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  • Active
  • Severity: Medium
  • Browser Hijackers
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Jan 2020

How to remove Sweetsearch.com

A step-by-step removal guide for affected devices. Follow the verified procedure below — most readers complete it in under 10 minutes.

Olivia Morelli · Ransomware analyst

Sweetsearch.com is the search engine designed to show altered results to generate advertising content and make revenue

 Sweetsearch.comSweetsearch.com is the browser hijacker that claims to offer reliable features involving searching online, but in reality, it causes issues with the speed, privacy, and performance of your machine. This is a potentially unwanted program[ref en -2] that focuses on redirecting the user and online traffic by showing the list of search results filled with affiliate links and sponsored content. This way the user is not getting any value from inline searches and visits commercial pages where views and page visits can get monetized and help to make the revenue for the publisher.

Unfortunately, Sweetsearch.com hijacker is promoted online and can be installed by the user willingly when the person falls for the deceptive advertisements and believes that all the features are true and useful. You shouldn't get anything from such advertisements and avoid even clicking on content like this, so you keep the machine virus-free and don't get exposed to any potentially malicious online material.

Name Sweetsearch.com
Type  Browser hijacker
Developer  Dulcinea Media, Inc
Issues  The page becomes a new homepage, new tab, default search engine when the intruder gets on the system and all activities on the affected browser get redirected through this search engine. It means that all the search results get injected with advertisements and sponsored content. Commercial material allows publishers to access and track data about your activities online
Distribution  Freeware installations often lead to the infiltration of PUPs. Also, such browsing tools get promoted as useful applications online on various deceptive sites
Elimination  Sweetsearch.com removal should be quick if you use anti-malware tools and scan the system fully. This way you can clean all the intruders from your machine and forget about annoying symptoms
Repair  Browser hijacker mainly affects the browser, but it can alter settings of the device directly to cause additional damage, so get a system tool like FortectIntego to improve the performance and fix damaged files

Sweetsearch.com is the intruder that shows up on the browser out of nowhere or gets installed when the person falls for the deceptive advertising. This is a browser hijacker that many people don't think can be dangerous or cause anything else besides altered search results. Unfortunately, the content that this PUP makes users visit can lead to serious infections and make the machine damaged for good.

Experts[1] always note about an additional feature that all the potentially unwanted programs like Sweetsearch.com have – data tracking. Ad-tracking issue is important because any application or site that has relation to advertisers, commercial content publishers, can track, record and use details about your online browsing preferences and even personal information.

Sweetsearch.com can also be found as Sweet Search is a misleading search engine, which can easily appear instead of your start page, the default search engine and/or a new tab page. It can do that with or even without your appropriate permission asked because it has been actively spread with the help of bundling.[2]

If you want to prevent its infiltration, you should be very careful when downloading freeware from the Internet because you can find this search engine on all your web browsers, including Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and others, out of nowhere.

This and some other reasons have made a long list of security experts to include this site to browser hijacker and a potentially unwanted program categories. Please, keep this in mind and remove Sweetsearch.com if it has already shown up on your computer without your approval. It can install other programs or files if you leave it for longer. Sweetsearch.com virusIf the Sweetsearch.com virus manages to infiltrate the PC, the first thing that it does is the system's modification. As we have already mentioned, it alters the start page and the default search engine without the user's permission asked. After doing so, it starts causing continuous redirections to affiliate websites that are used for promoting them and goods that are sold through them.

The main issue in this thing is that you can never know what website you may be redirected to. Besides, you may also be interrupted by annoying pop-up advertisements that can also try to reroute you to the same sites that are related to this search engine. There is no guarantee that the content you visit due to Sweetsearch.com redirects is safe.

If you want to avoid those redirects to unsafe websites and protect your computer from the infiltration of additional viruses, you should remove this hijacker from your computer. The easiest way to do that is with the help of updated anti-spyware. In this case, we recommend you to use a program compatible with your OS and perform a full Sweetsearch.com removal. Then, you should also do a system repair with a tool like FortectIntego

PUPs hijack computers using promotional content

This search engine as many other unwanted programs is promoted via two different methods: it can be installed with or without the user’s knowledge. If this site has appeared on your machine out of nowhere, you should immediately run a full system scan with updated anti-spyware because it may be infected with a browser hijacker.

