Powerofsearches.com virus is another Trovi's spin-off

Powerofsearches.com is a search engine closely related to Trovi virus. In fact, it is developed by the same developers known as ClientConnect, Ltd. Both of the suspicious search tools are actively promoted via software bundles that suggest installing Power Of Search software.
Power Of Search software is a browser hijacker[1] that compromises web browsers and sets hxxp://Powerofsearches.com/ as a new homepage and search provider. This search site suggests to “Search The Web Your Way” and introduce you to “enhanced online search experience” although it hardly can happen.
This browser hijacker only aims to control your searches and extract required information during your browsing sessions. According to the Privacy Policy available on the search site, ClientConnect, Ltd software collects such kinds of information:
- Technical information that includes user’s IP address, software installed on a computer, language and time zone.
Usage information that covers user’s browsing history, applications used, ads viewed and clicked, search queries and time/date they were performed. - User’s interactions on social networks through the Power Of Searches software & services.
- Registration related information such as name, telephone, email address, birth date and gender.
- Support related information such as email address, name and other information voluntarily submitted by the user in connection with ClientConnect, Ltd support.
Using collected data, the company starts creating “first and third party contextual and personalized content on first and third party websites and applications across user’s devices.” In other words, you are going to receive interest-based ads in the form of search results and likely as pop-ups[2] or banners.

These ads link to external sites that are not controlled by ClientConnect, Ltd. Unfortunately, the company doesn’t review or endorse these websites, which means that it doesn’t check whether they are trustworthy.
In other words, by interacting with these search results, you put your privacy and security at risk. Keep in mind that your interaction with third-party ads generates revenue for the developers of Powerofsearches.com redirect virus, but hardly benefits in you in any way.
To change your default search provider and homepage, you must remove Powerofsearches.com virus first. It is highly recommended that you follow instructions we added to this post and delete the hijacker immediately. If for some reason you cannot uninstall this hijacker, we strongly suggest using anti-malware software.
For a complete Powerofsearches.com removal, we highly recommend using FortectIntego or MalwarebytesMalwarebytes software. Both of these programs can delete browser hijackers, adware, and other forms of spyware/malware from your system. Using one of them will take the burden off your shoulders, and you won’t need to worry about your computer’s security anymore.
Distribution of Trovi-related browser hijackers
When installing software, make sure you refuse to install SearchProtect. It is closely related to Trovi and other browser hijackers. To prevent its installation, you have to go for Custom or Advanced software installation option and deselect statements that confirm your choice to add suggested additional programs.
Default and Standard software installation options are the wrong and untrustworthy ones. Usually, they include statements that say you agree to the installation of additional programs and/or browser extensions.
We also warn you to be careful and avoid visiting suspicious Internet sites that suggest adding particular programs to “improve your search experience.” In most cases, such programs improve nothing and create additional programs instead.
Statistics show that Trovi-related browser hijackers mostly attack German computer users. If you are one of them, we suggest visiting DieViren.de[3] website that provides virus removal guides and removal tutorials in you native language.
Uninstall Powerofsearches.com virus
Remove Powerofsearches.com virus as soon as you can because this program won’t stop bothering you daily. It is a very stubborn browser hijacker that typically refuses to go away that easily. We want to point out that its removal requires uninstalling questionable programs, deleting unknown browser extensions and also purifying browser shortcuts.
If you are uncertain whether you can cope with the problem on your own, let anti-spyware software help you. Just install it according to directions and run a full system scan. Then sit back and relax until it finds all potentially unwanted files and programs on your system.
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.

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