The Gotosearch.ru is classified as the browser hijacker (sometimes called hijackware). It is a type of dangerous software that modifies your PC system’s browser settings such as homepage, search engine by default. Once started, this browser hijacker infection will modify the Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge ‘s settings to Gotosearch.ru search. To clean you PC and back your start page, you need to perform the few simple steps below as soon as possible. It will remove the Gotosearch.ru homepage and protect your personal computer from more dangerous malware and trojans.
A malicious software that changes the settings of web-browsers on Gotosearch.ru startpage usually affects only Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and Edge. However, possible situations, when any other browsers will be affected too. The Gotosearch.ru hijacker may change the Target property of a web-browser’s shortcut, so every time you run the web-browser, instead of your homepage, you will see a completely different web site.
The infection, which set the Gotosearch.ru as your startpage can also set this unwanted page as your search engine. You will encounter the fact that the search in the browser has become impossible to use, because the search results will consist of a large number of advertising banners, links to malicious and misleading web-pages and a small amount of regular links, which are obtained from a search in the major search engines. Therefore, look for something using Gotosearch.ru site would be a waste of time or worse, it can lead to even more infected computer.
Often, the personal computer, that has been infected with Gotosearch.ru browser hijacker, will be also infected with an adware, which will show a huge number of various advertisements. This may be pop-ups, text links in the web-pages, banners where they never had. What is more, the adware may replace the legitimate advertising with malicious ads that will offer to download and install malware and unwanted programs or visit the various dangerous and misleading web-pages.
How to Gotosearch.ru infection get installed onto personal computer
I want to note that the Gotosearch.ru infection spreads in the composition together with various free software. This means that you need to be very careful when installing programs downloaded from the Web, even from a large proven hosting. Be sure to read the Terms of Use and the Software license, select only the Manual, Advanced or Custom installation mode, switch off all additional modules and programs are offered to install. That negligence when running unknown programs may lead to the fact that the web-browser settings will be changed to Gotosearch.ru. The very appearance Gotosearch.ru startpage instead of your homepage is a sign of necessity to perform cleanup of your computer. Moreover, this browser hijacker can lead to slow the browser, plus delays when starting and when viewing pages on the Internet. We strongly recommend that you perform the guide below will allow you to remove Gotosearch.ru using the standard features of Windows and some proven free programs.
How to manually remove Gotosearch.ru
This useful removal guide for the Gotosearch.ru startpage. The detailed procedure can be followed by anyone as it really does take you step-by-step. If you follow this process to get rid of Gotosearch.ru let us know how you managed by sending us your comments please.
- Uninstall Gotosearch.ru associated software by using Windows Control Panel
- Disinfect the browser’s shortcuts to remove Gotosearch.ru startpage
- Remove Gotosearch.ru startpage from Google Chrome
- Remove Gotosearch.ru homepage from Firefox
- Remove Gotosearch.ru homepage from Microsoft Internet Explorer
Uninstall Gotosearch.ru associated software by using Windows Control Panel
Press Windows key , then click Search . Type “Control panel”and press Enter. If you using Windows XP or Windows 7, then click “Start” and select “Control Panel”. It will open the Windows Control Panel as shown below.
Click “Uninstall a program” It will open a list of all programs. Scroll through the all list, and uninstall any suspicious and unknown programs.
Disinfect the browser’s shortcuts to remove Gotosearch.ru homepage
Once installed, this infection may add “http://gotosearch.ru/” into the Target property of the desktop shortcut for the Chrome, Firefox, IE and MS Edge. Due to this, every time you start the browser, it will open the annoying startpage.
Right click on the browser’s shortcut, click Properties option. On the Shortcut tab, locate the Target field. Click inside, you will see a vertical line – arrow pointer, move it (using -> arrow key on your keyboard) to the right as possible. You will see a text “http://gotosearch.ru/” that has been added here. Remove everything after .exe. An example, for Google Chrome you should remove everything after chrome.exe. Click OK to save changes. You need to clean all internet browser’s shortcuts. So, repeat this step for the Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and Edge.
Remove Gotosearch.ru startpage from Google Chrome
Open the Google Chrome menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (). It opens the drop-down menu. Click to Settings option. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the “Show advanced settings” link. Now scroll down until the Reset settings section is visible, as shown below and click on the Reset settings button. Confirm your action, click on the Reset button.
Remove Gotosearch.ru homepage from Firefox
If the Firefox settings such as home page, newtab page and search provider by default have been changed by the hijacker, then resetting it to the default state can help.
