Remove 123Search (Free Instructions) - updated Jan 2021
123Search is a suspicious browser add-on you should avoid
123Search is a potentially unwanted program that was previously compatible with the Internet Explorer web browser. However, now you may find this program on each of your web browsers because adware, browser hijackers, and similar PUPs have been redesigned for that.
No matter that most PC users believe that 123Search is a harmless tool that can be used for searching the web and finding useful data, it may start initiating questionable activities on your computer. For example, it seems that this program can easily track your browsing on the web and may collect:
- your search terms;
- information about your mostly visited websites;
- Installed applications and technical device details;
- timestamps and website preferences, etc.
Please, do not reveal it to unknown parties because this may lead you to unexpected problems, such as tons of misleading mails in your inbox, annoying ads that can be selected according to your search habits, and similar issues. If you want to stay safe, you should avoid such programs.
Here, you should keep in mind that such programs may infiltrate your computer without your authorization because they have been actively promoted with the help of bundling. This distribution method is still considered harmless, but we believe that you should be careful with it.
Security researchers have been trying to spread awareness about deception surround software bundling, but it remains one of the main methods of how users get infected with PUPs:
When downloading apps from third-party sources, users tend to pay little attention to the installation instructions and all the components within. Freeware distributors are well aware of that, hence the technique is extremely effective to this day.
If 123Search hijacker has already appeared on your computer and you know that you have never downloaded it, you should waste no time and run a full system scan with ReimageIntego or other reputable anti-spyware.
Browser hijackers can be avoided easily
123Search is a browser hijacker and a potentially unwanted program, which may infiltrate a computer with or without the user's approval. As we have already said, you should stay away from such programs and their official websites that are usually filled with misleading information.
Also, make sure you start monitoring the installation of the freeware because there are thousands of different applications that may trick you into installing PUPs and even viruses on your computer. In order to get the ability to see each of them, you should select only one of the following settings (instead of Recommended/Quick/Express ones):
- Custom;
- Advanced.
Also, make sure you uncheck check marks that allow the installation of optional components. If this program enters the system, it alters the computer's settings and displays unwanted commercial advertisements, in-text links, banner ads, and similar content.
While we can't declare that all of these ads are malicious, this can be said about most of them. That's why we highly recommend avoiding ads and removing this program from your computer. While it shouldn't be very hard to do that manually, we still believe that automatic 123Search removal and other PUPs are much easier.
Uninstall 123Search virus and all its related components easily
If you think that your PC has already been affected by the 123Search hijacker, you need to use the guide below and get rid of it because it may initiate a serious mess on your computer. You can easily uninstall programs from Windows or Mac operating systems with just a few clicks – we provide full instructions below. Keep in mind that browser hijackers and other PUPs populate various components within web browsers, so it is vital for cleaning them as well.
However, if you want to remove 123Search virus quickly, you can simply scan your device with reputable, up-to-date security software. This would also ensure that the machine is not infected with many more severe infections, such as Trojans, backdoors, rootkits, or viruses.
You may remove virus damage with a help of ReimageIntego. SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner and Malwarebytes are recommended to detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.
To remove 123Search, follow these steps:
Eliminate 123Search from Windows systems
To remove 123Search from Windows 10/8 machines, please follow these steps:
- Enter Control Panel into Windows search box and hit Enter or click on the search result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.
- From the list, find entries related to 123Search (or any other recently installed suspicious program).
- Right-click on the application and select Uninstall.
- If User Account Control shows up, click Yes.
- Wait till uninstallation process is complete and click OK.
If you are Windows 7/XP user, proceed with the following instructions:
- Click on Windows Start > Control Panel located on the right pane (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
- In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.
- Pick the unwanted application by clicking on it once.
- At the top, click Uninstall/Change.
- In the confirmation prompt, pick Yes.
- Click OK once the removal process is finished.
Erase 123Search from Mac OS X system
If your macOS is displaying some infection symptoms, proceed with the following guide:
Remove 123Search from Applications folder:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for 123Search-related entries.
