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  • Active
  • Severity: High
  • Stealing programs
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Dec 2015

How to remove Search.aol.com virus

A step-by-step removal guide for affected devices. Follow the verified procedure below — most readers complete it in under 10 minutes.

Alice Woods · Likes to teach users about virus prevention

Search.aol.com is a potentially unwanted program (PUP), which pretends to be a regular search engine. At the first glance, it looks like one – but if you try to use it, you might get disappointed with its services.

What is Search.aol.com and what is the AOL Toolbar?

Search.aol.com PUP is known as a browser hijacker. This program can enter your computer in case you have installed any freeware or shareware program lately. We are going to explain this in detail in the next part of this report. Once Search.aol.com enters the victim’s computer, it installs its AOL Toolbar, modifies Internet browsers’ settings and removes the previous homepage from them. Instead of the user’s previous homepage it sets Search.aol.com page as a default one. Therefore, any time you launch your web browser, you might see this rogue search website on the first page. You should remember that websites related to browser hijacker programs are unsafe and should not be explored. Unfortunately, many PC users tend to use whichever search site they see on their main page. As a result, they may experience Search.aol.com redirects.

These redirects can lead them to untrustworthy or insecure web domains that usually belong to third-party sponsors’ web pages. Such page might include suspicious material. For example, insecure websites might offer you free downloads or free software updates, but you should definitely reject such offers. Sadly, such shady downloads can include several PUPs or even malicious programs, which can cause harm to your computer or your personal data. Of course, we are not saying that all of Search.aol.com hijacker redirects are going to end you up on dubious sites, but the majority of them will. Another important fact about this browser hijacker is that it is capable of collecting victim’s browsing activity details. It might gather information about your browsing history, most visited websites, searches made and similar data. Who knows for what purposes this vague application might use such information?

Search.aol.com scam search engine

If you want to secure your computer system in advance or just scan your computer to check whether it does not keep any computer threats or parasites, we recommend you to install FortectIntego anti-malware software.

How can Search.aol.com hijack affect my computer?

Programs like Search.aol.com browser hijacker are commonly distributed via the bundling method, which is a tricky technique to spread PUPs. Various adware, browser hijackers, plug-ins, and add-ons are known to be distributed the same way. Bundling allows to wrap freeware together with some potentially unwanted applications. Usually, the agreements to install such additional apps are hidden under the Default and Standard installation settings. Many users do not know that they can configure the installation settings while installing new programs to their computer and reject unwanted attachments. To decline such seamless invasion of potentially unwanted programs, you have to opt for Advanced or Custom installation mode. Then the setup window expands and provides a list of suggested optional downloads. Remove the tick from each of such suggestions and proceed to the further installation step.

However, if you have already installed Search.aol.com PUP and its toolbar to your computer, you should remove it. To find the removal guide, please proceed to the next page.

How can I delete this suspicious software from my system?

Search.aol.com virus is a disagreeable program, but if you are an experienced computer user, you will not encounter any difficulties removing this program manually. For that, we have provided a guide below this text. In case you have never dealt with such PUPs before, we recommend using an anti-spyware program. All you need to do with such program is to run a full system scan and then delete the risky programs found on the platform. This automatic removal method is also more advantageous because it prolongs computer protection.

Uninstall from Windows

Uninstall from Windows 10/8:

  1. Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
  2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.Uninstall from Windows 10/8

Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:

  1. Click on Windows Start > Control Panel (Windows XP users should click on Add/Remove Programs).
  2. In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.Uninstall from Windows 7/XP

Remove the unwanted program:

  1. In the Programs and Features window, look for any recently installed suspicious entries, select them, and click Uninstall.
  2. If User Account Control appears, click Yes to confirm, then complete the removal.Uninstall the unwanted program from Windows

Delete from macOS

Remove the unwanted application:

  1. From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
  2. In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).Uninstall from Mac

Delete leftover files and folders:

  1. Select Go > Go to Folder.
  2. Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
  3. Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.Delete leftover files from Mac
  4. Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.

Remove from Microsoft Edge

Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:

  1. Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
  2. From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
  3. Click Remove.Remove extensions from Edge

Clear cookies and other browser data:

  1. Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
  2. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  3. 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.Clear Edge browsing data

Restore new tab and homepage settings:

  1. Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
  2. Then find On startup section.
  3. Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.

Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:

  1. Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
  2. Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
  3. Select Details tab.
  4. 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.Reset MS Edge

Instructions for Chromium-based Edge

Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):

  1. Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
  2. Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.Remove extensions from Chromium Edge

Clear cache and site data:

  1. Click on Menu and go to Settings.
  2. Select Privacy, search and services.
  3. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  4. Under Time range, pick All time.
  5. Select Clear now.Clear browser data from Chroum Edge

Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:

  1. Click on Menu and select Settings.
  2. On the left side, pick Reset settings.
  3. Select Restore settings to their default values.
  4. Confirm with Reset.
  5. This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.Reset Chromium Edge

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)

Remove dangerous extensions:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
  2. Select Add-ons.
  3. In here, select the unwanted extension and click Remove.Remove extensions from Firefox

Reset the homepage:

  1. Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
  2. Choose Settings.
  3. Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.

Clear cookies and site data:

  1. Click Menu and pick Settings.
  2. Go to Privacy & Security section.
  3. Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
  4. Click on Clear Data...
  5. Select Cookies and Site Data and Temporary cached files and pages, then click Clear.Clear cookies and site data from Firefox

Reset Mozilla Firefox

If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
  2. Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.Reset Firefox 1
  3. Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox...
  4. Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.Reset Firefox 2

Remove from Google Chrome

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 suspicious extensions related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.Remove extensions from Chrome

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.Clear cache and web data from Chrome

Change your homepage:

  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.

Reset Google Chrome:

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

  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.Reset Chrome 2

Delete from Safari

Remove dangerous extensions:

  1. Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
  2. Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.Remove extensions from Safari

Clear history and website data:

  1. Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
  2. Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.Clear history from Safari

Reset Safari:

  1. Click Safari in the menu and select Preferences > Advanced.
  2. Enable Show Develop menu in menu bar.
  3. From the menu bar, click Develop and select Empty Caches.Reset Safari

Did this guide help?

4 comments

  1. tax

    this search engine just does not work.

  2. nikolaj

    This rogue search add-on forced me to use this search site, and as a result, I was redirected to various toxic websites. I have accidentally installed some stupid software update, which happened to be a trojan virus. I had to bring my computer to a computer soecialist to get it fixed! I am so disappointed! Guys, do not use this trashy search...

  3. Pia

    Oh boy i feel sorry for you. So you did not have an anti-malware program on your PC? You should get one... It helps to prevent such tragic situations.

  4. Vanda

    slows computer down as well! it seems that it is just a small file but computer works WAY slower because of it.

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