engine, MyWay delivers the results. You can also use the address bar to search for information, but if you installed the Ask add-on, then it opens Ask.com. This allows DailyProductivityTools to tracks your search queries and show you relevant ads on affiliated websites.

DailyProductivityTools is a browser extension. It’s a browser add-on that changes how your browser works and logs your activity.

The browser is the program that displays webpages. Browser hijackers are programs like DailyProductivityTools that change browser settings and cause it to show you ads and track your browsing data.

After DailyProductivityTools is installed, it replaces the browser’s new tab page (which is often the same as your home page). The various utilities that come with it (calendar, currency converter, URL shortener, etc.) are placed in menus and links in this new tab page. Many of those utilities are third-party websites. DailyProductivityTools is just adding a bunch of links to your new tab page. That’s hardly useful, as all it does is give you a few bookmarks – something you could easily do yourself.

On top of that, DailyProductivityTools replaces your home page when it could easily be contained within an extension pop-up.

Ads in search results

The reason why DailyProductivityTools and other MyWay hijackers (HeadlineAlley, EasyDocMerge, DailyFunnyWorld, etc.) hijack your web search is ads in search results. These ads are great for advertisers because they can be targeted to your interests. The more users the search engine has, the more money it can make from advertising. So, browser hijackers get more people to use MyWay.com.

MyWay is a functional search engine that looks like any other search engine, so an inexperienced internet surfer might fail to see a problem. Still, this user is exposed to more ads every time they search. Plus, their browsing habits are logged by DailyProductivityTools, which can read users’ browsing history and search terms.

While DailyProductivityTools is not malware and isn’t very dangerous, it is there to take advantage of users. Its features are just not good enough, which is why deceptive installation tactics are needed. That’s unfair and you should not have to deal with that. The DailyProductivityTools hijacker should be removed, as should the other extensions that were installed with it.

How to remove DailyProductivityTools

You should be able to remove DailyProductivityTools using the default extension removal options for your browser. For example, Chrome and Firefox should allow you to simply right-click the extension’s icon and get rid of it.

Some malicious hijackers use various tricks to remain installed, such as by installing a managed extension, leaving behind files that reinstall it after you remove it, and messing with browser options to get rid of the removal button altogether.

You might still need to scan your computer with an anti-malware tool (like Combo Cleaner for MacOS or SpyHunter for Windows) to find the program that installed DailyProductivityTools in the first place and to check that you don’t have any more adware. After you remove DailyProductivityTools and related extensions, you should be okay, but it’s good to check.

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to remove DailyProductivityTools using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like DailyProductivityTools Hijacker 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 DailyProductivityTools . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make DailyProductivityTools Hijacker 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 DailyProductivityTools from macOS

Delete DailyProductivityTools Hijacker from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the DailyProductivityTools 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.

TopRemove malicious extensions from Internet Explorer

• Press on the Gear icon→Manage Add-ons.
  
• Go through Toolbars and extensions. Remove everything related to DailyProductivityTools Hijacker and items you do not know that are made not by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Oracle or Adobe.
  
• Close the Options.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

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

• Press on the Gear icon->Internet Options.
  
• Choose the Advanced tab and click on the Reset button.
  
• Select a “Delete personal settings” checkbox and click on the Reset button.
  
• Click on the Close button on the confirmation box, then close your browser.
  

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

TopRemoving DailyProductivityTools Hijacker from Chrome

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Google Chrome window. Select “Settings”.
  
• Click “Extensions” on the left menu bar.
• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to DailyProductivityTools. Click on the trash bin icon next to DailyProductivityTools Hijacker or other add-ons you want to remove.
  
• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.
  
• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.
  
• Restart Chrome.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

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

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

TopRemoving DailyProductivityTools Hijacker from Firefox

• 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 DailyProductivityTools 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.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to DailyProductivityTools Hijacker, 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.
  
• Choose Troubleshooting Information on the Help menu.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button on the confirmation box. Mozilla Firefox will close and change the settings to default.
  

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

How to remove DailyProductivityTools Hijacker from Microsoft Edge:Top

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

• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to DailyProductivityTools. Click on the "Remove" icon next to DailyProductivityTools Hijacker or other add-ons you want to remove.

• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.

• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.

• Restart Microsoft Edge.

TopRemoving DailyProductivityTools from Safari (Mac OS X)

• Click on the Safari menu.
• Choose Preferences.
  
• Click on the Extensions Tab.
• Click on the Uninstall button near the DailyProductivityTools Hijacker. Remove all other unknown or suspicious entries too. If you are not sure whether you need the extension or not, you can simply uncheck the Enable check-box to disable the extension temporarily.
  
• Restart Safari.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

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

• Click on the 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.