- Click on the app and drag it to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash)
To fully remove 123Search, you need to access Application Support, LaunchAgents, and LaunchDaemons folders and delete relevant files:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and click Go or press Enter.
- In the Application Support folder, look for any dubious entries related to 123Search and then delete them.
- Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the 123Search-related entries.
Uninstall 123Search from Internet Explorer (IE)
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 123Search and other 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 again to complete 123Search removal.
Delete 123Search 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 123Search-related extension and click on the Gear icon.
- Click on Uninstall at the bottom.
Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Privacy & security.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Select everything (apart from passwords, although you might want to include Media licenses as well, if applicable) and click on Clear.
Reset MS Edge if that 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.
If this solution failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method. Note that you need to backup your data before proceeding.
- Find the following folder on your computer: C:\\Users\\%username%\\AppData\\Local\\Packages\\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe.
- Press Ctrl + A on your keyboard to select all folders.
- Right-click on them and pick Delete
- Now right-click on the Start button and pick Windows PowerShell (Admin).
- When the new window opens, copy and paste the following command, and then press Enter:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\\AppXManifest.xml” -Verbose
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 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.
Remove 123Search 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 plugins that are related to 123Search and click Remove.
Clear cookies and site data:
- Click Menu and pick Options.
- Go to Privacy & Security section.
- Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
- Click on Clear Data…
- Select Cookies and Site Data, as well as Cached Web Content and press Clear.
In case 123Search did not get removed after following the instructions above, 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 – this should complete 123Search removal.
Get rid of 123Search 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 the suspicious plugins that might be related to 123Search 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.
If the above-methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the 123Search-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 to complete 123Search removal.
Eliminate 123Search from Safari
Remove unwanted extensions from Safari:
- Click Safari > Preferences…
- In the new window, pick Extensions.
- Select the unwanted extension related to 123Search and select Uninstall.
Clear cookies and other website data from Safari:
- Click Safari > Clear History…
- From the drop-down menu under Clear, pick all history.
- Confirm with Clear History.
Reset Safari if the above-mentioned steps did not help you:
- Click Safari > Preferences…
- Go to Advanced tab.
- Tick the Show Develop menu in menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop, and then select Empty Caches.
After uninstalling this potentially unwanted program (PUP) and fixing each of your web browsers, we recommend you to scan your PC system with a reputable anti-spyware. This will help you to get rid of 123Search registry traces and will also identify related parasites or possible malware infections on your computer. For that you can use our top-rated malware remover: ReimageIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes.
Choose a proper web browser and improve your safety with a VPN tool
Online spying has got momentum in recent years and people are getting more and more interested in how to protect their privacy online. One of the basic means to add a layer of security – choose the most private and secure web browser. Although web browsers can't grant full privacy protection and security, some of them are much better at sandboxing, HTTPS upgrading, active content blocking, tracking blocking, phishing protection, and similar privacy-oriented features. However, if you want true anonymity, we suggest you employ a powerful Private Internet Access VPN – it can encrypt all the traffic that comes and goes out of your computer, preventing tracking completely.
Lost your files? Use data recovery software
While some files located on any computer are replaceable or useless, others can be extremely valuable. Family photos, work documents, school projects – these are types of files that we don't want to lose. Unfortunately, there are many ways how unexpected data loss can occur: power cuts, Blue Screen of Death errors, hardware failures, crypto-malware attack, or even accidental deletion.
To ensure that all the files remain intact, you should prepare regular data backups. You can choose cloud-based or physical copies you could restore from later in case of a disaster. If your backups were lost as well or you never bothered to prepare any, Data Recovery Pro can be your only hope to retrieve your invaluable files.
Your opinion regarding 123Search
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April 18th, 2004 at 12:04 pm
Isn't there a law against these morons?
September 8th, 2004 at 7:09 pm
We could only hope for a law.
February 18th, 2005 at 6:02 pm
I make a spam calls to this company, if you want to make something to this kind of company, please call it to this number: 818-575-4500 and spamm they phones.
April 1st, 2012 at 4:14 pm
should be very difficult