Search2000.com will not provide you the best searching experience

Search2000.com is a useless search engine that does not perform its primary function properly. Indeed, using this search engine, you won’t be able to find necessary information. At the moment of writing, this tool does not deliver any links in the results page. However, it still can hijack your web browser.[1]
So-called Search2000.com virus is a potentially unwanted program (PUP)[2] which acts as a browser hijacker. It spreads in software bundles and might hijack inattentive computer users' web browsers. The hijacker is compatible with Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer or other popular web browsers.
Once this PUP is installed, it might alter browser’s settings and set its domain as default search engine or/and homepage. Additionally, you might notice an increased amount of online ads that offer to download suspicious software. However, after Search2000.com hijack, you should be extremely careful with online ads and avoid clicking them because they might be malicious or lead to phishing sites.
The problem is that developers of Search2000 present itself as a “global leaders in search engine marketing and web traffic generation,” meaning that they might help companies to drive traffic to their websites. The company specializes in online advertising, so their created search engines or browser extensions are used for commercial purposes.
The privacy policy of Search 2000 reveals that website uses cookies to collect some information about users. Fortunately, it does not track personally identifiable information. However, other browsing-related details might be aggregated and used for targeted marketing strategies.
Thus, if you do not want to get tricked by some personalized and suffer from scammers, you should remove Search2000.com from your computer. As we have mentioned, this search engine does not function properly. So, there’s no need to keep it.
We highly recommend for Search2000.com removal choosing FortectIntego or another anti-malware tool. It’s the quickest method to get rid of PUPs and all their components. However, if you want to wipe out this cyber infection manually, you can find elimination guide at the end of the article.

Be careful with freeware installation: PUPs are waiting for inattentive users
If you download freeware or shareware, you always have to make sure that it’s a single program, not a bundle. Free programs often include “optional downloads” that are usually browser hijackers, adware and other PUPs. Thus, it’s better to stop their installation.
The only way to prevent installation of third-party apps is to choose Advanced/Custom installation settings instead of Quick/Recommended. If you find a pre-selected statement saying “I agree to make Search2000.com my default search engine” or third-party apps, remove the ticks to stop their installation.
Security experts from Estonia[3] do not recommend replacing your current search provider in this way because often you are tricked into using questionable search tool that might pose a danger to your privacy.
Uninstall Search2000.com
In order to remove Search2000.com manually, you should follow the guidelines below. Keep in mind that you have to uninstall suspicious programs from the system as well as unknown browser extensions from each of the browser. Additionally, you have to reset affected browsers too.
However, you can speed up Search2000.com removal with reputable anti-malware/anti-spyware. If manual removal guide seems hard to follow, you should obtain reputable tool and run a full system scan.
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.

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