Search.cl-cmf.com virus (Improved Guide)

Search.cl-cmf.com virus Removal Guide

What is Search.cl-cmf.com virus?

Search.cl-cmf.com offers links to websites related to gaming but also negatively impacts your browsing routine

Image of the Search.cl-cmf.com browser hijacker

Search.cl-cmf.com is a website created to attract unsuspecting computer users. At first sight, it might seem like the program is useful, as some people might install it to acquire easy access to games. Nonetheless, the browser changes seem to appear seemingly out of nowhere – this is because a popular software distribution technique known as bundling is used.

Once installed, the app would take over your web browser – it would assign its own homepage and provide search results using search.yahoo.com. Unlike the original results, however, you would see plenty of sponsored links and other commercial content displayed at the top. These “advanced” results are there for one reason – to make you click on sponsored links and benefit the app's authors financially.

Name Search.cl-cmf.com
Type Browser hijacker
Distribution Software bundles, third-party websites
Symptoms Replaces homepage and new tab URL with its own; applies a customized search engine which redirects all results to Yahoo; inserts sponsored links into search results
Uninstall You can get rid of the browser hijacker by either scanning the device with antivirus software or following manual instructions
System fix After the elimination of adware or malware, we highly recommend running a scan with FortectIntego repair software for best results

The hijacker targets online gamers who cannot go a day without finishing some exciting new level or two. It promises to make this experience more convenient by offering links to free gaming websites, including:

  • TerraArcade
  • BigFish games
  • Addicting games
  • Target Games
  • Besy Buy Games
  • Minecraft, Roblox, and Skincraft login pages, etc.

Reaching your favorite websites directly from your homepage might seem like a useful feature at first, but rarely do computer users set this website as their default by their own will. More commonly, the website shows up on the computer without any warning.

After closer investigation, we have also revealed its close connection to a well-known browser hijacker – Safer Browser. This connection often signals that the related domain is also a part of the browser hijacker infection. Looking at the provided homepage, you can see the warning signs pretty clearly. That this site is untrustworthy can even be suspected after examining the provided quick links.

Some of them lead to unreliable gaming, while other links do not work entirely. These aspects alone are good reasons to carry out Search.cl-cmf.com removal. If you are ready for that – go ahead and run SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or some other trustworthy malware scanning tool. Also, for your browsers and general system stability, we recommend using FortectIntego.

Shady redirects bring us to the initial purpose of the hijack – advertising. The website links you can see on this domain are most likely affiliated with the hijacker developers, who receive revenue from their advertising. Nevertheless, this pay-per-click strategy is not only a problem of the quick links.

The redirect issue is also highly pronounced in this suspicious site’s search results. They mostly include commercial content, links to retail sites, and various services. Careless advertising may quickly become a cause of malware infection or involvement in some online scam as well.

If you previously had any doubts about whether to remove Search.cl-cmf.com from your computer or not, we hope you have now made up your mind and can proceed to the virus removal recommendations below.

Search.cl-cmf.com homepage

Hijackers can be found hidden within software bundles

A browser hijacker can slither into your computer without being noticed when installing freeware or shareware applications. Browser hijackers, in particular, are the type of potentially unwanted programs that rarely spread individually. Thus, they when they attach to freeware they can also drag some other malware with it.

The users who are installing new applications on their computers are recommended to remain vigilant and stay on the trusted and verified parts of the Internet, avoid downloading pirated software and always check whether the downloaded programs are not bundled with some undesirable applications.

The best way to deal with Search.cl-cmf.com removal

No matter how convenient it might be, the browser changes will not vanish from your computer on their own. It must be eliminated with the user’s initiative. There are two different ways to remove a PUP from the computer, so you have to carefully choose the one that suits your computer capabilities better.

