ChromeSearch. How to delete? (Removal tutorial)
ChromeSearch malware is on the rise
ChromeSearch is a browser hijacker which has been noticed in various world’s countries, including Russia, Portugal, Spain and UK. The main problem caused by ChromeSearch.win is that it can infiltrate your computer without permission and initiate various changes on the system. As a result of hijack, you can find ChromeSearch instead of your start page, the default search engine or a new tab page.
ChromeSearch seems like a highly trustworthy search engine because it mimics Google Chrome. Besides, it claims that it was designed to take care of people’s privacy on the Internet. Unfortunately, these words cannot be taken for granted because this PUP states that it collects non-personal information about its users right after it gets into the system. Besides, the developer of this search engine is a highly suspicious company called Chrome Search.
When infected with ChromeSearch.win, you can also notice different pop-up ads that show up on your computer when visiting your favorite websites. In reality, these ads are displayed only on virtual layer which does not require modifying websites without getting the approval of their owners. However, we do NOT recommend clicking these ads as their main aim is to redirect you to sponsored websites.
The worst thing you can run into is being redirected to a malware-infested website which can lead you to additional viruses. Besides, you can become a victim of scam trying to steal people’s personal information. To prevent these risks, make sure you remove ChromeSearch from your computer and prevent it from spying on you. You can use Reimage for that or follow manual removal tips that we provide in the end of this post. It can also help you perform a successful ChromeSearch removal on your computer.
Go to 'Start -> Control Panel -> Programs and Features' (if you are 'Windows XP' user, open 'Add/Remove Programs').
If you are 'Windows 10 / Windows 8' user, click on Windows icon in the lower left corner of the screen to open 'Quick Access Menu'. Then click 'Control Panel' and select 'Uninstall a Program'.
Right-click every suspicious program and select 'Uninstall'
Right-click on web browsers' icon and click 'Properties'
Open 'Shortcut' tab and erase 'http://isearch.babylon.com...' or other shady URL
Click on 'Go' to open a drop-down menu and select 'Applications'.
Click on each malicious application and select 'Move to Trash'
Open browser menu and go to 'Manage add-ons'
To eliminate malicious applications, right-click on each of them and click 'Disable'
Delete suspicious URL, type in your preferable site name and click 'Apply' to save
In 'Advanced' tab, click 'Reset'. Then tick 'Delete personal settings' and click 'Reset'.
Open Settings and click on 'Choose what to clear' button
Click 'Clear'
Right-click the Start button again and choose 'Task Manager'
Right-click on 'Microsoft Edge' and choose 'Go to details' option
If 'Go to details' option does not show up, choose 'More details' instead
Locate all entries that relate to Microsoft Edge and click 'End Task'
Open Microsoft Edge folder on your PC, click every entry with the right mouse button and select 'Delete'
Locate where Windows PowerShell is, right-click on it and click on 'Run as administrator' option
Copy and then paste the necessary command and hit 'Enter'
Open browser menu and go to 'Add-ons'
Go to 'Extensions' and locate malicious browser add-ons. Hit 'Remove' button to delete each entry
Open 'General' tab and delete the URL from 'Home Page' field or just simply click 'Restore to Default'. Then click on 'OK' button to apply changes.
Open menu by clicking on the indicated icon and on '?'. Then select 'Troubleshooting Information'.
Hit 'Reset Firefox' button a few times
Open browser's menu, then click 'Tools' and 'Extensions'
Find malicious extensions and click on the Trash bin icon to remove them
Open browser's menu, then go to 'Settings' and select 'Set pages' under 'On startup' section
Remove malicious search sites by clicking 'X'
Once you open browser's 'Settings', click on 'Manage search engines...' button
Remove malicious search sites by clicking 'X'
When in 'Settings', click Show advanced settings and then find 'Reset browser settings' button. Click on it.
Click 'Reset' to finish the removal process.
