Remove Search.searchgbv.com (Virus Removal Guide)

Search.searchgbv.com is a browser hijacker directed to religious individuals

Search.searchgbv.com is a dubious application that enters users’ machines without their permission and makes uncalled changes to each of the installed browsers, including Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari, Mozilla Firefox, etc. This potentially unwanted program^[1] was designed and developed by Polarity Technology Ltd, which is responsible for many other similar browser hijackers, such as Search.heasyconverter.co, Search.searchmpctpop.com, Search.searchquco.com, etc.

SUMMARY
Name	Search.searchgbv.com
Type	Browser hijacker
Browser extension	Get Bible Verses
Developer	Polarity Technology Ltd
Symptoms	Altered browser settings, invasive ads, etc.
Distribution	Software bundling
Elimination	You can delete the virus using Fortect Intego or by checking our manual guide below

Each of these applications have a different “theme” that might be appealing to certain type of audience. Typically, Polarity goes for such factors as internet speed checkers, file converters, maps, locations, etc. This time, the developers decided to appeal to religious people, as Get Bible Verses (the extension which comes together with the browser hijacker) has a variety of links to religious webpages, as well as a quote from Bible in the middle of the screen.

Nevertheless, all the searches are redirected to Yahoo – a legitimate and widely used search engine. However, if you get redirected from a hijacked homepage, a layer of ads will appear in your search results, advertising Polarity’s affiliates. This way, developers earn money for every promoted website and boost their web traffic significantly. To avoid altered search results, you need to remove Search.searchgbv.com from your machine entirely.

Search.searchgbv.com virus may perform the following:

Alter startup page, new tab URL and search engine address to hxxp://search.searchgbv.com;
Install additional components, such as other browser extensions, bogus optimization tools, toolbars and other unnecessary software, without users’ permission;
Display advertisement of affiliates in various forms – such us pop-ups, redirects, in-text links, etc.;
Change and read bookmarks or favorites;
Slowdown the web browser;
Record and share non-personally identifiable information, etc.

Get Bible Verses rerouting tendencies is by far the most dangerous feature. Users could be lead to websites where malicious JavaScripts can download and install malware. This might bring to various perilous computer infections, such as ransomware.^[2] This cyber threat can lock up all files on ones PC and demand ransom to be paid for data release.

Additionally, developers also warn users about the following:

8.4 In the event that Polarity goes through a business transition such as a merger, acquisition by another company, consolidation, change of control, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale or transfer of all or a portion of its assets, your information will be among the assets transferred.

Thus, if you enter any personally identifiable information, it might be transferred as explained above. Security experts from novirus.uk^[3] highly discourage users from entering any personal details into a hijacked engine.

It is evident that the browser hijacker is not necessary and might even be harmful to your PC and privacy. Thus download robust security software (such as Fortect Intego) and proceed with Search.searchgbv.com removal procedure.

Freeware installers may include potentially unwanted programs

Unfortunately, not many casual computer users are aware of software bundling technique. This method helps PUP developers to distribute their software much more efficiently, while free software authors monetize off the procedure. Unfortunately, this process is legal, and the one who lets unwanted apps in is the user. Therefore, it is vital to learn how to avoid PUP infiltration.

The most important step is not to rush. Users often click “Next” several times without looking. What they don’t realize is that they just accepted Terms and Conditions. Therefore, if you don’t pick Advanced/Custom installation mode, you may entirely skip the option to withdraw additional components. To avoid that, never choose Recommend/Quick settings, despite recommendations by software authors (remember, it is in their best interest to make you install PUPs as they benefit financially).

Search.searchgbv.com uninstallation guide

You can quickly remove Search.searchgbv.com from your machine. First, you could try to eliminate the unwanted application manually – just use our guide below. However, make sure you carefully follow each step as the incorrect procedure will simply fail to get rid of the PUP. Afterward, you will have to reset each of the browser’s settings manually.

The quickest and most convenient Search.searchgbv.com removal can be performed using robust security software. We advise picking one of the programs mentioned below, bring it up to date and run a full system scan.

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.searchgbv.com

Search.searchgbv.com is a browser hijacker directed to religious individuals

Freeware installers may include potentially unwanted programs