Search.searchedd.com – a browser hijacker that promises easy driving directions

Easy Driving Directions might seem like a legitimate tool which helps you with driving directions, enables quick access to gas prices, and provides other useful features. However, it’s just another browser hijacker[1] created by Polarity Technologies.
After the Easy Driving Directions hijack, it immediately makes changes to the system, as well as targeted web browsers, such as Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, etc. One of the most significant alterations – changed homepage and default search engine to http://search.searchedd.com.
Search.searchedd.com is designed to look similar to most popular search engines (google.com, bing.com, etc.). Please be aware that developers of such software put a lot of time and effort to convince users in its legitimacy and usefulness. Unfortunately, Easy Driving Directions, like many others PUPs, have one intention – to generate revenue for the developers.
So-called Search.searchedd.com virus redirects search queries to Yahoo which is a legit search provider. However, developers of the PUP might be participating in Yahoo affiliate marketing and trigger redirects to third-party sites once you click on the desired search result.
The problem is that Search.searchedd.com redirect might lead you to a potentially dangerous or harmful website. When using this tool, you might end up on tech support scam, phishing[2] or other high-risk sites any minute. It goes without saying that you should not rely on this tool.
Easy Driving Directions virus might also generate various intrusive ads and pop-ups that might promote bogus software, fake updates or provide other appealing content. However, you should stay away from these ads due to the same redirect problems.

Additionally, the PUP might collect non-personally identifiable information. IP addresses, sites visited, search queries might be gathered without the victim knowing and then sold for advertisement purposes or used for generating targeted ads.
If you do not want to suffer from suspicious ads and redirects to potentially dangerous websites, you should proceed to Search.searchedd.com removal. You can eliminate the hijacker using FortectIntego or another anti-malware software within a couple of minutes.
However, if you want to fight browser hijacker without additional software, you can remove Search.searchedd.com by following our prepared instructions at the end of the article.
Freeware installers might include unwanted additional components
When downloading freeware or shareware from the Internet, you have to be careful. First of all, you have to choose legitimate downloads sources. However, the second step – using right installation mode – is also very important.
According to the specialists from senzavirus.it,[3] the majority of users rush to install a needed program using Recommended/Quick settings. However, these parameters usually hide additional components, such as browser hijackers, adware, and similar PUPs.
Thus, you have to use Advanced/Custom setup in order to “unpack” freeware and see all additional components that are ready to get inside your PC. Opt out all of them to avoid changes to the browser and other problems.
Uninstall Easy Driving Directions from your browser and computer
Search.searchedd.com removal requires eliminating all hijacker-related components from each of the affected web browsers and computer. Thus, you have to investigate the system by following our prepared instructions. However, this task might be time-consuming and end up with a failure.
Sometimes, it’s not easy to find browser hijacker. If you some of its components, your browser might be hijacked again. Thus, to avoid failure, you should remove Search.searchedd.com using anti-malware/anti-spyware software which can ensure that hijacker is wiped out entirely.
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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