Remove Search.anysearch.com (Removal Guide)

Anysearch – redirect malware that hijacks Mac users

Anysearch malware is yet another shady search engine which has been added to browser hijacker category. Its developer is already known for promoting tools identical to this search provider, such as Search.anysearchplus.com, Search.anysearchmac.com and many others.

All these sites are known to target Mac OS X^[1] users. Thus, these domains might replace your current default search engine, homepage or new tab URL address without asking your permission. Then, Search Anysearch Manager and other hijackers can track each of your searches, show you sponsored search results and even redirect you to malware-infested websites.

The so-called Search.anysearch.com virus usually spreads in software bundles. Thus, if you do not install free programs correctly, the PUP might hijack your browser unnoticed. Additionally, it might:

trigger redirects to questionable domains;
display intrusive online ads;
collect information about users;
prevent from changing search engine or homepage URL address;
block Search.anysearch.com removal.

Once the virus enters the system, Search Anysearch Manager might take control over Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari or other web browsers installed on the Mac. It might alter your browser’s settings in order to prevent you from switching back to the previous search tool.

However, it’s a highly suspicious tool that is created by SafeFinder. This company is known for producing many similar PUPs that cause browsing-related problems. Thus, it’s important to remove Anysearch from Mac as soon as it shows up in on the screen.

The hijacker not only might track various information about users and display ads based on the aggregated data. Anysearch virus might also deliver misleading or even malware-laden ads. Thus, you might be tricked into downloading a malicious content^[2] or suffer from a phishing attack.

We do not say that browser hijacker is dangerous itself, but redirect tendencies or sponsored marketing activities are concerning. Thus, you should not risk bumping into cyber criminals and their prepared traps and delete this browser hijacker. You can uninstall Anysearch either manually or with the help of Fortect Intego.

Shady search tool is promoted as AnySearch Manager extension in software bundles

The shady search engine can be downloaded from its official website and other third party sites as a useful Mac extension. Of course, you should never fall for such promises as this program is yet another PUP seeking to get into your computer and initiate activities that are important to its developers.

Besides, hijacker can get into your Mac attached to different freeware or shareware if you do not install it correctly or attentively. If you have already found your system hijacked, it may have happened if you:

used Quick/Standard/Recommended settings for program’s installation;
rushed through Advanced/Custom setup without reading provided information.

While Quick installation does not reveal about “additional downloads,” Advanced setup does. However, it’s important to follow the wizard attentively and read everything, starting from the EULA and Privacy Policy, and finishing with information provided in each of the steps.

Thus, once you see a suggestion to install some great browser extension, PC optimization software or similar entries, you have to remove ticks in order to prevent them from getting inside your computer.

Explaining how to get rid of Search Anysearch virus

It’s not hard to remove Anysearch malware from Mac manually. You have to check the list of Applications and move suspicious entries to Trash. Then, you need to look through the lists of browser add-ons and reset each of the browsers.

However, security specialists from Les Virus^[3] note that users often overlook hijacker-related entries. Thus, their browser remains hijacked. To avoid such unpleasant situation, we suggest opting for automatic Search Anysearch removal.

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 Search.anysearch.com

Anysearch – redirect malware that hijacks Mac users

Shady search tool is promoted as AnySearch Manager extension in software bundles