How to remove TheGameSearcher Search [Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge]

According to experienced security professionals, TheGameSearcher Search is a PUP (potentially unwanted program) from the group of hijackers. Once your web-browser is affected by this hijacker infection, it takes over your browser like Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Chrome and Microsoft Internet Explorer. TheGameSearcher Search hijacker infection changes your web browser’s settings, including new tab, default search provider and homepage, and installs unwanted plugins deep inside your system. This is the main reason why you need to remove it from your personal computer and return your web-browser search provider and home page back to the default.

In addition, the TheGameSearcher Search browser hijacker infection can also alter the search provider selected in the internet browser. When you try to search on the affected browser, you will be presented with search results, consisting of advertisements and Google (or Yahoo, or Bing) search results for your query. Among these search results can occur links that lead to unwanted and ad sites.

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

The TheGameSearcher Search hijacker infection may alter web-browsers settings, but often that the undesired software can also infect all types of browsers by changing their desktop shortcuts. Thus forcing the user to see TheGameSearcher Search unwanted site every time open the web browser.

So, it’s very important to clean your PC system of browser hijacker ASAP. The step-by-step guidance, which is shown below, will allow you to remove TheGameSearcher Search start page from the Edge, Chrome, FF and Microsoft Internet Explorer and other browsers.

Remove TheGameSearcher Search (removal guidance)

There are a simple manual steps below that will help you to remove TheGameSearcher Search from your MS Windows machine. The most effective way to delete this browser hijacker is to complete the manual removal tutorial and then run Zemana, MalwareBytes Free or Hitman Pro automatic tools (all are free). The manual solution will assist to weaken this browser hijacker and these malware removal utilities will completely get rid of TheGameSearcher Search and return the MS Edge, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Google Chrome settings to default.

To remove TheGameSearcher Search, execute the following steps:

1. Remove TheGameSearcher Search without any utilities
   • Uninstall TheGameSearcher Search related programs through the Control Panel of your computer
   • Delete TheGameSearcher Search from Firefox by resetting browser settings
   • Remove TheGameSearcher Search redirect from Internet Explorer
   • Remove TheGameSearcher Search from Chrome
   • Clean up the web browsers shortcuts that have been hijacked by TheGameSearcher Search
2. TheGameSearcher Search automatic removal
   • How to remove TheGameSearcher Search with Zemana Free
   • Use Hitman Pro to remove TheGameSearcher Search from the personal computer
   • Remove TheGameSearcher Search redirect with Malwarebytes
3. Run AdBlocker to block TheGameSearcher Search and stay safe online
4. Why has my homepage and search engine changed to TheGameSearcher Search?
5. To sum up

Remove TheGameSearcher Search without any utilities

Read this section to know how to manually get rid of the TheGameSearcher Search hijacker. Even if the steps does not work for you, there are several free malicious software removers below that can easily handle such browser hijacker infections.

Uninstall TheGameSearcher Search related programs through the Control Panel of your computer

First of all, check the list of installed software on your computer and delete all unknown and recently installed apps. If you see an unknown program with incorrect spelling or varying capital letters, it have most likely been installed by malicious software and you should clean it off first with malicious software removal tool such as Zemana Anti-malware.

It will show the Windows Control Panel as displayed on the image below.

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

Delete TheGameSearcher Search from Firefox by resetting browser settings

If your Mozilla Firefox internet browser start page has modified to TheGameSearcher Search without your permission or an unknown search provider displays results for your search, then it may be time to perform the web browser reset.

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 displayed 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 revert back your Firefox internet browser settings to its original state.

Remove TheGameSearcher Search redirect from Internet Explorer

If you find that Internet Explorer browser settings like search provider by default, home page and newtab having been hijacked, then you may return your settings, via the reset web-browser process.

First, start the Internet Explorer. Next, click the button in the form of gear (). It will display the Tools drop-down menu, click the “Internet Options” as displayed in the figure below.

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

You will now need to restart your personal computer for the changes to take effect.

