Are your browser’s home page, new tab page and default search provider overridden and when you try to open your startpage, you are automatically redirected to the Discrete Search engine? Then most probably that your PC has been hijacked with potentially unwanted program from the browser hijacker family. It is a type of malicious software that is designed to modify web-browsers settings. To delete the hijacker you need to free your internet browser from any add-ons you have recently installed on your computer and perform a scan using a trustworthy anti malware or antivirus application.
“Discrete Search” engine
The Discrete Search browser hijacker takes over your web browser’s default search provider and controls what will be opened to you whenever you do a searching. Other than the search results, it also provides lots of annoying ads on the search page. Some of these ads created to trick you into buying certain questionable products and software. Moreover, sometimes, those ads could reroute you to misleading or malicious web pages.
It is not a good idea to have an unwanted program such as Discrete Search hijacker on your PC system. The reason for this is simple, it doing things you do not know about. The hijacker can also be used to collect a wide variety of user info which can be later sold to third parties. You don’t know if your home address, account names and passwords are safe. And of course you completely don’t know what will happen when you click on any advertisements on the Discrete Search web-site.
In addition to that, as was mentioned earlier, certain hijacker infections like Discrete Search to also alter all browsers shortcuts that located on your Desktop or Start menu. So, every infected shortcut will try to redirect your browser to annoying web-sites, certain of which might be harmful. It can make the whole PC more vulnerable to hacker attacks.
So, it’s very important to free your PC of hijacker as soon as possible. The step-by-step guide, which is shown below, will assist you to delete Discrete Search extension from the Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and MS Edge and other web-browsers.
How to remove Discrete Search engine
There are several steps to deleting Discrete Search engine, because it installs itself so deeply into MS Windows. You need to remove all suspicious and unknown applications, then remove harmful extensions from the Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer and other web browsers you have installed. Finally, you need to reset your web browser settings to remove any changes Discrete Search browser hijacker has made, and then check your PC with Zemana Anti-malware, Malwarebytes or AdwCleaner to ensure the browser hijacker is fully removed. It will take a while.
Manual Discrete Search removal
The useful removal guide for the Discrete Search extension. The detailed procedure can be followed by anyone as it really does take you step-by-step. If you follow this process to remove Discrete Search engine let us know how you managed by sending us your comments please.
Uninstall Discrete Search associated software by using Windows Control Panel
The best way to begin the machine cleanup is to delete unknown and suspicious applications. Using the Windows Control Panel you can do this quickly and easily. This step, in spite of its simplicity, should not be ignored, because the removing of unneeded programs can clean up the Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Microsoft Internet Explorer from ads hijackers and so on.
Windows 8, 8.1, 10
First, click Windows button
, then press Search 
. Type ‘Control panel’and press Enter like below.
After 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 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 pop-up advertisements and browser redirect to the annoying Discrete Search web-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
First, press ‘Start’ button and select ‘Control Panel’ at right panel like below.
After the Windows ‘Control Panel’ opens, you need to press ‘Uninstall a program’ under ‘Programs’ like below.
You will see a list of software installed on your PC. 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 pop-ups 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 remove is found, simply click on its name, and then press ‘Uninstall’ as shown on the screen below.
Disinfect the web browser’s shortcuts
Unfortunately, the hijacker can also hijack Windows shortcuts (mostly, your browsers shortcuts), so that the Discrete Search startpage will be shown when you start the FF, Chrome, IE and Microsoft Edge or another internet browser.
Open the properties of the browser shortcut. Right click on the shortcut of infected web-browser and choose the “Properties” option and it’ll show the properties of the shortcut. Next, select the “Shortcut” tab and have a look at the Target field as shown on the screen below.
Normally, if the last word in the Target field is chrome.exe, iexplore.exe, firefox.exe. Be sure to pay attention to the extension, should be “exe”! All shortcuts that have been altered by browser hijacker like Discrete Search usually point to .bat, .cmd or .url files instead of .exe like below
Another variant, an address has been added at the end of the line. In this case the Target field looks such as …Application\chrome.exe” http://site.address as shown in the figure below.
In order to fix a shortcut, you need to insert right path to the Target field or remove an address (if it has been added at the end). You can use the following information to fix your shortcuts that have been modified by browser hijacker infection.
| Chrome | C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe |
| C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe | |
| Firefox | C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe |
| Internet Explorer | C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe |
| C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe | |
| Opera | C:\Program Files (x86)\Opera\launcher.exe |
| C:\Program Files\Opera\launcher.exe |
Once is done, click OK to save changes. Repeat the step for all browsers that are redirected to the Discrete Search intrusive web page.
Remove Discrete Search from FF by resetting web-browser settings
Click the Menu button (looks like three horizontal lines), and click the blue Help icon located at the bottom of the drop down menu as on the image below.
A small menu will appear, click the “Troubleshooting Information”. On this page, click “Refresh Firefox” button as on the image below.
Follow the onscreen procedure to return your FF web-browser settings to its original state.
Delete Discrete Search from Internet Explorer
If you find that Internet Explorer web-browser settings like home page, new tab and default search engine having been hijacked, then you may restore your settings, via the reset internet browser procedure.
First, start the Microsoft Internet Explorer. Next, click the button in the form of gear (
). It will open the Tools drop-down menu, click the “Internet Options” as shown in the figure below.
In the “Internet Options” window click on the Advanced tab, then press the Reset button. The Microsoft Internet Explorer will show the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” window as shown on the screen 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.
Remove Discrete Search extension from Chrome
If your Google Chrome browser is redirected to intrusive Discrete Search engine, it may be necessary to completely reset your internet browser program to its default settings.
