VideoSearches browser hijacker (spam) - Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge
VideoSearches browser hijacker Removal Guide
What is VideoSearches browser hijacker?
VideoSearches browser hijacker is a fake search engine that reroutes to shady pages instead of showing real results
The redirect program triggers issues with the machine because it manages to control what sites users are forced to visit
VideoSearches browser hijacker is a program that promotes other search engines and tries to trick people into allowing other content by clicking on advertisements continuously. This program is always redirecting to commercial pages and injecting various unwanted content into the results of initiated online searches. This is annoying, but not a malicious program that can and should be removed from the machine once it starts the redirects and pop-up ads, causing issues with the performance of the computer.
Name | VideoSearches redirect |
---|---|
Type | Browser hijacker, fake search engine |
Category | Potentially unwanted program |
Issues | The program promises to improve the browsing experience and help with online searches but it affects the speed and performance with continuous redirects and issues with pop-ups, advertisements, redirects |
IP address | 172.67.219.145 |
URL | portal.video-searches.com |
Removal | Threats like PUPs should be removed automatically with anti-malware tools and security programs |
Repair | Threats affect the machine, so files should be properly repaired and issues fixed. FortectIntego can help with virus damage |
More details about the browser redirect
VideoSearches browser hijacker is the program designed to reroute all searches via the promotional search engine portal.video-searches.com. The page offers various additional functions and tools to seem more legitimate and useful for the user. These functions might be the reason why users commonly install the program themselves.
This particular application is the intrusive and annoying application categorized as a browser hijacker[1] as other search engines looking almost identical to this one:
These programs are controlled by the potentially unwanted intruder that aims to infiltrate more machines and further expose users to the sponsored materials, so views and clicks on particular third-party pages can be generated and collected. Such behavior is the main purpose of the PUAs.
In addition to this unwanted behavior, these applications like VideoSearches browser hijackers can cause direct installations of browser apps, extensions, toolbars, and other programs. The particular intruder is quick to manipulate the settings and preferences of the web browser, so the needed activities are controlled. Those alterations include changing the new tab, a new page, default search engine, and homepage settings.
The program is designed to look like other common search engines, so people think it is useful
Removing the annoying hijacker
VideoSearches browser hijacker is the PUP that affects the machine by running in the background and triggering issues with web browsing operations. The program diminishes the time online, but the speed of the internet gets affected because of the processes that get launched.
The issue with the persistent threat can be solved by running the antivirus tool like SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes and scanning the machine fully. Security programs like this can find malicious files or potentially dangerous programs and remove them to save the system. This is the way to stop the PUP from running all additional processes and controlling the online traffic.
Sometimes these intruders cause additional issues by altering preferences and settings on the web browser directly, so those redirects and searches still run mainly on the third-party domains and pages. You might want to remove the VideoSearches browser hijacker by altering settings on the commonly used browsers. This is the way to stop unwanted behavior.
However, there is a need to alter various settings and remove applications, extensions, toolbars, and other PUPs installed behind your back. It might be easier to fully reset the Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, or any other browsers you use. The full reset changes all alterations and changes made before. For that follow the removal guide below the article. A quick fix right here is including altering the homepage preference change that the VideoSearches site hijacked.
Changing the homepage altered by the PUP on your browsers
Change your homepage on Chrome:
- 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 the Mozilla Firefox homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Options.
- Under Home options, enter your preferred site that will open every time you newly open the Mozilla Firefox.
Change your IE homepage if it was altered:
- Click on the Gear icon.
- Select Internet Options.
- In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
- Click Apply and then select OK.
Avoiding issues created by the PUAs
VideoSearches redirect as any other PUP can be distributed via deceptive platforms and misleading advertising pages where freeware is offered freely, and users fall for such tricks and install these questionable programs without paying close attention to details. These issues also come with the promotional ads online.
All these intrusive browser-based programs can be distributed with the help of advertisers, commercial content creators, and related pages. In most cases, those claims that promote these apps are fake and not related to the distributed application. The most important issue with these procedures is the type and the method of freeware installation.
By choosing the Advanced or Custom options, you can control these procedures fully and expand the list of included or even pre-bundled programs.[2] Experts[3] always recommend choosing the proper source, so these unwanted installs can be avoided, and the threat like VideoSearches browser hijacker does not get downloaded.
