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

Also, ‘ad-supported’ software (also known as adware) can be installed on the system together with Searchfwd.com hijacker. It will insert a large amount of advertisements directly to the pages that you view, creating a sense that advertisements has been added by the developers of the page. Moreover, legal ads can be replaced on fake advertisements which will offer to download and install various unnecessary and malicious applications. Moreover, the Searchfwd.com hijacker has the ability to gather a wide variety of personal info which may be later sold to third parties.

A malware that may make certain undesired changes to current settings of web-browsers on Searchfwd.com mostly affects only Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Edge. However, possible situations, when any other internet browsers will be affected too. The Searchfwd.com browser hijacker infection may change the Target property of web browser’s shortcuts, so every time you start the browser, instead of your start page, you will see a completely different web-site.

Thus, it’s clear that the presence of hijacker on your machine is not desirable, and you need to clean up your personal computer as soon as possible. Follow the step by step instructions below in order to remove Searchfwd.com from Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and MS Edge.

How to remove Searchfwd.com redirect

There are a simple manual guidance below which will help you to get rid of Searchfwd.com from your MS Windows PC. The most effective solution to delete this browser hijacker infection is to complete the manual removal guidance and then use Zemana Anti-malware, Malwarebytes or AdwCleaner automatic tools (all are free). The manual method will help to weaken this browser hijacker and these malicious software removal utilities will completely delete Searchfwd.com and restore the Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Edge settings to default.

How to manually delete Searchfwd.com

The useful removal guidance for the Searchfwd.com redirect. The detailed procedure can be followed by anyone as it really does take you step-by-step. If you follow this process to remove Searchfwd.com home page let us know how you managed by sending us your comments please.

Removing the Searchfwd.com, check the list of installed programs first

Some PUPs, browser hijacking programs and ‘ad supported’ software can be removed by uninstalling the free programs they came with. If this way does not succeed, then looking them up in the list of installed applications in MS Windows Control Panel. Use the “Uninstall” command in order to delete them.

It will open the Windows Control Panel as shown below.

Next, click “Uninstall a program”
It will open a list of all applications installed on your system. Scroll through the all list, and remove any suspicious and unknown applications. To quickly find the latest installed programs, we recommend sort programs by date in the Control panel.

Fix infected internet browsers shortcuts to remove Searchfwd.com search

When installed, this browser hijacker may add an argument such as “http://site.address” into the Target property of the desktop shortcut for the FF, Google Chrome, IE and Microsoft Edge. Due to this, every time you start the internet browser, it will open the unwanted homepage.

To clear the internet browser shortcut, right-click to it and select Properties. 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 like “http://site.address” that has been added here. You need to delete it.

When the text is removed, press the OK button. You need to clean all shortcuts of all your browsers, as they may be infected too.

Delete Searchfwd.com from Chrome

In order to be sure that there is nothing left behind, we suggest you to reset Google Chrome web browser. It will restore Chrome settings including home page, newtab and search engine by default to defaults.

Open the Chrome menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (). It will open the drop-down menu. Next, 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 press the “Reset settings” button.

Confirm your action, press the “Reset” button.

Remove Searchfwd.com from FF by resetting web-browser settings

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

First, start the Firefox. Next, click the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (). It will show the drop-down menu. Next, press the Help button ().

In the Help menu click the “Troubleshooting Information”. In the upper-right corner of the “Troubleshooting Information” page click on “Refresh Firefox” button as on the image below.

Confirm your action, click the “Refresh Firefox”.

Delete Searchfwd.com startpage from IE

By resetting Internet Explorer browser you revert back your internet browser settings to its default state. This is first when troubleshooting problems that might have been caused by browser hijacker such as Searchfwd.com.

First, start the Microsoft Internet Explorer, click ) button. Next, click “Internet Options” as on the image below.

In the “Internet Options” screen select the Advanced tab. Next, press Reset button. The Internet Explorer will show the Reset Internet Explorer settings prompt. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box and press Reset button.

You will now need to reboot your PC for the changes to take effect. It will remove Searchfwd.com hijacker infection, disable malicious and ad-supported web-browser’s extensions and restore the Internet Explorer’s settings like startpage, newtab page and search provider by default to default state.

How to delete Searchfwd.com search with free software

If your machine is still infected with the Searchfwd.com hijacker, then the best method of detection and removal is to run an anti-malware scan on the PC. Download free malicious software removal tools below and launch a full system scan. It will allow you remove all components of the hijacker from hardisk and Windows registry.

