MetaSearch is the fake search engine that claims to offer usefulness, so people can get rerouted to ad-supported sites
The intruder leads to random sites and fills the list of the search results with commercial material. Each search attempt shows results filled with affiliated, sponsored content that promotes useless software and triggers redirects to more deceptive sites. Such intrusive MetaSearch behavior affects the speed significantly and causes freezes or system crashes
Basically, they are connected to the ad-supported program and various advertisers that make money from these views and clicks on commercial content so PUP developers get paid for the services. The intruder can also trigger the installation of add-ons or browser plugins, so additional downloads affect the persistence of this PUP significantly. To end the intrusive behavior once and for all – go for the automatic system cleaning.
| Name | MetaSearch |
|---|---|
| Type | Browser hijacker |
| Symptoms | The program appears on the web browser as a new tab, homepage, and default search engine without user interference |
| Distribution | Freeware installers include PUP as addition and skipping through steps allows such programs to get automatically installed on the system |
| Danger | Ad-supported sites are related to services that use cookies and other tracking methods, so your data related to browsing habits and preferences is in danger |
| Elimination | MetaSearch removal can take time if you choose to delete every file associated with the PUP, so get an anti-malware tool and ru a full system scan that can clean the machine from all the malicious files completely |
| Repair | Since intruders run in the Windows registry, some files get affected or corrupted. Such virus damage can cause problems with the device. FortectIntego can check important parts of the registry and repair the issues |
If MetaSearch virus manages to get inside its target PC system, it may not only hijack each of the web browsers, including well-known Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox. It may also try to change your default search engine or the start page without your approval. Once these changes are done, it may start its redirections to quickmetasearch.com, linkshelper.com, and similar domains.
Anything that is not safe online can trigger the download of a serious threat besides the MetaSearch PUP, so make sure to not click on any pop-up or banner. Also, take other typical PUP features into consideration:
- showing affiliated content in the form of pop-ups, banners; and blinking boxes;
- injecting advertisements on commonly visited pages;
- changing settings of the browser;
- adding other programs to affect the speed more.
You might get exposed to malicious sites, so be very careful with such search engines and other questionable online pages. This is not legitimate and is not providing any improved search results, so get rid of MetaSearch right away. This potentially unwanted program runs on every Windows startup and can affect more crucial parts of the system, so delete potentially unwanted programs as soon as possible and reset all the settings to default.
If your Internet Explorer's or other web browser's home page or a default search engine has been replaced by metasearch.com, you should check your computer with reputable anti-spyware. Otherwise, you may not only be tricked into visiting questionable websites besides MetaSearch-related sites.
You may also be tricked into downloading other suspicious programs to your computer. Besides, just like any other suspicious search engine, the hijacker may start tracking your browsing sessions and may collect information about search queries, mostly visited websites, data that you enter on each of them, and similar details.[2] In addition, it may also copy your PC's IP address, location, etc. Make sure to remove MetaSearch as soon as you can to avoid virus damage.
If a hijacker gets on the system, it may initiate such changes as the registry's modification, installation of its files, etc. Once these changes are done, you may start suffering from constant redirections to various domains, including quickmetasearch.com or linkshelper.com. So rely on cleaners like FortectIntego that may fix such system damage after MetaSearch removal. 
Methods of spreading PUPs
PUPs don't spread like malware because it is not a virus. It is just a potentially unwanted program that may be installed either manually or in a bundle with other programs. In most cases, you cannot even notice or know that you downloaded a threat when you believe the promoted features or skip through important steps.
For avoiding this, you should be very careful when installing freeware on your computer. Experts[3] highly recommend selecting the Custom or Advanced installation method that allows seeing what components like browser add-ons, extensions, plugins, toolbars are hiding inside. For getting the ability to opt-out of them you should select Custom or Advanced installation of the freeware and then uncheck all unfamiliar applications from the list.
Visiting any deceptive sites, using such fake search engines exposes you to material that is possibly dangerous, so it is better to avoid anything suspicious or dangerous in the first place. Getting freeware from official sources, developers and online application stores can ensure that bundling is not occurring and PUPs are not included in the installer.
Get rid of the annoying MetaSearch fake engine and PUP symptoms
Fortunately, in order to remove MetaSearch or any other potentially unwanted program/ browser-based threat from your computer, you don't have to be a genius. You can do that either with the help of a reputable anti-spyware or with the help of this step-by-step guide that is given below.
According to security experts, you should opt for scanning your computer with reputable anti-malware because it will help you to make sure that all suspicious programs, including adware, browser hijackers, browser add-ons, and viruses, are gone. Such a full system scan can do that for you during automatic MetaSearch removal.
Uninstall from Windows
Uninstall from Windows 10/8:
- Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.
Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:
- Click on Windows Start > Control Panel (Windows XP users should click on Add/Remove Programs).
- In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.
Remove the unwanted program:
- In the Programs and Features window, look for any recently installed suspicious entries, select them, and click Uninstall.
- If User Account Control appears, click Yes to confirm, then complete the removal.
Delete from macOS
Remove the unwanted application:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).
Delete leftover files and folders:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
- Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.
- Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.
Remove from Microsoft Edge
Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:
- Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
- From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
- Click Remove.
Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Select Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files. (apart from passwords, although you might want to include Media licenses as well, if applicable) and click on Clear.
Restore new tab and homepage settings:
- Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
- Then find On startup section.
- Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.
Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:
- Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
- Select Details tab.
- 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.
Instructions for Chromium-based Edge
Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):
- Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
- Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.
Clear cache and site data:
- Click on Menu and go to Settings.
- Select Privacy, search and services.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Under Time range, pick All time.
- Select Clear now.
Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- On the left side, pick Reset settings.
- Select Restore settings to their default values.
- Confirm with Reset.
- This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.
Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
- Select Add-ons.
- In here, select the unwanted extension and click Remove.
Reset the homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Settings.
- Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.
Clear cookies and site data:
- Click Menu and pick Settings.
- Go to Privacy & Security section.
- Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
- Click on Clear Data...
- Select Cookies and Site Data and Temporary cached files and pages, then click Clear.
Reset Mozilla Firefox
If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
- Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.
- Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox...
- Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.
Remove from Google Chrome
Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:
- Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
- In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all suspicious extensions related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.
Clear cache and web data from Chrome:
- Click on Menu and pick Settings.
- Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
- Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
- Click Clear data.
Change your homepage:
- Click menu and choose Settings.
- Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
- 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:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
- Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
- Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
- Confirm with Reset settings.
Delete from Safari
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
- Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.
Clear history and website data:
- Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
- Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.
Reset Safari:
- Click Safari in the menu and select Preferences > Advanced.
- Enable Show Develop menu in menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop and select Empty Caches.
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