Facts about Search.goldraiven.com virus
Search.goldraiven.com virus is a new computer infection that mostly affects Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari browsers. After the attack, this browser hijacker modifies web browsers’ settings and fills users’ screen with commercial content. Browsing the Internet with an infected browser becomes unbearable. Users cannot access a reliable search engine and are forced to use a suspicious search.goldraiven.com, where they cannot find relevant and useful information. Besides, they cannot set their preferred homepage and every time they open the browser this bogus website shows up. The developers designed hijacker in a way that it takes full control over the browsers. It means users cannot do any customizations unless they remove Search.goldraiven.com from the computer and clean web browsers. We recommend eliminating it as soon as it shows up. The longer it stays, the more annoying it becomes. It might monitor your browsing activity and use analyzed results to deliver personalized ads and other supposedly interesting content. Keep in mind that this content might be malicious or trick you into downloading bogus software; so, your computer might be at serious risk. However, you should worry about your privacy as well. Even though in the Privacy Policy developers stated that it retrieves only technical information and none personal identifiable information, all aggregated data might be shared with third-parties. If you don’t want anyone spying on your browsing activity and using this information to generate revenue, you should not delay Search.goldraiven.com removal. Install FortectIntego and get rid of this annoying computer infection.

Search.goldraiven.com hijacker belongs to The Goldraiven platform and is related to two other browser hijackers – search.wharkike.com and search.follysway.com. Therefore, you cannot expect reliable and relevant search results from this fake search engine, because it generates modified search results and includes sponsored links. Browser hijackers are created to deliver commercial content in every possible way in order to boost traffic to sponsored websites and generate pay-per-click revenue. In the Privacy Policy, developers noted that they do not take responsibility for the third-party content. It means that if your computer catches a Trojan after one unexpected Search.goldraiven.com redirect or click on an infected advertisement, it will be only your fault. Indeed, it sounds unfair. However, if this computer infection got inside your PC, avoid clicking on ads and links even on official and reliable websites, because hijacker can place them on any web page you visit. It’s important to mention that in the Terms of Use it is stated that browser hijacker might offer to install other applications and change homepage and default search engine. It’s quite ironic because Search.goldraiven.com virus makes these changes as soon as it gets inside a computer secretly.
When it hijacks web browsers?
Browser hijacker sneaks inside the system without users’ knowledge; however, with their permission. It is attached to free software as an optional program and hidden under “Basic” or “Recommended” installation settings. Therefore, when users download the program from the Internet and install it using recommended mode, they give permission to PUP to enter the system. Unfortunately, many computer users are not aware of this fact and rely on installation wizards. However, there’s no need to trust them. To avoid Search.goldraiven.com hijack, users have to install software using “Advanced” or “Custom” settings. This setup allows seeing the list of suggested downloads and decline their installation.
How should I remove Search.goldraiven.com browser hijacker?
Browser hijacker removal might be a tricky and complicated task if you decide to use manual elimination. Manual Search.goldraiven.com removal requires finding and deleting browser hijacker, all its additional components and the program which brought it inside. In order to help you, we prepared detailed and illustrated instructions how to remove the virus manually. However, if this bogus search engine still appears on the screen, scan your computer with a strong antivirus program and remove Search.goldraiven.com automatically.
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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