Remove Search.searchjstf.com (Tutorial) - Removal Guide
Search.searchjstf.com is a shady search engine
Search.searchjstf.com is a potentially unwanted program (PUP) that is designed to take control over web browsers. Created by Polarity Technologies, this browser hijacker spreads in software bundles as Transit Finder app and can sneak unnoticed. However, it immediately changes browser’s startup page and starts other annoying activities.
| Summary | |
|---|---|
| Name | Search.searchjstf.com |
| Type | Browser hijacker |
| Danger level | Medium. Modifies browser's settings and might display potentially dangerous content |
| Developers | Polarity Technologies |
| Symptoms | Changed browser's homepage and search engine, inability to set preferred search engine, an increased amount of ads |
| Targeted browsers | Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari |
| Distribution | Software bundles |
| To uninstallSearch.searchjstf.com, install Reimage and run a full system scan | |
Users often refer to this potentially unwanted app as a Search.searchjstf.com virus. However, it’s too strong term to describe this cyber threat. It cannot harm the computer directly, corrupt files or steal sensitive data. However, its infiltration definitely increases a possibility to meet dangerous viruses online.[1]
Search.searchjstf.com can affect Chrome, Firefox or other commonly used browsers and alter their settings. The browser hijacker might also make some changes to the system or install helper objects to keep control over the browser. For this reason, users might find it difficult to get rid of it from the browser.
The PUP alters browsers homepage, default search engine, and new tab URL address. According to the researchers from semvirus.pt,[2] it might set either hxxp://search.searchjstf.com and hxxp://query.searchjstf.com instead of the default browser startup page.
However, this search engine might seem legitimate because it offers quick access to popular social networks and redirects search queries to Yahoo results page. The problem is that authors of the hijacker do not have a purpose of enhancing your browsing sessions. All they want is you to visit sponsored sites or click on ads. However, you should not do it!
Search.searchjstf.com redirect tendencies are really concerning. When you click on a search link, the hijacker might trigger another redirect to the affiliate website. Hence, instead of opening needed source, you might be visiting phishing[3] or infected site.
The same problem exists with ads too. However, here developers use another trick. The PUP can collect various information which allows identifying user’s interests and browsing habits. Based on this knowledge, they can display targeted ads, which means that they might look interesting and useful. But we want to warn that commercial content is usually misleading and you should stay away from it.
As soon as you find out about the hijacked web browser, you should obtain reputable anti-malware software and scan your computer. Our team suggests using Reimage for Search.searchjstf.com removal. However, any reliable and up-to-date tool can help you too.
We are aware that not everyone wants to use third-party software to remove Search.searchjstf.com and all its related components. For this reason, we created detailed instructions on how to get rid of the browser hijacker without security program. You can find them below.
Click 'Start -> Control Panel -> Programs and Features' (if you are 'Windows XP' user, click on 'Add/Remove Programs').
If you are 'Windows 10 / Windows 8' user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once 'Quick Access Menu' shows up, select 'Control Panel' and 'Uninstall a Program'.
Right click on each of suspicious entries and select 'Uninstall'
Right click on browsers' icon and select 'Properties'
Select 'Shortcut' tab and delete 'http://isearch.babylon.com...' or other suspicious URL
Cick 'Go' and select 'Applications'
Click on every malicious entry and select 'Move to Trash'
Click on menu icon and select 'Manage add-ons'
Right click on each of malicious entries and select 'Disable'
Delete malicious URL, enter your desired domain name and click 'Apply' to save changes
Go to 'Advanced' tab and click on 'Reset' button. Now select 'Delete personal settings' and click on 'Reset' button again
Go to Settings and select 'Choose what to clear'
Select 'Clear' button
Open the start menu and select 'Task Manager'
Right-click 'Microsoft Edge' and select 'Go to details'
Select 'More details' if 'Go to details' option fails to show up
Find Microsoft Edge entries and select 'End Task'
Go to Microsoft Edge folder on your computer, right-click every entry and click 'Delete'
Find Windows PowerShell, right-click it and select 'Run as administrator'
Copy and paste a required command and press 'Enter'
Click on menu icon and select 'Add-ons'
Select 'Extensions' and look for malicious entries. Click 'Remove' to get rid of each of them
When in 'General' tab, delete malicious URL from 'Home Page' section or click on 'Restore to Default' button. Click 'OK' to save changes
Click on menu icon and then on '?'. Select 'Troubleshooting Information'
Click on 'Reset Firefox' button for a couple of times
Click on menu icon. Select 'Tools' and 'Extensions'
Look for malicious entries and delete each of them by clicking on the Trash bin icon
After clicking on menu and 'Settings', select 'Set pages'
Click 'X' to remove malicious URLs
When in 'Settings', select 'Manage search engines...'
