How to remove Websearch.swellsearch.info

What is Websearch.swellsearch.info?

Websearch.swellsearch.info is a browser hijacker that may affect Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Internet Explorer web browsers. Be careful with it because it seems to be created by cyber criminals to boost traffic to predetermined websites, increasing the rank for affiliate websites, promoting various products and services, tracking people and so on. If it has already hijacked your web browser, probably you already understood that it's just another browser plug-in that belongs to the Websearch family, which consist of such untrustworthy search engines as Websearch.lookforithere.info, Websearch.wonderfulsearches.info, Websearch.searc-hall.info and lots of others. All of them are absolutely similar. The only difference is the name. Each of Websearch hijackers tries to convince people that it's a reliable search provider by copying color scheme of Google and claiming that it's capable of returning the most relevant and secure search results. Unfortunately, Websearch.swellsearch.info redirect virus may infiltrate your computer bundled with another freeware and replace default homepage and search provider without permission asked. Beware that after currupting DNS settings this browser plug-in may track you continuously. It may accumulate your search terms, investigate websites that you visit, clicks that you make, gather your IP address, PC's location, and similar information. Besides, it may control your browsing activities by returning you paid search results. Websearch.swellsearch.info virus may display sponsored links in priority and make you visit suspicious third-party websites without you realizing that. Be very careful because some of the websites that it promotes may be unsafe or even used for spreading potentially unwanted or even malicious programs. Therefore, we highly recommend you to remove Websearch.swellsearch.info virus right away. In order to do that fully, we recommend using Fortect Intego.

How can Websearch.swellsearch.info hijack my computer?

Similarly to other browser hijackers, Websearch.swellsearch.info spreads bundled with various freewares and sharewares. It cannot be installed manually; therefore, if it has already replaced your start page and search provider, it's a clear sign that you have been tricked into installing a bundled freeware. In this case, it's very important to check your computer carefully because it's very likely that Websearch.swellsearch.info virus is not the only PUP on your computer. Security experts have found out that this hijacker mainly spreads via InstallRex installers and is commonly bundled with quite popular third-party programs, such as various download managers, PDF creators, media players, and so on. In order to prevent installing freewares with 'additional components', not only select freewares carefully, but also install them attentively. Never click the 'next' button without reading the whole notification because you may easily end up installing Websearch.swellsearch.info redirect virus. In order to prevent this from happening, you have to select Advanced or Custom installation option all the time and carefully monitor the entire process. If you spot a suggestion to 'Set XXX as you default search engine/start page' or to install browser add-on, plug-in, toolbar or extension as a free addition, decline it and only then finish the installation. If you browser has already been hijacked, we recommend you to fix it as soon as possible.

How to remove Websearch.swellsearch.info virus?

Websearch.swellsearch.info removal can be accomplished manually and automatically. However, we highly recommend you to do that automatically because this way all suspicious entries and files will be eliminated as well.

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