How to remove Search.gikix.com [Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge]

The Search.gikix.com is defined as browser hijacker. It affects internet browsers and makes various changes to its settings such as home page, newtab and search engine by default. It is currently very active spreading on the Internet. Many users have problems with cleaning a personal computer from Search.gikix.com start page and restoring the Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox and Microsoft Edge settings.

http://search.gikix.com/

Most often, the Search.gikix.com browser hijacker affects most common web-browsers like Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox and Edge. But such hijackers as well may infect other internet browsers by changing its shortcuts (adding ‘http://site.address’ into Target field of web browser’s shortcut). So every time you start the web browser, it’ll show Search.gikix.com page. Even if you setup your start page again, the intrusive Search.gikix.com web-site will be the first thing that you see when you start the internet browser.

Table of contents

What is Search.gikix.com
Remove Search.gikix.com homepage
1. How to manually remove Search.gikix.com
2. How to delete Search.gikix.com with free software
How to block Search.gikix.com home page
How to avoid setup of Search.gikix.com browser hijacker infection
Finish words

The Search.gikix.com hijacker can also change the default search engine that will virtually block the possibility of finding information on the World Wide Web. The reason for this is that the Search.gikix.com search results can open a huge count of ads, links to unwanted and ad web sites. Only the remaining part is the result of your search request, loaded from the major search providers like Google, Yahoo or Bing.

Some browser hijacker infections also contain ‘ad-supported’ software (also known as adware) that can be used to open annoying advertisements and or collect lots of personal info that can be sold to third parties. These unwanted advertisements can be opened in the form of pop-unders, pop-ups, in-text ads, video advertisements, text links or banners or even massive full page advertisements. Most of the ‘ad supported’ software is created to display advertisements, but some ad supported software is form of spyware that often used to track users to gather a wide variety of user data.

We strongly recommend that you perform the steps below which will assist you to remove Search.gikix.com using the standard features of Windows and some proven free programs.

Remove Search.gikix.com home page

The following guidance will allow you to get rid of Search.gikix.com search from the Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox and MS Edge. Moreover, the few simple steps below will allow you to delete malware such as potentially unwanted programs, adware and toolbars that your PC may be infected. Please do the guidance step by step. If you need help or have any questions, then ask for our assistance or type a comment below. Read it once, after doing so, please print this page as you may need to close your internet browser or reboot your system.

If you are using an Apple computer running Mac OS, then use the following guidance How to remove browser hijacker, pop-ups, advertisements from Mac

How to manually remove Search.gikix.com

The step-by-step guide will help you get rid of Search.gikix.com . These Search.gikix.com removal steps work for the Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge, as well as every version of Windows operating system.

Remove Search.gikix.com related applications through the Control Panel of your machine

First, you should try to identify and remove the application that causes the appearance of unwanted ads or browser redirect, using the ‘Uninstall a program’ which is located in the ‘Control panel’.

Windows 8, 8.1, 10

First, press Windows button

, then click Search

. Type ‘Control panel’and press Enter as shown below.

When the ‘Control Panel’ opens, click the ‘Uninstall a program’ link under Programs category as shown below.

You will see the ‘Uninstall a program’ panel as shown in the figure below.

Very carefully look around the entire list of software installed on your system. Most likely, one or more of them are responsible for the appearance of pop-up ads and internet browser redirect to the unwanted Search.gikix.com site. If you have many programs installed, you can help simplify the search of dangerous software by sort the list by date of installation. Once you have found a suspicious, unwanted or unused program, right click to it, after that press ‘Uninstall’.

Windows XP, Vista, 7

First, click ‘Start’ button and select ‘Control Panel’ at right panel as shown in the figure below.

When the Windows ‘Control Panel’ opens, you need to click ‘Uninstall a program’ under ‘Programs’ as shown in the figure below.

You will see a list of software installed on your computer. We recommend to sort the list by date of installation to quickly find the programs that were installed last. Most likely they responsibility for the appearance of pop-up advertisements 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 application which you need to delete is found, simply press on its name, and then press ‘Uninstall’ as on the image below.

