Remove Landslide Search (Free Guide)

Landslide is the search engine that claims to provide results without advertisements but tracks your browsing data

Landslide is a fake search engine that loads results infected with affiliated content to ensure that sponsors get more views and page visits. This is a browser hijacker that affects the performance and speed of the infected machine significantly because it can communicate to other sites, read and change your data and alter settings or your browsing online preferences. The particular intruder is a browser extension related to Search.landslidesearch.com search engine and live.landslidesearch.com domain that promotes this extension and other products claiming about the simple and useful features. Even though those results appear delivered through the Yahoo Search engine this domain is not related to a legitimate search engine and online content provider. It may seem like a useful tool and all, but browser hijacker can freely track your searches and display various advertisements on the list of results to only get more revenue.

Name	Landslide Search
Type	Browser hijacker
Developer	Uprise Technologies LLC
Symptoms	Internet browsing settings get altered and every search shows results injected with promotional material, advertisements. Settings like homepage, new tab, default internet search engine get changed without permission
Related domains	Search.landslidesearch.com; Live.landslidesearch.com
Distribution	Promotional ads, deceptive pages, and other PUPs can lead to the silent installation of the browser hijacker. However, one of the more common techniques used by threat developers include insecure freeware downloads and bundling method which allows installing a hijacker or adware without your knowledge or permission
Main danger	The potentially unwanted program includes various ad-tracking techniques to obtain information about the user and his or her browsing habits and preferences. Such data tracking can lead to issues with privacy and identity theft. Unfortunately, all the redirects visitors to possibly dangerous content too
Elimination	You should think more about possible damage when you try to remove Landslide Search from the computer because in-browser content can still affect the performance when the main PUP is removed from the machine. So scan the machine with anti-malware tool and then go through web browsers to manually reset them and disable shady apps
Tip for system repair	Potentially unwanted programs can silently run in the background until they start showing those commercial pop-ups and banners. Meanwhile, system files and preferences get altered automatically. To repair registry or startup files affected by the intruder, you should get a system tool like Fortect Intego that may help to fix such issues

Landslide Search extension is the program that redirects your browser search queries and hijacks every attempt to find something online with useless and possibly dangerous material. When the hijack gets installed, it starts rerouting the online traffic to pages where the visitor gets exposed to possibly harmful content, malvertising campaigns.^[1]

Once you interact with any promotional content, domains that distribute the intruder, you can get a pop-up suggesting to add Landslide on the browser. However, when you do that the application can:

read or even change the settings of your web browser;
redirect you to other associated pages;
change default settings and preferences or even data on various sites.

Even though some of those redirects include direct downloads of malicious programs, Landslide Search virus is not a good term that should be used to describe the behavior of the potentially unwanted program. PUP developers are not involved in scams, blackmailing schemes or harmful malware delivery, so your device is not damaged when the hijacker finds its way on the PC.

However, Search.landslidesearch.com developers are not responsible for the content you get exposed to after redirects and advertisements. There are many sites spreading fileless malware,^[2] malicious scripts of cryptocurrency miners or spyware, so you should be aware that visiting deceptive sites constantly can lead to more issues.

To avoid further damage and infections more severe that the PUP you need to remove Landslide and all related programs, browser products completely from the machine. This can be achieved with anti-malware tools or security software that is designed to detect dangerous files and indicate programs possibly damaging to your computer.

Landslide is mainly targeting Mac devices and is considered to be an unwanted Mac App. In most cases, this hijack relies on the reputation of Bing or Yahoo search engines and remains unnoticed on the system for a longer period. This fact means that the PUP is more difficult to remove after a long period since it can install other applications to remain persistent.

Landslide Search removal becomes more difficult when the PUP manages to access and change particular startup settings, change entries and values in the registry. For all these reasons and potential difficulties experts^[3] recommend getting proper anti-malware tools when removing the hijacker.

You can download and install the antivirus program and run a full system scan that automatically finds applications or files associated with Landslide Search or any other intruders and terminates them when you choose to. Of course, there is more to this infection, so going through web browsers manually is advisable.

You can find a step-by-step guide that shows with to reset Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari to default and get rid of the Landslide extension, other suspicious content. As for the system issues, you can rely on PC repair tools or cleaners like Fortect Intego that may indicate problems wilt system files and repair them.

PUPs come through shady advertisements and insecure freeware installations

In most cases, the site you get redirected to or search engine that appears on the web browser is not the main intruder because PUP is the one running in the background. This silent intruder gets installed without your permission or knowledge because spreading methods include deceptive techniques and shady services.

Browser extensions, applications, toolbars get offered on commercial content and promoted as useful or directly bundled with freeware. This is why users cannot say how the PUP got on the computer when they are not the ones who willingly downloaded the cyber threat.

You can avoid these infiltrations if you go for Advanced or Custom installations instead of Quick or Recommended methods that automatically agree with all the extra programs included in the package. Choosing sources, freeware developers and distributors can be crucial when it comes to internet security.

Terminate Landslide and associated PUPs to forget about constant redirects

Landslide removal is a difficult process when potentially unwanted program manages to change particular settings or install additional applications to affect the persistence and performance of the anti-malware tools. However, the best option remains antivirus tools and a full system scanning routine.

Such a method allows finding all Landslide Search virus-related programs, files and fully get rid of them from the machine. You cannot do that manually because it takes time and you need to locate all related programs to end the unwanted behavior completely.

Fortunately, when you remove Search.landslidesearch.com using anti-malware tools, you also improve the performance by cleaning other intruders and malicious files or damage of previous cyber infections. For additional help, you can scan the machine with a system utility and make sure that certain system files are not damaged.

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.

How to remove Landslide Search

Landslide is the search engine that claims to provide results without advertisements but tracks your browsing data

PUPs come through shady advertisements and insecure freeware installations