Click 'X' to remove malicious URLs
When in 'Settings', scroll down to 'Reset browser settings' button and click on it
Click on 'Reset' button to complete your removal
Click on 'Safari' and select 'Preferences'
Go to 'Extensions' and uninstall malicious add-ons
When in 'General', delete malicious URL and enter your desired domain name
Click on 'Safari' and select 'Reset Safari...'
Select all options and click on 'Reset' button
Be careful with freeware downloads
Freeware and shareware are the main tools used in hijacker’s distribution. Developers of any free program can include additional apps in a freeware installer for a specific sum of money. There’s no doubt that authors of PUPs are very interested in such marketing and distribution strategy.
The advantage of this technique is that PUPs can be hidden under Quick or Standard settings which do not openly disclose about third-party apps. Therefore, when users decide to use this setup, they give indirect permission to install the whole freeware bundle.
It’s possible to avoid this mistake if you use Advanced or Custom installation of a free program. However, choosing these settings is not enough. You have to read notifications in each of the steps and opt out pre-selected optional apps.
Eliminate Search.searchjstf.com for good
As you already know, it’s possible to remove Search.searchjstf.com automatically and manually. If you are here for the latter option, you should scroll down a little bit more where the guide is. However, we want to point out at a couple of important steps:
- Uninstall Transit Finder and other suspicious extensions from each of the browsers installed on your PC.
- Reset browsers.
- Uninstall all programs from the computer that might be associated with the hijacker.
However, if it seems a complicated task or you have failed with manual Search.searchjstf.com removal, you should not waste your time and choose security program for the automatic elimination.
You can remove virus damage automatically with a help of one of these programs: Reimage, SpyHunterCombo Cleaner, Malwarebytes Malwarebytes. We recommend these applications because they detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.
To remove Search.searchjstf.com, follow these steps:
Remove Search.searchjstf.com from Windows systems
These guidelines will help you to get rid of hijacker-related entries from Windows:
-
Click Start → Control Panel → Programs and Features (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
-
If you are Windows 10 / Windows 8 user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once Quick Access Menu shows up, select Control Panel and Uninstall a Program.
- Uninstall Search.searchjstf.com and related programs
Here, look for Search.searchjstf.com or any other recently installed suspicious programs. -
Uninstall them and click OK to save these changes.
- Remove Search.searchjstf.com from Windows shortcuts
Right click on the shortcut of Mozilla Firefox and select Properties. -
Go to Shortcut tab and look at the Target field. Delete malicious URL that is related to your virus.
Repeat steps that are given above with all browsers' shortcuts, including Internet Explorer and Google Chrome. Make sure you check all locations of these shortcuts, including Desktop, Start Menu and taskbar.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariDelete Search.searchjstf.com from Mac OS X system
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If you are using OS X, click Go button at the top left of the screen and select Applications.
-
Wait until you see Applications folder and look for Search.searchjstf.com or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash.
Erase Search.searchjstf.com from Internet Explorer (IE)
Reset Internet Explorer to make sure that Search.searchjstf.com is gone for good:
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Remove dangerous add-ons
Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top right corner of the browser and choose Manage Add-ons. -
You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for Search.searchjstf.com and other suspicious plugins. Disable these entries by clicking Disable:
-
Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Click on the gear icon (menu) on the top right corner of the browser and select Internet Options. Stay in General tab. -
Here, remove malicious URL and enter preferable domain name. Click Apply to save changes.
