Watchic is a browser extension that injects advertisements into websites you visit and redirects your browser search queries.
What is the Watchic extension?
Watchic is a browser extension that claims to allow its users to watch free movies online but instead displays advertisements in the browser. When installed, this extension will open new tabs in the browser that display advertisements trying to sell software, push fake software updates, and tech support scams.
When the Watchic browser hijacker is installed on a computer, common symptoms include:
- The Watchic program or browser extension is installed on your computer.
- Advertisements appear in places they shouldn’t be.
- Website links redirect to sites different from what you expected.
- Your browser search queries are redirected through unwanted search engines.
How was the Watchic extension installed on my computer?
The Watchic extension is currently being distributed using advertisements similar to the one below.
Less than reputable sites can redirect your browser to these Watchic ads to generate advertising revenue. If this happens, you can close the page and install a legitimate ad blocker like AdGuard to remove ads from the sites you visit.
However, if you continuously see these Watchic ads, then your computer might be infected with a malicious program, and we will need to scan your device for malware and remove it.
If you do not know how this extension was installed or are concerned other extensions or unwanted programs may be installed on your device, you can use the removal guide below.
Removal Instructions for Watchic Extension
Please perform all the steps in the correct order. If you have any questions or doubts at any point, stop and ask for our assistance.
Remove Watchic from Windows
- STEP 1: Use Malwarebytes to remove the Watchic browser hijacker
- STEP 2: Use HitmanPro to scan your computer Trojans and other malware
- STEP 3: Use AdwCleaner to remove adware and malicious browser policies
- STEP 4: Remove Watchic from your browser
STEP 1: Use Malwarebytes to remove the Watchic 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 stands out as one of the leading and widely-used anti-malware solutions for Windows, and for good reason. It effectively eradicates various types of malware that other programs often overlook, all at no cost to you. When it comes to disinfecting an infected device, Malwarebytes has consistently been a free and indispensable tool in the battle against malware. We highly recommend it for maintaining a clean and secure system.
Download Malwarebytes for Windows
You can download Malwarebytes by clicking the link below.
MALWAREBYTES FOR WINDOWS DOWNLOAD LINK
(The above link will open a new page from where you can download Malwarebytes)-
Install Malwarebytes
After the download is complete, locate the MBSetup file, typically found in your Downloads folder. Double-click on the MBSetup file to begin the installation of Malwarebytes on your computer. If a User Account Control pop-up appears, click “Yes” to continue the Malwarebytes installation.
Follow the On-Screen Prompts to Install Malwarebytes
When the Malwarebytes installation begins, the setup wizard will guide you through the process.
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You’ll first be prompted to choose the type of computer you’re installing the program on—select either “Personal Computer” or “Work Computer” as appropriate, then click on Next.
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Malwarebytes will now begin the installation process on your device.
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When the Malwarebytes installation is complete, the program will automatically open to the “Welcome to Malwarebytes” screen.
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On the final screen, simply click on the Open Malwarebytes option to start the program.
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Enable “Rootkit scanning”.
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now start, and you will see the main screen as shown below. To maximize Malwarebytes’ ability to detect malware and unwanted programs, we need to enable rootkit scanning. Click on the “Settings” gear icon located on the left of the screen to access the general settings section.
In the settings menu, enable the “Scan for rootkits” option by clicking the toggle switch until it turns blue.
Now that you have enabled rootkit scanning, click on the “Dashboard” button in the left pane to get back to the main screen.
Perform a Scan with Malwarebytes.
To start a scan, click the Scan button. Malwarebytes will automatically update its antivirus database and begin scanning your computer for malicious programs.
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Wait for the Malwarebytes scan to complete.
Malwarebytes will now scan your computer for browser hijackers and other malicious programs. This process can take a few minutes, so we suggest you do something else and periodically check the status of the scan to see when it is finished.
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Quarantine detected malware
Once the Malwarebytes scan is complete, it will display a list of detected malware, adware, and potentially unwanted programs. To effectively remove these threats, click the “Quarantine” button.
