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Spyware News
  • Active
  • Severity: Medium
  • Browser Hijackers
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Feb 2020

How to remove www-search.net

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

Gabriel E. Hall · Passionate web researcher

www-search.net is the browser hijacker that is promoted online and distributed via free downloads

www-search.netwww-search.net – a fake search engine that sets itself as default homepage, new tab and other settings on the affected browser. It is not considered a malicious website, but this intruder falls into the category of potentially unwanted programs due to intrusive behavior and commercial content delivery, the affected speed, performance of the machine. This is a cyber intruder that displays sponsored advertisements and injects search results with affiliated material, o people visit pages that are controlled by the same PUP developers and associated advertisers. This search engine is related to Tuvaro.com – a known browser hijacker, so all online search attempts go straight to this site. Also, you shouldn't be surprised when other browser-based threats like toolbars and extensions appear added without your permission once this PUP lands on the machine.

Although this is not the correct term for the intruder, www-search.net virus is called that by various users online because they suffer from all the intrusive symptoms and commercial content that fills the screen during every web browsing session. You should clean the machine fully to get rid of it though because PUPs are known for having additional files, applications, and programs installed on the affected systems to interfere with performance and ensure persistence.

Name www-search.net
Type Browser hijacker
Distribution Freeware installations when the source is related to PUP developers can lead to such infections because additional applications get loaded automatically during recommended or quick installations. Also, such browsing tools get promoted on advertisements that claim about useful features and push shady search engines, toolbars, extensions as a valuable addition to your web browser
Symptoms Results of online searches get injected with commercial material and clicking on any of those banners or pop-ups triggers redirects to suspicious sites. Default search engine, homepage, new tab and other settings related to browsing online get altered by the hijacker itself, so you cannot access the content normally and commonly visited pages load differently
Related Trovi PUP. Search engine www-search.net redirects every in-browser search attempt to this page, so it injects results with affiliated and sponsored content
Danger Potentially unwanted programs closely related to ad-supported sites can expose the user to possibly dangerous content and even lead to more severe infections due to the material online. Also, PUPs and advertisers themselves separately can track, collect record information about your time online, preferences, browsing history and similar data.[1] This information can possibly end up in the hands of third-party companies and lead to privacy issues
Elimination www-search.net removal process is the one that requires paying attention to details and relying on professional anti-malware tools that can find and delete PUPs from the machine 
Repair Windows registry and other system folders get altered by the PUP in the background. Such changes can paralyze the machine or even damage crucial functions. Get a system optimizer or repair tool like FortectIntego that may find and fix the affected files for you

www-search.net is not the program that affects the system folders and functions when it lands on the machine. However, PUP is not the intruder that only runs on the web browser because it loads files in those folders that control particular functions and features revolving around systems' security. 

When the www-search.net is affecting your browsing activities that potentially unwanted program can add new entries on the Windows Registry or alter the existing keys to make the changes in startup preferences. Since advertising content and redirects are the main symptoms it is important for the PUP that ad-supported sites, affiliated pages, and the browser hijacker site appear with every system reboot and new launch. These changes are considered virus damage that requires tools like FortectIntego, so additional damage to your PC is avoided.

Additional things that you should note about the PUP:

  • it changes homepage, default search engine, new tab and other settings on the web browser directly;
  • hijacks the shortcut of the web browser, so it launches the shady tool instead of your normal browser;
  • PUP installs Windows services and runs processes in the startup;
  • promotes other in-browser programs and fake updates or software installs.

search.net hijackerwww-search.net is an untrustworthy search engine, which is closely related to Tuvaro virus and Trovi search engine other questionable search engines. When this fake search engine is used by users for searching the web, it tries to trick them into visiting affiliate websites and help them to increase their page rank or sales.

How can it do that? In most of the cases, it displays altered search results that can be filled with various links, pop-up ads, in-text links, etc. After being clicked, they can easily trick users into visiting predetermined websites. Beware that there is no guarantee that each of these sites is harmless! That's why you should stay away from them as far as you can.

In addition, annoying popups and constant slowdowns on each of web browsers can also be expected when using www-search.net hijacker for searching the web. That's why we want to suggest you avoid this search engine and rely only on well-known search sites, such as Google, Bing or Yahoo.

By the way, in most cases, www-search.net hijacks systems without asking people's permission because it has been spread in a bundle with other programs as an optional component. Beware that it can easily enter your PC system in a bundle with freeware and shareware, so you should start monitoring the installation of such programs.

Please, be very careful with this search engine! No matter that it looks harmless, there are lots of suspicious activities that it may try to initiate on your computer. If you want to remove www-search.net from Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer or other web browsers, you should either use a guide below or scan your system with reputable anti-spyware tool. 

Unfortunately, www-search.net removal can cause some issues when you cannot find the application that is causing all the additional symptoms related to commercial material delivery. It happens because the website itself is only a result of the PUP infection – the program that got installed via promotional material online or during freeware installations. www-search.net PUP 

Redirects and promotional ads lead to cyber infections

As we have already mentioned, potentially unwanted programs can easily show up on your computer without your knowledge. In most cases, you are not the one downloading this program on the system. That's because it is actively spread using bundling.[2]

If you want to avoid these insecure and questionable redirects to unknown websites and similar issues, you should remember that you must keep an eye on every installation of the freeware. Please, choose Custom or Advanced installation when downloading various PDF creators, download managers or video streaming/recording software.

Always rely on official program developers, providers that can be trusted or legitimate application stores. Avoid pirating,[3] torrent services and sharing sites where you cannot be guaranteed that the source is safe and legitimate. When a questionable source is matched with skipping through installation steps – the risk of getting malware is extremely high.

Clean the system fully to terminate www-search.net virus

As we have already mentioned, www-search.net virus has been actively distributed using various unfair distribution methods, including bundling. If you have already been tricked into downloading this browser hijacker to your computer, you should follow this step-by-step guide that is given below and fix your computer and eliminate extensions, toolbars or different browser-based apps added by the intruder.

If you want to be sure that all components that belong to this hijacker are gone, you should think about automatic www-search.net removal. The best option is to run the full system scan with anti-malware tool that can find the main PUP and indicate additional applications loaded behind your back.

To ensure that you can remove www-search.net entirely, rely on the professional and trustworthy programs, download that from the official site, provider or developers' page and run it on the affected machine. You may need to go through settings and places like a registry to fix the damage of this hijacker. For that, try a system optimizer or PC repair tool.

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

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