Remove TheGameSearcher Search from Chrome

Like other modern web-browsers, the Chrome has the ability to reset the settings to their default values and thereby recover the browser home page, search provider by default and newtab that have been changed by the TheGameSearcher Search hijacker.

First open the Google Chrome. Next, press the button in the form of three horizontal dots ().

It will show the Chrome menu. Select More Tools, then click Extensions. Carefully browse through the list of installed extensions. If the list has the plugin signed with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following instructions: Remove Google Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.

Open the Google Chrome menu once again. Further, click the option named “Settings”.

The web-browser will display the settings screen. Another way to show the Chrome’s settings – type chrome://settings in the internet browser adress bar and press Enter

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the “Advanced” link. Now scroll down until the “Reset” section is visible, as displayed in the figure below and press the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.

The Chrome will show the confirmation prompt as shown below.

You need to confirm your action, click the “Reset” button. The internet browser will start the process of cleaning. After it is complete, the internet browser’s settings including search provider by default, newtab and home page back to the values that have been when the Google Chrome was first installed on your machine.

Clean up the web browsers shortcuts that have been hijacked by TheGameSearcher Search

Unfortunately, the browser hijacker infection responsible for redirects to TheGameSearcher Search, can also hijack Windows shortcut files (mostly, your web-browsers shortcuts), so that the TheGameSearcher Search startpage will be opened when you launch the FF, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and MS Edge or another browser.

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 file for the internet browser which is redirected to the TheGameSearcher Search or other unwanted website.

Further, necessary to look at the text which is written in the “Target” field. The browser hijacker infection responsible for changing your web browser settings to TheGameSearcher Search can replace the contents of this field, which describes the file to be run when you run your internet browser. Depending on the web browser you’re using, there should be:

• Google Chrome: chrome.exe
• Opera: opera.exe
• Firefox: firefox.exe
• Internet Explorer: iexplore.exe

If you’re seeing an unknown text like “http://site.addres” that has been added here, then you should remove it, as displayed in the following example.

Next, press the “OK” button to save the changes. Now, when you run the browser from this desktop shortcut file, it does not occur automatically redirect on the TheGameSearcher Search website or any other unwanted web sites. Once the step is complete, we recommend to go to the next step.

TheGameSearcher Search automatic removal

There are not many good free anti-malware programs with high detection ratio. The effectiveness of malicious software removal tools depends on various factors, mostly on how often their virus/malware signatures DB are updated in order to effectively detect modern malicious software, ad-supported software, browser hijacker infections and other PUPs. We suggest to run several programs, not just one. These programs which listed below will allow you remove all components of the hijacker from your disk and Windows registry and thereby remove TheGameSearcher Search home page.

How to remove TheGameSearcher Search with Zemana Free

We advise using the Zemana that are completely clean your PC of the browser hijacker infection. The tool is an advanced malware removal program made by (c) Zemana lab. It is able to help you get rid of potentially unwanted applications, browser hijackers, ad supported software, malware, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your personal computer for free.

Download Zemana from the link below.

When downloading is finished, close all windows on your system. Further, launch the install file called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up as shown in the figure below, click the “Yes” button.

It will display the “Setup wizard” that will help you install Zemana Anti Malware on the system. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.

Once installation is complete successfully, Zemana will automatically start and you can see its main window as shown below.

Next, click the “Scan” button . Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) utility will begin scanning the whole computer to find out hijacker infection responsible for redirects to TheGameSearcher Search. This procedure can take some time, so please be patient. While the tool is scanning, you can see how many objects and files has already scanned.

Once that process is finished, a list of all threats found is created. Review the results once the utility has finished the system scan. If you think an entry should not be quarantined, then uncheck it. Otherwise, simply click “Next” button.

The Zemana Anti Malware will remove browser hijacker that alters web browser settings to replace your default search provider, new tab and start page with TheGameSearcher Search site. After that process is complete, you may be prompted to restart your PC system.