The first one is the manual Search.cl-cmf.com removal technique. It is useful in cases when there are problems with the computer’s performance capacities or memory. But if your computer is running smooth and you have a couple of gigabytes of free space on it — we recommend automatic virus removal. The antivirus utility will scan your entire system, leaving no undesirable files behind, and you will be able to enjoy a virus-free computer.

You may remove virus damage with a help of FortectIntego. SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner and Malwarebytes are recommended to detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.

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Compatible with Microsoft Windows Compatible with macOS
What to do if failed?
If you failed to fix virus damage using Fortect Intego, submit a question to our support team and provide as much details as possible.
Fortect Intego has a free limited scanner. Fortect Intego offers more through scan when you purchase its full version. When free scanner detects issues, you can fix them using free manual repairs or you can decide to purchase the full version in order to fix them automatically.
Alternative Software
Different software has a different purpose. If you didn’t succeed in fixing corrupted files with Fortect, try running SpyHunter 5.
Alternative Software
Different software has a different purpose. If you didn’t succeed in fixing corrupted files with Intego, try running Combo Cleaner.

Getting rid of Search.cl-cmf.com virus. Follow these steps

Uninstall from Windows

Instructions for Windows 10/8  machines:

  1. Enter Control Panel into Windows search box and hit Enter or click on the search result.
  2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program. Uninstall from Windows 1
  3. From the list, find the entry of the suspicious program.
  4. Right-click on the application and select Uninstall.
  5. If User Account Control shows up, click Yes.
  6. Wait till uninstallation process is complete and click OK. Uninstall from Windows 2

If you are Windows 7/XP user, proceed with the following instructions:

  1. Click on Windows Start > Control Panel located on the right pane (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
  2. In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program. Uninstall from Windows 7/XP
  3. Pick the unwanted application by clicking on it once.
  4. At the top, click Uninstall/Change.
  5. In the confirmation prompt, pick Yes.
  6. Click OK once the removal process is finished.

Delete from macOS

When you decide to remove a hijacker from your Mac OS, don't try looking for an application with this exact name – you will probably won't find it. Instead, browse through your software and look for suspicious applications that you may not remember installing and remove them if you find them related to the virus.

Remove items from Applications folder:

  1. From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
  2. In the Applications folder, look for all related entries.
  3. Click on the app and drag it to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash) Uninstall from Mac 1

To fully remove an unwanted app, you need to access Application Support, LaunchAgents, and LaunchDaemons folders and delete relevant files:

  1. Select Go > Go to Folder.
  2. Enter /Library/Application Support and click Go or press Enter.
  3. In the Application Support folder, look for any dubious entries and then delete them.
  4. Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the related .plist files. Uninstall from Mac 2

Remove from Microsoft Edge

Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:

  1. Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
  2. From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
  3. Click on Uninstall at the bottom. Remove extensions from Edge

Clear cookies and other browser data:

  1. Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Privacy & security.
  2. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  3. Select everything (apart from passwords, although you might want to include Media licenses as well, if applicable) and click on Clear. Clear Edge browsing data

Restore new tab and homepage settings:

  1. Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
  2. Then find On startup section.
  3. Click Disable if you found any suspicious domain.

Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:

  1. Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
  2. Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
  3. Select Details tab.
  4. Now scroll down and locate every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right-click on each of them and select End Task to stop MS Edge from running. Reset MS Edge

If this solution failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method. Note that you need to backup your data before proceeding.

  1. Find the following folder on your computer: C:\\Users\\%username%\\AppData\\Local\\Packages\\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe.
  2. Press Ctrl + A on your keyboard to select all folders.
  3. Right-click on them and pick Delete Advanced MS Edge reset 1
  4. Now right-click on the Start button and pick Windows PowerShell (Admin).
  5. When the new window opens, copy and paste the following command, and then press Enter:

    Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\\AppXManifest.xml” -Verbose Advanced MS Edge reset 2

Instructions for Chromium-based Edge

Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):

  1. Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
  2. Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove. Remove extensions from Chromium Edge

Clear cache and site data:

