Search.searchwti.com virus (Free Instructions) - Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge
Search.searchwti.com virus Removal Guide
What is Search.searchwti.com virus?
Search.searchwti.com is the program targeting web browsers directly
Search.searchwti.com virus is the program that may catch your attention when promotional ads appear on the screen. It is not a sophisticated virus nor malicious tool. Nonetheless, we recommend initiating the proper virus removal right away. If you delay it, you might get annoyed by the number of advertisements cramming your computer screen. What is more, you might get carried away to the domain harboring corrupted links or even malware.
You should be especially vigilant during this holiday season as virus researchers report the boost in phishing scams and malware [1]. Though this search engine is simply a browser hijacker, you should not ignore its presence and remove search.searchwti.com right away.
Name | Search.searchwti.com |
---|---|
Type | Browser hijacker |
Developer | Polarity Technologies |
Targets | Google Chrome browser mainly, but can appear on different browsers too |
Distribution | Freeware installations |
Elimination | Rely on the guide below or anti-malware tools |
Repair | PUPs affect the system, so file damage should be taken care of like RestoroIntego |
Initially, this browsing tool might look quite practical. It contains quick-access links to weather forecasts, Netflix, the TVNews website, and similar domains. What is more, the front page is decorated with the ad window suggesting you fetch last-minute presents to your beloved ones. Such advertising has its distinctive drawbacks.
Though all these characteristics might look practical, they and additional extensions overload your browsing processing capabilities [2]. Once search.searchwti.com redirect occurs, you might get misguided to an alternative shopping domain that hardly cares about its protection from virtual threats. What is more, even if you are redirected to such well-known websites as Alibaba, you may also get exposed to malware [3].
Furthermore, Searchwti has a striking resemblance to the notorious Safer Browser hijacker. The design is identical, though the tool belongs to Polarity Technologies Ltd located in Cyprus. The idea of quick money has remained viable as various users across the globe launch their websites and hope to earn money from high traffic. Developers of such tools often enter into an agreement with third parties.
They use their support in order to attract a high number of visitors. On the other hand, you, Internet users, might be bombarded with questionable ads leading to shady domains. What is more, this browser hijacker collects your search queries, spies on browser habits, and locates the geographical coordinates. Later on, the compiled information can be shared with third parties. Such data traffic only increases the risk of privacy infringement. Looking back at the 2016 data breaches, privacy online should not be ignored.[4]
The PUP occupies the computer silently
Have you heard of the “bundling” technique? This method facilitates various browser hijackers and awareness of sneaking into users' devices, especially when few of them pay attention to the downloaded “bonus” content [5]. Though usually, you invite PUPs into your computers in such a way, other more destructive virtual threats might take a liking to this method.
Most likely, you might have accidentally accelerated the hijack this way as well. In order to detect potentially insecure apps before they settle on the computer, choose “Advanced” mode. Consequently, you will be able to cease the infiltration.
Getting rid of Search.searchwti.com includes resetting your browsers
If you are in a rush, you can remove search.searchwti.com virus with the assistance of an anti-spyware application. It will completely eradicate the hijacker and related components, particularly scripts and “helper elements.” If you worry that the hijack might happen again, take a look at these manual virus removal guidelines shown below the article.
Keep in mind that some of them might require more time and attentiveness. Finally, you may find other users' comments and reviews on certain apps practical as useful. In this way, you get a general knowledge of which apps are vulnerable to malware attacks.
You may remove virus damage with a help of RestoroIntego. 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.
Getting rid of Search.searchwti.com virus. Follow these steps
Uninstall from Windows
Instructions for Windows 10/8 machines:
- Enter Control Panel into Windows search box and hit Enter or click on the search result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.
- From the list, find the entry of the suspicious program.
- Right-click on the application and select Uninstall.
- If User Account Control shows up, click Yes.
- Wait till uninstallation process is complete and click OK.
If you are Windows 7/XP user, proceed with the following instructions:
- Click on Windows Start > Control Panel located on the right pane (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
- In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.
- Pick the unwanted application by clicking on it once.
- At the top, click Uninstall/Change.
- In the confirmation prompt, pick Yes.
- Click OK once the removal process is finished.
Delete from macOS
Remove items from Applications folder:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for all related entries.
- Click on the app and drag it to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash)
To fully remove an unwanted app, you need to access Application Support, LaunchAgents, and LaunchDaemons folders and delete relevant files:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and click Go or press Enter.
- In the Application Support folder, look for any dubious entries and then delete them.
- Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the related .plist files.
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 on Uninstall at the bottom.
Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Privacy & security.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Select everything (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 Disable if you found any suspicious domain.
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.
If this solution failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method. Note that you need to backup your data before proceeding.
- Find the following folder on your computer: C:\\Users\\%username%\\AppData\\Local\\Packages\\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe.
- Press Ctrl + A on your keyboard to select all folders.
- Right-click on them and pick Delete
- Now right-click on the Start button and pick Windows PowerShell (Admin).
- When the new window opens, copy and paste the following command, and then press Enter:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\\AppXManifest.xml” -Verbose
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.
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 unwanted plugin and click Remove.
Reset the homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Options.
- Under Home options, enter your preferred site that will open every time you newly open the Mozilla Firefox.
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, as well as Cached Web Content and press 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 the suspicious plugins that might be 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 unwanted extensions from Safari:
- Click Safari > Preferences…
- In the new window, pick Extensions.
- Select the unwanted extension and select Uninstall.
Clear cookies and other website data from Safari:
- Click Safari > Clear History…
- From the drop-down menu under Clear, pick all history.
- Confirm with Clear History.
Reset Safari if the above-mentioned steps did not help you:
- Click Safari > Preferences…
- Go to Advanced tab.
- Tick the Show Develop menu in menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop, and then select Empty Caches.
After uninstalling this potentially unwanted program (PUP) and fixing each of your web browsers, we recommend you to scan your PC system with a reputable anti-spyware. This will help you to get rid of Search.searchwti.com registry traces and will also identify related parasites or possible malware infections on your computer. For that you can use our top-rated malware remover: RestoroIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes.
How to prevent from getting browser hijacker
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. 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 the server or network manager that needs to monitor connections and activities. 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.
Recover files after data-affecting malware attacks
While much of the data can be accidentally deleted due to various reasons, malware is one of the main culprits that can cause loss of pictures, documents, videos, and other important files. More serious malware infections lead to significant data loss when your documents, system files, and images get encrypted. In particular, ransomware is is a type of malware that focuses on such functions, so your files become useless without an ability to access them.
Even though there is little to no possibility to recover after file-locking threats, some applications have features for data recovery in the system. In some cases, Data Recovery Pro can also help to recover at least some portion of your data after data-locking virus infection or general cyber infection.
- ^ Kevin Murnane. If You Holiday Shop Online, Don't Ignore This Warning About Malware That Targets Holiday Shoppers. Forbes. Business, Investing, Technology, Entrepreneurs.
- ^ Browser Slow? How to Make Google Chrome Fast Again. How To Geek. Created By Geeks, For Geeks.
- ^ Scott Cendrowski. Why Alibaba Can’t Complain About Its Return to the ‘Notorious’ Counterfeit Market List. Fortune 500 Daily and Breaking Business News.
- ^ Jo-anne Rowney. 13 ways your online privacy was violated in 2016 - and what you can do about it. Mirror Online. The intelligent tabloid.
- ^ The Adware Programs Forever Haunting You. Tripwire. News. Trends. Insights.