How to remove Search Protector Search [Virus removal guide]

If your newtab page, home page and search provider by default keeps modifying back to the annoying web site named Search Protector Search,then that’s a clear sign that you have a malware from the browser hijacker family installed on your machine. It is a type of unwanted software. Scammers use malware to take control of your PC system’s web-browser and change how and what it displays when you are surfing the Internet. If you’re already a victim of Search Protector Search hijacker, then the following few simple steps can help you clean the Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, FF and IE from the hackers, boost internet browser security and return web browser settings.

When the Search Protector Search browser hijacker is installed on a internet browser, it might:

• set Search Protector Search as search engine, new tab page, and startpage;
• prevent users from replacing search engine or homepage address;
• reroute your queries to sponsored webpages;
• provide altered search results;
• record your search queries;
• occasionally redirects to questionable pages;
• show annoying ads;
• gather Internet surfing habits and transfer it to third parties.

Another reason why you need to delete Search Protector Search is its online data-tracking activity. It can collect user information, including:

• IP addresses;
• URLs visited;
• search queries/terms;
• clicks on links and advertisements;
• browser version information.

In addition to that, as was mentioned earlier, some browser hijacker infections such as Search Protector Search to also alter all web browsers shortcuts which located on your Desktop or Start menu. So, every infected shortcut will try to reroute your browser to unwanted web-sites, certain of which might be harmful. It can make the whole system more vulnerable to hacker attacks.

In order to remove hijacker that cause Search Protector Search webpage to appear from your machine, clean the affected web browsers and restore the Internet Explorer, Edge, Firefox and Google Chrome settings to its default state, please use the Search Protector Search removal guidance below.

How to remove Search Protector Search from Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge

There are several steps to uninstalling Search Protector Search , because it installs itself so deeply into MS Windows. You need to delete all suspicious and unknown apps, then delete harmful add-ons from the Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, MS Edge and Microsoft Internet Explorer and other internet browsers you’ve installed. Finally, you need to reset your browser settings to get rid of any changes Search Protector Search hijacker has made, and then check your computer with Zemana Free, MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) or HitmanPro to ensure the hijacker infection is fully removed. It will take a while.

To remove Search Protector Search, complete the following steps:

1. Manual Search Protector Search home page removal
   • Uninstall Search Protector Search associated software by using MS Windows Control Panel
   • Fix web-browser shortcuts, altered by Search Protector Search browser hijacker infection
   • Remove Search Protector Search from Firefox by resetting internet browser settings
   • Remove Search Protector Search from Google Chrome
   • Get rid of Search Protector Search from Internet Explorer
2. Scan your personal computer and get rid of Search Protector Search with free tools
   • How to automatically delete Search Protector Search with Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM)
   • Remove Search Protector Search from internet browsers with HitmanPro
   • Remove Search Protector Search redirect with Malwarebytes
3. Stop Search Protector Search redirect and other annoying sites
4. Prevent Search Protector Search hijacker infection from installing
5. To sum up

Manual Search Protector Search home page removal

Steps to get rid of Search Protector Search hijacker without any apps are presented below. Be sure to carry out the step-by-step guidance completely to fully remove this annoying Search Protector Search .

Uninstall Search Protector Search associated software by using MS Windows Control Panel

In order to get rid of Search Protector Search, first thing you need to do is to delete unknown and questionable programs from your computer using Microsoft Windows control panel. When uninstalling this browser hijacker infection, check the list of installed applications and try to find suspicious applications and uninstall them all. Pay special attention to recently installed software, as it is most probably that the Search Protector Search browser hijacker infection сame along with it.

Carefully browse through the list of installed applications and remove all questionable and unknown software. We suggest to press ‘Installed programs’ and even sorts all installed applications by date. When you’ve found anything dubious that may be the browser hijacker infection which redirects your web browser to intrusive Search Protector Search webpage or other potentially unwanted application (PUA), then choose this application and click ‘Uninstall’ in the upper part of the window. If the questionable application blocked from removal, then run Revo Uninstaller Freeware to fully remove it from your computer.