Use Hitman Pro to remove TheGameSearcher Search from the personal computer

HitmanPro is a free removal utility. It removes PUPs, adware, browser hijacker infections and undesired internet browser add-ons. It will scan for and delete hijacker that cause a redirect to TheGameSearcher Search website. Hitman Pro uses very small PC resources and is a portable program. Moreover, Hitman Pro does add another layer of malware protection.

Please go to the link below to download the latest version of HitmanPro for Windows. Save it on your Microsoft Windows desktop.

Download and use HitmanPro on your machine. Once started, click “Next” button to scan for hijacker which cause TheGameSearcher Search website to appear. A scan may take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the count of files on your system and the speed of your system. While the Hitman Pro program is scanning, you may see how many objects it has identified as threat..

After the scanning is finished, Hitman Pro will open a screen that contains a list of malicious software that has been detected.

Next, you need to press Next button.

It will open a dialog box, click the “Activate free license” button to start the free 30 days trial to remove all malware found.

Remove TheGameSearcher Search redirect with Malwarebytes

Remove TheGameSearcher Search hijacker manually is difficult and often the hijacker is not completely removed. Therefore, we advise you to use the Malwarebytes Free that are completely clean your machine. Moreover, the free application will help you to remove malware, potentially unwanted software, toolbars and ‘ad supported’ software that your computer may be infected too.

1. Visit the page linked below to download the latest version of MalwareBytes AntiMalware for Windows. Save it directly to your Windows Desktop.
   
   

   Malwarebytes Anti-malware
   326460 downloads
   Author: Malwarebytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: April 15, 2020
   
2. When downloading is done, close all software and windows on your system. Open a folder in which you saved it. Double-click on the icon that’s named mb3-setup.
3. Further, click Next button and follow the prompts.
4. Once installation is done, click the “Scan Now” button . MalwareBytes program will scan through the whole personal computer for the browser hijacker that causes browsers to display undesired TheGameSearcher Search webpage. This process can take quite a while, so please be patient. While the MalwareBytes Anti-Malware tool is checking, you can see number of objects it has identified as being infected by malicious software.
5. As the scanning ends, MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) will display a scan report. Next, you need to press “Quarantine Selected”. Once that process is done, you can be prompted to reboot your personal computer.

The following video offers a few simple steps on how to remove hijackers, adware and other malicious software with MalwareBytes.

Run AdBlocker to block TheGameSearcher Search and stay safe online

The AdGuard is a very good ad-blocking application for the FF, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer, with active user support. It does a great job by removing certain types of intrusive advertisements, popunders, pop-ups, unwanted newtab pages, and even full page ads and web site overlay layers. Of course, the AdGuard can stop the TheGameSearcher Search redirect automatically or by using a custom filter rule.

Download AdGuard from the link below.

After downloading it, double-click the downloaded file to start it. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen as shown in the figure below.

Follow the prompts. AdGuard will then be installed and an icon will be placed on your desktop. A window will show up asking you to confirm that you want to see a quick guidance as shown in the following example.

Click “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick guide which will allow you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you start your PC system, AdGuard will launch automatically and block pop up ads, TheGameSearcher Search redirect, as well as other harmful or misleading websites. 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 can be found on your desktop.

Why has my homepage and search engine changed to TheGameSearcher Search?

Many of the free programs out there install undesired browser toolbars, ad supported software and potentially unwanted programs such as the browser hijacker infection that responsible for web browser redirect to the annoying TheGameSearcher Search web site along with them without your knowledge. One has to be attentive while installing freeware in order to avoid accidentally installing optional applications. It is important that you pay attention to the EULA (End User License Agreements) and choose the Custom, Manual or Advanced installation option as it will typically disclose what optional apps will also be installed.

To sum up

After completing the few simple steps outlined above, your personal computer should be clean from browser hijacker responsible for TheGameSearcher Search redirect and other malware. The Edge, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and FF will no longer open annoying TheGameSearcher Search webpage on startup. Unfortunately, if the guide 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.