Remove Search.gg virus (Removal Guide)

Search.gg – a browser hijacker that might share the gathered information about you

Search.gg is a bogus search engine that people see once their Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox or Safari browser gets hijacked by a potentially unwanted application.^[1] These dubious apps are typically hidden in software bundles of shareware or freeware, hence users rarely notice the infiltration. Nevertheless, once inside the system, Search.gg will modify browser settings and set homepage, search engine and new tab address to hxxps://search.gg, which will redirect all searches to Yahoo. While many might find this behavior acceptable, only a few would be happy about secret information gathering and sharing, potential malware infiltration and the intrusive advertisement techniques used by the app.

Summary
Name	Search.gg
Type	Browser hijacker/PUP
Developer	Search Engage Ltd.
Affected browsers	Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera, Mozilla Firefox, etc.
Distribution	Software bundling
Symptoms	Altered search settings, intrusive ads, compromised search results
Elimination	Use security software or eliminate the PUP manually using our guide below
Optimization	Use PC optimizing software like Fortect Intego

Designed by Search Engage Ltd, Search.gg browser hijacker is only made for one purpose: to generate revenue by displaying advertisements and rerouting users to sponsored websites. This activity artificially increases website stats, improving the website visit rate. Unfortunately, some redirects can bring users to unsafe sites, as developers do not take any responsibility for the third-party content:

You further acknowledge and agree that Search Engage shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any goods or services available on or through any external website, social network or resource. Your use of external websites or resources is at your own risk.

Although browser hijackers claim not to be using personal data^[2] for market analysis, remember that your search queries might contain some details that can reveal your identity. If you do not want to share such details with suspicious companies such as Search Engage Ltd., never enter any sensitive details while your browser is taken over by Search.gg hijack.

Even tough the Search.gg virus redirects all searches to Yahoo (a perfectly legitimate search engine), the results might be covered in sponsored links. This makes finding relevant information a difficult task, esepcialy when the computer is running multiple potentially unwanted programs at the same time. Thus, simply remove Search.gg from your machine and use legitimate Yahoo or other legitimate search engine instead.

Beware that clicking on sponsored search results can take you to highly hazardous web pages and by visiting them you pose a threat to the computer system. In other words, Search.gg browser hijacker won’t do anything illegal on your computer and it won’t itself infect your computer with additional spyware/malware^[3] programs, however, it might show you a path to websites that seek to do so.

That is the main reason why computer security experts^[4] advise to perform Search.gg removal without any hesitations. You can eliminate the threat by following our instructions below this article, or by using malware removal tools. Additionally, we advise users to scan their machines with Fortect Intego after the infection – it can fix broken registry entries or other corrupted files left behind by the unwanted program.

Prevent installation of potentially unwanted programs

Potentially unwanted programs cannot enter your computer system without your permission, which means that you have lately agreed to install some suspicious programs without realizing it. This suggests that you should be more careful when installing new software on your computer.

In fact, you can end up installing this highly vague search tool even when installing a completely safe-looking free program. For this reason, we suggest paying more attention to software installation settings and choosing the right ones. Instead of selecting Standard, Default or Express settings, better switch the selection to Custom or Advanced mode. Then you should see a list of suggested programs and then deselect the ones that you do not want to install. After unchecking all shady-looking programs, proceed to the next installation step.

Quick Search.gg removal solution

Before you start taking actions regarding Search.gg removal, we highly suggest reading the tutorial we provided first. The guide provided below the article explains how to find files that belong to Searchgg and successfully eliminate them.

In case you are not ready to waste your time on potentially unwanted programs, and you would rather do something else instead, command an anti-spyware software to remove Search.gg virus for you. If you do not have such software yet, check out suggestions provided below the post.

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.

Reset Internet Explorer

Remove dangerous add-ons:

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

Change your homepage if it was altered:

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

Delete temporary files:

Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
Under Browsing history, click Delete...
Select relevant fields and press Delete.

Reset Internet Explorer:

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

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.

How to remove Search.gg virus

Search.gg – a browser hijacker that might share the gathered information about you

Prevent installation of potentially unwanted programs