Is your web browser re-directed to different web site named SearX ? This problem can be caused by hijacker infection. The browser hijacker infection is a type of malicious software that is created to change browsers settings. If you get it on your system, then you can experience any of the following problems: a huge number of pop ups, multiple toolbars on your internet browser that you did not install, sites load slowly, home page, new tab page and default search provider is modified without your permission. The steps which follow, we will tell you about how to solve these problems, delete browser hijacker and thereby remove SearX from the Chrome, IE, FF and MS Edge forever.
In addition to that, as was mentioned earlier, some browser hijackers like SearX to also change all web-browsers shortcuts that located on your Desktop or Start menu. So, every infected shortcut will try to reroute your web browser to intrusive web-pages, some of which might be harmful. It can make the whole computer more vulnerable to hacker attacks.
The SearX browser hijacker infection can also alter the default search engine that will virtually block the possibility of finding information on the Internet. The reason for this is that the SearX search results can display a ton of advertisements, links to unwanted and ad pages. Only the remaining part is the result of your search request, loaded from the major search providers such as Google, Yahoo or Bing.
Also, adware (sometimes called ‘ad-supported’ software) may be installed on the PC system together with SearX browser hijacker infection. It will insert lots of ads directly to the web-sites which you view, creating a sense that ads has been added by the developers of the page. Moreover, legal ads can be replaced on fake ads which will offer to download and install various unnecessary and harmful programs. Moreover, the SearX hijacker has the ability to collect lots of personal information about you, which can be later sold to third parties.
The tutorial below explaining steps to get rid of SearX redirect problem. Feel free to use it for removal of the browser hijacker that may attack Chrome, Firefox, MS Edge and Internet Explorer and other popular internet browsers. The step by step instructions will allow you return your web-browsers settings which previously replaced by hijacker.
How to remove SearX redirect
The SearX is a browser hijacker that you might have difficulty in uninstalling it from your system. Happily, you have found the effective removal instructions in this post. Both the manual removal method and the automatic removal method will be provided below and you can just select the one that best for you. If you’ve any questions or need help then type a comment below. Some of the steps below will require you to close the web site. So, please read the step by step guidance carefully, after that bookmark or print it for later reference.
How to delete SearX redirect without any software
The following instructions is a step-by-step guide, which will help you manually remove SearX homepage from the Chrome, FF, Microsoft Internet Explorer and MS Edge.
Removing the SearX, check the list of installed software first
It’s of primary importance to first identify and get rid of all potentially unwanted software, adware applications and browser hijacker infections through ‘Add/Remove Programs’ (Windows XP) or ‘Uninstall a program’ (Windows 10, 8, 7) section of your MS Windows Control Panel.
- If you are using Windows 8, 8.1 or 10 then click Windows button, next click Search. Type “Control panel”and press Enter.
- If you are using Windows XP, Vista, 7, then press “Start” button and click “Control Panel”.
- It will open the Windows Control Panel.
- Further, click “Uninstall a program” under Programs category.
- It will show a list of all applications installed on the PC.
- Scroll through the all list, and remove suspicious and unknown software. To quickly find the latest installed software, we recommend sort programs by date.
See more details in the video guide below.
Disinfect the web browser’s shortcuts to get rid of SearX home page
A hijacker infection can hijack various Windows shortcuts on your desktop (most often, all web browsers shortcuts), so in this step you need to check and clean them by removing the argument like http://site.address/.
Right click to a desktop shortcut for your web-browser. Choose the “Properties” option. It will open the Properties window. Select the “Shortcut” tab here, after that, look at the “Target” field. The browser hijacker can change it. If you are seeing something similar “…exe http://site.address” then you need to remove “http…” and leave only, depending on the web-browser you are using:
- Google Chrome: chrome.exe
- Opera: opera.exe
- Firefox: firefox.exe
- Internet Explorer: iexplore.exe
Look at the example as shown in the figure below.
Once is done, press the “OK” button to save the changes. Please repeat this step for web browser shortcuts which redirects to an unwanted web-pages. When you have completed, go to next step.
Get rid of SearX from Firefox
If the Mozilla Firefox settings like homepage, newtab and default search provider have been modified by the hijacker, then resetting it to the default state can help.
First, open the Mozilla Firefox. Next, click the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (
). It will show the drop-down menu. Next, click the Help button (
).
In the Help menu click the “Troubleshooting Information”. In the upper-right corner of the “Troubleshooting Information” page press on “Refresh Firefox” button as on the image below.
Confirm your action, click the “Refresh Firefox”.
Remove SearX home page from Internet Explorer
First, start the Microsoft Internet Explorer, press 
) button. Next, click “Internet Options” like below.
In the “Internet Options” screen select the Advanced tab. Next, click Reset button. The Internet Explorer will open the Reset Internet Explorer settings prompt. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box and click Reset button.
You will now need to restart your PC for the changes to take effect. It will remove SearX browser hijacker infection, disable malicious and ad-supported browser’s extensions and restore the Internet Explorer’s settings like start page, new tab and default search provider to default state.
Remove SearX from Google Chrome
Reset Chrome settings is a easy way to get rid of the browser hijacker, harmful and ‘ad-supported’ extensions, as well as to restore the web browser’s newtab page, start page and search engine by default that have been modified by SearX browser hijacker infection.
First start the Google Chrome. Next, click the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (). It will open the main menu. Further, click the option named “Settings”. Another way to display the Google Chrome’s settings – type chrome://settings in the web browser adress bar and press Enter.
