The dangerous features of the Searchnu virus:
Bandoo Media products have never gained much respect among the cyber security community, so finding out that Searchnu virus is developed by the same company comes as no surprise. To learn more about this program and to determine whether it is really as malicious as claimed in the reports, we have decided to look into it in more detail. In the following article, we will attempt to shed some light on this shady program, expose its flaws and provide a verdict, whether you should remove Searchnu immediately or continue using it.
When investigating such programs, it is always a good idea to look at the Privacy Policy section. The first thing that catches the eye when reading through this document on Searchnu.com search provider is that this site is not referred anywhere in the text. Instead, the users are offered the Privacy Policy of imesh.com, a site which appears to be already terminated. More concerning is the fact that apart from this suspicious document, the site does not provide EULA or any other information whatsoever. Since none of its activities are regulated, this means that you agree with anything this site decides to engage you in. Looking at this site closer, we have found that the Searchnu.com search is powered by Ask.com, but the results that are provided seem to be modified and display only sponsored ads and links. Usually, such links will lead to various commercial sites where you will be offered to purchase some product or service. Unfortunately, Searchnu does not give any verifications about the legitimacy of these products or services, so they can as well be malicious. Thus, be careful not to install some malware by accident or become a victim of online scammers! As soon as you see this or any other unfamiliar search engine replace your regular homepage and search provider, scan the computer with FortectIntego and prevent these hijackers from taking control.
Besides, there other reasons that should encourage you not to hesitate with the Searchnu removal. If you checked the information about this search provider on some acknowledged search engines, such as Google, Yahoo or Bing, you would see that users often complain about the Searchnu redirect issue and point out general problems related to the browser performance. The users claim that they keep ending up on unfamiliar domains which bombard them with fake software updaters, ads, lottery winning announcements and similar potentially dangerous content. Other also claim that besides the original domain, there are also searchnu.com/409, searchnu.com/421 and searchnu.com/406 pages that you can get redirected to. Luckily, all of these redirects and problems related to them can be eliminated by carrying out the Searchnu removal.
How did this search engine emerge on your browser?
Upon investigating the program, we have found out that Searchnu is distributed through freeware and shareware bundles. The programs usually targeted by the virus include the popular and well-known mp3 converters, video players and other programs. These software bundles can be featured and promoted on Cnet or similar software download sites, but before downloading them on the computer, there is virtually no way of knowing if they are infected. Thus, we really advise you to be careful about what software you are downloading and what potentially bundled components you actually agree to install on your system. Quick or Recommended settings might not help you disclose additional installs, but if you choose the Advanced installation, you might just stop Searchnu from entering your PC. When choosing this mode, you will be shown a list of bundled programs. Note that they will be automatically pre-checked, so you will need to unmark them manually to stop the installation.
How difficult is the Searchnu removal?
If you decide to remove Searchnu virus from your computer, keep in mind that this virus might not give up that quickly. Of course, it will be not enough to uninstall the program with which it came in. You will need to remove all the virus components one by one including web browser add-ons and search engine providers that this virus might have additionally installed during the time it spent on your computer. Before everything, you need to scan your system with reputable anti-spyware software, such as FortectIntego. If you have some other virus-fighting solution, make sure it is updated to the latest version before you run the scan. If you have no possibility to employ automatic tools, you can always carry out the Searchnu removal manually. We have prepared a detailed tutorial which should help you in the process.
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.
Did this guide help?
47 comments
mike
thank you for this advice I was able to remove searchnu, from I.E FIREFOX AND CHROME
per
Where is mozilla firefox? If i click it searc.nu appears
Kevin
Manual removal did not work.
Is there another technique?
Prometheus
Relating to the removal instructions for IE and the add-on list for search engines, all alternative search engines and adds were successfully removed, except "Sweet IM-Search" This malware obviously shut the option to delete it. ( " Delete" was shut)
Andres
I dont have that customize thingy in chrome
WinDefender
Is it okay to install this together with my antivirus,(Windows Defender)?
joh
Hola en el firefox... escribo about:config .... presiono enter... y no m aparece nada!!!!!
asma
Manual removal did not work.
Is there another technique?
SnehalPatel
Go to Chrome-->Setting-->On startup [there are three options] choose [open a specific page or set of pages] click on "Set Pages" and remove that searchnu.com or you can specify whatever page you like to open on start up. - PROBLEM SOLVED.
Suzanne
To fix this in Mozilla Firefox, it is an Add-On and you need to disable and/or remove it by doing the following:
1. In Firefox, click Tools>Options and make sure the General tab is visible.
2. Click Manage Add-Ons.
3. Click on Extensions
4. Unfortunately I forgot what this Add-On was called (I removed it and DONT want it back!), but it IS one of your add-ons found here.
