Better-Search.net virus. How to remove? (Uninstall guide)
Can I use Better-Search.net virus after it showed up on my computer out of nowhere?
Better-Search.net virus is a browser hijacker[1] which was spotted back in 2014. After these years, it is still trying to hijack computers without being noticed. Who should you blame after discovering this potentially unwanted program on your computer? Unfortunately, but you are the one who follows installation of the free software and decides which components should be installed together with it. For the future installations, make sure that you remember about optional components that can be added to the free software but shouldn’t be let inside your computer. If you can already find Better-Search.net hijack on your browsers (Firefox, Chrome, IE, Safari, etc.), make sure you know about its capabilities to spy on its users. While it does not accumulate as much sensitive information as CIA[2], it still collects information about your mostly visited websites, details that you enter there and so on. After doing so, it starts causing annoying activity on your computer which includes redirects to sponsored websites and similar problems. The easiest way to run away from them is to remove Better-Search.net from the system.


Click 'Start -> Control Panel -> Programs and Features' (if you are 'Windows XP' user, click on 'Add/Remove Programs').

If you are 'Windows 10 / Windows 8' user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once 'Quick Access Menu' shows up, select 'Control Panel' and 'Uninstall a Program'.

Right click on each of suspicious entries and select 'Uninstall'

Right click on browsers' icon and select 'Properties'

Select 'Shortcut' tab and delete 'http://isearch.babylon.com...' or other suspicious URL

Cick 'Go' and select 'Applications'

Click on every malicious entry and select 'Move to Trash'

Click on menu icon and select 'Manage add-ons'

Right click on each of malicious entries and select 'Disable'

Delete malicious URL, enter your desired domain name and click 'Apply' to save changes

Go to 'Advanced' tab and click on 'Reset' button. Now select 'Delete personal settings' and click on 'Reset' button again

Go to Settings and select 'Choose what to clear'

Select 'Clear' button

Open the start menu and select 'Task Manager'

Right-click 'Microsoft Edge' and select 'Go to details'

Select 'More details' if 'Go to details' option fails to show up

Find Microsoft Edge entries and select 'End Task'

Go to Microsoft Edge folder on your computer, right-click every entry and click 'Delete'

Find Windows PowerShell, right-click it and select 'Run as administrator'

Copy and paste a required command and press 'Enter'

Click on menu icon and select 'Add-ons'

Select 'Extensions' and look for malicious entries. Click 'Remove' to get rid of each of them

When in 'General' tab, delete malicious URL from 'Home Page' section or click on 'Restore to Default' button. Click 'OK' to save changes

Click on menu icon and then on '?'. Select 'Troubleshooting Information'

Click on 'Reset Firefox' button for a couple of times

Click on menu icon. Select 'Tools' and 'Extensions'

Look for malicious entries and delete each of them by clicking on the Trash bin icon

After clicking on menu and 'Settings', select 'Set pages'

Click 'X' to remove malicious URLs

When in 'Settings', select 'Manage search engines...'

Click 'X' to remove malicious URLs

When in 'Settings', scroll down to 'Reset browser settings' button and click on it

Click on 'Reset' button to complete your removal

Click on 'Safari' and select 'Preferences'

Go to 'Extensions' and uninstall malicious add-ons

When in 'General', delete malicious URL and enter your desired domain name

Click on 'Safari' and select 'Reset Safari...'

