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  • Active
  • Severity: High
  • Stealing programs
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Mar 2018

How to remove Search.searchw3w.com

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

Search.searchw3w.com is a suspicious search engine which takes over users' browsers without asking

Search.searchw3w.com virus

Search.searchw3w.com is a browser hijacker[1] and a potentially unwanted application developed by Polarity Technologies Ltd. This notorious company is known for similar app production, such as Search.searchddn.com, Home.musicktab.com, Search.hfreeformsnow.com and many others. As soon as Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox or other browser gets hijacked, the homepage and search engine are altered to search.searchw3w.com or query.searchw3w.com.

Name Search.searchw3w.com
Developer Polarity Technologies
Type Browser hijacker
Danger Level Low
Symptoms Redirects, ads, slowdown of browser, etc.
Distribution Bundling
Main risks Redirects to infected websites, infected ads, tracking
Removal Download and install FortectIntego for a swift elimination 

Search.searchw3w.com tries to manipulate users who enjoy online games. Hence, quick action buttons to Big Fish Games, Roblox, Minecraft and other gaming sites are available. Some of the presented shortcuts link to legitimate gaming websites; however, some of them lead to suspicious and shady domains promoting low-quality online games.

As typical to Polarity Technologies creations, the links to Amazon, Yahoo, Gmail, News, and Weather are also present. However, users should not get fascinated with this “improved” functionality and “enhanced” search results. This is merely an attempt to hide the real intentions of Search.searchw3w.com hijack – to promote affiliated content to users while monetizing on their compromised browser.

If your homepage has changed and you cannot bring it back to your default settings, make sure you remove Search.searchw3w.com virus. Otherwise, it will be impossible to use your browser normally. Your browsing sessions will continuously be disturbed by ads and pop-ups covering the content of legitimate websites; you will be redirected to questionable realms and exposed to not entirely genuine search results. In the meantime, you might notice that your system is running slower than before.

The problem with a browser hijacker is that the content displayed is not guarded by its developers. Hence, the redirects and clicks on ads might lead victims to phishing, malware-ridden or fake software[2] websites. It is without a doubt malicious content, which can harm users PC or steal personal information.

Nevertheless, Polarity warns about such problems in their Privacy Policy:

<…>As such, Polarity cannot accept any responsibility for any unauthorized access to your communications made through the Services or any loss of data.

Therefore, in case your data gets stolen by using their product, they cannot be held liable. That’s why we highly recommend not to delay Search.searchw3w.com removal. You can use legitimate search engines like Google, Yahoo or Bing. These search engines do not reroute you to questionable websites and do not distribute sponsors’ ads.

To get rid of Search.searchw3w.com hijacker quickly, we suggest downloading and installing security software (such as FortectIntego; you can also use another program of your choice). Otherwise, you can follow our step-by-step guide below this post. 

Search.searchw3w.com hijack

Distribution method of unwanted programs

Some programs you download and install online might have additional components within their installers. This technique is called bundling and used by freeware developers all over the world.

Thus, if you want to avoid potentially unwanted programs, you should be careful when installing free software from the internet (especially such apps like PDF creators, system optimizers, media players, free online games and similar). Most importantly – do not rush. It is understandable that people like to skip the tedious installation process. However, it is not worth as dealing with adware can be extremely stressful and potentially dangerous.

As soon as you are promoted to choose between Recommended/Quick and Advanced/Custom settings – always pick the latter. This way, you will be able to withdraw all the presented unwanted programs by unticking tick marks by add-ons, toolbars, search engines, browser extensions and similar.

Eliminate Search.searchw3w.com from your machine and browse internet carefree again

Security experts[3] warn that potentially unwanted programs multiply fast and you will eventually end up with a slow, ad-infested and compromised browser. Therefore, Search.searchw3w.com removal should never be delayed, even if the program was installed intentionally.

You can remove Search.searchw3w.com virus either manually or automatically. The latter method is quick and easy to execute. All you have to do is download and install reputable security software and perform a full system scam. It will not only get rid of all unwanted programs but will also protect you and your PC system from future threats.

If you decided that additional software is something you want to avoid – you can check our manual Search.searchw3w.com removal guide. Follow each step carefully and do not rush, as accidental system file deletion might harm your machine rather than fixing it.

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

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