Malwarebytes will now delete all of the files and registry keys and add them to the program’s quarantine.
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Restart your computer.
When removing files, Malwarebytes may require a reboot to fully eliminate some threats. If you see a message indicating that a reboot is needed, please allow it. Once your computer has restarted and you are logged back in, you can continue with the remaining steps.
STEP 2: Use HitmanPro to scan your computer for Watchic and other malware
In this second 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 cleanup.
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Download HitmanPro.
You can download HitmanPro by clicking the link below.
HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK
(The above link will open a new web page from where you can download HitmanPro) -
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.
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.
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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.
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Wait for the HitmanPro scan to complete.
HitmanPro will now begin to scan your computer for malicious programs.
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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.
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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.
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 the malicious browser policies that were set by browser hijackers on your computer and delete malicious browser extensions.
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 adware. browser hijackers and other malware.
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Download AdwCleaner.
You can download AdwCleaner by clicking the link below.
ADWCLEANER DOWNLOAD LINK
(The above link will open a new web page from where you can download AdwCleaner) -
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.
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.
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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“.
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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.
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Wait for the AdwCleaner scan to finish.
AdwCleaner will now scan your computer for malware. This process can take a few minutes.
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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 malicious programs from your computer.
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Click on “Continue” to remove the malicious programs.
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.
AdwCleaner will now delete all detected malware from your computer. When the malware removal process is complete, you may be asked to restart your computer.
STEP 4: Remove Watchic from your browser
In this final step, we will remove spam notifications, malicious extensions, and change to default any settings that might have been changed by malware.
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.
Remove Watchic browser hijacker from Google Chrome
To remove Watchic browser hijacker 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 “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 “Reset and clean up”.
In the left sidebar, under the “Advanced” section, click on “Reset and clean up“. -
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 “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. -
(Optional) Reset Chrome Data Sync.
In case a malicious extension reinstalls itself even after performing a browser reset, you have an additional option to reset the data sync for your browser. To do this, navigate to chrome.google.com/sync and click on the Clear Data button.
Remove Watchic browser hijacker from Firefox
To remove the Watchic browser hijacker 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“.
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Click “More troubleshooting information”.
From the Help menu, click on “More troubleshooting information“.
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Click on “Refresh Firefox”
When the “Troubleshooting Information” page opens, click on the “Refresh Firefox” button.
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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.
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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 Watchic browser hijacker from Microsoft Edge
To remove the Watchic browser hijacker 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“.
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Click on “Reset Settings”.
On the left side of the window, click on “Reset Settings“.
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Click on “Restore settings to their default values”.
In the main window, click on “Restore settings to their default values“.
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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.
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 Watchic browser hijacker from Internet Explorer
To remove the Watchic browser hijacker 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 Watchic browser hijacker.
If your current antivirus allowed this malicious program on your computer, you may want to consider purchasing Malwarebytes Premium to protect against these types of threats in the future.
If you are still having problems with your computer after completing these instructions, then please follow one of the steps:
- Run a computer scan with ESET Online Scanner
- Ask for help in our Windows Malware Removal Help & Support forum.
Remove Watchic from Mac
- STEP 1: Remove malicious Profiles from your Mac
- STEP 2: Remove the malicious programs from Mac
- STEP 3: Use Malwarebytes for Mac to remove the Watchic browser hijacker
- STEP 4: Remove Watchic browser hijacker from Safari, Chrome, or Firefox
STEP 1: Remove malicious Profiles from your Mac
Profiles are used by IT admins in businesses to control the behavior of their Macs. These profiles can configure a Mac to do many different things, some of which are not otherwise possible.
When it comes to home users, adware and browser hijackers are using the configuration profile to prevent users from removing malicious programs from the computer. This also prevents the user from changing that behavior in the browser’s settings.
In this first step, we will check your computer to see if any configuration profiles are installed. To do this, follow the below steps:
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Open “System Preferences”
From the Apple menu, select System Preferences.
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Search for “Profiles”
When the System Preferences window opens, search for the Profiles icon.