Select all options and click on 'Reset' button
Fortunately, browser hijackers have nothing to do with rogue security software[3] or ransomware[4], so they can hardly pose harm to your personal data. However, they have been involved to various illegal activities that we have already mentioned. You can say that this program has already infiltrated your computer if you can find Better-Search.net instead of your start page, the default search engine and a new tab URL. Besides, you should know that such viruses tend to show people altered search results that they fill with sponsored content. Once you click on one of such results, it acts as a tool redirecting you to a page needed to its developers. Typically, such redirects end up on websites trying to increase their web traffic. In exchange for this service, their owners are ready to pay the money. However, there is no guarantee that each of these redirect sites is safe to use, so we do not recommend staying on them for long. In fact, we highly recommend avoiding these redirects. If this malicious search engine has already infiltrated your computer, you need to initiate Better-Search.net removal right away. For that, run a full system scan with Reimage.
How can this PUP infiltrate my computer?
Better-Search.net redirect is a very annoying issue, so you need to be careful with this browser hijacker. While it can be downloaded from the Internet just like any other application, its victims can hardly remember when did they decide to do that. That’s because this questionable search engine has ability to track PC users. If we haven’t warned you, then you should know that this program has been actively spread in a bundle with freeware and shareware. If you decided to concentrate on avoiding such unwanted downloads, you should start paying more attention to freeware’s installation. We especially recommend choosing Custom or Advanced installation method and unchecking all check boxes that agree to change homepage or default search engine to this or other sites. As soon as Better-Search.net virus enters the system, it affects all web browsers, including Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. However, you can easily remove it from the system with a help of this guide:
Better-Search.net virus removal procedure
If you found Better-Search.net instead of your new tab URL, the start page or the default search engine, you shouldn’t ignore these changes because they can clearly identify the fact that your computer is hijacked. Such changes can lead you to constant redirects, the appearance of annoying pop-up ads and similar issues that have already been discussed. To get rid of these problems, make sure that you initiate Better-Search.net removal on your computer. The easiest way to recover after the infiltration of this hijacker is initiating a full system scan with reliable anti-spyware software. If you don’t want to add anything to your PC system, you can also remove Better-Search.net virus from the system manually. However, keep in mind that this removal option requires attentiveness and attention to details that are revealed below.
You can remove virus damage automatically with a help of one of these programs: Reimage, Malwarebytes MalwarebytesCombo Cleaner, Plumbytes Anti-MalwareMalwarebytes Malwarebytes. We recommend these applications because they detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.
To remove Better-Search.net virus, follow these steps:
Delete Better-Search.net from Windows systems
To uninstall Better-Search.net manually, you need to perform these steps that are given below. Don’t forget to remove hijacker’s name from the Target field (Shortcut tab) in each of your web browser.
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Click Start → Control Panel → Programs and Features (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
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If you are Windows 10 / Windows 8 user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once Quick Access Menu shows up, select Control Panel and Uninstall a Program.
- Uninstall Better-Search.net and related programs
Here, look for Better-Search.net or any other recently installed suspicious programs. -
Uninstall them and click OK to save these changes.
- Remove Better-Search.net from Windows shortcuts
Right click on the shortcut of Mozilla Firefox and select Properties. -
Go to Shortcut tab and look at the Target field. Delete malicious URL that is related to your virus.
Repeat steps that are given above with all browsers' shortcuts, including Internet Explorer and Google Chrome. Make sure you check all locations of these shortcuts, including Desktop, Start Menu and taskbar.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariUninstall Better-Search.net from Mac OS X system
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If you are using OS X, click Go button at the top left of the screen and select Applications.
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Wait until you see Applications folder and look for Better-Search.net or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash.
Get rid of Better-Search.net from Internet Explorer (IE)
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Remove dangerous add-ons
Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top right corner of the browser and choose Manage Add-ons. -
You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for Better-Search.net and other suspicious plugins. Disable these entries by clicking Disable:
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Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Click on the gear icon (menu) on the top right corner of the browser and select Internet Options. Stay in General tab. -
Here, remove malicious URL and enter preferable domain name. Click Apply to save changes.
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Reset Internet Explorer
Click on the gear icon (menu) again and select Internet options. Go to Advanced tab. - Here, select Reset.
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When in the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset again to complete Better-Search.net removal.
Remove Better-Search.net virus from Microsoft Edge
Reset Microsoft Edge settings (Method 1):
