Remove Search50.co virus (Free Instructions) - Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge
Search50.co search engine does not bring any benefits to the users
Search50.co is shady search tool that is promoted in various freeware bundles. Therefore, incorrect installation of freeware might result in a hijacked web browser. This search tool has browsing hijacking[1] features. It might alter browser’s settings, set its domain as default search provider, alter search results and redirect to questionable third-party websites.
Search50.co virus works as a browser hijacker. Therefore, it cannot cause direct harm to the computer. However, it takes full control over the browser and might control user’s browsing habits. The description of the program says that it is developed by a company which is a “global leader in search engine marketing and web traffic generation.”
Thus, this tool helps webmasters, website owners, and other online community members to boost traffic to their websites in order to increase sales or reach potential victims. Indeed, potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) are often used by cyber criminals. Security experts noticed suspicious Search50.co redirect tendencies that raised concerns about search engines’ affiliates.
The research has shown that hijacker might trigger redirects to fake online shops, gaming, adult-themed, technical support scam or phishing[2] websites. Therefore, users are advised to remove Search50.co as soon as it shows up on Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer or another web browsers.
However, at the moment of writing Search50.co is not working properly. No matter what search queries you enter, it redirects to a blank results page. However, it might be just a temporary situation. But it doesn’t change the fact that this domain should be eliminated.
Reimage Reimage Cleaner Intego or other anti-malware tools can quickly perform the Search50.co removal. However, once the system scan is over, you should still reset each of the browsers to delete tracking cookies that were installed soon after the hijack.
Search50.co virus operates as a browser hijacker that takes control over the affected web browser.
Do not agree to change your default search provider during freeware installation
When you install freeware or shareware, you have to be attentive. Often various PUPs are attached to the primary program and try to get inside the system with or without your knowledge. To avoid unintentional installation of third-party apps, you should opt for Advanced/Custom installation settings.
Differently than Quick/Recommended setup, advanced allows monitoring the process. Once you see the list of pre-selected “optional downloads,” you have to remove the ticks. You should do the same with agreements to set Search50.co or another unknown search provider as a default one.
Probably, you can now realize that Search50.co hijack occurs during the installation of a recently downloaded program. Security experts from Finland[3] remind that reading Terms and Agreements also helps to make sure that you do not agree to change your default search engine to an unknown provider. Thus, next time do not forget these tips!
You can get rid of Search50.co either manually or automatically
Browser hijackers are not hard to uninstall manually. This task requires checking the system and web browsers for unknown components and eliminating them. The instructions below will help you to remove Search50.co correctly.
However, if these instructions seem complicated or you want to get back control over your browser faster, you should opt for the second option. Automatic Search50.co removal is performed using anti-malware software. Thus, you need to install a new one or update your current security tool and run a full system scan.
You may remove virus damage with a help of Reimage Reimage Cleaner Intego. 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.
To remove Search50.co virus, follow these steps:
Uninstall Search50.co from Windows systems
As soon as you find Search50.co set as your default search tool, you have to look up for the browser hijacker and eliminate it from the system.
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Click Start → Control Panel → Programs and Features (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
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If you are Windows 10 / Windows 8 user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once Quick Access Menu shows up, select Control Panel and Uninstall a Program.
- Uninstall Search50.co and related programs
Here, look for Search50.co or any other recently installed suspicious programs. -
Uninstall them and click OK to save these changes.
- Remove Search50.co from Windows shortcuts
Right click on the shortcut of Mozilla Firefox and select Properties.
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Go to Shortcut tab and look at the Target field. Delete malicious URL that is related to your virus.
Repeat steps that are given above with all browsers' shortcuts, including Internet Explorer and Google Chrome. Make sure you check all locations of these shortcuts, including Desktop, Start Menu and taskbar.
Delete Search50.co from Mac OS X system
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If you are using OS X, click Go button at the top left of the screen and select Applications.
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Wait until you see Applications folder and look for Search50.co or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash.
Get rid of Search50.co from Internet Explorer (IE)
These guidelines will help you to clean Internet Explorer after the hijack:
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Remove dangerous add-ons
Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top right corner of the browser and choose Manage Add-ons.
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You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for Search50.co and other suspicious plugins. Disable these entries by clicking Disable:
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Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Click on the gear icon (menu) on the top right corner of the browser and select Internet Options. Stay in General tab. -
Here, remove malicious URL and enter preferable domain name. Click Apply to save changes.
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Reset Internet Explorer
Click on the gear icon (menu) again and select Internet options. Go to Advanced tab. - Here, select Reset.
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When in the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset again to complete Search50.co removal.
Remove Search50.co virus from Microsoft Edge
Follow these steps to recover Microsoft Edge after hijacker's attack:
Reset Microsoft Edge settings (Method 1):
- Launch Microsoft Edge app and click More (three dots at the top right corner of the screen).
