Browser Homepage Hijacked and Won't Change: How to Remove Persistent Navigation Redirects

You set the homepage to Baidu, restart, and it is back to a 360, 2345, hao123 or Duba navigation page. Changing the homepage inside the browser alone will not hold, because the cause sits outside the browser. A URL has been appended to your shortcut, something unwanted runs in the background, and startup entries have been written to the registry. Clearing it for good means working through browser, shortcut, program and registry in that order.

1. Change it in the browser first (necessary, often not enough)

  1. Edge. Settings > Start, home, and new tabs, then set both the homepage and the new tab page to what you want, such as about:blank or bing.com, and remove any unfamiliar navigation page listed under "Open these pages".
  2. Chrome. Settings > On startup, choose "Open a specific page or set of pages", delete the unfamiliar URLs, and put yours in.
  3. Change the search engine too. This is the step people skip, and without it the address bar still redirects to the navigation site.
  4. Clean up extensions. Settings > Extensions, remove anything you do not recognise, and turn off "Continue running background extensions" while you are there.

If it reverts after a restart, something outside the browser is rewriting it on every boot. Keep going.

2. Check the shortcut for an appended URL (common and easy to miss)

A lot of hijacking works by tacking a URL onto the browser shortcut.

  1. Right-click the browser icon on the desktop or taskbar > Properties.
  2. Look at the Target field. It should contain only the program path, something like "C:\...\chrome.exe". If a http://xxx.com or a string of parameters follows, delete that part and leave just the path, quotes included.
  3. Check the Start menu shortcut too, under %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs.
  4. Launch from the shortcut again and the homepage loads without the forced parameter.

3. Uninstall the software actually responsible

Homepage hijacking almost always traces back to something you installed, an archive tool, a PDF reader, a wallpaper app, a security suite or an input method.

  1. Settings > Apps > Installed apps, sort by install date, and look at anything recent and suspicious. Names containing "navigation", "guard" or "homepage lock" are the first to go.
  2. A dedicated uninstaller does a cleaner job. Geek Uninstaller, which is free, or Revo Uninstaller scans for leftover files and registry entries as it uninstalls, which stops the program leaving a service behind that keeps rewriting your homepage.
  3. When you reinstall something you actually need, always choose the custom install path and clear every bundled option.

4. Kill the background process and the startup entry

  1. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc > Startup apps, and disable anything you do not recognise or whose name looks odd, especially entries carrying a navigation domain.
  2. In Task Manager > Processes, look for unusual CPU or network use and processes with random-looking names. End it, open its file location and delete it, after searching online to confirm it really is unwanted.
  3. Press Win+R, type taskschd.msc, and in the Task Scheduler Library look for tasks triggered at log on or at startup whose action points at an unfamiliar exe. Disable or delete them.

5. Clean the registry and group policy (for stubborn cases)

Before editing the registry, create a system restore point or export the keys you are about to change. Reset This PC or System Restore in Windows 11 explains how restore points work.

  1. Press Win+R and type regedit.
    • Under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main, set Start Page and Default_Page_URL to the address you want.
    • Under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge and ...\Policies\Microsoft\Chrome, delete forced policy values such as Homepage and RestoreOnStartup if they are present. Locking the homepage through policy is a standard trick for both enterprise management and unwanted software.
  2. Group policy (Pro and Enterprise only). Open gpedit.msc > Computer Configuration or User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > the relevant browser, and set items such as "Disable changing home page settings" to Not Configured.
  3. Run a scan with AdwCleaner, which is free and from Malwarebytes. It targets adware and browser hijacker leftovers, including rules and extensions, and saves you editing things by hand.

6. Lock it down so it cannot happen again

  • Use browsers downloaded from the official source only. Avoid "green" or cracked builds from download portals.
  • Always pick custom or advanced install, and clear options such as "set XX as homepage" and "lock navigation". They come ticked by default.
  • Lock your default apps. Settings > Apps > Default apps, bind HTTP and HTTPS to your browser so another program cannot take them over. Default Apps Keep Changing in Windows 11 covers the full diagnosis when defaults get stolen.
  • Run Geek or Revo plus AdwCleaner periodically, to catch navigation software that got installed quietly.

7. When it still will not stick

If the homepage still jumps after all of that, your browser profile itself has probably been injected. Reset the browser directly, in Settings > Reset settings > Restore settings to their original defaults, which clears extensions and tampering while keeping bookmarks. Syncing bookmarks first is safer. If that fails too, uninstall the browser and install a fresh copy from the official site.

Common questions

Why does the homepage revert every time I restart?

Because something rewrites it at startup. Check the Target field of your shortcut as described in section 2, since that is the spot most often overlooked, then startup entries and scheduled tasks.

I uninstalled the suspicious software and the 360 navigation page is still there. What else?

Check the Policies values in the registry and any unfamiliar entries in Task Scheduler. Ordinary uninstallers do not remove either of those.

The homepage on my work or school computer cannot be changed. Why?

It is most likely locked by group policy, which is an administrative setting you cannot override personally. Ask the administrator, or check whether the device has left domain management.

Can AdwCleaner delete legitimate software by mistake?

It targets adware and browser hijacker rules, so the risk is low. Read its results before you tick anything, and back up your bookmarks if you are unsure.

Does resetting the browser delete my bookmarks?

No, bookmarks are kept. Extensions, homepage settings, the search engine and temporary data are cleared, so syncing once before you reset is the safest route.