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

How to remove www.search-story.com

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

Ugnius Kiguolis · The mastermind

www.search-story.com — a browser hijacker that diminishes your online search experience

www.search-story.com virus 

www.search-story.com is a shady website that is used for redirecting users' search queries to questionable search engines, such as searchhub.azurewebsites.net. It spreads as a browser hijacker in a software bundle and people usually install it unknowingly. Once this potentially unwanted program gets inside, it modifies Explorer, Firefox or Chrome web browsers and starts controlling user's activities online. 

Name www.search-story.com
Type Browser hijacker
Affected browsers Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox
Symptoms Redirects to other websites, advertisements, changed browser settings
Distribution Insecure software installs, freeware bundles
Danger level Low. It makes changes to browser settings, but not PC system
Removal Best tool for Search-story.com removal is FortectIntego

The main task Search-story.com virus is to alter browser's settings in a way that users be unable to set their preferred homepage and built-in search engine. The hijacker sets it domain to redirect people to the suspicious search results page. According to the research data, among legitimate and organic links, you might find sponsored ones that barely have something in common with the information you are looking for.

Nevertheless, Search Story usually arrives on the device and hijacks web browsers silently; it's impossible to overlook its existence. These symptoms can be noticed after the infection:

  • changed web browser’s default homepage;
  • search provider set to www.search-story.com;
  • the new tab is automatically adjusted to this page too;
  • redirects to suspicious websites;
  • an increased amount of advertisement content;
  • questionable toolbars, extensions, and add-ons[1] on your browser.

These symptoms are frustrating enough for people, so they want to proceed with www.search-story.com removal. Although, the big issue with these browser hijackers is data tracking. The developer noted that this information is shared with third-party[2] companies. This information that PUP has access to is non-identifiable, but the fact is disturbing. This information is stated in their privacy policy:

We may at times provide information about you to third parties to provide various services on our behalf, such as serving advertisements, conducting contests or surveys, performing analyses of our user demographics, shipping of goods or services, and user relationship management. We will only share information about you that is necessary for the third party to provide the requested service. These companies are prohibited from retaining, sharing, storing or using your personally identifiable information for any secondary purposes.

The program can see your web browsing habits, most searched and viewed sites, your location and internet provider. However, Avirus.hu[3] specialists note that this information is not personal, but it helps virus developers and their partners to create commercial content that fills your browser window and keeps you from pleasant browsing. Remove Search-story.com as soon as possible because this program can collect more and more information about you in time. This makes those ads more intrusive and more often appearing on your screen.

The best way to remove Search Story hijacker from your computer is with anti-malware tools like FortectIntego. Using professional tools ensures you that no traces of infection is left behind. PUPs can come with additional programs, and those extensions on your browser are no good. It is time-consuming, so you better rely on trustful software. However, if you still want to do this job manually, follow the steps below.

www.search-story.com redirect virus 

Paying attention to the installation of free programs helps to avoid PUPs

Browser hijackers cannot get into the device manually. They need help and various free programs usually assist them. However, it's an absolutely legitimate practice. The problem is that users barely pay attention to the installation of freeware and shareware. 

When installing free programs, you have to use trusted sources, such as publisher's or developer's website. If you choose p2p networks or download tools from dubious sites, you can get additional programs or even malware. However, downloading an app from the official website is not enough. You have to use correct installation settings.

By choosing Advanced or Custom options during installation, you can avoid installation of the “optional” applications. This step helps you to see every file that can be installed and de-select unwanted programs from the list. This way you download and install only the tools you need. Keep in mind that Quick or Standard settings do not have this feature, so you give indirect permission to install the whole software package.

Get rid of www.search-story.com and say goodbye to unwanted redirects

To remove www.search-story.com, you need to use professional tools because it is the best way for virus elimination. The most important thing when dealing with browser hijackers is that these programs can carry a lot of additional threats, so you need to find and delete everything. If you try to do this yourself, it might take a lot of time and be not helpful in the end.

You better trust certified programs for Search-story.com removal. We can recommend a few, and you can find them below. For those, who are willing to terminate the hijacker manually, we have provided detailed guide too. However, if redirects to the shady sites reappear, you'd better run a full system scan with anti-malware software.

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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