Remove Xiaoan Hijacker From PC

Xiaoan: Complete Delete Steps

Xiaoan is an ad-supported application that mainly targets Android smartphones and displays unwanted advertisements once gets into the device. Soon after infiltrating the targeted systems, it alters browser’s settings, tracks users’ web activities, gathers data and then just bombards the device with annoying advertisements. This potentially unwanted program is not quite a virus and it may not be as obviously dangerous as a lot of other cyber threats floating around the internet. But make no mistake about it, this adware not only can be really bothersome every time you use your system, but it could also cause long-term issues for your machine.

Xiaoan Gathers Information:

The most common reason for crafting browser hijackers like Xiaoan, VIPSearch Pro and others is to gather information about users with sole motive to make advertising revenues. It uses spying cookies to monitor your web activities such as pages you visit, links you click, search queries you type, IP addresses, geolocations and collects your browsing history in order generate ‘target’ advertisements that seem adapted to your interests. And thus, during the presence of this nasty PUP, you are just flooded with a number of intrusive ads all over the day which interrupts your web sessions badly. These ads come in multiple formats such as coupons, banners, offers, deals, discounts etc.

Ads by Xiaoan work on pay-per-click scheme and earn profits for the developers with each click users make on them. However, these pop-up ads can make your online experience noticeably slower and more effort demanding. No matter what the hijacker is, it will likely slow down your device and even make it more prone to crashing. During the presence of such notorious threats in your phone or computer, it’s normal to get an excessive amount of pop-up advertisements while web surfing. It’s even normal to see ads similar to something you may have searched for earlier.

Another major fact about Xiaoan ads is unwanted redirects. They contain sponsored links and when clicked, redirect you to affiliated domains that could be even malicious ones promoting dangerous virus, PUPs, dubious software, fake surveys, fake tech support scams and so on. Constant malicious activities performed by this nasty PUP consume enormous amount of memory resources and slows down the overall PC performance drastically. And hence, an instant Xiaoan removal is strongly required.

How Does This Hijacker Enter Your System?

PUPs such as browser hijackers, adware, and others are sometimes offered in official marketplaces like the Google Chrome Web Store. But more often, these apps are downloaded by clicking on several misleading ads. Deceptive ads might claim that you have a malware infection, or that your drivers are outdated, and so on. Don’t fall for the cheap tricks of cyber criminals. Users should Google apps or check before installing any unknown software.

One of the most popular PUP distribution methods is through software bundling. These unwanted programs added to a package together with regular software that looks like a single application. When users download the freeware from third-party sites like cnet.com, soft32.com, download.com, softonic.com etc. and then install it using the pre-set options, they generally end up with infecting their machine with PUPs. So, be careful and always select the Advanced or Custom installation options where you can opt-out the components that look suspicious. In case your machine is already infected with this hijacker, you must remove Xiaoan from the machine without wasting any time.

Antimalware Details And User Guide

Click Here For Windows Click Here For Mac

Important Note: This malware asks you to enable the web browser notifications. So, before you go the manual removal process, execute these steps.

Google Chrome (PC)

• Go to right upper corner of the screen and click on three dots to open the Menu button
• Select “Settings”. Scroll the mouse downward to choose “Advanced” option
• Go to “Privacy and Security” section by scrolling downward and then select “Content settings” and then “Notification” option
• Find each suspicious URLs and click on three dots on the right side and choose “Block” or “Remove” option

Google Chrome (Android)

• Go to right upper corner of the screen and click on three dots to open the menu button and then click on “Settings”
• Scroll down further to click on “site settings” and then press on “notifications” option
• In the newly opened window, choose each suspicious URLs one by one
• In the permission section, select “notification” and “Off” the toggle button

Mozilla Firefox

• On the right corner of the screen, you will notice three dots which is the “Menu” button
• Select “Options” and choose “Privacy and Security” in the toolbar present in the left side of the screen
• Slowly scroll down and go to “Permission” section then choose “Settings” option next to “Notifications”
• In the newly opened window, select all the suspicious URLs. Click on the drop-down menu and select “Block”

Internet Explorer

• In the Internet Explorer window, select the Gear button present on the right corner
• Choose “Internet Options”
• Select “Privacy” tab and then “Settings” under the “Pop-up Blocker” section
• Select all the suspicious URLs one by one and click on the “Remove” option

Microsoft Edge

• Open the Microsoft Edge and click on the three dots on the right corner of the screen to open the menu
• Scroll down and select “Settings”
• Scroll down further to choose “view advanced settings”
• In the “Website Permission” option, click on “Manage” option
• Click on switch under every suspicious URL