-
Reset Internet Explorer
Click on the gear icon (menu) again and select Internet options. Go to Advanced tab. - Here, select Reset.
-
When in the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset again to complete Search.searchjstf.com removal.
Uninstall Search.searchjstf.com from Microsoft Edge
Reset Microsoft Edge settings (Method 1):
- Launch Microsoft Edge app and click More (three dots at the top right corner of the screen).
- Click Settings to open more options.
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Once Settings window shows up, click Choose what to clear button under Clear browsing data option.
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Here, select all what you want to remove and click Clear.
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Now you should right-click on the Start button (Windows logo). Here, select Task Manager.
- When in Processes tab, search for Microsoft Edge.
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Right-click on it and choose Go to details option. If can’t see Go to details option, click More details and repeat previous steps.
-
When Details tab shows up, find every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right click on each of them and select End Task to end these entries.
Resetting Microsoft Edge browser (Method 2):
If Method 1 failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method.
- Note: you need to backup your data before using this method.
- Find this folder on your computer:
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe. -
Select every entry which is saved on it and right click with your mouse. Then Delete option.
- Click the Start button (Windows logo) and type in window power in Search my stuff line.
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Right-click the Windows PowerShell entry and choose Run as administrator.
- Once Administrator: Windows PowerShell window shows up, paste this command line after PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> and press Enter:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml -Verbose}
Once these steps are finished, Search.searchjstf.com should be removed from your Microsoft Edge browser.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariEliminate Search.searchjstf.com from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
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Remove dangerous extensions
Open Mozilla Firefox, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Add-ons → Extensions. -
Here, select Search.searchjstf.com and other questionable plugins. Click Remove to delete these entries.
-
Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Click on the menu (top right corner), choose Options → General. - Here, delete malicious URL and enter preferable website or click Restore to default.
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Click OK to save these changes.
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Reset Mozilla Firefox
Click on the Firefox menu on the top left and click on the question mark. Here, choose Troubleshooting Information. -
Now you will see Reset Firefox to its default state message with Reset Firefox button. Click this button for several times and complete Search.searchjstf.com removal.
Get rid of Search.searchjstf.com from Google Chrome
Uninstall all add-ons and extensions that seem to be associated with Search.searchjstf.com:
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Delete malicious plugins
Open Google Chrome, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Tools → Extensions. -
Here, select Search.searchjstf.com and other malicious plugins and select trash icon to delete these entries.
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Change your homepage and default search engine if it was altered by your virus
Click on menu icon and choose Settings. -
Here, look for the Open a specific page or set of pages under On startup option and click on Set pages.
- Now you should see another window. Here, delete malicious search sites and enter the one that you want to use as your homepage.
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Click on menu icon again and choose Settings → Manage Search engines under the Search section.
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When in Search Engines..., remove malicious search sites. You should leave only Google or your preferred domain name.
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Reset Google Chrome
Click on menu icon on the top right of your Google Chrome and select Settings. -
Scroll down to the end of the page and click on Reset browser settings.
-
Click Reset to confirm this action and complete Search.searchjstf.com removal.
Remove Search.searchjstf.com from Safari
- Remove dangerous extensions
Open Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu at the top left of the screen. Once you do this, select Preferences. -
Here, select Extensions and look for Search.searchjstf.com or other suspicious entries. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid each of them.
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Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Open your Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu section. Here, select Preferences as it was displayed previously and select General. -
Here, look at the Homepage field. If it was altered by Search.searchjstf.com, remove unwanted link and enter the one that you want to use for your searches. Remember to include the "http://" before typing in the address of the page.
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Reset Safari
Open Safari browser and click on Safari in menu section at the top left of the screen. Here, select Reset Safari.... -
Now you will see a detailed dialog window filled with reset options. All of those options are usually checked, but you can specify which of them you want to reset. Click the Reset button to complete Search.searchjstf.com removal process.
About the author
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References
- ^ Manpreet Singh. Top 20 Most Dangerous Computer Viruses Of All Time. Tech Viral. Hacker news, tech news and tech hacks.
- ^ SemVirus. SemVirus. Portuguese cyber security news.
- ^ How to Spot a Phishing Website. GlobalSign Blog. IT news.
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