Are you seeing Search.searchpcst.com homepage in the Chrome, Firefox, IE and MS Edge every time you open the browser? This means that your system is infected with hijacker which alters the settings of the browsers like the start page and search provider by default. Currently, this browser hijacker infection are widely spread, due to the fact that most people are trying to find free software, download and install them on the machine without proper attention to the fact that the hijacker can penetrate into the personal computer along with them.
The Search.searchpcst.com browser hijacker usually affects only the Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and Edge. However, possible situations, when any other web-browsers will be affected too. The browser hijacker infection will perform a scan of the computer for internet browser shortcuts and change them without your permission. When it infects the browser shortcuts, it will add the argument such as ‘http://site.address’ into Target property. So, each time you launch the browser, you will see the Search.searchpcst.com unwanted site.
The hijacker infection, which set the Search.searchpcst.com search as your start page can also set this unwanted web-page as your search engine. You will encounter the fact that the search in the internet browser has become impossible to use, because the search results will consist of lots of ads, links to malicious and misleading sites and a small amount of regular links, which are obtained from a search in the major search engines. Therefore, look for something using Search.searchpcst.com web site would be a waste of time or worse, it can lead to even more infected personal computer.
Often, the machine which has been infected with Search.searchpcst.com hijacker infection, will be also infected with ‘ad-supported’ software (also known as adware) that opens a huge number of various advertisements. It may be pop-ups, text links in the pages, banners where they never had. What is more, the ad supported software may replace the legitimate ads with malicious ads that will offer to download and install malware and unwanted programs or visit the various dangerous and misleading web pages.
Therefore it is very important to clean your system as soon as possible. Follow the step-by-step instructions below to remove Search.searchpcst.com search, as well as other malware and ‘ad-supported’ software (also known as adware), which can be installed onto your system along with it.
How did you get infected with Search.searchpcst.com browser hijacker
The Search.searchpcst.com infection spreads along with various free software, as a supplement, which is installed automatically. This is certainly not an honest way to get installed onto your computer. To avoid infecting of your computer and side effects in the form of changing your browser settings to Search.searchpcst.com startpage, you should always carefully read the Terms of Use and the Software license. Additionally, always select Manual, Custom or Advanced install mode. This allows you to disable the install of unnecessary and often harmful software. Even if you uninstall the free applications from your personal computer, your browser’s settings will not be restored. This means that you should manually remove Search.searchpcst.com from the Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and Edge by follow the guide below.
How to manually remove Search.searchpcst.com
This steps will help you delete Search.searchpcst.com redirect. These Search.searchpcst.com removal steps work for the Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, as well as every version of Windows operating system. Some of the steps may require you to close the web-browser or reboot your machine. So, bookmark or print it for later reference.
- Remove Search.searchpcst.com associated software by using Windows Control Panel
- Disinfect the browser’s shortcuts to remove Search.searchpcst.com
- Remove Search.searchpcst.com from Google Chrome
- Remove Search.searchpcst.com from Firefox
- Delete Search.searchpcst.com homepage from Internet Explorer
Remove Search.searchpcst.com associated software by using Windows Control Panel
First, you should try to identify and get rid of the application that causes the appearance of unwanted ads or internet browser redirect, using the ‘Uninstall a program’ which is located in the ‘Control panel’.
Windows 8, 8.1, 10
, then click Search 
. Type ‘Control panel’and press Enter like below. 
When the ‘Control Panel’ opens, click the ‘Uninstall a program’ link under Programs category as shown on the image below. 
You will see the ‘Uninstall a program’ panel as shown on the image below. 
Very carefully look around the entire list of applications installed on your machine. Most likely, one or more of them are responsible for the appearance of ads and web-browser redirect to the annoying Search.searchpcst.com page. If you have many programs installed, you can help simplify the search of malicious software by sort the list by date of installation. Once you have found a suspicious, unwanted or unused application, right click to it, after that click ‘Uninstall’.
Windows XP, Vista, 7
When the Windows ‘Control Panel’ opens, you need to click ‘Uninstall a program’ under ‘Programs’ as shown on the image below. 
You will see a list of programs installed on your computer. We recommend to sort the list by date of installation to quickly find the software that were installed last. Most likely they responsibility for the appearance of ads and web-browser redirect. If you are in doubt, you can always check the program by doing a search for her name in Google, Yahoo or Bing. When the program which you need to uninstall is found, simply click on its name, and then click ‘Uninstall’ like below. 
Disinfect the browser’s shortcuts to remove Search.searchpcst.com
Click the right mouse button to a desktop shortcut that you use to start your internet browser. Next, select the “Properties” option. Important: necessary to click on the desktop shortcut for the web-browser which is redirected to the Search.searchpcst.com or other annoying web-page.
Further, necessary to look at the text which is written in the “Target” field. The hijacker can rewrite the contents of this field, which describes the file to be launch when you start your browser. Depending on the web-browser you are using, there should be:
- Google Chrome: chrome.exe
- Opera: opera.exe
- Firefox: firefox.exe
- Internet Explorer: iexplore.exe
If you are seeing an unknown text such as “http://{URL}” which has been added here, then you should remove it, like below.