Fix web browser shortcuts, modified by Search.gikix.com hijacker infection

A browser hijacker 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 such as http://site.address/.

Click the right mouse button to a desktop shortcut which you use to launch 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.gikix.com or other undesired web page.

Further, necessary to look at the text which is written in the “Target” field. The hijacker infection can rewrite the contents of this field, which describes the file to be launch when you run your web browser. Depending on the 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 similar “http://site.addres” which has been added here, then you should remove it, as shown in the figure below.

Next, click the “OK” button to save the changes. Now, when you start the internet browser from this desktop shortcut, it does not occur automatically reroute on the Search.gikix.com page or any other annoying sites. Once the step is finished, we recommend to go to the next step.

Remove Search.gikix.com from Chrome

Like other modern internet browsers, the Chrome has the ability to reset the settings to their default values and thereby restore the new tab, startpage and search engine by default that have been changed by the Search.gikix.com hijacker.

First launch the Chrome. Next, click the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (). It will open the main menu. Further, press 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 open 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 on the screen 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 browser will start the task of cleaning. Once it’s complete, the browser’s settings including home page, new tab page and default search provider back to the values that have been when the Google Chrome was first installed on your computer.

Get rid of Search.gikix.com start page from Firefox

If the FF browser program is hijacked, then resetting its settings can help. The Reset feature is available on all modern version of Mozilla Firefox. A reset can fix many issues by restoring Mozilla Firefox settings such as homepage, new tab and search engine by default to its default state. It will save your personal information like saved passwords, bookmarks, and open tabs.

Launch the FF and click the menu button (it looks like three stacked lines) at the top right of the web browser screen. Next, click the question-mark icon at the bottom of the drop-down menu. It will open the slide-out menu.

Select the “Troubleshooting information”. If you’re unable to access the Help menu, then type “about:support” in your address bar and press Enter. It bring up the “Troubleshooting Information” page like below.

Click the “Refresh Firefox” button at the top right of the Troubleshooting Information page. Select “Refresh Firefox” in the confirmation prompt. The Mozilla Firefox will start a process to fix your problems that caused by the Search.gikix.com browser hijacker infection. Once, it’s finished, click the “Finish” button.

Delete Search.gikix.com start page from Microsoft Internet Explorer

To restore the homepage, newtab and search engine by default you need to reset the Internet Explorer to the state, which was when the Microsoft Windows was installed on your system.

First, open the Internet Explorer. Next, press the button in the form of gear (). It will show the Tools drop-down menu, click the “Internet Options” like below.

In the “Internet Options” window click on the Advanced tab, then click the Reset button. The Microsoft Internet Explorer will open the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” window like below. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box, then click “Reset” button.

You will now need to restart your PC system for the changes to take effect.

How to delete Search.gikix.com with free software

Many antivirus companies have made software that help detect and delete hijacker infection, and thereby revert back all your typical internet browsers settings. Below is a a few of the free applications you may want to run. You computer may have a lot of potentially unwanted programs, adware and hijackers installed at the same time, so we recommend, if any unwanted or malicious program returns after restarting the computer, then boot your machine into Safe Mode and run the antimalware tool again.

How to get rid of Search.gikix.com with Zemana Anti-malware

We recommend using the Zemana Anti-malware which are completely clean your computer of the browser hijacker. The tool is an advanced malicious software removal application developed by (c) Zemana lab. It’s able to help you remove PUPs, hijackers, ‘ad supported’ software, malicious software, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your computer for free.

Please download Zemana antimalware to your desktop by clicking on the following link.

Zemana AntiMalware
164117 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
At the download page, click on the Download button. Your internet browser will display the “Save as” prompt. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
After downloading is complete, please close all programs and open windows on your system. Next, run a file named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
This will start the “Setup wizard” of Zemana anti malware onto your computer. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the antimalware will launch and show the main window.
Further, click the “Scan” button to perform a system scan with this utility for the browser hijacker that redirects your web-browser to the Search.gikix.com annoying site. This task can take some time, so please be patient. During the scan it’ll detect all threats exist on your system.
When it completes the scan, the results are displayed in the scan report.
When you are ready, click the “Next” button to begin cleaning your personal computer. Once the process is finished, you may be prompted to restart the computer.
Close the Zemana Anti-Malware and continue with the next step.