  1. Click on Menu and go to Settings.
  2. Select Privacy, search and services.
  3. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  4. Under Time range, pick All time.
  5. Select Clear now. Clear browser data from Chroum Edge

Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:

  1. Click on Menu and select Settings.
  2. On the left side, pick Reset settings.
  3. Select Restore settings to their default values.
  4. Confirm with Reset. Reset Chromium Edge

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)

Remove dangerous extensions:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
  2. Select Add-ons.
  3. In here, select unwanted plugin and click Remove. Remove extensions from Firefox

Reset the homepage:

  1. Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
  2. Choose Options.
  3. Under Home options, enter your preferred site that will open every time you newly open the Mozilla Firefox.

Clear cookies and site data:

  1. Click Menu and pick Settings.
  2. Go to Privacy & Security section.
  3. Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
  4. Click on Clear Data…
  5. Select Cookies and Site Data, as well as Cached Web Content and press Clear. Clear cookies and site data from Firefox

Reset Mozilla Firefox

If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
  2. Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information. Reset Firefox 1
  3. Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox…
  4. Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox. Reset Firefox 2

Remove from Google Chrome

Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

  1. Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
  2. In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all the suspicious plugins that might be related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove. Remove extensions from Chrome

Clear cache and web data from Chrome:

  1. Click on Menu and pick Settings.
  2. Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
  3. Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
  4. Click Clear data. Clear cache and web data from Chrome

Change your homepage:

  1. Click menu and choose Settings.
  2. Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
  3. Click on Open a specific or set of pages and click on three dots to find the Remove option.

Reset Google Chrome:

If the previous methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the unwanted components:

  1. Click on Menu and select Settings.
  2. In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
  3. Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
  4. Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
  5. Confirm with Reset settings. Reset Chrome 2

Delete from Safari

Remove unwanted extensions from Safari:

  1. Click Safari > Preferences…
  2. In the new window, pick Extensions.
  3. Select the unwanted extension and select Uninstall. Remove extensions from Safari

Clear cookies and other website data from Safari:

  1. Click Safari > Clear History…
  2. From the drop-down menu under Clear, pick all history.
  3. Confirm with Clear History. Clear cookies and website data from Safari

Reset Safari if the above-mentioned steps did not help you:

  1. Click Safari > Preferences…
  2. Go to Advanced tab.
  3. Tick the Show Develop menu in menu bar.
  4. From the menu bar, click Develop, and then select Empty Caches. Reset Safari

After uninstalling this potentially unwanted program (PUP) and fixing each of your web browsers, we recommend you to scan your PC system with a reputable anti-spyware. This will help you to get rid of Search.cl-cmf.com registry traces and will also identify related parasites or possible malware infections on your computer. For that you can use our top-rated malware remover: FortectIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes.

How to prevent from getting browser hijacker

Access your website securely from any location

When you work on the domain, site, blog, or different project that requires constant management, content creation, or coding, you may need to connect to the server and content management service more often. The best solution for creating a tighter network could be a dedicated/fixed IP address.

If you make your IP address static and set to your device, you can connect to the CMS from any location and do not create any additional issues for the server or network manager that needs to monitor connections and activities. VPN software providers like Private Internet Access can help you with such settings and offer the option to control the online reputation and manage projects easily from any part of the world.

 

Recover files after data-affecting malware attacks

While much of the data can be accidentally deleted due to various reasons, malware is one of the main culprits that can cause loss of pictures, documents, videos, and other important files. More serious malware infections lead to significant data loss when your documents, system files, and images get encrypted. In particular, ransomware is is a type of malware that focuses on such functions, so your files become useless without an ability to access them.

Even though there is little to no possibility to recover after file-locking threats, some applications have features for data recovery in the system. In some cases, Data Recovery Pro can also help to recover at least some portion of your data after data-locking virus infection or general cyber infection. 

 

About the author
Olivia Morelli
Olivia Morelli - Ransomware analyst

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