Fix web-browser shortcuts, altered by Search Protector Search browser hijacker infection

After installed, the hijacker that cause Search Protector Search to appear, may add an argument similar to “http://site.address” into the Target property of the desktop shortcut file for the Internet Explorer, Chrome, FF and Microsoft Edge. Due to this, every time you launch the browser, it will display an intrusive web page.

Right click on the web-browser’s shortcut, click Properties option. 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 “http://site.address” which has been added here. Remove everything after .exe. An example, for Google Chrome you should remove everything after chrome.exe.

To save changes, click OK . You need to clean all web-browser’s shortcut files. So, repeat this step for the MS Edge, Firefox, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer.

Remove Search Protector Search from Firefox by resetting internet browser settings

If your Firefox browser home page has changed to Search Protector Search without your permission or an unknown search provider displays results for your search, then it may be time to perform the internet browser reset.

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 displayed in the following example.

Confirm your action, click the “Refresh Firefox”.

Remove Search Protector Search from Google Chrome

If your Chrome web-browser is rerouted to unwanted Search Protector Search web page, it may be necessary to completely reset your web browser program to its default settings.

1. First, start the Chrome and click the Menu icon (icon in the form of three dots).
2. It will display the Chrome main menu. Select More Tools, then click Extensions.
3. You will see the list of installed addons. If the list has the extension labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following tutorial: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
4. Now open the Google Chrome menu once again, click the “Settings” menu.
5. Next, click “Advanced” link, which located at the bottom of the Settings page.
6. On the bottom of the “Advanced settings” page, click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
7. The Chrome will show the reset settings dialog box as shown on the image above.
8. Confirm the web-browser’s reset by clicking on the “Reset” button.
9. To learn more, read the article How to reset Google Chrome settings to default.

Get rid of Search Protector Search from Internet Explorer

By resetting IE web 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 Search Protector Search.

First, open the Internet Explorer, click ) button. Next, click “Internet Options” as displayed on the screen below.

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

You will now need to restart your computer for the changes to take effect. It will remove browser hijacker that changes web browser settings to replace your search provider, startpage and new tab page with Search Protector Search webpage, disable malicious and ad-supported web browser’s extensions and restore the Internet Explorer’s settings like start page, new tab page and search engine by default to default state.

Scan your personal computer and get rid of Search Protector Search with free tools

There are not many good free anti-malware applications with high detection ratio. The effectiveness of malware 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 hijackers and other PUPs. We recommend to run several programs, not just one. These applications which listed below will help you get rid of all components of the hijacker from your disk and Windows registry and thereby remove Search Protector Search .

How to automatically delete Search Protector Search with Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM)

We recommend using the Zemana. You can download and install Zemana AntiMalware to search for and get rid of Search Protector Search from your computer. When installed and updated, the malicious software remover will automatically scan and detect all threats present on the PC system.

1. Zemana can be downloaded from the following link. Save it to your Desktop.
   
   

   Zemana AntiMalware
   164861 downloads
   Author: Zemana Ltd
   Category: Security tools
   Update: July 16, 2019
   
2. At the download page, click on the Download button. Your web browser will open the “Save as” dialog box. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
3. When downloading is finished, please close all apps and open windows on your personal computer. Next, run a file named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
4. This will open the “Setup wizard” of Zemana Free onto your computer. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
5. When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the Zemana Free will open and display the main window.
6. Further, press the “Scan” button . Zemana Free program will scan through the whole PC for the hijacker which cause Search Protector Search web page to appear. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your system. While the Zemana Free application is checking, you can see number of objects it has identified as threat.
7. When finished, Zemana will show a screen that contains a list of malware that has been detected.
8. Once you’ve selected what you want to remove from your machine click the “Next” button. The tool will begin to remove hijacker infection that redirects your internet browser to undesired Search Protector Search web site. When finished, you may be prompted to restart the machine.
9. Close the Zemana Anti Malware and continue with the next step.

Remove Search Protector Search from internet browsers with HitmanPro

HitmanPro is a portable program that requires no hard setup to search for and remove hijacker infection responsible for Search Protector Search redirect. The program itself is small in size (only a few Mb). HitmanPro does not need any drivers and special dlls. It’s probably easier to use than any alternative malware removal tools you have ever tried. HitmanPro works on 64 and 32-bit versions of Windows 10, 8, 7 and XP. It proves that removal utility can be just as useful as the widely known antivirus programs.

