Good Search – a bogus search engine that can hijack any web browser

Good-search.ml is a browser hijacker[1] that is presented as a legitimate search engine. This potentially unwanted program (PUP) is promoted in software bundles and can hijack Chrome, Firefox, Explorer and other popular browsers. The purpose of this cyber threat – to control user’s browsing habits, display commercial content and get revenue from online advertising.
Good-search uses its own database and redirects users to its search results page. Therefore, it’s easy for the authors of the PUP to display altered search results. The main difference of between this bogus search tool and legitimate ones is that hijacker can place sponsored links instead of organic search results. Hence, this trickery helps to boost traffic to affiliate websites.
Additionally, Good-search.ml virus can display tons of ads above search results, and on each website, you visit. There’s no doubt that developers of the browser hijacker generate revenue from users' clicks. Hence, annoying advertisements or pop-ups might follow you around.
Annoyance is not the main problem of Good-search virus. Ads and links displayed by the browser hijacker might redirect to potentially dangerous or infected websites. On these sites you might be tricked into downloading suspicious add-ons, fake software updates or suffer from various scams.[2] For this reason, you should not keep this program installed.
Additionally, after Good-search.ml hijack, you might also be bothered by these activities:
- replaced homepage, search engine and new tab URL address with Good Search;
- inability to revert hijacker’s changes and set reliable search provider as the primary one;
- delivery of an increased amount of online ads;
- redirects to highly suspicious websites;
- installation of unknown browser extensions;
- data tracking.
We have already talked about potentially dangerous Good-search.ml redirect tendencies. However, the hijacker might also increase dangers to your privacy too. This potentially unwanted application might track and share aggregated details about you. Typically, this information includes browsing-related details.
However, you can never be sure what third-party tracking technologies the hijacker might allow to install or what information might gather suspicious add-ons that were installed without your permission. Thus, you should dedicate some time for Good-search.ml removal to avoid possible dangers.
The quickest way to remove Good-search.ml from your startup page is to scan the system with FortectIntego and reset affected web browser. However, you can locate hijacker-related entries manually by following the instructions at the end of the article.

Installation of freeware might lead to hijacked web browser
When downloading freeware, shareware or any free program from the Internet, you have always to check if you are not installing a software bundle full of PUPs. For that, you have to use Advanced/Custom settings and carefully monitor the process. Once you see pre-selected third-party “optional downloads” or statements agreeing to set Good-Search your default search engine, remove the ticks from checkboxes.
Simple as that you can stop a browser hijacker or adware from getting inside the computer. However, specialists from LesVirus.fr[3] report that majority of users use Quick/Standard settings which do not openly disclose about third-party apps. Therefore, you should ditch this bad habit right now!
Remove Good Search and get back control over your browser
To remove Good-search.ml from Chrome, Firefox or another web browser, you have to uninstall unknown extensions, reset the browser and suspicious programs via Control Panel. The guidelines below will help you to terminate this cyber threat successfully.
However, if manual Good-search.ml removal seems complicated or time-consuming, you should opt for the automatic method. It requires scanning the system with updated security software. After that, reset your browser and set your desired startup page or search tool.
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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