Click on 'Safari' and then select 'Preferences'
Go to 'Extensions' and remove untrustworthy extensions
Go to 'General' section and find Homepage field. Delete suspicious URL and replace it with a URL of your choice.
Click on 'Safari' and then select 'Reset Safari...'
Select all checkboxes and click 'Reset'
Distribution strategies
There are three different ways used to spread such viruses like this one:
- Google Chrome web store
- Bundling
- Infected documents
When software developers launch a browser add-on, extension or toolbar, they typically add it to the Google Play store. Keeping in mind that malware experts cannot notify users about potentially unwanted programs before they start spreading on the Internet, their owners have a chance to increase their distribution rate.
To protect yourself, you should always check the rate of the app before downloading it. Also, search its name on the Internet to see what others think about it. Usually, people tend to share their thoughts with other people, especially when their experience wasn’t exciting.
Additionally, make sure you double check programs before installing them because the most of them is filled with additional components. For that, you need to opt for Custom or Advanced installation option when installing software on your computer. Then, we highly recommend you to uncheck all check marks that are typically pre-checked by software developers for generating some income. Usually, they allow changing the start page or adding new extensions to web browser.
Finally, pay attention to spam. Misleading email messages have been actively used to spread different kinds of threats, including hijackers. When you can’t say who is the sender, make sure you ignore attachments added to the email or contact him/her just to check if it is a real person.
ChromeSearch removal instructions
To remove ChromeSearch virus from the system, you need to be very careful while removing extensions from your web browsers. While security experts recommend eliminating only the ones that belong to Chrome Search developer, we think that you should reset all web browsers to prevent problems in the future. Besides, keep in mind that Potentially unwanted programs can spread together with different components that should also be eliminated to prevent their reappearance.
If you need some assistance with ChromeSearch removal, you can also opt for automatic method. In this case, you will have to install one of programs given below. Then, make sure you update it and run a full system scan to find every file of this virus.
You can remove virus damage automatically with a help of one of these programs: Reimage, SpyHunterCombo Cleaner, Malwarebytes Malwarebytes. We recommend these applications because they detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.
To remove Chromesearch.win virus, follow these steps:
Uninstall Chromesearch.win in Windows systems
To remove ChromeSearch from Windows, you need to find all programs of its developer and uninstall them. For that, follow these steps:
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Go to Start → Control Panel → Programs and Features (if you are Windows XP user, open Add/Remove Programs).
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If you are Windows 10 / Windows 8 user, click on Windows icon in the lower left corner of the screen to open Quick Access Menu. Then click Control Panel and select Uninstall a Program.
- Remove Chromesearch.win and programs related to it
Now, take a look at the list of programs and find Chromesearch.win or other programs that you do not remember installing. -
Right-click on these programs and select "Uninstall." Then click OK to save changes.
- Delete Chromesearch.win from Windows shortcuts
Right-click on the shortcut of Mozilla Firefox and click Properties. -
Now, go to Shortcut tab and find Target field. Then delete the URL that is associated with your virus.
Follow the same steps as explained above with all other shortcuts of Internet browsers, including Google Chrome and Internet Explorer. Please check Start Menu, Desktop, and taskbar to find all shortcuts.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariUninstall Chromesearch.win in Mac OS X system
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Users who use OS X should click on Go button, which can be found at the top left corner of the screen and select Applications.
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Wait until you see Applications folder and look for Chromesearch.win or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash.
Delete Chromesearch.win from Internet Explorer (IE)
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Delete suspicious browser add-ons
Launch Internet Explorer, and then open IE by clicking on the Gear icon, which is located at the top right corner of the Internet browser. Then, click Manage Add-ons. -
Manage Add-ons window will appear on your screen. Now, search for Chromesearch.win and other questionable browser add-ons. Right-click them on each of them and select Disable.
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If virus altered your homepage, change it:
Click the Gear icon at the top right corner of the Internet browser and then click Internet Options. Stay in General section. -
Now, delete malicious URL and enter
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Reset all Internet Explorer settings
Click on Gear icon and then opt for Internet options. Then go to Advanced section. - Click Reset.
