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  • Active
  • Severity: High
  • Stealing programs
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Dec 2015

How to remove Isearch123.com virus

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

Jake Doevan · Computer technology expert

Isearch123.com search engine should not be trusted. You should not think that the search results it brings are safe. The point is, third-party companies sponsor Isearch123.com, and these parties are interesting in developing their websites. To achieve that, they ask the developers of potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) like Isearch123.com to advertise them. In exchange for every visitor that gets redirected to third-party websites, Isearch123.com gains revenue. Now, we are going to explain how this pay-per-click advertising system works.

How does Isearch123.com promote affiliate marketing?

Isearch123.com is a program that belongs to the category of browser hijackers. This program is known for silent installation and other unpleasant and unacceptable arbitrary activities on the victixmized PC. Once Isearch123.com browser hijacker enters your computer system, it immediately extracts and places its files in your Windows Registry. Then it starts to affect each of your Internet browsers – Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and others. Isearch123.com installs its extensions to these browsers in order to adjust browser’s settings and track your browsing activity. Here’s a list of data that Isearch123.com might gather:

  • Browsing history;
  • List of favorite websites;
  • List of your saved bookmarks;
  • List of the files you have downloaded from the Internet;
  • Your search queries;
  • IP address;
  • Computer geolocation.

We cannot firmly claim why Isearch123.com hijacker needs such information, but there is no hesitation that is better not to share such information with unreliable sources because even the listed information is not considered to be personally identifiable, it may still contain some personal details about you.

Isearch123.com hijack virus

Isearch123.com page parasite alters browser settings and sets itself as your default homepage and search engine. Be careful and do not use it for your search queries! There is a huge possibility Isearch123.com can deliver modified search results that might be injected with various hyperlinks that might lead you to third-party websites. This is how Isearch123.com gets money; however, you should not be fooled that easily. In case you believe there is a chance your computer has already been affected by Isearch123.com hijack, you might want to install a reliable anti-spyware software (for example, FortectIntego) and check your computer with it.

How can Isearch123.com hijack my computer without my approval to install it?

Surprisingly, Isearch123.com enters the computer system WITH your permission. To be more precise, the permission is obtained in an unfair way. You see, Isearch123.com is spread together with freeware and shareware as an attachment. Sadly, the installation setup of a program that carries such attachments almost never reveals the information about such attachments in a direct way. Such software pack is called software bundle, and it conceals the statements about the promotion of additional software in the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy documents. It is not a secret that the majority of computer users tend to ignore and skip these docs. Well, you should read them if you do not want to expose your computer to severe risks. To avoid installing such optional downloads, we recommend choosing Custom or Advanced installation settings. Then you are going to see another setup window with a list of optional apps that are suggested to install. Deselect these suggestions. To find out how to remove Isearch123.com PUP, continue to page 2.

How to eliminate this annoying program from your computer:

If you are concerned about Isearch123.com redirects, you should remove this low-level computer parasite as soon as possible. This can be done in two ways. The first method is the automatic removal option, which we have already suggested for you. It is the safest and easiest way to remove Isearch123.com virus. Another option to uninstall Isearch123.com is to remove it manually. We have prepared removal instructions for you; you can find them below this article. If you have any questions, do not hesitate and contact us by sending a question via ‘Ask us’ form. Good luck!

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.

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?

4 comments

  1. Player

    Causes redirects to websites that promote childish game apps.

  2. jennifer

    You just cannot use this search engine regularly. It leads you to random web pages, plus, sometimes it opens up separate windows that contain ads... So annoying. I need to remove it right now...

  3. Becky68

    Not only there! It ended me up on a page that automatically started a download of some suspicious shopping assistant app. I had to delete it asap; I do not like when someone controls my PC instead of me! Trying to remove Isearch123 right now. Using the manual removal guide firstly. Hope it works

  4. mommy47

    for me, it caused redirects to pages that said I need to buy some stupid weight-loss plans. Ridiculous.

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