Scan and free your computer of Searchfwd.com with Zemana Anti-malware

Zemana Anti-malware is a tool which can delete adware, PUPs, hijackers and other malware from your system easily and for free. Zemana Anti-malware is compatible with most antivirus software. It works under Windows (10 – XP, 32 and 64 bit) and uses minimum of computer resources.

Download Zemana anti malware from the link below.

After downloading is finished, start it and follow the prompts. Once installed, the Zemana anti-malware will try to update itself and when this task is complete, press the “Scan” button to start checking your computer for the Searchfwd.com browser hijacker which cause a redirect to Searchfwd.com.

While the program is checking, you can see how many objects it has identified as threat. Review the scan results and then click “Next” button.

The Zemana antimalware will start removing all detected folders, files, services and registry entries.

Scan and free your system of browser hijacker with Malwarebytes

Delete Searchfwd.com browser hijacker manually is difficult and often the hijacker is not completely removed. Therefore, we suggest you to use the Malwarebytes Free which are completely clean your system. Moreover, the free application will help you to remove malicious software, potentially unwanted applications, toolbars and adware that your computer can be infected too.

Download Malwarebytes by clicking on the link below.

After the download is finished, close all programs and windows on your computer. Open a directory in which you saved it. Double-click on the icon that’s named mb3-setup like below.

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

Once install is finished, you will see window as shown on the screen below.

Now click the “Scan Now” button for scanning your PC system for the browser hijacker and internet browser’s malicious extensions. When a malicious software, adware or PUPs are found, the number of the security threats will change accordingly.

Once the scanning is done, you can check all items found on your PC system. When you’re ready, click “Quarantine Selected” button.

The Malwarebytes will begin removing Searchfwd.com browser hijacker related files, folders, registry keys. Once disinfection is finished, you may be prompted to restart your personal computer.

The following video explains guide on how to delete browser hijacker and other malware with Malwarebytes Anti-malware.

Scan and clean your PC of browser hijacker with AdwCleaner

AdwCleaner is a free portable program that scans your PC for ad supported software, potentially unwanted software and browser hijacker infections like Searchfwd.com and helps delete them easily. Moreover, it will also help you remove any harmful internet browser extensions and add-ons.

Download AdwCleaner tool by clicking on the link below. Save it to your Desktop so that you can access the file easily.

When downloading is finished, open the directory in which you saved it and double-click the AdwCleaner icon. It will run the AdwCleaner tool and you will see a screen as on the image below. If the User Account Control dialog box will ask you want to display the program, press Yes button to continue.

Next, click “Scan” . This will start scanning the whole computer to find out Searchfwd.com hijacker and other malware and ad-supported software. Depending on your PC, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. While the utility is checking, you may see count of objects and files has already scanned.

When it completes the scan is finished, it’ll display a screen which contains a list of malicious software that has been found as shown on the screen below.

Review the report and then click “Clean” button. It will open a dialog box. Click “OK” to start the cleaning process. Once the cleaning process is done, the AdwCleaner may ask you to reboot your personal computer. After reboot, the AdwCleaner will show the log file.

All the above steps are shown in detail in the following video instructions.

Block Searchfwd.com redirect and other undesired web pages

If you surf the Internet, you can’t avoid malvertising. But you can protect your internet browser against it. Download and use an adblocker application. AdGuard is an ad blocker that can filter out a huge number of of the malvertising, stoping dynamic scripts from loading harmful content.

1. Download AdGuard program from the following link.
   

   Adguard download
   26660 downloads
   Version: 6.4
   Author: © Adguard
   Category: Security tools
   Update: November 15, 2018
   
2. After downloading is finished, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
3. Once the installation is complete, click “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will assist you get to know AdGuard better.
4. In most cases, the default settings are enough and you do not need to change anything. Each time, when you launch your system, AdGuard will start automatically and stop popups, web pages such Searchfwd.com, 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, that can be found on your desktop.

How to Searchfwd.com hijacker get installed onto PC system

The Searchfwd.com hijacker is bundled within various free programs. This means that you need to be very careful when installing applications downloaded from the Internet, 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 install method, switch off all additional modules and applications are offered to install.

Finish words

Now your computer should be clean of the Searchfwd.com home page. Uninstall AdwCleaner. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted pop-ups and annoying harmful web sites) and Malwarebytes (to periodically scan your machine 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 remove Searchfwd.com from the Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer and MS Edge, then ask for help in our Spyware/Malware removal forum.