Next, click the “OK” button to save the changes. Now, when you launch the browser from this desktop shortcut, it does not occur automatically redirect on the Search.searchpcst.com web-site or any other unwanted web-pages. Once the step is finished, we recommend to go to the next step.
Remove Search.searchpcst.com from Google Chrome
Reset Chrome settings is a easy way to remove the browser hijacker, malicious and adware extensions, as well as to restore the browser’s homepage, new tab page and search engine by default that have been replaced by browser hijacker infection.
- First, start the Chrome and click the Menu icon (icon in the form of three horizontal stripes).
- It will display the Chrome main menu, click the “Settings” menu.
- Next, press “Show advanced settings” link, which located at the bottom of the Settings page.
- On the bottom of the “Advanced settings” page, click the “Reset settings” button.
- The Google Chrome will display the reset settings dialog box as shown on the image above.
- Confirm the web-browser’s reset by clicking on the “Reset” button.
- To learn more, read the blog post How to reset Google Chrome settings to default.
Remove Search.searchpcst.com from Firefox
If the FF settings like homepage, new tab page and search engine by default have been changed by the browser hijacker, then resetting it to the default state can help.
First, start the Firefox and press 
button. It will display the drop-down menu on the right-part of the browser. Further, click the Help button (
) as shown below
. 
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 as on the image below. In the upper-right corner of this screen, press the “Refresh Firefox” button. 
It will open the confirmation dialog box. Further, press the “Refresh Firefox” button. The Firefox will start a procedure to fix your problems that caused by the Search.searchpcst.com hijacker. Once, it’s finished, click the “Finish” button.
Delete Search.searchpcst.com homepage from Internet Explorer
First, run the Microsoft Internet Explorer. Next, click the button in the form of gear (
). It will display the Tools drop-down menu, click the “Internet Options” as on the image below.
In the “Internet Options” window click on the Advanced tab, then press the Reset button. The IE will show the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” window as shown below. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box, then click “Reset” button.
You will now need to reboot your system for the changes to take effect.
How to remove Search.searchpcst.com automatically
We recommend using the Malwarebytes Free. You can download and install Malwarebytes to detect Search.searchpcst.com and remove it, by clicking on the download link below. When installed and updated, the free malware remover will automatically scan and detect all threats present on the PC system.
326457 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
Once installed, the Malwarebytes will try to update itself and when this procedure is finished, click the “Scan Now” button to perform a scan of your computer. During the scan it will detect all threats present on your PC. In order to remove all threats, simply click “Quarantine Selected” button.
The Malwarebytes is a free program that you can use to remove all detected folders, files, services, registry entries and so on. To learn more about this malware removal tool, we recommend you to read and follow the step-by-step guide or the video guide below.
Block Search.searchpcst.com and other annoying web pages
To increase your security and protect your computer against new annoying advertisements and harmful pages, you need to use an program that stops access to harmful advertisements and web-sites. Moreover, the program can block the open of intrusive advertising, that also leads to faster loading of web sites and reduce the consumption of web traffic.
Download AdGuard program by clicking on the following link.
26655 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
Once the downloading process is finished, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen as shown on the screen below.
Follow the prompts. When the installation is finished, you will see a window as shown below.
You can click “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” button to see an quick tutorial that will allow 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 personal computer, AdGuard will start automatically and block advertisements, web pages such Search.searchpcst.com, as well as other dangerous or misleading web-pages. For an overview of all the features of the program, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the AdGuard icon, which is located on your desktop.
Remove Search.searchpcst.com hijacker and malicious extensions with AdwCleaner.
If MalwareBytes Anti-malware cannot get rid of this hijacker, then we suggests to use the AdwCleaner. AdwCleaner is a free removal tool for browser hijackers, ad supported software, potentially unwanted software and toolbars.
Download AdwCleaner from the link below.
225298 downloads
Version: 8.4.1
Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
Category: Security tools
Update: October 5, 2024
After downloading is finished, open the file location. You will see an icon like below.
Double click the AdwCleaner desktop icon. When the tool is launched, you will see a screen as shown on the image below.
Further, click “Scan” button for scanning your personal computer for the Search.searchpcst.com browser hijacker and internet browser’s malicious extensions. Once the scan is complete, it will display a scan report as shown on the image below.
Review the report and then click “Clean” button. It will show a dialog box as shown on the image below.
You need to press “OK”. When the cleaning procedure is done, the AdwCleaner may ask you to restart your PC system. When your computer is started, you will see an AdwCleaner log.
These steps are shown in detail in the following video guide.
Finish words
Once you have finished the step-by-step guide above, your system should be clean from malware and browser hijackers. The Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox and Microsoft Edge will no longer show Search.searchpcst.com unwanted home page on startup. Unfortunately, if the steps does not help you, then you have caught a new browser hijacker, and then the best way – ask for help.
- Download HijackThis by clicking on the link below and save it to your Desktop.
HijackThis download
4709 downloads
Version: 2.0.5
Author: OpenSource
Category: Security tools
Update: November 7, 2015
- Double-click on the HijackThis icon. Next press “Do a system scan only” button.
- When the system scan is complete, the scan button will read “Save log”, press it. Save this log to your desktop.
- Create a Myantispyware account here. Once you’ve registered, check your e-mail for a confirmation link, and confirm your account. After that, login.
- 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 the unwanted Search.searchpcst.com homepage.