- Launch Microsoft Edge app and click More (three dots at the top right corner of the screen).
- Click Settings to open more options.
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Once Settings window shows up, click Choose what to clear button under Clear browsing data option.
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Here, select all what you want to remove and click Clear.
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Now you should right-click on the Start button (Windows logo). Here, select Task Manager.
- When in Processes tab, search for Microsoft Edge.
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Right-click on it and choose Go to details option. If can’t see Go to details option, click More details and repeat previous steps.
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When Details tab shows up, find every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right click on each of them and select End Task to end these entries.
Resetting Microsoft Edge browser (Method 2):
If Method 1 failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method.
- Note: you need to backup your data before using this method.
- Find this folder on your computer:
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe.
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Select every entry which is saved on it and right click with your mouse. Then Delete option.
- Click the Start button (Windows logo) and type in window power in Search my stuff line.
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Right-click the Windows PowerShell entry and choose Run as administrator.
- Once Administrator: Windows PowerShell window shows up, paste this command line after PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> and press Enter:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml -Verbose}
Once these steps are finished, Better-Search.net should be removed from your Microsoft Edge browser.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariEliminate Better-Search.net from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
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Remove dangerous extensions
Open Mozilla Firefox, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Add-ons → Extensions. -
Here, select Better-Search.net and other questionable plugins. Click Remove to delete these entries.
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Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Click on the menu (top right corner), choose Options → General. - Here, delete malicious URL and enter preferable website or click Restore to default.
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Click OK to save these changes.
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Reset Mozilla Firefox
Click on the Firefox menu on the top left and click on the question mark. Here, choose Troubleshooting Information. -
Now you will see Reset Firefox to its default state message with Reset Firefox button. Click this button for several times and complete Better-Search.net removal.
Erase Better-Search.net from Google Chrome
To fix Google Chrome after Better-Search.net virus infiltration, you need to remove all suspicious add-ons that can be found in this hijacker. Also, you can reset the browser to finish your removal process.
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Delete malicious plugins
Open Google Chrome, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Tools → Extensions. -
Here, select Better-Search.net and other malicious plugins and select trash icon to delete these entries.
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Change your homepage and default search engine if it was altered by your virus
Click on menu icon and choose Settings. -
Here, look for the Open a specific page or set of pages under On startup option and click on Set pages.
- Now you should see another window. Here, delete malicious search sites and enter the one that you want to use as your homepage.
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Click on menu icon again and choose Settings → Manage Search engines under the Search section.
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When in Search Engines..., remove malicious search sites. You should leave only Google or your preferred domain name.
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Reset Google Chrome
Click on menu icon on the top right of your Google Chrome and select Settings. -
Scroll down to the end of the page and click on Reset browser settings.
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Click Reset to confirm this action and complete Better-Search.net removal.
Delete Better-Search.net from Safari
- Remove dangerous extensions
Open Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu at the top left of the screen. Once you do this, select Preferences. -
Here, select Extensions and look for Better-Search.net or other suspicious entries. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid each of them.
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Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Open your Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu section. Here, select Preferences as it was displayed previously and select General. -
Here, look at the Homepage field. If it was altered by Better-Search.net, remove unwanted link and enter the one that you want to use for your searches. Remember to include the "http://" before typing in the address of the page.
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Reset Safari
Open Safari browser and click on Safari in menu section at the top left of the screen. Here, select Reset Safari.... -
Now you will see a detailed dialog window filled with reset options. All of those options are usually checked, but you can specify which of them you want to reset. Click the Reset button to complete Better-Search.net removal process.
About the author
References
- ^ What is browser hijacker?. 2spyware. Security news and virus removal guides.
- ^ Swati Khandelwal. WikiLeaks exposed CIA's hacking tools and capabilities details. The Hacker News. Security in a serious way.
- ^ Rogue security software. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
- ^ Ransomware facts. Microsoft Malware Protection Center.