Disinstallare Search Engine
Some browser hijackers regularly appear in the Windows Control Panel (like normal software installed on your PC) and therefore can be removed directly from there, at least in part.
To find out if the malware that infected your computer also behaves in this way, open the Windows control panel, go to the section with the list of programs installed on your PC and check if there is anything among the recently installed software concerning online searches (eg. [Nome] Search Engine o [Name] Search). Not sure exactly how to do it? Then carefully follow the directions I am about to give you.
A PC equipped with Windows 10click on your button Home located at the bottom left (the flag) and select the icon of thegear present in the menu that appears to access the control panel. In the window that opens, then go to System, select the voice App and features from the left sidebar and search "search" among the programs installed on the PC (you can search using the field Search this list which is located at the top).
If you find programs that have "Search Engine" and you are not sure where they come from, immediately uninstall them by first clicking on their icon and then on the button Uninstall per due turn consecutive.
In the window that opens, confirm that you want to remove the selected software by clicking on the button Yes, and follow the onscreen instructions to complete the uninstallation process. Each program has a different uninstallation procedure, in any case a series of clicks on the button should suffice Next.
It was used Windows 7 or an older version of the Microsoft operating system, you can access the Windows control panel by clicking on the button Home located at the bottom left (the flag) and selecting the item Control Panel give the menu to compare.
In the window that opens, click on the item Uninstall a program (o Application installation) to view the list of programs installed on your PC e, if you find any references to Search Engine, immediately remove it by clicking first on its icon and then on the button Uninstall / Change which is located at the top.
As mentioned above, the uninstallation procedure of the program may change from case to case, but usually just click on NEXT.
In case of problems ...
When you try to eliminare Search Engine from your computer displaying a strange error message that prevents you from moving forward? In this case I recommend you try Revo Uninstaller. If you have never heard of it, it is a free program that analyzes all the software installed on your PC and allows you to uninstall them more "completely" than the steard uninstallation procedure. This is because it identifies the residual files they leave on the hard disk and the "orphan" keys they leave in the Windows registry. It is also agolable in a paid version with more advanced features, but for the moment I don't think you need it.
What you need, however, are a hesome preventive backup of the Windows registry it's a system restore point (two routine operations when using software that affect the Windows registry).
Once backed up, you can take action by downloading Revo Uninstaller. Personally, I recommend that you download the portable version of the program, which works just like the "traditional" one but does not require tedious installation procedures to work. Then connect to the Revo Uninstaller website and click on the button Free Portable located at the bottom of the page to start the download of the program.
When the download is complete, open the ZIP archive that contains Revo Uninstaller (RevoUninstaller_Portable.zip), extract the contents to a folder of your choice and run the executable RevoUPort.exe. In the window that opens, click first Yes e then OK, select Search Engine (or in any case the program that you were not able to uninstall before) and presses the button Uninstall placed at the top.
At this point the steard procedure for uninstalling the program should start: if it gives an error, close it and immediately go to the Revo Uninstaller window, where you should find the option moderate. Then put the check mark next to the "Moderate" option and click on the button Scan to start a moderate system scan, that is a low risk scan for the stability of Windows, and find the residual traces left by Search Engine on the hard disk and in the system registry. When the scan is complete, select the folders and registry keys found in the system (if any) and click on the button Delete to delete them from the PC.
Run a malware scan
Uninstalling browser hijackers from the Windows Control Panel is useful, but it does not allow you to erase all traces these malware may leave on your system. To go deeper you need to resort to antimalware, that is to programs designed specifically to remove malicious software (not to be confused with antivirus, with which they can easily coexist).
AdwCleaner
The first antimalware I recommend you try is AdwCleaner, which is extremely fast, can be used at no cost and specializes in deleting browser hijackers. It doesn't even require tedious installation procedures to use. To download it to your PC, connect to this website and press the button free Download.
Once the download is complete, start AdwCleaner by launching the executable AdwCleaner.exe click her cousin Yes e then Accept to access the main program window. Then click the button Analyze e wait for an update of the antimalware definitions to be performed first and then a full system check. It will only take a few minutes.
At the end of the scan, make sure that there is a check mark next to all the elements found by AdwCleaner and comme their elimination by pressing the button first Clear e then OK. You will almost certainly be asked to restart your PC: accept. When you log in to Windows again, you will also be shown a text file with the list of all potentially harmful elements removed from the system.
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware I don't think it needs too many introductions: it is one of the best antimalware currently agolable on the market. It is not as light or as fast as AdwCleaner (which was acquired by Malwarebytes itself), but it allows to recognize and eliminate more threats. It is free, but it is also agolable in a paid version that allows you to have a real-time control over the system (such as antivirus). The real-time check is agolable in the free version of the software as a trial for 14 days, but personally I recommend you disable it: it is not needed for the removal of malware like Search Engine.