Run the Firefox and press button to display the Tools menu. It opens the drop-down menu on the right-part of the web-browser. Click on the Help button (). In the Help menu, select the “Troubleshooting Information” option. Another way to open the “Troubleshooting Information” screen – type about:support in the internet browser adress bar and press Enter. It will display the “Troubleshooting Information” page. In the upper-right corner of this screen, press the “Refresh Firefox” button. It will display the confirmation dialog box. Click on the “Refresh Firefox” button. The Mozilla Firefox will start a task to fix your problems that caused by the Gotosearch.ru browser hijacker. Once, it’s done, press the “Finish” button
Remove Gotosearch.ru homepage from Microsoft Internet Explorer
Run Internet Explorer, press ). Click “Internet Options” as shown below. In the “Internet Options” screen select the Advanced tab. Next press Reset button. The Internet Explorer will open the Reset Internet Explorer settings prompt. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box and press Reset button. You will now need to restart your personal computer for the changes to take effect. It will remove Gotosearch.ru hijacker, disable malicious and ad-supported browser’s extensions and restore the Microsoft Internet Explorer’s startpage to default state.
How to remove Gotosearch.ru with Antimalware
Remove Gotosearch.ru browser hijacker infection manually is difficult and often infection is not completely removed. Therefore, we recommend you to use the MalwareBytes Anti-malware Free that are completely clean your PC. Moreover, the free software will help you to remove adware and toolbars that your computer may be infected too.
- Download MalwareBytes Anti-malware (MBAM) from the link below. Malwarebytes Anti-malware
326462 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
- Close all programs and windows on your computer. Open a directory in which you saved it. Double-click on the icon that named mbam-setup.
- Click Next and follow the prompts.
- Once installation is complete, click on the “Scan Now” button to start scanning your computer for Gotosearch.ru infection. This procedure can take some time, so please be patient.
- When the scan is finished, make sure all entries have “checkmark” and click “Remove Selected”. Once disinfection is completed, you may be prompted to Restart.
How to block Gotosearch.ru
To increase your security and protect your PC against new annoying advertising and malicious sites, you need to use an application that blocks access to dangerous ads and web-sites. Moreover, the software can block the display of intrusive advertising, which also leads to faster loading of pages and reduce the consumption of web traffic.
- Download AdGuard program using the following link.
Adguard download
26658 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
- After the download is complete, run the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
- Once the installation is finished, click “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will help you get to know AdGuard better.
- In most cases, the default settings are enough and you do not need to change anything. Each time, when you start your PC system, AdGuard will start automatically and block pop-up ads, sites such Gotosearch.ru, as well as other malicious or misleading pages. For an overview of all the features of the program, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the icon AdGuard, which is located on your desktop.
If the problem with Gotosearch.ru is still remained
If MalwareBytes Anti-malware cannot remove this hijacker infection, then we suggests to use the AdwCleaner. AdwCleaner is a free removal tool for browser hijackers, adware, PUPs, toolbars. Also you can ask for help our Myantispyware team below.
- Download AdwCleaner from the link below. AdwCleaner download
225300 downloads
Version: 8.4.1
Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
Category: Security tools
Update: October 5, 2024
- Double click the AdwCleaner icon. Once this tool is started, press “Scan” button to perform a system scan for Gotosearch.ru.
- Once AdwCleaner has finished, it will open a scan report. Review the report and then click “Cleaning” button. It will display a prompt. Click “OK”.
How to ask for help the Myantispyware team
If you are seeking a help for Gotosearch.ru removal then follow these steps.
- Download HijackThis from the link below and save it to your Desktop. HijackThis download
4711 downloads
Version: 2.0.5
Author: OpenSource
Category: Security tools
Update: November 7, 2015
- Double-click on the HijackThis icon, and click the button labeled “Do a system scan only”.
- Once the scan is complete, the scan button will read “Save log”, click it. Save this log to your desktop
- Copy and paste the contents of the HijackThis log into your post. If you are posting for the first time, please start a new thread by using the “New Topic” button in the Spyware Removal forum. When posting your HJT log, try to give us some details about your problems, so we can try to help you more accurately.
- Wait for one of our trained “Security Team” or Site Administrator to provide you with knowledgeable assistance tailored to your problem with Gotosearch.ru removal.
Create a Myantispyware account here. Once you’ve registered, check your e-mail for a confirmation link, and confirm your account. After that, login.