The web browser will display the settings screen. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the “Show advanced settings” link. Now scroll down until the “Reset settings” section is visible, as shown below and click the “Reset settings” button.
The Chrome will show the confirmation dialog box. You need to confirm your action, press the “Reset” button. The web browser will start the process of cleaning. Once it is finished, the web-browser’s settings including startpage, newtab and default search engine back to the values that have been when the Google Chrome was first installed on your PC system.
SearX redirect automatic removal
The browser hijacker infection may hide its components which are difficult for you to find out and delete completely. This may lead to the fact that after some time, the hijacker once again infect your PC system and change settings of all your typical browsers to SearX. Moreover, I want to note that it is not always safe to get rid of browser hijacker infection manually, if you do not have much experience in setting up and configuring the MS Windows operating system. The best method to detect and get rid of hijackers is to use free malicious software removal software.
Automatically get rid of SearX start page with Zemana Anti-malware
We recommend using the Zemana Anti-malware which are completely clean your machine of the browser hijacker infection. The utility is an advanced malicious software removal program created by (c) Zemana lab. It’s able to help you get rid of potentially unwanted applications, browser hijackers, adware, malware, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your PC system for free.
- Please download Zemana anti-malware to your desktop by clicking on the following link.
Zemana AntiMalware
117954 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
- At the download page, click on the Download button. Your internet browser will open the “Save as” dialog box. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
- Once the download is done, please close all programs and open windows on your PC system. Next, start a file named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
- This will run the “Setup wizard” of Zemana anti malware onto your system. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
- When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the antimalware will run and show the main window.
- Further, click the “Scan” button to begin scanning your personal computer for the hijacker and web browser’s malicious extensions. Depending on your personal computer, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. During the scan it’ll detect all threats exist on your machine.
- When the system scan is done, you may check all threats detected on your PC system.
- Next, you need to click the “Next” button to begin cleaning your PC. Once the task is complete, you may be prompted to reboot the system.
- Close the Zemana Anti-Malware and continue with the next step.
Scan and clean your PC of browser hijacker with Malwarebytes
You can remove SearX redirect automatically with a help of Malwarebytes Free. We recommend this free malware removal utility because it can easily remove browser hijackers, ad supported software, PUPs and toolbars with all their components such as files, folders and registry entries.
- Download Malwarebytes (MBAM) from the link below.
Malwarebytes Anti-malware
297704 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
- Once downloading is finished, close all applications and windows on your PC. Open a folder in which you saved it. Double-click on the icon that’s named mb3-setup.
- Further, press Next button and follow the prompts.
- Once setup is done, click the “Scan Now” button . This will start scanning the whole computer to find out browser hijacker and browser’s malicious extensions.
- When it has finished scanning, it will open a screen which contains a list of malicious software that has been found. Review the scan results and then press “Quarantine Selected”. Once disinfection is finished, you may be prompted to restart your PC system.
The following video offers a few simple steps on how to remove browser hijacker with Malwarebytes.
Use AdwCleaner to remove SearX from the PC
AdwCleaner is a free portable program that scans your machine for ad-supported software, PUPs and hijackers like SearX and allows get rid of them easily. Moreover, it will also help you get rid of any harmful web-browser extensions and add-ons.
- Download AdwCleaner from the link below.
AdwCleaner download
188723 downloads
Version: 8.1
Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
Category: Security tools
Update: February 25, 2021
- When downloading is finished, double click the AdwCleaner icon. Once this utility is started, click “Scan” button . This will start scanning the whole computer to find out SearX browser hijacker . This process can take quite a while, so please be patient. While the tool is scanning, you can see how many objects it has identified either as being malware.
- Once the system scan is finished, it’ll display you the results. Make sure all entries have ‘checkmark’ and press “Clean” button. It will display a prompt, click “OK”.
These few simple steps are shown in detail in the following video guide.
Use AdBlocker to stop SearX and stay safe online
Enabling an ad-blocking program like AdGuard is an effective way to alleviate the risks. Additionally, ad blocker applications will also protect you from dangerous advertisements and web sites, and, of course, block redirection chain to SearX and similar sites.
- Download AdGuard application from the following link.
Adguard download
22580 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
- Once the downloading process is finished, launch the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
- When the installation is complete, click “Skip” to close the installation application and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial which 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 stop pop up ads, sites such SearX, as well as other malicious or misleading sites. For an overview of all the features of the program, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the icon named AdGuard, which is located on your desktop.
Method of SearX browser hijacker infection intrusion into your computer
Most often, the free applications installer includes the optional adware or PUPs such as this hijacker infection. So, be very careful when you agree to install anything. The best way – is to choose a Custom, Advanced or Manual setup mode. Here disable (uncheck) all optional software in which you are unsure or that causes even a slightest suspicion. The main thing you should remember, you don’t need to install the additional programs which you do not trust! The only thing I want to add. Once the freeware is installed, if you uninstall this software, the homepage, new tab and search provider by default of your favorite web browser will not be restored. This must be done by yourself. Just follow the steps above.
Finish words
Once you have finished the step-by-step guidance above, your personal computer should be free from browser hijacker, adware and malware. The Firefox, Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer and MS Edge will no longer open SearX unwanted homepage on startup. Unfortunately, if the step-by-step instructions does not help you, then you have caught a new browser hijacker, and then the best way – ask for help in our Spyware/Malware removal forum.
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