Automatically remove Search.gikix.com with Malwarebytes

Manual Search.gikix.com removal requires some computer skills. Some files and registry entries that created by the browser hijacker can be not completely removed. We suggest that run the Malwarebytes Free that are completely clean your personal computer of browser hijacker. Moreover, the free application will help you to remove malicious software, potentially unwanted programs, ‘ad supported’ software and toolbars that your computer can be infected too.

Download Malwarebytes by clicking on the link below.

Malwarebytes Anti-malware
326469 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020

After downloading is finished, close all programs and windows on your PC system. Open a directory in which you saved it. Double-click on the icon that’s named mb3-setup as shown in the figure below.

When the setup starts, you will see the “Setup wizard” which will help you install Malwarebytes on your machine.

Once setup is done, you will see window as shown below.

Now click the “Scan Now” button for checking your PC system for the browser hijacker infection and other malicious software and adware. This task can take some time, so please be patient. When a threat is found, the number of the security threats will change accordingly.

Once the checking is complete, you’ll be opened the list of all found threats on your PC system. In order to delete all threats, simply click “Quarantine Selected” button.

The Malwarebytes will begin removing Search.gikix.com hijacker infection related files, folders, registry keys. Once disinfection is finished, you may be prompted to restart your machine.

The following video explains step-by-step tutorial on how to remove browser hijacker with Malwarebytes Anti-malware.

If the problem with Search.gikix.com start page is still remained

AdwCleaner is a free removal utility that can be downloaded and run to get rid of browser hijacker infections, ad supported software, malicious software, potentially unwanted applications, toolbars and other threats from your machine. You can run this utility to scan for threats even if you have an antivirus or any other security application.

Download AdwCleaner from the following link.

AdwCleaner download
225301 downloads
Version: 8.4.1
Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
Category: Security tools
Update: October 5, 2024
Select the folder in which you saved it as Desktop, and then press Save.
After the download is finished, start the AdwCleaner, double-click the adwcleaner_xxx.exe file.
If the “User Account Control” prompts, press Yes to continue.
Read the “Terms of use”, and press Accept.
In the AdwCleaner window, click the “Scan” to perform a system scan with this utility for the Search.gikix.com browser hijacker and web browser’s malicious extensions. This process may take quite a while, so please be patient. When a malicious software, ad-supported software or potentially unwanted software are found, the number of the security threats will change accordingly.
Once the checking is finished, you can check all items detected on your personal computer. Review the scan results and then click “Clean”. If the AdwCleaner will ask you to restart your computer, click “OK”.

The step-by-step guidance shown in detail in the following video.

How to block Search.gikix.com startpage

It’s important to use ad blocker programs such as AdGuard to protect your personal computer from harmful web-sites. Most security experts says that it is okay to block ads. You should do so just to stay safe! And, of course, the AdGuard can to stop Search.gikix.com and other unwanted web sites.

Download AdGuard application from the following link.

Once the downloading process is done, run the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen as shown in the figure below.

Follow the prompts. Once the setup 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 which 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 run your personal computer, AdGuard will start automatically and stop ads, web sites such Search.gikix.com, as well as other harmful 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, that can be found on your desktop.

How to avoid setup of Search.gikix.com browser hijacker infection

The Search.gikix.com hijacker spreads in the composition, together with various free software. This means that you need to be very careful when installing programs downloaded from the World Wide 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 setup mode, switch off all additional modules and applications are offered to install.

Finish words

Now your personal computer should be free of the Search.gikix.com . Uninstall AdwCleaner. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted pop ups and undesired malicious web-pages) and Malwarebytes (to periodically scan your personal computer for new browser hijackers, malware and ad-supported software). Probably you are running an older version of Java or Adobe Flash Player. This can be a security risk, so download and install the latest version right now.

If you are still having problems while trying to delete Search.gikix.com from the Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and Edge, then ask for help in our Spyware/Malware removal forum.