DownloadManagerNow - How to remove

DownloadManagerNow is a browser hijacker that has functions for converting files. Its main goal, though, is to raise the popularity of MyWay and Ask – two search providers that belong to the creators of this add-on. This explains why uses of DownloadManagerNow can’t set their own search engines in browser settings – at least, not without uninstalling the extension.

DownloadManagerNow (VirusTotal report) is being advertised and spread actively and has users all over the world – despite being a remarkably useless application. If you want to pin links to various websites that allow downloading video from online to your computer, you can do that without any third-party add-ons like DownloadManagerNow. By the way, be careful on those video converter sites, they’re full of malicious ads.

DownloadManagerNow itself is not that dangerous, though based on how it’s distributed, I’d say that it’s correlated with adware. This piece of adware disguised as a download manager is kind of a herald of other security problems and it might be useful to scan your computer with an antivirus program to make sure that it’s clean.

This adware is likely spread by misleading ads, as well as downloaded bundled with free programs – be careful downloading applications from software portals. Then, once DownloadManagerNow is installed, it takes over the browser to make sure that you use the MyWay search provider and see the ads displayed in its search results.

Most people would be better off using a different download manager than DownloadManagerNow:

Type of threat	Adware Browser hijacker
Distribution	Installed by malicious ads Spread in freeware bundles
Dangers of using the hijacker	Ads that spread the extension also spread scams and restricted content DownloadManagerNow can track your browsing activity Modifying your new tab page or search provider settings can’t be done with the extension installed
Remove DownloadManagerNow	Use anti-malware tools (Combo Cleaner for Mac, SpyHunter for PC) to remove malware Uninstall DownloadManagerNow and related browser hijackers Install security updates for your software

About DownloadManagerNow

The extension is made by Mindspark, a company that has released dozens if not hundreds of hijackers. These extensions have common features with DownloadManagerNow, I mean, look at VideoConverterHD or FileConvertOnline – it’s almost the same.

Recycling old design and barely ever developing new, fun features allows this company to churn out browser extensions regularly. These add-ons all promote the MyWay search engine, which then, thanks to this newly acquired audience, sells advertisers space in search results. DownloadManagerNow is characterized by displaying the hp.myway.com/DownloadManagerNow page as the new tab page (in some browsers, it’s not that URL, but the page looks the same). The results, if you use the search bar in the middle of that page, are returned in int.search.myway.com. Other extensions might have been installed together with this hijacker, for example, using your address bar to search might open Ask.com.

Advertising in search results isn’t a problem in itself – legitimate search providers do this. But DownloadManagerNow fails to justify advertising – not just because its functionality is really limited, but also because it gets installed without always asking for permission.

How hijackers get installed

So, if DownloadManagerNow is so useless, how did it get hundreds of thousands of users? …And why is nobody reviewing this extension?

The add-on promises “FREE videos” and says “DownloadManagerNow makes watching videos easy – with just one click.”, which is just nonsense. The add-on provides nothing but a few links to video converting websites that you can freely access whether or not you have the extension installed. There’s no streaming, video hosting, nothing. However, you wouldn’t know that form the description on DownloadManagerNow’s Web Store page, so some people must be curious enough to download and try it for themselves.

But some people don’t hear about this extension until they find it already in their browser. This can happen in a few ways:

• DownloadManagerNow might get downloaded and installed with another, unrelated program (bundling).
• Adware viruses promote browser hijackers by opening the installation pages or even installing the extension in the background.
• Misleading and dishonest ads online spread add-ons like DownloadManagerNow.

These ways can make it appear like DownloadManagerNow downloaded and installed itself. They don’t all mean that your computer is infected with anything, but it’d be best to scan your computer to make sure. It would also help to block unsafe websites or use an anti-malware tool with real-time protection because browser hijackers are harmless compared to the other stuff that malicious ads spread.

Remove DownloadManagerNow

I’d like to encourage you to scan your whole computer with an anti-malware tool, preferably one that detects PUPs and other mild malware. It might be totally clean, but if it’s not, that malware will continue to cause problems for as long as it’s not removed. Any competent anti-malware tool works, for example, Combo Cleaner for Mac, SpyHunter for Windows.

No less important is to keep your OS, browser, and antivirus always up-to-date: install security updates when they’re released, otherwise infected websites might infect your computer. Exploit kits are made for looking for vulnerable computers among visitors and infecting them with malware. So yeah, updates are important.

Finally, uninstall DownloadManagerNow from your browser (detailed instructions are below). Don’t forget to look for other extensions that you don’t use or don’t remember installing. If no malware remains on your computer, manually removing the hijackers should work and they shouldn’t come back.

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to remove DownloadManagerNow using Windows Control Panel

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

Delete DownloadManagerNow from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the DownloadManagerNow 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 DownloadManagerNow 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 DownloadManagerNow, 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 DownloadManagerNow 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 DownloadManagerNow. Click on the trash bin icon next to DownloadManagerNow 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 DownloadManagerNow, 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 DownloadManagerNow 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 DownloadManagerNow 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 DownloadManagerNow, 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 DownloadManagerNow 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 DownloadManagerNow. Click on the "Remove" icon next to DownloadManagerNow 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 DownloadManagerNow from Safari (Mac OS X)

• Click on the Safari menu.
• Choose Preferences.
  
• Click on the Extensions Tab.
• Click on the Uninstall button near the DownloadManagerNow. 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 DownloadManagerNow, 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.