5. To figure out which one click on the underlined word "More" to open a page describing the extension. Look to the bottom of the page next to the word "Homepage" which will show a link to their homepage. If it says http://searchnu.com (or something like that), you know you have found the right one and you will want to delete it.
I hope that helps!
Lugh
Thanks, it worked for me, I solved the annoying problem with searchnu.
M L
Start menu - computer - add/remove programs - uninstall firefox & mozella - click on internet icon - click set browser page - select internet explorer - punch in www.msn.com - erase all search results check off every single box then click on it it will say erase all e results click Yes - exit out of everything then reset your computer Twice just to make sure - then you should be all set free & clear.
tim
i couldnt get it to do anything
JJJ
I have tried everything on Google Chrome to get rid of search nu and I am still getting search nu as my home page on Chrome.
Please inform me of any other ways. I am really desperate. I would really appreciate any advice on how I can successfully remove this search nu from Chrome and have Google be my home page. Again, I have tried everything and so far, nothing has worked.
Pecker
Thanks Suzanne, it seems to have done the trick for me, the Add-On is called "Data Mngr 1.0" - sounds so innocuous! Iikey!
thanniglobal
thanks alot. dis fixed it.
Gunnar
I downloaded your program to check if it found search.nu, which was installed by mistake, but as far as I can see it did not. I could think of buying, but why didnt it detect search.nu which it should?
Btw, your Swedish translation contains some silly faults
gunnar@bjorkdal.se
doni
why i cant remove a malware ?
Rolf Aalberg
There is soemthing funny going on here!
I download SpyHunter installer, and then I click Run in the Downloads panel of Mozilla Firefox. And a download of SpyHunter Installer starts again, but this time it does noe end with SyHunter Installer(1) in the Downloads panel.
So my guess is I can continue downloading SpyHunter installer for the rest of my life without geting anywhere. BTW, my OS is Win XP SP3.
Guess Ill have to look for something else tha tI hope may relieve me of malware like searchnu; a most invasive and ugly piece fo malware.
wanda
I have done everything possible short of restoring to an earlier date and still can not get rid of searchnu. I have ran malware bytes ran ccleaner, removed the tool bar from IE although I dont use it I use chrome and still the crap is there. Anyone have any other suggestions.
Jack
Thanks! I just removed it from Google Chrome. Received it from Ilivid. Beware of download
HB
Thats nothing to do with the programme, but your machine. I installed Spyhunter (no looping) and it found iLivid. In fact after the scan, it found 226 threats.
So from my perspective, this is an excellent piece of software. And its free. I am grateful to SpyHunter for helping me out.
Gareth
The extension name is DataMngr 1.0. I couldnt delete it, but managed to disable it. This has worked for me. Thanks!
Chris
This has gotta be thee single most hated piece of software on the internet.
XanaX
Thank u! It really worked for me :D
Kelly
None of this worked for me. I completely gutted my system and reloaded it at the cost of about 10 hours of my life. I mean, I completely erased and reformatted my HD, reloaded the system from a recovery disk made long before searchnu ever entered my sphere of reference and everything was fine until I logged in to my Chrome and my Firefox accounts. Then the thing showed up, again. I think the solution is to open completely new accounts and forsake the old. I havent tried this, yet, but it is the only difference between Chrome and Firefox, with which I have existing setups and IE, which I dont. IE is NOT infected.
DBuck
I actually went to Control Panel --->Uninstall a Program--->and uninstalled the "Search Results" program that was in the list. That seems to work.
Explanation
I just recently installed it as a bundle with jZip so when I sorted on the date in the list of installed programs it was installed today, which is the date I started seeing searchnu.com.
I hope this helps!
DBuck!
DBuck
For IE remove it from the registry as outlined below:
1) access the "Run" window by pressing the "windows Button + R" simultaneously.
2) in the run window type "regedit" and hit the "Enter" key
3) When the "User Access Control" screen pops up hit "yes"
4) Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerMain
5) search for the "Start page" name and make sure it has searchnu.com/102
6) right click the "Start page" name and click delete.
that should fix IE.
BillorGeorgeanythingbutSue
Ditto, plus, now get this techys... my browser is hijacked... Hello? How do I get to what my computer already sees as "home" despite the fact Im looking at the fkn SEARCHNU.COM?
Get it? Not only can I not access my home page, but like the poster above cant GET to it to find this "Click on Customize and control Google Chrome icon and select Settings."
...and I need to learn proper grammar? Your sentence structure is eluding to something that is amazingly inaccurate. Is it an Icon? Or is it "Customize & Control"???
