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  • Active
  • Severity: High
  • Stealing programs
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · May 2018

How to remove Search.dssearchhelper.com

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.dssearchhelper.com is a PUP that can greatly affect your browsing experience

Search.dssearchhelper.com browser hijacker

Search.dssearchhelper.com is yet another browser hijacker[1] that can infiltrate your computer behind your back and then visibly affect your browsing routine. Once this virus infiltrates the system, it alters the start page, default search engine, and a new tab page. Unfortunately, after finding out that you are infected with this redirect virus, you may realize that it is not easy to remove Search.dssearchhelper.com virus from your computer permanently because keeps reappearing right after changing your default search provider to your preferred one.

Name Search.dssearchhelper.com
Classification Browser hijacker
Symptoms Browser's startup page, search engine, new tab URL replaced by Search.dssearchhelper.com without permission. Common redirects to doubtful websites, many pop-up ads, browser's freezes
Affected web browsers

Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Safari, Opera, etc. 

Is it dangerous? No. The search site itself can hardly negatively affect the PC. However, the content it delivers may contain dangerous links or ads.
To eliminate browser hijacker from a web browser, you have to uninstall malware. For that, we recommend using FortectIntego.

As soon as your search engine is changed to Search helper, it starts redirecting you to Safe Finder which is powered by Yahoo[2] search. No matter how trustworthy Yahoo search engine is, sometimes you may notice that you cannot find anything you want because you are redirected to advertisement-filled websites and other questionable content. No matter that each of these sites seems legitimate and helpful search provider, we highly recommend avoiding this type of PUPs because their redirects may end up with high-risk computer infections.

Furthermore, Search.dssearchhelper.com is continually collecting information related to people's web browsing habits. Just like similar browser hijackers, it is interested in people's search terms, computer's location, its IP address and other non-personal data. Later, by using your mostly used search phrases and similar data, hijacker's developers choose ads that have the highest possibility to catch victim's attention. Unfortunately, as we have already mentioned, clicking these ads might be dangerous as you can end up on malicious domains.

To avoid seeing this hijacker each time you open a new tab on your browser, you should take care of Search.dssearchhelper.com removal from the system. Otherwise, your browsing experience will become unpleasant. Additionally, make sure you reset your web browsers that seem to be affected. You can also get rid of suspicious browser add-ons to get back to the legitimate search engine, like Yahoo or Bing. 

Search.dssearchhelper.com virus

Browser hijackers use bundling technique to get into users’ PCs

These days, security experts report about hundreds of suspicious search engines that are targeting Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, IE, Safari and other web browsers. After infiltrating PC systems and then modifying browsers' settings, these hijackers initiate secret system changes that people are not aware of and typically are unable to restore.

To prevent this from happening, keep in mind that the most of potentially unwanted programs have their own download websites that present them as very useful browsing tools. Unfortunately, people are typically redirected to these domains against their will and tricked into installing insecure search providers. In this case, virukset.fi[3] experts recommend checking other people's comments and reviews before adding programs to your computer. 

Besides, pay close attention to the Terms and Agreements section provided during freeware installation. Free apps that may seem useful, and may actually be useful, often come bundled with “optional downloads,”  which eventually turn out to be unwanted programs. 

To prevent installation of unwanted toolbars and extensions, make sure you select Custom or Advanced installation options while installing freeware on your computer. Additionally, deselect every suggestion to install optional components. 

Get rid of Search.dssearchhelper.com from Chrome

For your safety, you should be very cautious when installing or downloading any software and browsing the Internet. However, if you have already failed to keep your system PUP-free, concentrate your attention to Search.dssearchhelper.com removal. Even though this search is not malicious, it can redirect to suspicious websites and track your web browsing activities. Such behavior should not be approved. 

You can select either you like to remove Search.dssearchhelper.com manually or automatically. In the first case, you should update your anti-spyware or install a professional security tool and run an in-depth system scan with it. Alternatively, you can get rid of this infection manually. Eliminate each suspicious entry from the system and then reset web browser's settings to default. 

Anyway, we recommend you to double-check if there is any potentially harmful software left on your computer by initiating a full system scan using any anti-malware programs that we are recommending below. Malicious programs like Search.dssearchhelper.com virus often have a different name, so look for something recently installed and unrecognizable.

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.

Reset Internet Explorer

Remove dangerous add-ons:

  1. Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
  2. Pick Manage Add-ons.
  3. You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.Remove add-ons from Internet Explorer

Change your homepage if it was altered:

  1. Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
  2. Select Internet Options.
  3. In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
  4. Click Apply and then select OK.Reset IE homepage

Delete temporary files:

  1. Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
  2. Under Browsing history, click Delete...
  3. Select relevant fields and press Delete.Clear temporary files from Internet Explorer

Reset Internet Explorer:

  1. Click on Gear icon > Internet options and select Advanced tab.
  2. Select Reset.
  3. In the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset.Reset Internet Explorer

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

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