To remove Encyclopedia Wanderer from Windows, follow these steps:
STEP 1: Use Malwarebytes to remove the Encyclopedia Wanderer browser hijacker
In this first step, we will install Malwarebytes to scan and remove any infections, adware, or potentially unwanted programs that may be present on your computer.
Malwarebytes is one of the most popular and most used anti-malware software for Windows, and for good reasons. It is able to destroy many types of malware that other software tends to miss, without costing you absolutely nothing. When it comes to cleaning up an infected device, Malwarebytes has always been free and we recommend it as an essential tool in the fight against malware.
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Download Malwarebytes for Windows.
You can download Malwarebytes by clicking the link below.
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Double-click on the Malwarebytes setup file.
When Malwarebytes has finished downloading, double-click on the MBSetup file to install Malwarebytes on your computer. In most cases, downloaded files are saved to the Downloads folder.
![How to Remove Encyclopedia Wanderer Adware (Virus Removal Guide) 5 Download](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
You may be presented with a User Account Control pop-up asking if you want to allow Malwarebytes to make changes to your device. If this happens, you should click “Yes” to continue with the Malwarebytes installation.
![Click Yes to install Malwarebytes Click Yes to install Malwarebytes](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
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Follow the on-screen prompts to install Malwarebytes.
When the Malwarebytes installation begins, you will see the Malwarebytes setup wizard which will guide you through the installation process. The Malwarebytes installer will first ask you what type of computer are you installing this program on, click either Personal Computer or Work Computer.
![Malwarebytes select Personal or Work Computer Malwarebytes setup: Click on Personal Computer](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
On the next screen, click “Install” to install Malwarebytes on your computer.
![Click on the Install button to install Malwarebytes Click on Install to install Malwarebytes](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
When your Malwarebytes installation completes, the program opens to the Welcome to Malwarebytes screen.
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Click on “Scan”.
Malwarebytes is now installed on your computer, to start a scan click on the “Scan” button. Malwarebytes will automatically update the antivirus database and start scanning your computer for the Encyclopedia Wanderer browser hijacker and other malicious programs.
![Click on Scan button to start Malwarebytes scan Click on Scan button](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
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Wait for the Malwarebytes scan to complete.
Malwarebytes will now scan your computer for the Encyclopedia Wanderer browser hijacker and other malicious programs. This process can take a few minutes, so we suggest you do something else and periodically check on the status of the scan to see when it is finished.
![Malwarebytes scanning for the Encyclopedia Wanderer malware Malwarebytes scanning for Encyclopedia Wanderer](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
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Click on “Quarantine”.
When the Malwarebytes scan is finished scanning it will show a screen that displays any malware, adware, or potentially unwanted programs that it has detected. To remove the Encyclopedia Wanderer adware and other malicious programs that Malwarebytes has found, click on the “Quarantine” button.
![Review the malicious programs and click on Quarantine to remove the Encyclopedia Wanderer browser hijacker Review the malicious programs and click on Quarantine to remove Encyclopedia Wanderer](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
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Restart computer.
Malwarebytes will now remove all the malicious files and registry keys that it has found. To complete the malware removal process, Malwarebytes may ask you to restart your computer.
![Restart your computer to complete the malware removal process Malwarebytes requesting to restart computer to complete the Encyclopedia Wanderer removal process](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
When the malware removal process is complete, you can close Malwarebytes and continue with the rest of the instructions.
STEP 2: Use HitmanPro to scan your computer for Encyclopedia Wanderer and other malware
In this next step, we will scan the computer with HitmanPro to ensure that no other malicious programs are installed on your device.
HitmanPro is a second opinion scanner that takes a unique cloud-based approach to malware scanning. HitmanPro scans the behavior of active files and also files in locations where malware normally resides for suspicious activity. If it finds a suspicious file that’s not already known, HitmanPro sends it to its clouds to be scanned by two of the best antivirus engines today, which are Bitdefender and Kaspersky.
Although HitmanPro is shareware and costs $24.95 for 1 year on 1 PC, there is no limit on scanning. The limitation only kicks in when there is a need to remove or quarantine detected malware by HitmanPro on your system and by then, you can activate the one-time 30-days trial to enable the clean up.
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Download HitmanPro.
You can download HitmanPro by clicking the link below.
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Install HitmanPro.
When HitmanPro has finished downloading, double-click on “hitmanpro.exe” (for 32-bit versions of Windows) or “hitmanpro_x64.exe” (for 64-bit versions of Windows) to install this program on your computer. In most cases, downloaded files are saved to the Downloads folder.
![Double-click on the HitmanPro setup file Double-click on the HitmanPro file](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
You may be presented with a User Account Control pop-up asking if you want to allow HitmanPro to make changes to your device. If this happens, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.
![Windows asking for permissions to run the HitmanPro setup file Windows asking for permissions to run the HitmanPro setup](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
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Follow the on-screen prompts.
When HitmanPro starts you will be presented with the start screen as shown below. Click on the “Next” button to perform a system scan.
