Remove Search.supermediatabsearch.com (Simple Removal Guide)

Search.supermediatabsearch.com virus. Is it considered malicious?

In fact, Search.supermediatabsearch.com redirect virus is not a malicious computer threat; nonetheless, it can cause problems for your computer’s security. According to computer security experts, this piece of software belongs to “browser hijackers” and obviously, “potentially unwanted programs” (PUP) categories. On its official website, it is presented as a utility that is extremely useful for TV lovers. It claims that it can turn user’s PC into TV media centre, and that it provides shows, live sports streaming, and other beneficial features. However, the last point in this list of “advantageous features” indicates that it is nothing else but a browser hijacker. This point says that “this will change your newtab and default search settings and add useful links.”

Now let us explain what this program does. As promised, it changes some settings in user’s browser and sets Search.supermediatabsearch.com as a default search engine and as well new tab page. It is an insecure web search, which presents lots of sponsored results. Although the search engine looks safe and professional-looking, its primary aim is to deliver modified search outcomes, which trigger redirects to certain websites right after the victim clicks on them. These are exactly the “useful links” that the developers of this PUP were talking about. Sadly, they might not look so useful to you as some of them can be untrustworthy or even possibly dangerous. The reason why this hijacker causes these Search.supermediatabsearch.com redirects is that it generates revenue each time it redirects the user to its affiliate website. As we have already stated, some of these predetermined sites might be unreliable and pose a threat to your computer’s security, so it is better to stay away from them.

There is one more reason why Search.supermediatabsearch.com browser hijacker deserves to be removed. When the user installs it on the computer system, it starts tracking processes, which obtain information about user’s browsing preferences, most frequently visited websites, search queries, and similar data. If you do not want this program to track such data about you, remove Search.supermediatabsearch.com from your PC using Fortect Intego or another reliable spyware/malware removal tool.

How to prevent PUPs from entering your computer system?

If you do not want to let PUPs like Search.supermediatabsearch.com hijack your PC unnoticed, be careful when installing software on your PC. When you download a program from the web, check if it has been bundled with any third-party applications. For that, set Advanced/Custom settings for the installation. This browser hijacker might be introduced as a useful search tool that can enhance your search experience, but you should not fall for such false claims. Additionally, do not give permission to install any “recommended applications,” as in the majority of cases, these hidden additions appear to be PUPs. Most importantly, do not ignore installations and do not run the installation process with Default/Standard settings. These will automatically install all bundled applications alongside your selected program.

How to remove Search.supermediatabsearch.com?

If you have decided to delete Search.supermediatabsearch.com virus, now you have to decide how you want to do it. There are two different ways to complete Search.supermediatabsearch.com removal. You can use an automatic malware removal software and let it identify and remove components of this questionable piece of software automatically, or, if you wish, you can follow the instructions that we have prepared and delete it manually. Bear in mind that there might be more PUPs on your computer system, so try to delete all of them. Please be careful and do not delete safe and essential system files!

Uninstall from Windows

Uninstall from Windows 10/8:

Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.

Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:

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

Remove the unwanted program:

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

Delete from macOS

Remove the unwanted application:

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

Delete leftover files and folders:

Select Go > Go to Folder.
Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.
Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.

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 Remove.

Clear cookies and other browser data:

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

Restore new tab and homepage settings:

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

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.

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.
This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.

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 the unwanted extension and click Remove.

Reset the homepage:

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

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 and Temporary cached files and pages, then click 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 suspicious extensions 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 dangerous extensions:

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

Clear history and website data:

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

Reset Safari:

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