How to remove Search.anchorfree.net

What is Search.anchorfree.net?

Search.anchorfree.net is a very questionable search site, which should be used with an extreme carefulness. Beware that it has already been added to browser hijacker and potentially unwanted program category, what means that it may lead you to such issues as annoying pop-up ads, redirects, slow downs and similar problems. If this PUP infiltrates the system, it may start causing various pop-up ads during your browsing. Typically, this program is trying to redirect its victims to its affiliate websites and help them to improve their popularity. The main issue is that you can never know what website is promoted with a help of such technique. When inside the system, Search.anchorfree.net hijacks all of web browsers, including Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. In most of the cases, it leaves Search.anchorfree.net instead of the start page, the default search engine and the new tab page. Finally, it may try to track people's search sessions and collect their search terms, mostly visited websites and data that they add when visiting them. If you don't want to reveal such details to unknown parties, you should prevent such activity by removing Search.anchorfree.net from your computer. You should never ignore such redirections on your browser because it is a clear sign telling that your machine is infected. Run a full system scan with updated anti-spyware, such as Fortect Intego, and remove Search.anchorfree.net redirect virus from the system.

HOW CAN SEARCH.ANCHORFREE.NET hijack my computer?

As we have already mentioned, Search.anchorfree.net browser hijacker is promoted as an optional component of freeware and shareware, which is added to the system when users fail to monitor installation of such software. If you don't want to install this potentially unwanted program in a bundle with your downloads, you should try to be very careful when downloading freeware and shareware to the system. When installing such programs, make sure that you select Custom or Advanced installation of the freeware. In addition, you should follow every installation step and opt out of optional components, such as search engines, browser add-ons, extensions, plugins, toolbars and similar applications. In addition, you should stay away from misleading alerts offering you to update Java, Flash Player and similar programs because they can also lead you to the appearance of Search.anchorfree.net virus. As soon as it gets inside the system, this hijacker modifies some of PC's parameters and starts causing redirects to Search.anchorfree.net and other unknown websites. Remember, no matter that this site looks like an ordinary search provider, it has been included to the database of various anti-spywares as a potentially unwanted program. We do NOT recommend using Search.anchorfree.net for your searches because you may receive altered search results.

HOW TO REMOVE SEARCH.ANCHORFREE.NET?

If you have been suffering from annoying redirections to Search.anchorfree.net or other unknown websites, it means that your PC is affected by a browser hijacker. In this case, you should waste no time and eliminate this program from the system. You can do that with a help of manual removal or automatic removal method. Both of these methods are explained down below:

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.

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.