![Click Next to install HitmanPro on your computer Click Next to install HitmanPro on your PC](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
![Click Next to finish the HitmanPro install HitmanPro final installer screen](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
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Wait for the HitmanPro scan to complete.
HitmanPro will now begin to scan your computer for the Encyclopedia Wanderer browser hijacker and other malicious programs.
![HitmanPro while scanning for the Encyclopedia Wanderer malware HitmanPro scans your computer for any infections, adware, or potentially unwanted programs that may be present](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
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Click on “Next”.
When HitmanPro has finished the scan, it will display a list of all the malware that it has found. Click on the “Next” button to have HitmanPro remove the detected items.
![Click Next to remove the malware that HitmanPro has detected HitmanPro scan summary. Click Next to remove the Encyclopedia Wanderer malware](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
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Click on “Activate free license”.
HitmanPro may now require to activate the free 30-days trial to remove the malicious files. To do this, click on the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial and remove all the malicious files from your computer.
![Click on the Activate free license button to remove malware Click on the Activate free license button](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
When the malware removal process is complete, it will display a screen that shows the status of the various programs that were removed. At this screen, you should click on the Next button and then if prompted you should click on the Reboot button. If HitmanPro does not prompt you to reboot, please just click on the Close button.
STEP 3: Use AdwCleaner to remove adware and malicious browser policies
In this third step, we will use AdwCleaner to remove adware and malicious browser policies that might be set on your computer.
AdwCleaner is a free popular on-demand scanner that can detect and remove malware that even the most well-known anti-virus and anti-malware applications fail to find. This on-demand scanner includes a lot of tools that can be used to fix the side effects of browser hijackers.
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Download AdwCleaner.
You can download AdwCleaner by clicking the link below.
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Double-click on the setup file.
Double-click on the file named “adwcleaner_x.x.x.exe” to start AdwCleaner. In most cases, downloaded files are saved to the Downloads folder.
![Double-click on the AdwCleaner setup file Download AdwCleaner on your computer](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
AdwCleaner program will now open and you will be presented with the program’s license agreement. After you read it, click on the I agree button if you wish to continue. If Windows prompts you as to whether or not you wish to run AdwCleaner, please allow it to run.
![Click Yes to allow AdwCleaner to run Windows ask if you want to run AdwCleaner](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
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Enable “Reset Chrome policies” to remove malicious browser policies.
When AdwCleaner starts, on the left side of the window, click on “Settings” and then enable “Reset Chrome policies“.
![Enable Reset Chrome policies to remove Encyclopedia Wanderer malware Enable Reset Chrome policies to remove malicious browser policies](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
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Click on the “Scan” button.
On the left side of the AdwCleaner window, click on “Dashboard” and then click “Scan” to perform a computer scan.
![Click on Scan to start a AdwCleaner scan Click on Scan to start a AdwCleaner scan](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
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Wait for the AdwCleaner scan to finish.
AdwCleaner will now scan your computer for the Encyclopedia Wanderer browser hijacker and other malicious programs. This process can take a few minutes.
![AdwCleaner scanning for malware AdwCleaner scanning for adware and other malware](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
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Click on “Quarantine” to remove malware.
When the AdwCleaner scan is completed it will display all of the items it has found. Click on the “Quarantine” button to remove the Encyclopedia Wanderer browser hijacker and other malicious programs from your computer.
![Click on Quarantine to remove Encyclopedia Wanderer browser hijacker and other malicious programs from your computer Click on Quarantine to remove malware](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
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Click on “Continue” to start malware removal.
AdwCleaner will now prompt you to save any open files or data as the program will need to close any open programs before it starts to clean. Click on the “Continue” button to finish the removal process.
![Save your work and then click on the Continue button Click Continue to remove malicious files](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
AdwCleaner will now delete all detected malware from your computer. When the malware removal process is complete, you can close AdwCleaner and continue with the rest of the next steps from this guide.
STEP 4: Reset your web browser to its original settings to remove Encyclopedia Wanderer
If you are still having problems with the Encyclopedia Wanderer browser hijacker then you should also reset your browsers back to their default configuration. Please note that this method will remove all extensions, toolbars, and other customizations but will leave your bookmarks and favorites intact. For each browser that you have installed on your computer, please click on the browsers tab below and follow the displayed steps to reset that browser.
ChromeFirefoxMicrosoft EdgeInternet Explorer
Remove Encyclopedia Wanderer browser hijacker from Google Chrome
To remove Encyclopedia Wanderer from Google Chrome, we will reset the browser settings to their original defaults. This will reset your startup page, new tab page, search engine, and pinned tabs. It will also disable all extensions and clear temporary data like cookies. Your favorites, history, and saved passwords will not be cleared.
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Click the three dots in the top-right corner and then click on “Settings”.
Open Chrome and click on the menu button (represented by three vertical dots) in the top right corner of the window. In the dropdown menu that opens, click “Settings“.
![Click on the Chrome menu button then on the Settings button Click on the Chrome menu button then on the Settings button](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
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Click “Advanced”.