- Click Settings to open more options.
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Once Settings window shows up, click Choose what to clear button under Clear browsing data option.
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Here, select all what you want to remove and click Clear.
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Now you should right-click on the Start button (Windows logo). Here, select Task Manager.
- When in Processes tab, search for Microsoft Edge.
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Right-click on it and choose Go to details option. If can’t see Go to details option, click More details and repeat previous steps.
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When Details tab shows up, find every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right click on each of them and select End Task to end these entries.
Resetting Microsoft Edge browser (Method 2):
If Method 1 failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method.
- Note: you need to backup your data before using this method.
- Find this folder on your computer:
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe. -
Select every entry which is saved on it and right click with your mouse. Then Delete option.
- Click the Start button (Windows logo) and type in window power in Search my stuff line.
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Right-click the Windows PowerShell entry and choose Run as administrator.
- Once Administrator: Windows PowerShell window shows up, paste this command line after PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> and press Enter:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml -Verbose}
Once these steps are finished, Search50.co should be removed from your Microsoft Edge browser.
Eliminate Search50.co from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
You will be able to replace Search50.co with your preferred search tool once you delete hijacker-related entries from the Mozilla Firefox:
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Remove dangerous extensions
Open Mozilla Firefox, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Add-ons → Extensions.
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Here, select Search50.co and other questionable plugins. Click Remove to delete these entries.
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Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Click on the menu (top right corner), choose Options → General. - Here, delete malicious URL and enter preferable website or click Restore to default.
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Click OK to save these changes.
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Reset Mozilla Firefox
Click on the Firefox menu on the top left and click on the question mark. Here, choose Troubleshooting Information.
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Now you will see Reset Firefox to its default state message with Reset Firefox button. Click this button for several times and complete Search50.co removal.
Erase Search50.co from Google Chrome
These instructions will help you to wipe out all components that are related to Search50.co:
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Delete malicious plugins
Open Google Chrome, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Tools → Extensions.
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Here, select Search50.co and other malicious plugins and select trash icon to delete these entries.
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Change your homepage and default search engine if it was altered by your virus
Click on menu icon and choose Settings. -
Here, look for the Open a specific page or set of pages under On startup option and click on Set pages.
- Now you should see another window. Here, delete malicious search sites and enter the one that you want to use as your homepage.
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Click on menu icon again and choose Settings → Manage Search engines under the Search section.
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When in Search Engines..., remove malicious search sites. You should leave only Google or your preferred domain name.
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Reset Google Chrome
Click on menu icon on the top right of your Google Chrome and select Settings. -
Scroll down to the end of the page and click on Reset browser settings.
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Click Reset to confirm this action and complete Search50.co removal.
Uninstall Search50.co from Safari
- Remove dangerous extensions
Open Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu at the top left of the screen. Once you do this, select Preferences.
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Here, select Extensions and look for Search50.co or other suspicious entries. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid each of them.
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Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Open your Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu section. Here, select Preferences as it was displayed previously and select General. -
Here, look at the Homepage field. If it was altered by Search50.co, remove unwanted link and enter the one that you want to use for your searches. Remember to include the "http://" before typing in the address of the page.
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Reset Safari
Open Safari browser and click on Safari in menu section at the top left of the screen. Here, select Reset Safari....
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Now you will see a detailed dialog window filled with reset options. All of those options are usually checked, but you can specify which of them you want to reset. Click the Reset button to complete Search50.co removal process.
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. It is a hassle when your website is protected from suspicious connections and unauthorized IP addresses.
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 server or network manager that need to monitor connections and activities. This is how you bypass some of the authentications factors and can remotely use your banking accounts without triggering suspicious with each login.
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. It is better to clock the access to your website from different IP addresses. So you can keep the project safe and secure when you have the dedicated IP address VPN and protected access to the content management system.
Backup files for the later use, in case of the malware attack
Computer users can suffer various losses due to cyber infections or their own faulty doings. Software issues created by malware or direct data loss due to encryption can lead to problems with your device or permanent damage. When you have proper up-to-date backups, you can easily recover after such an incident and get back to work.
It is crucial to create updates to your backups after any changes on the device, so you can get back to the point you were working on when malware changes anything or issues with the device causes data or performance corruption. Rely on such behavior and make file backup your daily or weekly habit.
When you have the previous version of every important document or project you can avoid frustration and breakdowns. It comes in handy when malware occurs out of nowhere. Use Data Recovery Pro for the system restoring purpose.
About the author
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References
- ^ Browser hijacking: how to avoid it and repair data. Microsoft. The official website.
- ^ Ricardo Villadiego. The Dangers Of Phishing. Forbes. The website about business, investing, technology, entrepreneurship, leadership, and lifestyle.
- ^ Virukset. Virukset. Finnish cyber security news.
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