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  • Active
  • Severity: High
  • Stealing programs
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · May 2017

How to remove Search.searchmab.com virus

A step-by-step removal guide for affected devices. Follow the verified procedure below — most readers complete it in under 10 minutes.

Gabriel E. Hall · Passionate web researcher

The real reasons behind Search.searchmab.com hijack

Search.searchmab.com showing up on your start page or the default search engine means one thing — that your web browser is hijacked by a potentially unwanted program (PUP) [1]. Don’t take its trustworthy appearance for granted. This site may provide legitimate links to various social media websites such as Facebook and online map services such as Bing maps or Google maps, but the main thing this search engine provides is a potentially unwanted program called Mapbeast. This program is known to work as a browser hijacker [2] and appear on infected computers’ homepages out of the blue. Even though it is not a major problem because such apps are not considered especially malicious, such situation indicates that you may start noticing redirects to unknown websites, annoying pop-up ads, slow downs, and similar issues. However, the main problems Search.searchmab.com virus may cause are related to various unexpected redirects to untrusted third party sites. That’s why it has also been added to “browser hijacker” category. Beware that such activity is mostly initiated by showing people altered search results and interrupting them with third party ads. No matter how safe they look, keep in mind that redirects to unknown websites may end up on unsafe domains seeking to trick PC users into installing additional PUP on their computers.

Search.searchmab.com virus

Besides, not only search.searchmab.com redirect may start bothering you on each of your web browsers (Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and others). It may also make your browsing experience even worse by showing you annoying ads during each of your search sessions. Such ads are usually selected according to users browsing habits that are revealed by tracking them for some time. Beware that Search.searchmab.com may try to collect such data as mostly visited websites, information that you add when visiting your favorite sites, computer’s IP address, etc. As you can see, you should not underestimate this search engine. Even though it is not considered to be a virus, this program is capable of causing a serious havoc on its target PC system. If you have already found it on your Internet Explorer, Opera, Google Chrome or Mozilla FireFox web browser, you should check your computer with the reliable anti-spyware. For the removal of Search.searchmab.com, we recommend using FortectIntego.

The picture showing Search.searchmab.com virus

Users install the questionable search engine on their computers themselves

Like any other spyware program, Search.searchmab.com hijack can be noticed out of nowhere. It is spread via bundling technique, and that means it requires just a little user’s carelessness to be installed silently and without your knowledge. You see, this program is mostly spread together with other free programs and might be installed if you tend to set up new programs on your system using Default or Standard installation mode. Be a knowledgeable PC user and follow these simple steps to avoid installing optional apps whenever you want to place a new program on the computer system:
Always carefully study the Terms of Use document;
Install new programs using Advanced or Custom setup mode.
Deselect the agreements to install “recommended programs.”
That is basically all you need to do to avoid installing PUPs like Search.searchmab.com. In case it has already infiltrated into your computer system.

Security experts recommend leaving Search.searchmab.com removal for the professionals

The 2-spyware team has prepared basic Search.searchmab.com removal instructions, which will guide you through its removal process. This removal guide is provided below and clearly explains how to uninstall the discussed browser hijacker from your computer. In case you do not wish to deal with this parasite manually, you have the option to remove it automatically. In fact, it is the option security experts recommend in order to prevent elimination errors and similar issues. In this case, you should choose one of the anti-spyware programs that we recommend here. After doing so, you should download an app to your computer, update it to its latest version and run a full system scan with it. Finally, don’t forget to remove Search.searchmab.com virus from your browser as well. Reset the browser to its default settings and get rid of the last bits of malicious components this virus may have planted on your PC.