Chrome’s “Settings” should now be displayed in a new tab or window, depending on your configuration. In the left sidebar, click on the “Advanced” link.
![Click on the Advanced button Click on the Advanced link](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
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Click “Reset and clean up”.
In the left sidebar, under the “Advanced” section, click on “Reset and clean up“.
![How to Remove Encyclopedia Wanderer Adware (Virus Removal Guide) 8 Click Reset and clean up button](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
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Click “Reset settings to their original defaults”.
In the main window, the “Reset and clean up” section is visible, as shown in the screenshot below. Click on “Reset settings to their original defaults“.
![Click on Reset settings to their original defaults link Click on Reset settings to their original defaults](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
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Click “Reset settings”.
A confirmation dialog will now be displayed, detailing the components that will be restored to their default state should you continue with the reset process. To complete the restoration process, click on the “Reset settings” button.
![Click on Reset Settings to restore Google Chrome to its default settings Click on Reset Settings to restore Google Chrome to its default settings](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
Remove Encyclopedia Wanderer browser hijacker from Firefox
To remove the Encyclopedia Wanderer redirect from Firefox we will reset the browser settings to its default. The reset feature fixes many issues by restoring Firefox to its factory default state while saving your essential information like bookmarks, passwords, web form auto-fill information, browsing history, and open tabs.
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Click the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner and then click on “Help”.
Click on Firefox’s main menu button, represented by three horizontal lines. When the drop-down menu appears, select the option labeled “Help“.
![Click the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner and then click on Help Click on the Firefox Menu button then select Help button](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
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Click “More troubleshooting information”.
From the Help menu, click on “More troubleshooting information“.
![Click the More Troubleshooting Information link Click More Troubleshooting Information](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
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Click on “Refresh Firefox”
When the “Troubleshooting Information” page opens, click on the “Refresh Firefox” button.
![How to Remove Encyclopedia Wanderer Adware (Virus Removal Guide) 9 Click on Refresh Firefox](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
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Confirm that you want to reset your browser settings.
To finish the reset process, click on the “Refresh Firefox” button in the new confirmation window that opens.
![Click the on Refresh Firefox to confirm Click again on Refresh Firefox button](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
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Click “Finish”.
Firefox will now close itself and will revert to its default settings. When it’s done, a window will list the information that was imported. Click on “Finish“.
Your old Firefox profile will be placed on your desktop in a folder named “Old Firefox Data“. If the reset didn’t fix your problem you can restore some of the information not saved by copying files to the new profile that was created. If you don’t need this folder any longer, you should delete it as it contains sensitive information.
Remove Encyclopedia Wanderer browser hijacker from Microsoft Edge
To remove the Encyclopedia Wanderer redirect from Microsoft Edge we will reset the browser settings to their default. This will reset your startup page, new tab page, search engine, and pinned tabs. It will also disable all extensions and clear temporary data like cookies. Your favorites, history, and saved passwords will not be cleared.
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Click the three dots in the top-right corner and then click on “Settings”.
In the top right corner, click on Microsoft Edge’s main menu button, represented by three horizontal dots. When the drop-down menu appears, click on “Settings“.
![Click the three dots in the top-right corner and then click on Settings Click the three dots in the top-right corner and then click on Settings](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
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Click on “Reset Settings”.
On the left side of the window, click on “Reset Settings“.
![Click Reset Settings Click Reset Settings option](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
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Click on “Restore settings to their default values”.
In the main window, click on “Restore settings to their default values“.
![Click Restore settings to their default values Select Restore settings to their default values](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
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Click “Reset”.
A confirmation dialog should now be displayed, detailing the components that will be restored to their default state should you continue with the reset process. To complete the restoration process, click on the “Reset” button.
![Click Reset to reset Microsoft Edge Click Reset to reset your browser](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
Microsoft Edge will now erase all your personal data, browsing history, and disable all installed extensions. Your bookmarks, though, will remain intact and still be accessible.
Remove Encyclopedia Wanderer browser hijacker from Internet Explorer
To remove the Encyclopedia Wanderer redirect from Internet Explorer we will reset the browser settings to its default. You can reset Internet Explorer settings to return them to the state they were in when Internet Explorer was first installed on your computer.
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Go to “Internet Options”.
Open Internet Explorer, click on the gear icon in the upper-right part of your browser, then select “Internet Options“.
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Select the “Advanced” tab, then click “Reset”
In the “Internet Options” dialog box, select the “Advanced” tab, then click on the “Reset” button.
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Click on “Reset”.
In the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” section, select the “Delete personal settings” checkbox, then click on the “Reset” button.
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Click on “Close”.
When Internet Explorer has completed its task, click on the “Close” button in the confirmation dialogue box.
Close your browser and then you can open Internet Explorer again.
Your computer should now be free of the Encyclopedia Wanderer browser hijacker. If your current antivirus allowed a malicious program on your computer, you might want to consider purchasing Malwarebytes Premium to protect against these types of threats in the future.
If you are still experiencing problems while trying to remove a malicious program from your computer, please ask for help in our Mac Malware Removal Help & Support forum.