If there isn’t a Profiles icon, you don’t have any profiles installed, which is normal and you can continue with the next steps. -
Remove the malicious profiles
If there’s a Profile icon, click on it and select any suspicious profile that you want to remove, and then press the – (minus) button. Click Remove to remove the profile.
STEP 2: Remove the malicious programs from Mac
In this second step, we will try to identify and remove any malicious apps and files that might be installed on your computer. Sometimes redirects or adware programs can have usable Uninstall entries that can be used to remove these programs.
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Quit the malicious programs
On the Apple menu bar, in the top-right corner, if you see any unknown or suspicious icon, click on it and then select Quit.
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Open “Finder”
Click the Finder application on your dock.
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Click on “Applications”
In the Finder left pane, click on “Applications“.
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Find and remove the malicious app.
The “Applications” screen will be displayed with a list of all the apps installed on your device. Scroll through the list until you find the malicious app, right-click it, and then click “Move to Trash”.
Look out for any suspicious program that could be behind all the drama – anything you don’t remember downloading or that doesn’t sound like a genuine program. Here are some known malicious programs: SearchMine, TakeFresh, TopResults, FeedBack, ApplicationEvents, GeneralOpen, PowerLog, MessengerNow, ImagePrime, GeneralNetSearch, Reading Cursors, GlobalTechSearch, PDFOnline-express, See Scenic Elf, MatchKnowledge, Easy Speedtest, or WebDiscover.
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Click “Empty Trash”
On the dock, right-click on the trash icon and select “Empty Trash”. Doing so deletes the Trash’s contents, including the program that you just sent to the Trash.
Find and remove the malicious files
- Click the desktop to make sure you’re in the Finder, choose “Go” then click on “Go to Folder“.
- Type or copy/paste each of the below paths into the window that opens, then click Go.
- /Library/LaunchAgents
- ~/Library/LaunchAgents
- /Library/Application Support
- /Library/LaunchDaemons
- Look out for any suspicious files that could be behind all the drama – anything you don’t remember downloading or that doesn’t sound like a genuine program. These are some known malicious files: “com.adobe.fpsaud.plist” “installmac.AppRemoval.plist”, “myppes.download.plist”, “mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist”, or “com.myppes.net-preferences.plist”. When you find a malicious file move it to the Trash.
STEP 3: Use Malwarebytes for Mac to remove Watchic browser hijacker
In this third step, we will scan the computer with Malwarebytes for Mac to find and remove any malicious programs that might be installed on your Mac.
Malwarebytes for Mac is an on-demand scanner that can destroy many types of malware that other software tends to miss without costing you absolutely anything. 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 Mac.
You can download Malwarebytes for Mac by clicking the link below.
MALWAREBYTES FOR MAC DOWNLOAD LINK
(The above link will open a new page from where you can download Malwarebytes for Mac) -
Double-click on the Malwarebytes setup file.
When Malwarebytes has finished downloading, double-click on the setup file to install Malwarebytes on your computer. In most cases, downloaded files are saved to the Downloads folder.
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Follow the on-screen prompts to install Malwarebytes.
When the Malwarebytes installation begins, you will see the Malwarebytes for Mac Installer which will guide you through the installation process. Click “Continue“, then keep following the prompts to continue with the installation process.
When your Malwarebytes installation completes, the program opens to the Welcome to Malwarebytes screen. Click the “Get started” button.
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Select “Personal Computer” or “Work Computer”.
The Malwarebytes Welcome screen will first ask you what type of computer are you installing this program, click either Personal Computer or Work Computer.
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Click on “Scan”.
To scan your computer with Malwarebytes, click on the “Scan” button. Malwarebytes for Mac will automatically update the antivirus database and start scanning your computer for malware.
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Wait for the Malwarebytes scan to complete.
Malwarebytes will scan your computer for adware, browser hijackers, 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.
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Click on “Quarantine”.
When the scan has been completed, you will be presented with a screen showing the malware infections that Malwarebytes has detected. To remove the malware that Malwarebytes has found, click on the “Quarantine” button.
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Restart computer.
