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

When you launch your internet browser like MS Edge, Firefox, Chrome and IE, the page named SearchVaults.com opens automatically instead of your homepage? Or this unwanted web site has been set as new tab page and web browser’s search provider ? Then most probably the hijacker get installed on your PC. The SearchVaults.com hijacker infection mostly get installed as a part of certain free applications. Do not be surprised, it happens, especially if you’re an active World Wide Web user. But this does not mean that you should reconcile with the annoying SearchVaults.com redirect. You need to free your computer of malicious software like this browser hijacker infection as quickly as possible. Because the undesired start page can be a way to infect your personal computer with more harmful programs such as viruses and trojans.

http://searchvaults.com/

After the hijack, common symptoms include:

Changing the Chrome, IE, Microsoft Edge and Firefox built-in search box and default search provider to SearchVaults.com;
Modifying web browser’s start page to SearchVaults.com;
Modifying the ‘new tab page’ URL to launch an intrusive web-site.

While redirecting, your web browser’s status bar may show the following messages: ‘Waiting for SearchVaults.com’, ‘Transferring data from SearchVaults.com’, ‘Looking up SearchVaults.com’, ‘Read SearchVaults.com’, ‘Connected to SearchVaults.com’.

The browser hijacker like SearchVaults.com often alter all web-browser shortcuts that located on your Desktop to force you visit certain intrusive webpages and show annoying pop up advertisements. As a result, your web browser can still redirect you to an intrusive web site despite your browser is actually free of hijacker infection.

Therefore, the SearchVaults.com does not really have beneficial features. So, we advise you get rid of SearchVaults.com from the Internet Explorer, Firefox, Edge and Chrome browsers as soon as possible. This will also prevent the browser hijacker from tracking your online activities. A full SearchVaults.com removal can be easily carried out using manual or automatic way listed below.

Remove SearchVaults.com

In the step-by-step instructions below, we will try to cover the Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Chrome and Microsoft Internet Explorer and provide general advice to remove SearchVaults.com startpage. You may find some minor differences in your Microsoft Windows install. No matter, you should be okay if you follow the steps outlined below: uninstall all suspicious and unknown software, reset web-browsers settings, fix web browsers shortcuts, use free malicious software removal utilities. Some of the steps will require you to restart your system or exit this web-page. So, read this instructions carefully, then bookmark or print it for later reference.

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

To remove SearchVaults.com, complete the following steps:

How to manually get rid of SearchVaults.com
SearchVaults.com homepage automatic removal
Run AdBlocker to stop SearchVaults.com and stay safe online
Method of SearchVaults.com hijacker intrusion into your PC system
To sum up

How to manually get rid of SearchVaults.com

The few simple steps will help you remove SearchVaults.com redirect. These SearchVaults.com removal steps work for the Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Chrome and Firefox, as well as every version of Microsoft Windows operating system.

Uninstall SearchVaults.com related apps through the Control Panel of your PC system

In order to delete SearchVaults.com, first thing you need to do is to remove unknown and dubious applications from your machine using Microsoft Windows control panel. When deleting this browser hijacker, check the list of installed software and try to find dubious programs and delete them all. Pay special attention to recently installed applications, as it is most likely that the SearchVaults.com hijacker infection сame along with it.

Press Windows button , then click Search . Type “Control panel”and press Enter. If you using Windows XP or Windows 7, then click “Start” and select “Control Panel”. It will display the Windows Control Panel as displayed below.

Further, press “Uninstall a program”
It will display a list of all programs installed on your machine. Scroll through the all list, and remove any questionable and unknown applications.

Remove SearchVaults.com from Microsoft Internet Explorer

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

First, start the Microsoft Internet Explorer, then press ‘gear’ icon . It will display the Tools drop-down menu on the right part of the internet browser, then click the “Internet Options” as on the image below.

In the “Internet Options” screen, select the “Advanced” tab, then press the “Reset” button. The Internet Explorer will open the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” dialog box. Further, press the “Delete personal settings” check box to select it. Next, click the “Reset” button like below.

After the process is finished, click “Close” button. Close the Internet Explorer and restart your personal computer for the changes to take effect. This step will help you to restore your internet browser’s default search provider, start page and newtab to default state.

Get rid of SearchVaults.com redirect from Google Chrome

In order to be sure that there is nothing left behind, we suggest you to reset Google Chrome web browser. It’ll restore Chrome settings including search engine, new tab page and home page to defaults.

Open the Chrome menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal dotes (). It will display the drop-down menu. Choose More Tools, then click Extensions.

Carefully browse through the list of installed plugins. If the list has the extension labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following guidance: Remove Google Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy otherwise, just go to the step below.

Open the Google Chrome main menu again, press to “Settings” option.

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

Confirm your action, click the “Reset” button.

Remove SearchVaults.com from Mozilla Firefox by resetting internet browser settings

The Firefox reset will keep your personal information like bookmarks, passwords, web form auto-fill data and get rid of unwanted search engine and start page like SearchVaults.com, modified preferences, extensions and security settings.

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

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

Confirm your action, click the “Refresh Firefox”.

Clean up the web-browsers shortcuts that have been hijacked by SearchVaults.com

Once the hijacker is started, it can also modify the browser’s shortcuts, adding an argument like “http://site.address” into the Target field. Due to this, every time you launch the browser, it will show an annoying webpage.

Open the properties of the web browser shortcut. Right click on the shortcut of affected web-browser and select the “Properties” option and it’ll open the properties of the shortcut. Next, select the “Shortcut” tab and have a look at the Target field as shown on the image 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 shortcut files which have been modified by hijacker infection which cause a redirect to SearchVaults.com website, usually point to .bat, .cmd or .url files instead of .exe as shown on the image 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 displayed on the image below.

In order to fix the infected shortcut file, 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 changed by browser hijacker infection that causes browsers to display annoying SearchVaults.com web site.

Google Chrome	C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
	C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
Mozilla 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 complete, press OK to save changes. Repeat the step for all browsers which are rerouted to the SearchVaults.com undesired website.

SearchVaults.com homepage automatic removal

The easiest method to delete SearchVaults.com hijacker is to use an antimalware program capable of detecting hijacker infections including SearchVaults.com. We suggest try Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) or another free malware remover which listed below. It has excellent detection rate when it comes to adware, hijacker infections and other potentially unwanted software.

How to get rid of SearchVaults.com with Zemana

Zemana Anti Malware highly recommended, because it can search for security threats such ad-supported software and browser hijacker infections which most ‘classic’ antivirus applications fail to pick up on. Moreover, if you have any SearchVaults.com browser hijacker removal problems which cannot be fixed by this tool automatically, then Zemana Free provides 24X7 online assistance from the highly experienced support staff.

Download Zemana AntiMalware on your MS Windows Desktop by clicking on the link below.

Zemana AntiMalware
164113 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
At the download page, click on the Download button. Your browser will open the “Save as” prompt. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
After the download is finished, please close all programs and open windows on your personal computer. Next, start a file called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
This will open the “Setup wizard” of Zemana Anti Malware onto your PC system. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the Zemana Free will open and open the main window.
Further, click the “Scan” button to scan for browser hijacker responsible for redirecting user searches to SearchVaults.com. This task can take quite a while, so please be patient.
Once Zemana AntiMalware has completed scanning, you can check all items found on your computer.
Make sure all items have ‘checkmark’ and click the “Next” button. The tool will remove hijacker responsible for redirecting your internet browser to SearchVaults.com webpage and add threats to the Quarantine. Once the cleaning procedure is finished, you may be prompted to reboot the machine.
Close the Zemana Free and continue with the next step.

Scan your personal computer and remove SearchVaults.com start page with Hitman Pro

If Zemana Free cannot get rid of this browser hijacker, then we suggests to run the HitmanPro. The HitmanPro is a free powerful, professional removal tool for malicious software, ‘ad supported’ software, PUPs, toolbars as well as hijacker that cause a redirect to SearchVaults.com website. It completely deletes all traces and remnants of the infection.

Installing the HitmanPro is simple. First you will need to download HitmanPro from the link below.

HitmanPro
12076 downloads
Author: Sophos
Category: Security tools
Update: June 28, 2018
After downloading is finished, launch the HitmanPro, double-click the HitmanPro.exe file.
If the “User Account Control” prompts, press Yes to continue.
In the Hitman Pro window, press the “Next” to begin scanning your PC for the browser hijacker which cause SearchVaults.com webpage to appear. Depending on your PC system, the scan may take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. When a malicious software, adware or PUPs are found, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the checking is done.
Once Hitman Pro completes the scan, HitmanPro will open a list of found items. Next, you need to press “Next”. Now, press the “Activate free license” button to start the free 30 days trial to remove all malware found.

Run Malwarebytes to get rid of SearchVaults.com homepage

You can remove SearchVaults.com home page automatically with a help of Malwarebytes Free. We recommend this free malicious software removal utility because it may easily delete hijacker infections, ad-supported software, potentially unwanted apps and toolbars with all their components such as files, folders and registry entries.

Installing the MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) is simple. First you will need to download MalwareBytes by clicking on the following link.

Malwarebytes Anti-malware
326464 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020

After the downloading process is done, run it and follow the prompts. Once installed, the MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) will try to update itself and when this process is finished, click the “Scan Now” button . MalwareBytes AntiMalware tool will start scanning the whole computer to find out hijacker which cause SearchVaults.com web site to appear. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your PC. While the MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) is checking, you can see how many objects it has identified either as being malicious software. Review the report and then click “Quarantine Selected” button.

The MalwareBytes AntiMalware is a free application that you can use to remove all detected folders, files, services, registry entries and so on. To learn more about this malware removal utility, we recommend you to read and follow the steps or the video guide below.

Run AdBlocker to stop SearchVaults.com and stay safe online

Use ad-blocking program like AdGuard in order to stop advertisements, malvertisements, pop-ups and online trackers, avoid having to install malicious and adware browser plug-ins and add-ons which affect your system performance and impact your personal computer security. Surf the Internet anonymously and stay safe online!

Visit the page linked below to download AdGuard. Save it directly to your Microsoft Windows Desktop.

After downloading it, launch the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen as on the image below.

Follow the prompts. When the install is finished, you will see a window as displayed on the image below.

You can click “Skip” to close the installation application and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” button to see an quick tutorial which 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 start your machine, AdGuard will start automatically and block ads, web-pages such as SearchVaults.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.

Method of SearchVaults.com hijacker intrusion into your PC system

The hijacker infection spreads as a part of some freeware. So always read carefully the setup screens, disclaimers, ‘Terms of Use’ and ‘Software license’ appearing during the install process. Additionally pay attention for optional software which are being installed along with the main program. Ensure that you unchecked all of them! Also, run an ad-blocking program that will allow to block malicious, misleading, illegitimate or untrustworthy web-sites.

To sum up

After completing the steps shown above, your PC system should be clean from this browser hijacker infection and other malicious software. The Microsoft Internet Explorer, Chrome, