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Remove Search.searchjstf.com (Tutorial) - Removal Guide

removal by Alice Woods - - | Type: Browser hijacker
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Search.searchjstf.com is a shady search engine

Search.searchjstf.com browser hijacker

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 Reimage Cleaner Intego 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 Reimage Cleaner Intego 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.

Search.searchjstf.com virus example
Search.searchjstf.com - a highly-suspicious search tool that can replace your default homepage after installing freeware incorrectly.

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:

  1. Uninstall Transit Finder and other suspicious extensions from each of the browsers installed on your PC.
  2. Reset browsers.
  3. 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 may remove virus damage with a help of Reimage Reimage Cleaner Intego. SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner and Malwarebytes are recommended to detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.

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What to do if failed?
If you failed to remove virus damage using Reimage Intego, submit a question to our support team and provide as much details as possible.
Reimage Intego has a free limited scanner. Reimage Intego offers more through scan when you purchase its full version. When free scanner detects issues, you can fix them using free manual repairs or you can decide to purchase the full version in order to fix them automatically.
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Alternative Software
Different software has a different purpose. If you didn’t succeed in fixing corrupted files with Reimage, try running SpyHunter 5.
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Alternative Software
Different software has a different purpose. If you didn’t succeed in fixing corrupted files with Intego, try running Combo Cleaner.
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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:

  1. Click Start → Control Panel → Programs and Features (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs). Click 'Start -> Control Panel -> Programs and Features' (if you are 'Windows XP' user, click on 'Add/Remove Programs').
  2. 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. 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'.
  3. Uninstall Search.searchjstf.com and related programs
    Here, look for Search.searchjstf.com or any other recently installed suspicious programs.
  4. Uninstall them and click OK to save these changes. Right click on each of suspicious entries and select 'Uninstall'
  5. Remove Search.searchjstf.com from Windows shortcuts
    Right click on the shortcut of Mozilla Firefox and select Properties. Right click on browsers' icon and select 'Properties'
  6. Go to Shortcut tab and look at the Target field. Delete malicious URL that is related to your virus. Select 'Shortcut' tab and delete 'http://isearch.babylon.com...' or other suspicious URL

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.

Delete Search.searchjstf.com from Mac OS X system

  1. If you are using OS X, click Go button at the top left of the screen and select Applications. Cick 'Go' and select 'Applications'
  2. 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. Click on every malicious entry 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:

  1. 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. Click on menu icon and select 'Manage add-ons'
  2. You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for Search.searchjstf.com and other suspicious plugins. Disable these entries by clicking Disable: Right click on each of malicious entries and select 'Disable'
  3. 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.
  4. Here, remove malicious URL and enter preferable domain name. Click Apply to save changes. Delete malicious URL, enter your desired domain name and click 'Apply' to save changes
  5. Reset Internet Explorer
    Click on the gear icon (menu) again and select Internet options. Go to Advanced tab.
  6. Here, select Reset.
  7. When in the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset again to complete Search.searchjstf.com removal. Go to 'Advanced' tab and click on 'Reset' button. Now select 'Delete personal settings' and click on 'Reset' button again

Uninstall Search.searchjstf.com from Microsoft Edge

Reset Microsoft Edge settings (Method 1):

  1. Launch Microsoft Edge app and click More (three dots at the top right corner of the screen).
  2. Click Settings to open more options.
  3. Once Settings window shows up, click Choose what to clear button under Clear browsing data option. Go to Settings and select 'Choose what to clear'
  4. Here, select all what you want to remove and click Clear. Select 'Clear' button
  5. Now you should right-click on the Start button (Windows logo). Here, select Task Manager. Open the start menu and select 'Task Manager'
  6. When in Processes tab, search for Microsoft Edge.
  7. 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. Right-click 'Microsoft Edge' and select 'Go to details' Select 'More details' if 'Go to details' option fails to show up
  8. 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. Find Microsoft Edge entries and select 'End Task'

Resetting Microsoft Edge browser (Method 2):

If Method 1 failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method.

  1. Note: you need to backup your data before using this method.
  2. Find this folder on your computer: C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe.
  3. Select every entry which is saved on it and right click with your mouse. Then Delete option. Go to Microsoft Edge folder on your computer, right-click every entry and click 'Delete'
  4. Click the Start button (Windows logo) and type in window power in Search my stuff line.
  5. Right-click the Windows PowerShell entry and choose Run as administrator. Find Windows PowerShell, right-click it and select 'Run as administrator'
  6. 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}
    Copy and paste a required command and press 'Enter'

Once these steps are finished, Search.searchjstf.com should be removed from your Microsoft Edge browser.