Uninstall from Windows

Uninstall from Windows 10/8:

  1. Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
  2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.Uninstall from Windows 10/8

Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:

  1. Click on Windows Start > Control Panel (Windows XP users should click on Add/Remove Programs).
  2. In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.Uninstall from Windows 7/XP

Remove the unwanted program:

  1. In the Programs and Features window, look for any recently installed suspicious entries, select them, and click Uninstall.
  2. If User Account Control appears, click Yes to confirm, then complete the removal.Uninstall the unwanted program from Windows

Delete from macOS

Remove the unwanted application:

  1. From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
  2. In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).Uninstall from Mac

Delete leftover files and folders:

  1. Select Go > Go to Folder.
  2. Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
  3. Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.Delete leftover files from Mac
  4. Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.

Reset Internet Explorer

Remove dangerous add-ons:

  1. Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
  2. Pick Manage Add-ons.
  3. You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.Remove add-ons from Internet Explorer

Change your homepage if it was altered:

  1. Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
  2. Select Internet Options.
  3. In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
  4. Click Apply and then select OK.Reset IE homepage

Delete temporary files:

  1. Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
  2. Under Browsing history, click Delete...
  3. Select relevant fields and press Delete.Clear temporary files from Internet Explorer

Reset Internet Explorer:

  1. Click on Gear icon > Internet options and select Advanced tab.
  2. Select Reset.
  3. In the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset.Reset Internet Explorer

Remove from Microsoft Edge

Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:

  1. Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
  2. From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
  3. Click Remove.Remove extensions from Edge

Clear cookies and other browser data:

  1. Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
  2. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  3. 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.Clear Edge browsing data

Restore new tab and homepage settings:

  1. Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
  2. Then find On startup section.
  3. Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.

Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:

  1. Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
  2. Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
  3. Select Details tab.
  4. 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.Reset MS Edge

Instructions for Chromium-based Edge

Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):

  1. Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
  2. Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.Remove extensions from Chromium Edge

Clear cache and site data:

  1. Click on Menu and go to Settings.
  2. Select Privacy, search and services.
  3. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  4. Under Time range, pick All time.
  5. Select Clear now.Clear browser data from Chroum Edge

Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:

  1. Click on Menu and select Settings.
  2. On the left side, pick Reset settings.
  3. Select Restore settings to their default values.
  4. Confirm with Reset.
  5. This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.Reset Chromium Edge

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)

Remove dangerous extensions:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
  2. Select Add-ons.
  3. In here, select the unwanted extension and click Remove.Remove extensions from Firefox

Reset the homepage:

  1. Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
  2. Choose Settings.
  3. Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.

Clear cookies and site data:

  1. Click Menu and pick Settings.
  2. Go to Privacy & Security section.
  3. Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
  4. Click on Clear Data...
  5. Select Cookies and Site Data and Temporary cached files and pages, then click Clear.Clear cookies and site data from Firefox

Reset Mozilla Firefox

If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
  2. Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.Reset Firefox 1
  3. Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox...
  4. Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.Reset Firefox 2

Remove from Google Chrome

Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

  1. Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
  2. In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all suspicious extensions related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.Remove extensions from Chrome

Clear cache and web data from Chrome:

  1. Click on Menu and pick Settings.
  2. Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
  3. Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
  4. Click Clear data.Clear cache and web data from Chrome

Change your homepage:

  1. Click menu and choose Settings.
  2. Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
  3. 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:

  1. Click on Menu and select Settings.
  2. In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
  3. Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
  4. Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
  5. Confirm with Reset settings.Reset Chrome 2

Delete from Safari

Remove dangerous extensions:

  1. Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
  2. Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.Remove extensions from Safari

Clear history and website data:

  1. Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
  2. Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.Clear history from Safari

Reset Safari:

  1. Click Safari in the menu and select Preferences > Advanced.
  2. Enable Show Develop menu in menu bar.
  3. From the menu bar, click Develop and select Empty Caches.Reset Safari

Did this guide help?

4 comments

  1. sammy.abrams

    cannot figure out why I have installed this browser hijacker! ugh... I guess Ill be more careful in the future.

  2. Stephanie28

    Can someone tell me how to remove this threat from Mac???

  3. Felix

    they're provided above, dude

  4. Afflictions

    Updated Spyhunter and got rid of it, Thanks God.

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