Safari (Mac):

• On the upper right side corner, click on “Safari” and then select “Preferences”
• Go to “website” tab and then choose “Notification” section on the left pane
• Search for the suspicious URLs and choose “Deny” option for each one of them

Manual Steps to Remove Xiaoan:

Remove the related items of Xiaoan using Control-Panel

Windows 7 Users

Click “Start” (the windows logo at the bottom left corner of the desktop screen), select “Control Panel”. Locate the “Programs” and then followed by clicking on “Uninstall Program”

Windows XP Users

Click “Start” and then choose “Settings” and then click “Control Panel”. Search and click on “Add or Remove Program’ option

Windows 10 and 8 Users:

Go to the lower left corner of the screen and right-click. In the “Quick Access” menu, choose “Control Panel”. In the newly opened window, choose “Program and Features”

Mac OSX Users

Click on “Finder” option. Choose “Application” in the newly opened screen. In the “Application” folder, drag the app to “Trash”. Right click on the Trash icon and then click on “Empty Trash”.

In the uninstall programs window, search for the PUAs. Choose all the unwanted and suspicious entries and click on “Uninstall” or “Remove”.

After you uninstall all the potentially unwanted program causing Xiaoan issues, scan your computer with an anti-malware tool for any remaining PUPs and PUAs or possible malware infection. To scan the PC, use the recommended the anti-malware tool.

How to Remove Adware (Xiaoan) from Internet Browsers

Delete malicious add-ons and extensions from IE

Click on the gear icon at the top right corner of Internet Explorer. Select “Manage Add-ons”. Search for any recently installed plug-ins or add-ons and click on “Remove”.

Additional Option

If you still face issues related to Xiaoan removal, you can reset the Internet Explorer to its default setting.

Windows XP users: Press on “Start” and click “Run”. In the newly opened window, type “inetcpl.cpl” and click on the “Advanced” tab and then press on “Reset”.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 Users: Press the Windows logo, type inetcpl.cpl in the start search box and press enter. In the newly opened window, click on the “Advanced Tab” followed by “Reset” button.

For Windows 8 Users: Open IE and click on the “gear” icon. Choose “Internet Options”

Select the “Advanced” tab in the newly opened window

Press on “Reset” option

You have to press on the “Reset” button again to confirm that you really want to reset the IE

Remove Doubtful and Harmful Extension from Google Chrome

Go to menu of Google Chrome by pressing on three vertical dots and select on “More tools” and then “Extensions”. You can search for all the recently installed add-ons and remove all of them.

Optional Method

If the problems related to Xiaoan still persists or you face any issue in removing, then it is advised that your reset the Google Chrome browse settings. Go to three dotted points at the top right corner and choose “Settings”. Scroll down bottom and click on “Advanced”.

At the bottom, notice the “Reset” option and click on it.

In the next opened window, confirm that you want to reset the Google Chrome settings by click on the “Reset” button.

Remove Xiaoan plugins (including all other doubtful plug-ins) from Firefox Mozilla

Open the Firefox menu and select “Add-ons”. Click “Extensions”. Select all the recently installed browser plug-ins.

Optional Method

If you face problems in Xiaoan removal then you have the option to rese the settings of Mozilla Firefox.

Open the browser (Mozilla Firefox) and click on the “menu” and then click on “Help”.

Choose “Troubleshooting Information”

In the newly opened pop-up window, click “Refresh Firefox” button

The next step is to confirm that really want to reset the Mozilla Firefox settings to its default by clicking on “Refresh Firefox” button.

Remove Malicious Extension from Safari

Open the Safari and go to its “Menu” and select “Preferences”.

Click on the “Extension” and select all the recently installed “Extensions” and then click on “Uninstall”.

Optional Method

Open the “Safari” and go menu. In the drop-down menu, choose “Clear History and Website Data”.

In the newly opened window, select “All History” and then press on “Clear History” option.

Delete Xiaoan (malicious add-ons) from Microsoft Edge

Open Microsoft Edge and go to three horizontal dot icons at the top right corner of the browser. Select all the recently installed extensions and right click on the mouse to “uninstall”

Optional Method

Open the browser (Microsoft Edge) and select “Settings”

Next steps is to click on “Choose what to clear” button

Click on “show more” and then select everything and then press on “Clear” button.

Conclusion

In most cases, the PUPs and adware gets inside the marked PC through unsafe freeware downloads. It is advised that you should only choose developers website only while downloading any kind of free applications. Choose custom or advanced installation process so that you can trace the additional PUPs listed for installation along with the main program.