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  • Active
  • Severity: High
  • Stealing programs
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Sep 2017

How to remove Home.searchfreerecipes.com virus

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

SearchFreeRecipes – funny site with hidden redirects

The example of Home.searchfreerecipes.com

Home.searchfreerecipes.com may seem to you like a great option to connect your two interests – cooking and browsing the web. When visiting, you can clearly see links to cooking–oriented domains, Facebook, Buzzfeed and similar places.

Initially, it might seem interesting. However, soon you can start noticing redirects to sponsored domains, strange ads and similar inconvenineces.

As a result, Home.searchfreerecipes.com was labeled as a potentially unwanted application and a browser hijacker. It is unlikely to occupy your browser without your approval, but, while using it, you might notice annoying outcomes:

  • redirects to other sites other than your initial request;
  • new tabs opening from time to time;
  • regularly popping up ads;[1]
  • continuous slow downs.

Note that the latter phenomenon might eventually become a true headache during your browsing sessions. If you tend to click on intriguing headlines, such habit might lead you to the site which is infected with virtual threats. 

Furthermore, you may dislike the fact that the domain collects certain information about online browsing habits and shares them with third parties. Such virtual threats are typically interested in people's search terms, clicked links, ads that they find interesting, computer-related information. (IT address, location, etc.) If you value your privacy, you should initiate Search Free Recipes removal. FortectIntego does it for you faster.

The developer does not act alone –  ElementSoft SL has already joined forces other PUPs

While the site may seem practical, further analysis has revealed that the hijacker belongs to a wider network of BlpSearch search tool network. Furthermore, this domain seems to have its counterpart — home.srchfreerecipes.com. It is an identical search tool presenting the same third party links.

What is more, it seems that the company aims to compete with other companies’ releasing questionable PUP-like programs like Polarity technologies and Aztec Media. It seems that ElementSoft SL applies the same technique. For instance, its another product, home.searchfreehoroscope.com, which offers horoscopes as additional service to browsing.
However, note that either of the tools tends to collect non-personal information which is then transferred to partner companies:[2]

Such information is needed by third-party advertising networks and advertisers who help deliver relevant ads when you are on a web page. We only share anonymized or aggregated information and your Search Data with them to improve the relevancy of the ads displayed to you(…)

Such information is highly valued as it helps them create more relevant ads. On the other hand, excessive advertising has never been a pleasant phenomenon. However, it seems that it can also cause home.searchfreerecipes.com redirect problem which might lead you to websites containing more vulnerabilities.The screenshot of Home.searchfreerecipes.com

Distribution of Search Free Recipes virus

Since this company seems to divert to the same distribution strategy, you may notice its search tools promoted in affiliated sites. Search Free Recipes can be found in cooking-related domains hijack is unlikely to happen as it is still rarely promoted as an add-on to freeware.

However, “bundling” PUPs to free applications is a common practice among developers of unwanted applications. Note that even if carelessly installing Skype or Java might lead you to install unnecessary software. Thus, make a habit to choose “Custom” settings rather than “Basic.” Now let us discuss options to remove home.searchfreerecipes.com.

Uninstall Home.searchfreerecipes.com

This browser infection does not seem to behave aggressively. It does not urge you to install any specific software. Thus, you will be excluded of the burden to uninstall the app. Nonetheless, it is still recommended to remove SearchFreeRecipes virus elements. You can do it manually or automatically.

The tool will also help you deal with more elaborate infections. You can perform manual Home.searchfreerecipes.com removal as well. Besides Internet Explorer, Chrome and Microsoft Edge, Firefox and Safari users will find the respective guides. Pay attention to every detail. Note that the site does not solely target English users, but, for instance, might appear in Bulgarian sites[3] too.

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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