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  • Active
  • Severity: Medium
  • Adware
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Mar 2018

How to remove Clever Search

A step-by-step removal guide for affected devices. Follow the verified procedure below — most readers complete it in under 10 minutes.

Julie Splinters · Anti-malware specialist

Clever Search is an adware program which initiates display of multiple ads

Displaying Clever SearchAds by Clever Search continuously displays numerous advertisements in the form of pop-ups, ads, banners, deals, in-text links and similar. If you see the ad loading and displaying “Brought to you by Clever Search,” “Ads by Clever Search,” “Powered by Clever Search” it is highly likely that your PC is affected by an adware program.

Adware program creators use bundling method to infect most popular browsers, such as Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox[1] and others. Thus, they invad users' PCs without their consent.

The primary goal of adware developers is to generate profit while exposing users to sponsors' content. In reality, it brings no usefulness to regular users. Thus, Clever Search ads removal should be performed by everybody who values their privacy and wants to enjoy carefree web browsing sessions.

Although adware can hardly pose a risk to your computer and data kept on it, it may cause infiltration of other apps that may be much more dangerous. As research showed,[2] some of the ads launched by this adware can contain links to malicious websites that may be involved in the distribution of viruses or malware.

Therefore, even though statistically the majority of Clever Search redirects lead to online shopping websites, you should always keep the risk of disclosing your computer to cyber threats in mind. Alongside irritating advertisements, you may be annoyed by various slowdowns, crashes, and similar issues during your browsing.

Nevertheless, there are several issues which may not be seen or experienced because they are initiated absolutely silently. Once installed, Clever Search virus may start to weaken your PC's security system step-by-step with an intention to help other PUPs infiltrate your computer.

Besides, it may drop tracking cookies[3] on each of your web browsers and start accumulating information related to your browsing habits and preferences. Even though its targeted data, including search terms, visited websites visited, data entered in them, clicks, IP address, PC's location and similar data is treated as non-personal, its disclosure to suspicious third-parties may lead to such issues as the increased number of spam.

All in all, if you suspect Clever Search adware to be hiding in your machine, we highly recommend you to remove it using reputable security software, such as FortectIntego.

Bundling is used to distribute adware programs

Clever Search ads cannot be downloaded from the official website; therefore, it is assumed that its developers apply other software marketing techniques. Security experts[ref en-] have worked on that and found out that this adware is typically distributed bundled with other freeware and shareware that are quite popular among Internet users, such as download managers, PDF creators, media players, and so on.

Be aware that software bundles are usually distributed via popular download websites, including Cnet, Softonic, Soft32, and many others. Therefore, no matter what kind of free software and from what type of download source you are going to download it, you have to check it for 'additional components.'

To do that, you should always rely on Advanced or Custom installation option (instead of Quick/Basic) and read all the terms that are provided to you. Finally, reject the installation of add-ons, toolbars, search engines, optimization tools, etc. and only then finish the installation.

Clever Search VirusUninstall Clever Search ads and prevent it from displaying unwanted content

If it's too late to prevent infiltration of Clever Search virus because it's already displaying ads, causing redirects and other inconveniences, you should opt for quick and easy Clever Search removal by employing a robust anti-malware tool. We recommend picking one of the programs mentioned below; they can eliminate PUPs in just a few minutes.

Additionally, we prepared a step-by-step guide which can be used to remove Clever Search just as successfully. However, we do not advise using this method if you are not familiar with computers and its processes. An incorrect procedure will merely fail to eliminate the virus.

Uninstall from Windows

Uninstall from Windows 10/8:

  1. Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
  2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.Uninstall from Windows 10/8

Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:

  1. Click on Windows Start > Control Panel (Windows XP users should click on Add/Remove Programs).
  2. In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.Uninstall from Windows 7/XP

Remove the unwanted program:

  1. In the Programs and Features window, look for any recently installed suspicious entries, select them, and click Uninstall.
  2. If User Account Control appears, click Yes to confirm, then complete the removal.Uninstall the unwanted program from Windows

Delete from macOS

Remove the unwanted application:

  1. From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
  2. In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).Uninstall from Mac

Delete leftover files and folders:

  1. Select Go > Go to Folder.
  2. Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
  3. Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.Delete leftover files from Mac
  4. Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.

Reset Internet Explorer

Remove dangerous add-ons:

  1. Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
  2. Pick Manage Add-ons.
  3. You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.Remove add-ons from Internet Explorer

Change your homepage if it was altered:

  1. Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
  2. Select Internet Options.
  3. In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
  4. Click Apply and then select OK.Reset IE homepage

Delete temporary files:

  1. Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
  2. Under Browsing history, click Delete...
  3. Select relevant fields and press Delete.Clear temporary files from Internet Explorer

Reset Internet Explorer:

  1. Click on Gear icon > Internet options and select Advanced tab.
  2. Select Reset.
  3. In the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset.Reset Internet Explorer

Remove from Microsoft Edge

Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:

  1. Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
  2. From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
  3. Click Remove.Remove extensions from Edge

Clear cookies and other browser data:

  1. Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
  2. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  3. 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.Clear Edge browsing data

Restore new tab and homepage settings:

  1. Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
  2. Then find On startup section.
  3. Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.

Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:

  1. Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
  2. Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
  3. Select Details tab.
  4. 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.Reset MS Edge

Instructions for Chromium-based Edge

Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):

  1. Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
  2. Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.Remove extensions from Chromium Edge

Clear cache and site data:

  1. Click on Menu and go to Settings.
  2. Select Privacy, search and services.
  3. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  4. Under Time range, pick All time.
  5. Select Clear now.Clear browser data from Chroum Edge

Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:

  1. Click on Menu and select Settings.
  2. On the left side, pick Reset settings.
  3. Select Restore settings to their default values.
  4. Confirm with Reset.
  5. This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.Reset Chromium Edge

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)

Remove dangerous extensions:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
  2. Select Add-ons.
  3. In here, select the unwanted extension and click Remove.Remove extensions from Firefox

Reset the homepage:

  1. Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
  2. Choose Settings.
  3. Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.

Clear cookies and site data:

  1. Click Menu and pick Settings.
  2. Go to Privacy & Security section.
  3. Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
  4. Click on Clear Data...
  5. Select Cookies and Site Data and Temporary cached files and pages, then click Clear.Clear cookies and site data from Firefox

Reset Mozilla Firefox

If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
  2. Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.Reset Firefox 1
  3. Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox...
  4. Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.Reset Firefox 2

Remove from Google Chrome

Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

  1. Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
  2. In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all suspicious extensions related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.Remove extensions from Chrome

Clear cache and web data from Chrome:

  1. Click on Menu and pick Settings.
  2. Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
  3. Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
  4. Click Clear data.Clear cache and web data from Chrome

Change your homepage:

  1. Click menu and choose Settings.
  2. Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
  3. 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:

  1. Click on Menu and select Settings.
  2. In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
  3. Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
  4. Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
  5. Confirm with Reset settings.Reset Chrome 2

Delete from Safari

Remove dangerous extensions:

  1. Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
  2. Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.Remove extensions from Safari

Clear history and website data:

  1. Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
  2. Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.Clear history from Safari

Reset Safari:

  1. Click Safari in the menu and select Preferences > Advanced.
  2. Enable Show Develop menu in menu bar.
  3. From the menu bar, click Develop and select Empty Caches.Reset Safari

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