Open the Chrome menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (
). It will display the drop-down menu. Next, press 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 the “Reset settings” button.
Confirm your action, click the “Reset” button.
How to automatically delete Discrete Search engine
If your system is still infected with the Discrete Search extension, then the best way of detection and removal is to run an anti-malware scan on the computer. Download free malware removal tools below and start a full system scan. It will help you remove all components of the browser hijacker from hardisk and Windows registry.
Use Zemana Anti-malware to get rid of Discrete Search extension
Zemana Anti-malware highly recommended, because it can scan for security threats such adware and browser hijackers that most ‘classic’ antivirus programs fail to pick up on. Moreover, if you have any Discrete Search hijacker removal problems which cannot be fixed by this tool automatically, then Zemana Anti-malware provides 24X7 online assistance from the highly experienced support staff.
- Please download Zemana Anti-Malware to your desktop by clicking on the following link.
Zemana AntiMalware
159530 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
- At the download page, click on the Download button. Your browser will display the “Save as” dialog box. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
- When the download is complete, please close all programs and open windows on your PC system. Next, start a file named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
- This will start the “Setup wizard” of Zemana Anti-Malware onto your PC. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
- When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the Anti Malware will open and open the main window.
- Further, press the “Scan” button for scanning your system for the Discrete Search hijacker infection related files, folders and registry keys. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the count of files on your computer and the speed of your PC system. While the utility is scanning, you can see number of objects it has identified as being infected by malware.
- When the system scan is finished, it’ll open a scan report.
- All found threats will be marked. You can remove them all by simply click the “Next” button. The utility will delete hijacker infection which modifies internet browser settings to replace your startpage, newtab page and default search provider with Discrete Search web-page and move items to the program’s quarantine. When the task is complete, you may be prompted to restart the PC system.
- Close the Zemana Anti Malware and continue with the next step.
How to get rid of Discrete Search with Malwarebytes
You can remove Discrete Search redirect automatically with a help of Malwarebytes Free. We suggest this free malware removal utility because it can easily remove browser hijackers, ad-supported software, potentially unwanted programs and toolbars with all their components such as files, folders and registry entries.
Download Malwarebytes on your computer from the link below. Save it on your Windows desktop or in any other place.
317638 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
After the download is done, close all applications and windows on your PC. Double-click the install file named mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as on the image below, click the “Yes” button.
It will open the “Setup wizard” which will help you install Malwarebytes on your system. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
Once install is finished successfully, click Finish button. Malwarebytes will automatically start and you can see its main screen as on the image below.
Now click the “Scan Now” button for scanning your machine for the browser hijacker which designed to redirect your browser to the Discrete Search web-site. This process can take quite a while, so please be patient. While the utility is checking, you can see how many objects it has identified either as being malware.
As the scanning ends, it’ll display a list of found threats. Review the report and then click “Quarantine Selected” button. The Malwarebytes will start to get rid of browser hijacker that causes web browsers to display intrusive Discrete Search web-page. After disinfection is done, you may be prompted to reboot the personal computer.
We recommend you look at the following video, which completely explains the procedure of using the Malwarebytes to remove ‘ad supported’ software, hijacker and other malicious software.
Remove Discrete Search from web browsers with AdwCleaner
AdwCleaner is a free removal utility that can scan your machine for a wide range of security threats such as adware, browser hijackers like Discrete Search, potentially unwanted programs as well as other malware. It will perform a deep scan of your system including hard drives and Microsoft Windows registry. When a malicious software is detected, it will help you to get rid of all found threats from your PC system by a simple click.
- Download AdwCleaner from the link below.
AdwCleaner download
220747 downloads
Version: 8.3.2
Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 28, 2022
- When downloading is finished, double click the AdwCleaner icon. Once this utility is started, click “Scan” button to perform a system scan for the Discrete Search browser hijacker and other kinds of potential threats such as malicious software and ‘ad supported’ software. While the program is scanning, you may see how many objects it has identified as threat.
- Once the system scan is finished, it will open a list of all items detected by this utility. Review the report and then click “Clean” button. It will display a prompt, press “OK”.
These few simple steps are shown in detail in the following video guide.
How to stop Discrete Search
We suggest to install an adblocker program that can stop Discrete Search and other unwanted sites. The ad blocker tool such as AdGuard is a application which basically removes advertising from the Web and blocks access to malicious sites. Moreover, security experts says that using ad blocking applications is necessary to stay safe when surfing the Net.
Download AdGuard program by clicking on the following link.
25660 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
When downloading is done, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen like below.
Follow the prompts. Once the installation is finished, you will see a window as shown below.
You can press “Skip” to close the install application 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 launch your PC system, AdGuard will launch automatically and block popups, Discrete Search redirect, as well as other malicious or misleading pages. For an overview of all the features of the application, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the AdGuard icon, that is located on your desktop.
How can you prevent the Discrete Search browser hijacker infection
The majority of hijackers like Discrete Search gets onto system by being attached to free programs or even paid programs which Internet users can easily download online. The setup files of such programs, in many cases, clearly indicate that they will install third-party applications. The option is given to users to stop the installation of any additional applications. So, in order to avoid the installation of any browser hijacker infections: read all disclaimers and install screens very carefully, choose only Custom or Advanced install method and uncheck all additional applications in which you are unsure.
Finish words
Now your system should be clean of the Discrete Search redirect. Uninstall AdwCleaner. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted popups and unwanted malicious sites) and Malwarebytes (to periodically scan your personal computer for new hijacker infections, malware and adware). 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 get rid of Discrete Search from the Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox and MS Edge, then ask for help in our Spyware/Malware removal forum.
