Multisearch.live browser hijacker (spam) - Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge

What is Multisearch.live browser hijacker?

Multisearch.live is the intruder that modifies web browser settings with the purpose of redirecting users to other sites

The search engine gets altered, so the browsing experience diminishes significantly.

Multisearch.live is the program considered a browser hijacker because it affects browsing online significantly. The program controls the online traffic by causing redirects to other pages, showing advertisements constantly, and exposing the person to possibly malicious material online. The application can change the default search engine, homepage, new tab, new window settings to regularly offer other content.

The program itself gets promoted as the convenient tool, Google Chrome browser extension. It can be found in the Web store for chrome tools, advertised on different platforms, and pushed through various advertisements. However, the program can not only affect the performance of the browser, but it also significantly diminishes the speed of the machine itself and is dangerous because of the tracking functions. These data-tracking issues come from the browser hijacker and sponsored content creators, advertisers. These PUPs and online content creators all have advertising purposes that require ad-tracking. Information can be used in later scams, malvertising^[1] campaigns, and other instances where personal information and identity can be at risk.

Issues with the browser hijacker

Multisearch.live is the intruder related to various advertising networks and it can be classified as a possibly malicious or dangerous application due to the additional relations to scammer pages and other platforms with shady purposes. There is nothing valuable about the program. It should be eliminated from the machine if it managed to install itself without permission.

However, when the intruder is not an intruder, ut directly installed piece from the web, users who choose to do so can see warnings about all the changes the program will do once added on the browser. Those particularly include:

• reading and changing data on the websites you visit;
• replacing homage, new tab, search engine settings;
• default search engine replacement to search.multisearch.live;
• managing apps, browser-based programs.

These are the most frustrating features of the potentially unwanted program because altering those preferences back to default might not be the easiest. People are not advanced in the internet and technology when these intrusive ads start filling the screen with harmful materials.

The information, in particular, gets altered and settings altered when the extension is enabled

You can remove the Multisearch.live browser hijacker with tools like AV tools like SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes and make sure to get rid of the PUP itself, but those alterations on the browser remain unchanged. This is where you need to manually go through each section and alter anything that is not set to your liking.

Change your homepage first, since it is the preference that hijacker always alters:

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.

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 the suspicious plugins that might be related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.

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.

Reset Google Chrome:

If the previous methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the unwanted components completely:

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.

Functionalities of the general potentially unwanted program

There are various ways that potentially unwanted programs can spread because developers of the browser hijacker or the adware-type program can pre-pack their programs with freeware that is distributed on torrent sites and other platforms that base their services on the not-so-legal pirating activities.

Also, it is possible to get the particular extension on purpose when the promotional material appears on your screen or when you specifically choose to add the Multisearch.live on the browser from a web store. That is complicated because when you fall for those claims on the promotions, you are not aware of the particular issues this PUP is going to cause you later.

Your machine might get affected instantly after the installation of this piece, so you may notice that the program was not so useful or valuable. However, PUPs have the general feature of spreading silently without causing any symptoms for a while. Then, you need to find the responsible application and get rid of it immediately.

That can be time-consuming, so you are not recommended to remove these intruders manually. Anti-malware tools can help properly clear the machine from any intruders that are related to browsing or not. Also, you can rely on these:

Instructions for Windows 10/8 machines:

1. Enter Control Panel into Windows search box and hit Enter or click on the search result.
2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.
3. From the list, find the entry of the suspicious program.
4. Right-click on the application and select Uninstall.
5. If User Account Control shows up, click Yes.
6. Wait till the uninstallation process is complete and click OK.

If you are Windows 7/XP user, proceed with the following instructions:

1. Click on Windows Start > Control Panel located on the right pane (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
2. In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.
3. Pick the unwanted application by clicking on it once.
4. At the top, click Uninstall/Change.
5. In the confirmation prompt, pick Yes.
6. Click OK once the removal process is finished.

Even though the PUP itself is not malicious or dangerous, experts^[3] note that activities related to Multisearch.live browser hijacker, or any other PUP program can lead to problems with your system and speed, performance issues. Various online sites can include malicious material.

All the tracking issues should also be considered dangerous. Even though those particular details related to your browsing activities, preferences while online are not personally identifiable, you need to get rid of those programs and avoid any services that can possibly access such information and record it for shady purposes.

The promotional material claims this is a useful app, but all the changes the addon wants to make are concerning

You must remove the intruder yourself and double-check before doing anything else on the machine. The existence of the intruder can cause issues with system files over time, so the sooner you remove Multisearch.live browser hijacker, the better. You can rely on the guide below that shows how to deal with these issues on different browsers.

You may remove virus damage with a help of FortectIntego. 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.