Eliminate Search.searchjstf.com from Mozilla Firefox (FF)

  1. Remove dangerous extensions
    Open Mozilla Firefox, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Add-ons → Extensions. Click on menu icon and select 'Add-ons'
  2. Here, select Search.searchjstf.com and other questionable plugins. Click Remove to delete these entries. Select 'Extensions' and look for malicious entries. Click 'Remove' to get rid of each of them
  3. Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
    Click on the menu (top right corner), choose Options → General.
  4. Here, delete malicious URL and enter preferable website or click Restore to default.
  5. Click OK to save these changes. When in 'General' tab, delete malicious URL from 'Home Page' section or click on 'Restore to Default' button. Click 'OK' to save changes
  6. Reset Mozilla Firefox
    Click on the Firefox menu on the top left and click on the question mark. Here, choose Troubleshooting Information. Click on menu icon and then on '?'. Select 'Troubleshooting Information'
  7. 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. Click on 'Reset Firefox' button for a couple of times

Get rid of Search.searchjstf.com from Google Chrome

Uninstall all add-ons and extensions that seem to be associated with Search.searchjstf.com:

  1. Delete malicious plugins
    Open Google Chrome, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Tools → Extensions. Click on menu icon. Select 'Tools' and 'Extensions'
  2. Here, select Search.searchjstf.com and other malicious plugins and select trash icon to delete these entries. Look for malicious entries and delete each of them by clicking on the Trash bin icon
  3. Change your homepage and default search engine if it was altered by your virus
    Click on menu icon and choose Settings.
  4. Here, look for the Open a specific page or set of pages under On startup option and click on Set pages. After clicking on menu and 'Settings', select 'Set pages'
  5. Now you should see another window. Here, delete malicious search sites and enter the one that you want to use as your homepage. Click 'X' to remove malicious URLs
  6. Click on menu icon again and choose Settings → Manage Search engines under the Search section. When in 'Settings', select 'Manage search engines...'
  7. When in Search Engines..., remove malicious search sites. You should leave only Google or your preferred domain name. Click 'X' to remove malicious URLs
  8. Reset Google Chrome
    Click on menu icon on the top right of your Google Chrome and select Settings.
  9. Scroll down to the end of the page and click on Reset browser settings. When in 'Settings', scroll down to 'Reset browser settings' button and click on it
  10. Click Reset to confirm this action and complete Search.searchjstf.com removal. Click on 'Reset' button to complete your removal

Remove Search.searchjstf.com from Safari

  1. 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. Click on 'Safari' and select 'Preferences'
  2. Here, select Extensions and look for Search.searchjstf.com or other suspicious entries. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid each of them. Go to 'Extensions' and uninstall malicious add-ons
  3. 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.
  4. 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. When in 'General', delete malicious URL and enter your desired domain name
  5. Reset Safari
    Open Safari browser and click on Safari in menu section at the top left of the screen. Here, select Reset Safari.... Click on 'Safari' and select 'Reset Safari...'
  6. 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. Select all options and click on 'Reset' button

Access your website securely from any location

When you work on the domain, site, blog, or different project that requires constant management, content creation, or coding, you may need to connect to the server and content management service more often. It is a hassle when your website is protected from suspicious connections and unauthorized IP addresses.

The best solution for creating a tighter network could be a dedicated/fixed IP address. If you make your IP address static and set to your device, you can connect to the CMS from any location and do not create any additional issues for server or network manager that need to monitor connections and activities. This is how you bypass some of the authentications factors and can remotely use your banking accounts without triggering suspicious with each login. 

VPN software providers like Private Internet Access can help you with such settings and offer the option to control the online reputation and manage projects easily from any part of the world. It is better to clock the access to your website from different IP addresses. So you can keep the project safe and secure when you have the dedicated IP address VPN and protected access to the content management system.

Backup files for the later use, in case of the malware attack

Computer users can suffer various losses due to cyber infections or their own faulty doings. Software issues created by malware or direct data loss due to encryption can lead to problems with your device or permanent damage. When you have proper up-to-date backups, you can easily recover after such an incident and get back to work.

It is crucial to create updates to your backups after any changes on the device, so you can get back to the point you were working on when malware changes anything or issues with the device causes data or performance corruption. Rely on such behavior and make file backup your daily or weekly habit.

When you have the previous version of every important document or project you can avoid frustration and breakdowns. It comes in handy when malware occurs out of nowhere. Use Data Recovery Pro for the system restoring purpose.

About the author

Alice Woods
Alice Woods - Likes to teach users about virus prevention

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This entry was posted on 2018-05-17 at 07:33 and is filed under Stealing programs, Viruses.

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