You may remove virus damage with a help of FortectIntego. 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.
Getting rid of VideoSearches browser hijacker. Follow these steps
Uninstall from Windows
Instructions for Windows 10/8 machines:
- Enter Control Panel into Windows search box and hit Enter or click on the search result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.
- From the list, find the entry of the suspicious program.
- Right-click on the application and select Uninstall.
- If User Account Control shows up, click Yes.
- Wait till uninstallation process is complete and click OK.
If you are Windows 7/XP user, proceed with the following instructions:
- Click on Windows Start > Control Panel located on the right pane (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
- In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.
- Pick the unwanted application by clicking on it once.
- At the top, click Uninstall/Change.
- In the confirmation prompt, pick Yes.
- Click OK once the removal process is finished.
Delete from macOS
Remove items from Applications folder:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for all related entries.
- Click on the app and drag it to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash)
To fully remove an unwanted app, you need to access Application Support, LaunchAgents, and LaunchDaemons folders and delete relevant files:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and click Go or press Enter.
- In the Application Support folder, look for any dubious entries and then delete them.
- Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the related .plist files.
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 on Uninstall at the bottom.
Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Privacy & security.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Select everything (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 Disable if you found any suspicious domain.
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.
If this solution failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method. Note that you need to backup your data before proceeding.
- Find the following folder on your computer: C:\\Users\\%username%\\AppData\\Local\\Packages\\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe.
- Press Ctrl + A on your keyboard to select all folders.
- Right-click on them and pick Delete
- Now right-click on the Start button and pick Windows PowerShell (Admin).
- When the new window opens, copy and paste the following command, and then press Enter:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\\AppXManifest.xml” -Verbose
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.
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 unwanted plugin and click Remove.
Reset the homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Options.
- Under Home options, enter your preferred site that will open every time you newly open the Mozilla Firefox.
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, as well as Cached Web Content and press 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 the suspicious plugins that might be 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 unwanted extensions from Safari:
- Click Safari > Preferences…
- In the new window, pick Extensions.
- Select the unwanted extension and select Uninstall.
Clear cookies and other website data from Safari:
- Click Safari > Clear History…
- From the drop-down menu under Clear, pick all history.
- Confirm with Clear History.
Reset Safari if the above-mentioned steps did not help you:
- Click Safari > Preferences…
- Go to Advanced tab.
- Tick the Show Develop menu in menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop, and then select Empty Caches.
After uninstalling this potentially unwanted program (PUP) and fixing each of your web browsers, we recommend you to scan your PC system with a reputable anti-spyware. This will help you to get rid of VideoSearches browser hijacker registry traces and will also identify related parasites or possible malware infections on your computer. For that you can use our top-rated malware remover: FortectIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes.
How to prevent from getting browser hijacker
Choose a proper web browser and improve your safety with a VPN tool
Online spying has got momentum in recent years and people are getting more and more interested in how to protect their privacy online. One of the basic means to add a layer of security – choose the most private and secure web browser. Although web browsers can't grant full privacy protection and security, some of them are much better at sandboxing, HTTPS upgrading, active content blocking, tracking blocking, phishing protection, and similar privacy-oriented features. However, if you want true anonymity, we suggest you employ a powerful Private Internet Access VPN – it can encrypt all the traffic that comes and goes out of your computer, preventing tracking completely.
Lost your files? Use data recovery software
While some files located on any computer are replaceable or useless, others can be extremely valuable. Family photos, work documents, school projects – these are types of files that we don't want to lose. Unfortunately, there are many ways how unexpected data loss can occur: power cuts, Blue Screen of Death errors, hardware failures, crypto-malware attack, or even accidental deletion.
To ensure that all the files remain intact, you should prepare regular data backups. You can choose cloud-based or physical copies you could restore from later in case of a disaster. If your backups were lost as well or you never bothered to prepare any, Data Recovery Pro can be your only hope to retrieve your invaluable files.
- ^ Browser hijacker. Techtarget. Search security.
- ^ Product bundling. Wikipedia. The free encyclopedia.
- ^ Dieviren. Dieviren. Spyware related news.