Aliya
Thanks.. control panel option worked for me. Received it from LIVID download
Ethan Seltzer
To remove Searchnu on Chrome it is super EASY. Go the the options button(the one with three bars), click settings and then click extensions on the left side bar. You will see one that says something about Searchnu and just click the little trash can. Its that easy!
Anthony
Ive removed all linked programmes and still had this in my browser, I followed above and hey presto its gone. Good man
Robin
Thanks a lot for your clear and effective instructions. Normality is restored. I got it with Ilivid which I have now uninstalled as well. Initially I tried to restore to a point before where I guessed it had come from, but windows would not restore to any earlier date. Is this a function of malware?
Brent
Yes, many of these options work, however they only last until you re-open the browser. I have tried many of these options and still can not remove this browser virus for good.
Cyndi
Mozilla have it! Brent, you are right unfortunately. Still trying and doesnt help that my computer guy is IE all the way. Is there anything that works? Can a computer tek take care of it?
Diane
I am trying to remove www.searchnu.com from my computer. I dont know how it got here.
kenmeyerjr
I used your instructions (after trying a BUNCH of other things today), and thought it worked, because when I closed and opened Firefox, yahoo (my preferred home page) appeared and not SearchNu. I was damn happy for a whole 2 minutes...until I opened another tab and the SearchNu page appeared again...any advice? By the way, if it matters, I am on XP.
kenmeyerjr
Kelly, when you say open new accounts, re: Firefox, do you mean deleting firefox from my system and then downloading it again, so I have a new version? So far, no ones advice is working for me.
Mike
Just to add to this, if you find that the files are not on the list of extensions, do the following:
1.) enter "about:config" in location bar (next to back arrow).
2.)Click icon "Ill be careful I promise".
3.) you should find a long list of files below a search bar called "filter".
4.)type into filter "keyword.url".
5.)only one search result should appear - right click on result and click "modify".
6.)enter your desired homepage address into pop up, (e.g "http://www.google.com.uk").
7.)type "browser.startup.homepage" into filter.
8.)modify top search result and enter homepage address.
Side note: In extensions list mentioned in above comment, look for terms such as "Bandoo media, Searchqu toolbar, and Windows ILivid Toolbar". If you cant find the tools option in the toolbar, right click blank space to the right of tabs and select menu bar. Another option is to click the Firefox logo (top left) and click "add on".
Part 2:
1.) click start up icon and enter C:Program Files into start search
2.) find Mozilla Firefox folder and click search plugins folder
3.) delete "SearchquWebSearch"
Part 3:
1.) enter "control panel" in start search.
2.) go into "uninstall a program".
3.) find files named Bandoo media, Searchqu toolbar, windows iLivid toolbar, and uninstall them.
I hope this simplifies things for people.
I used this video to help me with the virus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO70vu_1p6g.
Elaine
I followed each manual step for IE, Firefox, and Chrome. Took a few seconds for each and worked like a charm. Thank you!
ccinthelou
This is what I did:
Start
control panel
Programs/Uninstall
It will list all programs that you have and uninstall the one that has the word Search in it and it will delete all files associated with it. I have my old home page back.
PetePenarthWales
I also downloaded this with iLivid.Thought it was just a nuisance until I realised it had disabled my internet banking security software!I think the reason this thing keeps coming back is because it installs its files with "special permissions"!If you delete them they bounce straight back from the recycle bin. I found the"search toolbar" folder in Program files(x86)-----if you open it up and right click on the files,select properties,then the security tab you can edit the access so the the system administrator has full control over the files and you should then be able to manually delete them.
Ive tried just about everything over the last week to get rid searchnu without success but this seems to have worked---several re-boots etc , rapport is now working again and no sign of searchnu!
Im no computer expert so youll need to check this out for yourself but hope this at least points you in the right direction.Good Luck!!!!
Brad Murphy
As far as Google chrome, I have not been able to get it off. I did everything in the settings, and it still comes up the searchnu page. I was able to with IE.
Brad Murphy
I also did not agree to install it, I clicked it off when I installed iLivid, and it installed it anyway, and hijacked all my browsers.
nan
Just bought a used laptop today and found this mess on Chrome. After some hits-and-misses... finally found it associated with "AVG Security Toolbar". Uninstalled that thing and all is well. Hope this will help someone else.
nan
Sincere apologies. I take it back. Opened Chrome on the laptop just now and guess whats back? I will update if I ever manage to kill this monster.
nan
OK... found where it was hiding. Under Chrome Settings... "On Startup" the radio button for "Open a specific page..."
This thing plants itself everywhere. What a nuisance!