Malwarebytes will now remove all the malicious files that it has found. To complete the malware removal process, Malwarebytes may ask you to restart your computer.
STEP 4: Remove Watchic from Safari, Chrome, or Firefox
In this final step, we will remove spam notifications, malicious extensions, and change to default any settings that might have been changed by malware.
For each browser that you have installed on your computer, please click on the tab below and follow the displayed steps to reset that browser.
Remove Watchic browser hijacker from Safari
To remove the Watchic browser hijacker from Safari we will check if there are any malicious extensions installeded on your browser and what settings have been changed by this malicious program.
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Go to Safari’s “Preferences”.
On the menu bar, click the “Safari” menu and select “Preferences”.
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Check Homepage.
This will open a new window with your Safari preferences, opened to the “General” tab. Some browser hijackers may change your default homepage, so in the Homepage field make sure it’s a web page you want to use as your start-up page.
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Click “Extensions”
Next, click on the “Extensions” tab.
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Find and uninstall malicious extensions.
The “Extensions” screen will be displayed with a list of all the extensions installed on Safari. Look out for any suspicious browser extension that could be behind all the drama – anything you don’t remember downloading or that doesn’t sound like a genuine extension. By default, there are no extensions installed on Safari so it’s safe to remove an extension
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Remove spam notifications ads
Click Preferences, click Websites, then click Notifications. Deselect “Allow websites to ask for permission to send push notifications”.
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Remove all data stored by websites on your computer.
In the Safari menu, choose “Preferences…”, select “Privacy” at the top of the new window that appears, and then click the “Manage Website Data” button.
In the next dialog box, click “Remove All“. It will ask you if you are sure you want to remove all data stored by websites on your computer. Select “Remove Now” to clear data that could be used to track your browsing.
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Empty Safari Caches.
From your Safari menu bar, click Safari and select Preferences, then select the Advanced tab. Enable the checkbox to “Show Develop menu in menu bar“.
From the menu bar select Develop, then click on Empty Caches as seen in the image below.
Remove Watchic browser hijacker from Chrome for Mac
To remove the Watchic browser hijacker from Chrome for Mac we will reset the browser settings to its default. Doing these steps will erase all configuration information from Chrome such as your home page, tab settings, saved form information, browsing history, and cookies. This process will also disable any installed extensions. All of your bookmarks, though, will be preserved.
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Click on the three dots at the top right and go to Settings.
Click on Chrome’s main menu button, represented by three dots at the top right corner. Now click on the menu option labeled Settings as shown by the arrow in the picture below, which will open the basic settings screen. -
In the left sidebar, click on the “Reset and Cleanup” option.
In the left sidebar, click on “Reset and clean up“. -
Click “Reset settings to their original defaults”.
Now click on the “Reset settings to their original defaults”. link as shown in the image below. -
Click “Reset Settings” button.
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 Settings” button. -
(Optional) Reset Chrome Data Sync.
In case a malicious extension reinstalls itself even after performing a browser reset, you have an additional option to reset the data sync for your browser. To do this, navigate to chrome.google.com/sync and click on the Clear Data button.
Remove Watchic browser hijacker from Firefox for Mac
To remove the Watchic browser hijacker from Firefox for Mac 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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Go to the “Help” menu.
Click on Firefox’s main menu button, represented by three horizontal lines. When the drop-down menu appears, select the option labeled “Help“.
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Click “Troubleshooting Information”.
Next click on the “Troubleshooting Information” option as indicated by the arrow in the image below. This will bring you to a Troubleshooting page.
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Click on “Refresh Firefox”
Click the “Refresh Firefox” button in the upper-right corner of the “Troubleshooting Information” page.
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Confirm.
To continue, click on the “Refresh Firefox” button in the new confirmation window that opens.
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Click on “Finish”.
Firefox will close itself and will revert to its default settings. When it’s done, a window will list the information that was imported. Click on the “Finish“.
Your computer should now be free of the Watchic browser hijacker.
If your current antivirus allowed a malicious program on your computer, you might want to consider purchasing the full-featured version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware 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.