In addition, you should do the same if you have downloaded this search engine thinking that it can help you to improve your browsing experience. In order to avoid the hijacker, you should start monitoring the installation of the freeware by selecting the Custom or Advanced installation option. When you do that, you should uncheck pre-checked check marks that allow the installation of optional components.

Eliminate Sweetsearch.com virus

If you want to remove Sweetsearch.com and get rid of all the problems that may be caused by it, you should start its termination by looking for its entries on the Add/Remove Programs list. For that, you can follow steps below and do it yourself, or try a professional optimization tool that does that for you.

It may be a better way to go about Sweetsearch.com removal because system tools or PC repair software can fix additional damage and help improve the performance. You should also use automatic anti-malware tools for infection termination, in general.

You cannot know what programs and files got installed by the Sweetsearch.com virus behind your back. However, you need to delete all the associated applications to fully terminate the intruder.

Uninstall from Windows

Uninstall from Windows 10/8:

  1. Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
  2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.Uninstall from Windows 10/8

Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:

  1. Click on Windows Start > Control Panel (Windows XP users should click on Add/Remove Programs).
  2. In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.Uninstall from Windows 7/XP

Remove the unwanted program:

  1. In the Programs and Features window, look for any recently installed suspicious entries, select them, and click Uninstall.
  2. If User Account Control appears, click Yes to confirm, then complete the removal.Uninstall the unwanted program from Windows

Delete from macOS

Remove the unwanted application:

  1. From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
  2. In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).Uninstall from Mac

Delete leftover files and folders:

  1. Select Go > Go to Folder.
  2. Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
  3. Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.Delete leftover files from Mac
  4. Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.

Reset Internet Explorer

Remove dangerous add-ons:

  1. Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
  2. Pick Manage Add-ons.
  3. You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.Remove add-ons from Internet Explorer

Change your homepage if it was altered:

  1. Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
  2. Select Internet Options.
  3. In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
  4. Click Apply and then select OK.Reset IE homepage

Delete temporary files:

  1. Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
  2. Under Browsing history, click Delete...
  3. Select relevant fields and press Delete.Clear temporary files from Internet Explorer

Reset Internet Explorer:

  1. Click on Gear icon > Internet options and select Advanced tab.
  2. Select Reset.
  3. In the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset.Reset Internet Explorer

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 Remove.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 Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
  2. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  3. 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.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 Remove next to any suspicious startup page.

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

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.
  5. This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.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 the unwanted extension 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 Settings.
  3. Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.

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 and Temporary cached files and pages, then click 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 suspicious extensions 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 dangerous extensions:

  1. Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
  2. Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.Remove extensions from Safari

Clear history and website data:

  1. Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
  2. Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.Clear history from Safari

Reset Safari:

  1. Click Safari in the menu and select Preferences > Advanced.
  2. Enable Show Develop menu in menu bar.
  3. From the menu bar, click Develop and select Empty Caches.Reset Safari

Did this guide help?

5 comments

  1. Mark Moran

    SweetSearch is a legitimate search engine that is used safely by hundreds of thousands of teachers and students every month. I am the founder of it and no one has ever told me that using it caused them any harm at all. I dont know how its good name got caught up in a scam relating to virus removal software, but I do know that people can continue to use SweetSearch with confidence.

  2. Ade

    Mark, your search engine was installed on my PC without my specific consent and -whether by some other party software or not (something I dont care to consider since you probably have commercial arrangements with these third parties to your benefit anyway) I still did not approve for your engine to just turn up on my pc and switch to the default search engine. That, in qualification, is a virus and definitely spyware at the least. It is an invasion of my privacy, it is trickery and deception and it is not to my approval!!

  3. Ann

    I never authorised install - it has slowed my computer, brought in numerous viruses and now, even following instructions, cannot remove the damn thing...If as you say, Mark, this is a good search engine then you tell us how to remove it because it seems that is not what you want nor how you set it up...get off my computer...

  4. Ann

    then tell and allow us to remove if we did not give permission (which I did not) to install/hack..that would show some modicum of genuine legitimacy - which I personally doubt - so bottom line - if legitimate tell me how to uninstall because I do not want this on my computer

  5. Ahmed

    Mark this useless sweet search has changed all my browser settings. i have wasted hole Saturday in removing this crap virus. i will take you to court for sure bussy

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