Secureserch.com – hijacker which promises to enhance your internet browsing routine
Secureserch.com promises a “seamless and effortless” browsing experience. It also provides various links to popular websites, like Youtube, Twitter, Gmail, etc. The cheesy line “Your private search engine” is also presented right after you enter this search engine.
No matter how promising these claims look, do not be tricked! Neither Secureserch.com virus can increase your security on the Internet, nor it can enhance your browsing experience. After hijacking your browser, it sets your homepage and search engine to https://www.secureserch.com which typically redirects your search results to http://search.yahoo.com.
In most of the cases, Secureserch virus enters the system silently, without being reported by anti-virus programs because it is not considered a serious cyber threat. In fact, it belongs to the browser hijacker category and can also be added to the “potentially unwanted program”[1] list.
After infiltration, SecureSearch.com takes over each of web browsers (e.g. Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, MS Edge, etc.) and modifies their settings, making them irreversible. Research shows that browser hijackers usually try to prevent the elimination of these changes by using browser helper objects and similar components.
Visually, the fake search engine of SecureSearch looks very similar to google.com, yahoo.com, or any other legitimate search engine. However, all promises about enhancing your privacy and browsing experience get destroyed as soon as you start reading The terms and conditions on the website. Its developers declare that, by installing this software, you agree to the following:
- Changes made to your search engine in your internet browser
- Changes made to your homepage and new URL tab
- Alternative error page functionality added to the system
- Redirects to third-party websites which Secureserch as no responsibility for;
- Software updates that will be installed automatically.
As you can see, all these alterations are not disclosed to a user directly. In most cases, users look at the main website and, baffled by the promises of their developers, continue dealing with the browser hijacker.
Additionally, Secureserch can initiate the following activities on your system:
- Display intrusive ads[2]
- Redirect to third-party websites which can lead to download and installation of malware/PUPs
- Run suspicious background processes which slow down your machine significantly
- Might collect non-personally identifiable information (URLs visited, search queries, IP addresses) which might be sold for advertisement purposes
As you can see, this hijacker can negatively impact your browsing experience and put your privacy at risk. Therefore, we highly recommend you to remove Secureserch.com from your machine as soon as its presence is detected. For that, you can use FortectIntego.
Browser hijackers can sneak into your system as useful components
Browser hijackers are usually spread thru their official download website and third-party download websites. However, this virus has mostly been infiltrating systems without their owners’ consent. A deceptive marketing campaign, which has been used to spread it, is known as bundling.
It appeared because of a simple reason – many users have been carelessly installing free software from the Internet, and have been rushing through steps. Keep in mind that the use of “Quick/Recommended” installation settings is not recommended!
To prevent infections like this one, it is crucial to proceed with the installation using the “Advanced/Custom” installation settings of every freeware and shareware. Typically, all the unwanted programs are hiding there, so make sure you opt-out of any additional software offered to you during this process.
The key to your computer’s safety and stability is being cautious, security specialists from NoVirus.uk[3] say. The careless behavior on the Internet might lead you to unwanted computer infections.
Uninstall Securesearch.com virus completely
Luckily, getting rid of browser hijackers is a relatively easy task because they have nothing to do with ransomware and similar serious malware. For that, you can select one of two ways: automatic or manual technique.
If you would like to remove Secureserch automatically, you have to download genuine anti-malware software that can easily detect the virus and all the associated files on your computer.
However, if you do not wish to install additional software on your machine and would like to proceed with the manual Securesearch removal, please follow our step-by-step guide below. Please be aware that every step must be followed carefully as any errors made during this process might lead you to the reappearance of a malicious application.
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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