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  • Active
  • Severity: Medium
  • Browser Hijackers
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Jan 2021

How to remove Social Search Toolbar

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

Social Search Toolbar is a browser hijacker that advertises suspicious websites

Social Search Toolbar is deemed as a browser hijacker and potentially unwanted program (PUP). It has been developed in 2013 and was spreading actively all other the Internet.

Once security vendors have started reporting it for malicious activities, Social Search Toolbar virus has vanished for a while. Nevertheless, recent malware research has revealed that it is active again and has already infected thousands of Internet users.

Social Search Toolbar has been programmed by Conduit believing that it will help to generate financial income easily. That's why this Toolbar is set to replace people's default start page, search provider, and a new tab window by search.conduit.com. That's the easiest way to present people with sponsored search results full of links and ads redirecting to affiliate web pages.

Social Search Toolbar

Unfortunately, but Social Search Toolbar redirects are considered dangerous because Conduit is known for collaborating with misleading third parties. It means that clicking on the links and pop-ups poses a high-risk of malware/virus infiltration.

Besides, regardless of traffic boosting, this toolbar may also be used for data collection. Reception of PC's IP address, location, email address, search terms, pages viewed, clicks, and similar information allows affiliate parties to customize advertisements and collect more clicks. Thus, you should better remove Social Search Toolbar application right away.

You can remove the browser hijacker manually, but we recommend using a reliable antivirus program, for example SpyHunterCombo Cleaner or MalwarebytesMalwarebytes. If you wonder how this can be done manually, go to the end of this article. You will find an explicit Social Search Toolbar removal guide. 

Ways how Social Search Toolbar hijack web browsers are similar to other PUPs

This browser hijacker is spread on the Internet in a form of a toolbar. It is not spread as an individual application, so to look for its official page is useless. Most of the users claim they did not install this toolbar on purpose or claim that can't remember doing so. As one of the users wrote:

Hello. I have a question about Social Search Toolbar. I'm pretty sure that I did not install such toolbar as I'm not a fan of browser toolbars, extensions, and similar things at all. However, as if our of the blue I have found this toolbar and search.conduit.com homepage installed on each of my web browsers (Google Chrome, Internet Explorer). Could you please explain why my web browser has been compromised?

In fact, this hijacker is typically spread bundled with free software. In other words, it is promoted as an 'optional download' of various torrent files, download managers, PDF creators, media players, and similar programs. Therefore, if you have found PUP injected into each web browser, it means that you have installed a third-party software with a bundle.

Luckily, it's easy to understand when a web browser has been hijacked by this pest. Usually, it is distributed bundled with BHO (Browser Helper Object), SocialSearchBar Community Toolbar, search.conduit.com homepage, and SocialSearchBar Customized Web Search engine. Consequently, you will see all the above-mentioned components within each of your web browsers (IE, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.).

Tips on how to remove Social Search Toolbar

If you no longer want to see annoying ads, you need to remove Social Search Toolbar redirect virus. As we have already pointed out, this particular browser hijacker does not have its official website. It is typically spread on one pack with:

  • BHO;
  • Search.conduit.com;
  • SocialSearchBar Customized Web Search.

Therefore, if you want to delete each of these components without any difficulties, you should do that in an automated way. If you are not willing to install additional software, you can use the manual Social Search Toolbar removal guide that is given down below.

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

Did this guide help?

3 comments

  1. Kyanne

    Dont use Social Search Toolbar virus, especially if it came along conduit search. This composition is used to spread malware, so clicking on its links may end up with severe consequences. I say cause I know.

  2. Meagan Mcclure

    First of all, I have noticed search.conduit.com instead Google. Then I started analyzing what is going on and found Social Search Toolbar installed too. To fix them both I used SpyHunter since I wasnt allowed to do that manually.

  3. Kristian Tige

    Replaces search results with ads linked to porn sites.Social Search Toolbar has just redirected me to redirected me there when clicking a link to a forum from a google search. Thanks and goodbye!

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