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  • Active
  • Severity: Medium
  • Browser Hijackers
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Dec 2020

How to remove Search.yourrecipescenter.com virus

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

Jake Doevan · Computer technology expert

Search.yourrecipescenter.com virus is a typical fake search engine with browser hijacker features

Search.yourrecipescenter.com is a browser hijacker that replaces a user’s homepage with a suspicious Internet search engine known as Your Recipes Center. It is yet another potentially unwanted program (PUP) related to the SaferBrowser virus. It is also worth noting that the app can attach itself to all types of browsers, including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, MS Edge, etc.

It is advisable to remove Search.yourrecipescenter.com browser hijacker since its existence can be a cause of various security-related problems. Another question that you should ask yourself is, have you installed this PUP by your choice, or has it hijacked your computer without your permission? If you haven’t installed it by your choice, it means that it has entered your PC alongside other free programs, and in such case, you should scan the entire computer system for threats.

Name Search.yourrecipescenter.com 
Type Browser hijacker, potentially unwanted program
IP address 184.73.252.103 
Distribution Software bundles
Symptoms
  • Your Recipes Center extension installed on the web browser
  • Homepage and new tab functionality changed
  • All search results are leading to Yahoo provider
  • Search results are filled with sponsored links
Risks Installation of other potentially unwanted programs, financial losses, privacy risks
Removal You can uninstall potentially unwanted programs by following the manual guide below or by scanning the computer with powerful anti-malware
Optional steps Computer infections can cause significant damage to system files or disrupt normal settings. To revert these changes and remediate the OS, perform a full system scan with FortectIntego repair software

Bear in mind that PUPs usually do not spread alone, so at the moment you agreed to install it (even if you did it unintentionally), you might have passed several additional PUPs as well.

So how does this hijacker behave once it gets inside the user’s computer? First of all, it adds Your Recipes Center add-on to browsers and then changes their homepage, search engine, and new tab page settings to Search.yourrecipescenter.com.

After that, it waits and spies on computer user’s habits. It watches and observes what the user does while on the Internet, for instance, what websites does he visit, what information he looks for, and so on. Later on, this browser hijacker starts injecting sponsored links into search results. These links are related to various third-party websites, and we suggest you be very suspicious of them as some of them can be untrustworthy.

We strongly advise you to avoid web pages that promote free applications, software updates, or ask to provide sensitive information. If you ever come across such a site via Search.yourrecipescenter.com redirects, you should quit it immediately. What is more, the existence of this browser hijacker can be the cause of browser lags and poor computer performance.

If you want to browse the Internet without being interrupted and if you want your computer to run smoothly, it is better to remove Search.yourrecipescenter.com from it. You can delete its files manually, but we strongly recommend using an automatic malware removal tool like SpyHunterCombo Cleaner or MalwarebytesMalwarebytes because there can be more than one PUP on your computer. Additionally, security experts advise using FortectIntego after all the infections are terminated.

Search.yourrecipescenter.com virus

The ways browser hijackers are spreading and come across users' PCs

Basically, all potentially unwanted programs such as Search.yourrecipescenter.com hijack computers when installed by inattentive computer users. The problem is that these programs typically spread along with free applications, although the majority of them can be downloaded from web app stores and also have their official websites that provide their download links.

However, it seems that people are not willing to install such programs by themselves, so authors of PUPs commonly use various trickeries to make people install their products. As we have already mentioned, they frequently take advantage of software bundling and spread their products in conjunction with other software.

If the user is not alert enough, he can install such additions without even noticing them, which, unfortunately, happens a lot. To decompose such software bundles, you have to choose Advanced or Custom installation mode and then deselect all suspicious applications that are presented as recommended ones.

Remove Search.yourrecipescenter.com by following the guide below

Two different options are available for those who want to remove Search.yourrecipescenter.com virus from their computers. First of all, they can try to delete this rogue program manually by following the guidance provided in this article.

If this method seems too complicated to you, or if you just want to make sure that your computer is completely free of other PUPs and threats, then you should scan your computer with a malware removal program. If you do not know what program should you use, you can try the one that we recommend.

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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