Having said that, let's move on to practice. To download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware on your PC, connect to the official website of the program and click on the button first Free download e then Download now. Next, launch the executable mb3-setup-xx.exe that you have just downloaded on your PC e, in the window that opens, click in sequence on Yes, OK, Accept and Install e end.
Now start Malwarebytes, press the button Scan which is located in the main window of the program and wait patiently for the reont of the check (it will take a lot of minutes). At the end of the scan, select all the potential threats detected by the program and choose to quarantine them by pressing the appropriate button.
To disable the real-time protection of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, go to the menu Settings of the program, go to the tab Protection and move all the levers under the item to OFF Real-time protection. In this way you can use Malwarebytes if necessary to check the presence of malware in the system but you will not have another software that "runs" in real time on the PC, consuming precious resources!
Reset the browser
Opening the browser you usually use to browse the Internet, for example Chrome o Firefox, have you noticed any Search Engine traces still present in the program? Is the start page or search engine not back to their default settings yet? Unfortunately it can happen but, do not worry, you can solve the problem in a very simple way by following the instructions below.
Delete suspicious extensions
Browser hijackers modify browser settings using malicious extensions which, if not removed, continue to modify the program's behavior by acting on the search engine and the start page.
If, therefore, following the antimalware scans your browser continues to "behave" in a strange way, access the menu with the list of installed extensions, check if there are any references to Search Engine e, if so, delete them. To access the menu with the extensions installed in your browser, proceed as follows.
- Chrome - click on your button ≡ located at the top right and go to the menu Other tools> Extensions.
- Firefox - presses the button ≡ located at the top right, click on the icon Additional components present in the menu that opens and select the item Extensions from the side bar of the left.
- Edge - presses the button (...) che si trova in alto a destra and seleciona la voce Extensions give the menu check if you press.
Reset home page and search engine
If at this point in the tutorial you still have the start page and / or search engine modified by Search Engine, enter the settings of your favorite browser, look for the settings related to the home page and default search engine and restore them to the default settings. Below you will find well explained how to do it.
- Chrome - presses the button ≡ collocato in alto a destra and seleziona la voce Settings from the menu that appears. In the tab that opens you will find the settings related to the home page in the pane Manage in home pages and those relating to the search engine in the box Search engine used in the address bar.
- Firefox - presses the button ≡ collocato in alto a destra and seleziona la voce Options / Preferences from the menu that opens. Then go to the tab General to change the home page and tab settings Research to change the search engine settings.
- Edge - presses the button (...) collocato in alto a destra and seleziona la voce Settings from the menu that opens. Then change the home page settings via the menu Apri Microsoft Edge with and change the default search engine by selecting the item Advanced Settings and then going on Change engine of ricerca.
If you see an error that prevents you from changing your search engine and / or start page settings because "blocked by an administrator", open the Comme Prompt with administrator privileges (right click> Run as administrator) and issue the following commes, which reset the Group Policy settings.
- RD / S / Q "% WinDir% System32GroupPolicyUsers"
- RD / S / Q "% WinDir% System32GroupPolicy"
- gpupdate / force
If after making the above changes the browser home page is still altered, check that there are no variables in the shortcut you use to start the program from the desktop that force the opening of junk sites. To do this, locate the browser icon on your desktop, right-click on it and select the item Property give the menu to compare.
In the window that opens, select the tab connection, check the field Destination and deletes any variables present after the browser executable (eg after "C: Program Files (x86) GoogleChromeApplicationchrome.exe" for Chrome). Then click on the button Apply per salvare i Cambiomenti.
Return the browser to its factory state
Desperate times call for desperate measures! If after putting all of the above tips into practice you have not been able to eliminate Search Engine completely from your browser, return the program to its factory state. This will cause you to lose your favorites, extensions and preferences, but will also free you from any malicious components that prevent you from using the program with peace of mind. Here are the instructions you need to get all major web browsers back to their default state.
- Chrome - presses the button ≡ che si trova in alto a destra and seleciona la voce Settings from the menu that opens. Then click on the item Advanced which is at the bottom of the page and presses the button Restore (at the bottom of the screen).
- Firefox - presses the button ≡ located at the top right, select the Question mark from the menu that opens and click on the items Troubleshoot> Reset Firefox.
- Edge - the Microsoft home browser does not provide an option to be restored to the factory state. It only allows you to delete the navigation data (by going to the menu Settings).
