Remove Search.searchdp.com virus (Free Guide)

Searchdp hijacker tries to win over users’ trust with VirusTotal service

The picture displaying Search.searchdp.com

Search.searchdp.com virus happens to be a questionable search tool which is presented as a reliable search tool. What is more, users who are especially cautious about their security might appreciate the fact that it promotes VirusTotal service.

Nonetheless, this feature does not change the fact that the search engine is a browser hijacker. What is more, it is created by the company Polarity technologies which is notorious for distributing multiple browser hijackers.

Though specifically, this family of PUP is unlikely to occupy your browser and replace the search tool by force, it is not recommended to ignore its presence. As suggested by its privacy policy, it communicates with multiple third parties and online advertisers. Thus, within a while, you may be bothered by excessive advertising^[1]. What is more, you may dislike the fact that it spies on your online activities and transmits data to its business partners:

By Using the Services, You Are Consenting to Grant Polarity Permission to Collect Your URLs and Search Data, Including Search Queries That May Contain Personally Identifiable Information, Share Them with Third Parties, and Use Search-related Cookies.

While, indeed it presents several useful web pages, but you may soon get annoyed by its constant pop-us. Thus, Searchdp removal might be a better choice. You may speed up the process with Fortect Intego. Searchdp sample

Filling the market with PUPs

The title of the company is often mentioned in our articles, as the number of their search tools keeps increasing. All of them share identical design except the URL name slightly differs. While technically the search tool is not malware, browser hijackers are often called browser infections and threats.

This specific hijacker is not likely to infect you with malware, nonetheless, it has links with the notorious Safe Browser, which is labeled as a persistent hijacker. Furthermore, you may notice that the products of the company are similar to the ones promoted by another browser hijacker creator Imali Ltd.

Though the hijacker is not technically malicious, but you should not ignore search.searchdp.com redirect tendency. This phenomenon might direct you to the sites which might contain weak SSL certificates and possess other vulnerabilities^[2] which might attract malware. Thus, it is another reason to remove search.searchdp.com.

Ways to detect PUPs on time

This specific browser infection usually contains its specific web page. It might be promoted on third party websites as well. You are likely to get redirected there after you click on a link or play button.

Additionally, such hijacker might be promoted as the add-on to free file converters. In order to pinpoint such questionable search tools and PUPs, choose “Advanced” settings and deselect all unnecessary optional tools.

Get rid of the hijacker from Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari quickly

You can successfully delete the PUP in two ways: remove Searchdp manually or eliminate it using the manual guide. Note that if you choose the latter, precision and attention are required.

On the other hand, you may combine these two methods to ensure complete Search.searchdp.com removal. So if you reside in Greece^[3] or Sweden and get redirected to the web page, take necessary measures.

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.searchdp.com virus

Searchdp hijacker tries to win over users’ trust with VirusTotal service

Filling the market with PUPs

Ways to detect PUPs on time