Winki-search.com - How to remove

Winki-search.com is a fake search site that hijacks your searches if the WinkiSearch extension is installed on your browser. You can check if it’s installed in your browser settings. Winki-search.com redirects your search terms to Yahoo (or another site), reads your search queries and other data, and displays notification pop-ups on your screen. It does nothing useful, it’s pure adware, so it’s best to remove it as soon as you discover it.

Winki-search.com in short:

Type of threat	Adware, browser hijacker.
Winki-search.com infection symptoms	Winki-search.com changes your search settings, hijacking your searches, it also logs your browsing data.
How WinkiSearch gets installed	Advertised on pirating sites, downloaded in unofficial installers.
How to remove Winki-search.com	Remove the extension, find and delete all malware (Combo Cleaner for Mac, Spyhunter for PC, others), block spam notifications.

What is Winki-search.com

If you go on Winki-search.com, you just see a simple webpage with a search box and a few utilities on the side. It’s a website that is visible to everyone.

If your browser is hijacked by this site, it must be because of the WinkiSearch extension. Extensions are browser add-ons that change settings and add features. In this case, the WinkiSearch changes the default search settings of your browser to Feed.winki-search.com, giving Winki-search.com complete control over who delivers your search results, as well as access to your search terms.

As almost all major websites implemented encryption, it’s become harder for random sites to track people’s online activities for use in targeted advertising. So, Winki-search.com inserts itself in between your computer and your search engine. It gets your search terms, as well as other data.

Usually, Winki-search.com redirects to Yahoo.com. As long as WinkiSearch is installed, you can’t change this setting.

Other than the search hijacking, Winki-search.com is not very visible. Unless, during installation, you allowed Winki-search.com to send notifications to your browser. In that case, you might see pop-up ads in the corner of your screen that are labeled with Winki-search.com’s name.

In short, Winki-search.com is adware:

• it logs your browsing data (valuable for marketers),
• it logs other data about you and your computer (your location, language, what ads you click on, etc.),
• and it redirects your search queries to whatever site is beneficial to it.

How adware is installed

Winki-search.com is very similar to Musicstreamsearch.com, Searchtheconverter.com, and other hijacker sites. I’ve noticed that these sites tend to spread on video streaming sites (the illegal kind).

If you were trying to watch movies and shows and were told by a pop-up to install or download something, that might be how WinkiSearch got installed. Winki-search.com uses pages like “Recommended Extension” and “Download Ready” that look like serious, authoritative pages.

Winki-search.com’s goal here is to get you to install WinkiSearch by pretending that it’s a part of the site you were just on, that it’s a required step to be able to watch your videos or download the file that you were trying to download.

If you didn’t install Winki-search.com this way, then you might have instead got it from an infected freeware installer. There are some software download sites that bundle the installers that they offer with junkware and with potentially unwanted programs. Pirated files, mods, and installers on unofficial sites might also carry malware in them. Be careful where you download programs from.

How to remove Winki-search.com

Delete the extension related to Winki-search.com

It’s simple enough to get rid of Winki-search.com:

• Find and remove the Winki Search extension from your browser, as well as other extensions.
• Block notifications from Winki-search.com and other unwanted sites.

You can use an antivirus app, such as Combo Cleaner for macOS, Spyhunter for Windows, or another app that can detect potentially unwanted programs. Scan your computer and delete the detected items.

You can remove the Winki-search.com hijacker manually in your browser settings (main menu, Settings, Extensions, then click Remove on all unwanted extensions).

Block notifications (pop-ups) from Winki-search.com

If Winki-search.com is still sending you pop-ups, then block notifications from it and other unwanted sites:

• Chrome – type “chrome://settings/content/notifications” in the address box.
• Safari – in the Safari menu, choose Preferences, Websites, Notifications.
• Edge (Chromium) – type “edge://settings/content/notifications” in the address box.
• Firefox – open Settings, Privacy & Security, scroll down to Permissions, and click on Settings next to Notifications.

Find Winki-search.com, press the button next to it, and select Block (Deny on Safari).

Automatic Malware removal tools

Remove extensions manually

TopRemoving Winki-search.com 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 Winki-search.com. Click on the trash bin icon next to Winki-search.com 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 Winki-search.com, 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 Winki-search.com 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 Winki-search.com 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 Winki-search.com, 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 Winki-search.com 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 Winki-search.com. Click on the "Remove" icon next to Winki-search.com 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.