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A new window appears, and then you have to tick Delete personal settings and click Reset to finalise Chromesearch.win removal.
Eliminate Chromesearch.win virus from Microsoft Edge browser
Reset settings in Microsoft Edge (Technique No.1):
- Open Microsoft Edge browser, then click on More button, which is situated at the top right edge of the screen
- Select Settings from the drop down menu.
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When the Settings panel appears, find Clear browsing data section and hit Choose what to clear button.
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Then mark all components that you wish to delete and after that hit Clear.
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Right-click the Start button (that has Windows logo on it) and choose Task Manager.
- Go to Processes tab and look for Microsoft Edge.
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Right-click on it and select Go to details. If there is no Go to details option, select More details and carry out previous instructions.
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Once Details tab appears, look for entries that contain Microsoft Edge name. Right-click on such individual entries and choose End Task option to terminate them.
Reset Microsoft Edge (Technique No.2):
In case the Technique No.1 did not help you to fix the problem, use advanced Edge reset option.
- Important: you must backup your files before you use these tips
- Locate this folder on your PC:
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe. -
Select all items in this folder and right-click with your mouse. Select Delete.
- Click on the Start button (that has Windows Logo on it) and in Search my stuff field, type in window power.
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With the right button of your mouse, click on every entry and select Run as administrator.
- Once you get Admin's rights, Windows PowerShell window should show up shortly. Paste this line:
after PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> and hit Enter.Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml -Verbose}
After completing these steps, Microsoft Edge should be Chromesearch.win-free.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariDelete Chromesearch.win from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
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Delete suspicious browser extensions
Launch Mozilla Firefox, and then open menu (click a button at the top right corner). Then, go to Add-ons → Extensions. -
Now, locate Chromesearch.win and other suspicious extensions. Click Remove to eliminate them.
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If virus altered your homepage, change it:
Open Firefox menu (click the button at the top right corner), and go to Options → General. - Delete malicious URL and then enter the address of the website that you want to set as your homepage.
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Click OK to save the changes.
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Reset all Mozilla Firefox settings
Click on the Firefox at the top left corner and then click the question mark. Then, select Troubleshooting Information. -
Reset Firefox to its default state message should appear then. You will see Reset Firefox button. Click this button a few times and finalise Chromesearch.win removal.
Delete Chromesearch.win from Google Chrome
To fix Google Chrome, you can either reset it or remove the search engine and extensions that belong to Chrome Search developer.
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Remove malicious extensions
Launch Google Chrome, and then open menu (click a button at the top right corner). Then, go to Tools → Extensions. -
Now, look for Chromesearch.win and other suspicious extensions and then click the trash icon to remove them.
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If virus altered your homepage, change it:
Open menu and select Settings. -
Find Open a specific page or set of pages under On startup section and click Set pages.
- An additional window should pop-up. Here, remove dubious URLs and add a new page that you wish to set as a homepage.
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Open Chrome menu and go to Settings → Manage Search engines under the Search section.
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In Search Engines..., configure default search engine settings. Remove untrustworthy ones. We advise you to leave only Google or another reputable website of your choice.
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Reset all Google Chrome settings
Open menu by clicking the button at the top right corner of Google Chrome, and go to Settings. -
Scroll down to find Reset browser settings button. Click on it.
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Click Reset to approve this action and finish Chromesearch.win removal.
Delete Chromesearch.win from Safari
- Delete suspicious browser extensions
Open Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu at the top left of the screen. Once you do this, select Preferences. -
Here, select Extensions and look for Chromesearch.win or other suspicious entries. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid each of them.
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If virus altered your homepage, change it:
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 Chromesearch.win, 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 all Safari settings
Open Safari browser and click on Safari in menu section at the top left of the screen. Here, select Reset Safari.... -
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 Chromesearch.win removal process.