1. Installing the HitmanPro is simple. First you’ll need to download Hitman Pro from the following link.
   
   

   HitmanPro
   12220 downloads
   Author: Sophos
   Category: Security tools
   Update: June 28, 2018
   
2. After the downloading process is done, double click the HitmanPro icon. Once this utility is started, click “Next” button for checking your machine for the hijacker infection that responsible for browser reroute to the undesired Search Protector Search web page. This task can take some time, so please be patient. During the scan Hitman Pro will scan for threats exist on your machine.
3. Once Hitman Pro has finished scanning, the results are displayed in the scan report. Next, you need to click “Next” button. Now click the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial to delete all malicious software found.

Remove Search Protector Search redirect with Malwarebytes

We suggest using the Malwarebytes Free. You may download and install Malwarebytes to find and remove Search Protector Search from your personal computer. When installed and updated, the free malicious software remover will automatically scan and detect all threats exist on the computer.

Visit the following page to download the latest version of MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) for Microsoft Windows. Save it on your Windows desktop.

When the download is finished, close all windows on your machine. Further, start the file called mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up as shown on the image below, press the “Yes” button.

It will open the “Setup wizard” which will assist you install MalwareBytes on the computer. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.

Once installation is finished successfully, click Finish button. Then MalwareBytes Free will automatically run and you may see its main window as displayed in the figure below.

Next, press the “Scan Now” button . MalwareBytes Free utility will start scanning the whole computer to find out browser hijacker responsible for Search Protector Search . This procedure can take some time, so please be patient. During the scan MalwareBytes will search for threats present on your computer.

When the scan get finished, MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) will show a screen which contains a list of malware that has been detected. In order to delete all items, simply press “Quarantine Selected” button.

The MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) will remove Search Protector Search hijacker and other browser’s malicious plugins. After that process is finished, you may be prompted to restart your system. We recommend you look at the following video, which completely explains the procedure of using the MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) to delete browser hijacker infections, ad supported software and other malicious software.

Stop Search Protector Search redirect and other annoying sites

It’s also critical to protect your web browsers from malicious websites and ads by using an ad blocking program like AdGuard. Security experts says that it’ll greatly reduce the risk of malicious software, and potentially save lots of money. Additionally, the AdGuard can also protect your privacy by blocking almost all trackers.

Download AdGuard by clicking on 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 displayed 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 guide as displayed in the figure below.

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

Each time, when you launch your machine, AdGuard will start automatically and block pop-ups, web pages such as Search Protector Search, as well as other harmful or misleading web-sites. 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 is located on your desktop.

Prevent Search Protector Search hijacker infection from installing

Probably Search Protector Search hijacker get installed onto your computer when you have installed certain freeware such as E-Mail checker, PDF creator, video codec, etc. Because, most often, a browser hijacker infection can be bundled within the installation packages from Softonic, Cnet, Soft32, Brothersoft or other similar web sites that hosts free applications. So, you should start any files downloaded from the Internet with great caution! Always carefully read the ‘User agreement’, ‘Software license’ and ‘Terms of use’. In the process of installing a new program, you need to select a ‘Manual’, ‘Advanced’ or ‘Custom’ install option to control what components and bundled applications to be installed. Nevertheless, even removing the program, which installs this Search Protector Search browser hijacker infection, you do not remove the browser hijacker itself. Your web-browser settings will not be restored. Therefore, you must follow the step by step tutorial above to restore your search provider, start page and newtab page.

To sum up

Now your machine should be free of the hijacker infection which designed to redirect your browser to the Search Protector Search page. We suggest that you keep Zemana Free (to periodically scan your computer for new browser hijackers and other malware) and AdGuard (to help you block intrusive advertisements and malicious web sites). Moreover, to prevent any hijacker, please stay clear of unknown and third party applications, make sure that your antivirus program, turn on the option to search for potentially unwanted apps.

If you need more help with Search Protector Search related issues, go to our Spyware/Malware removal forum.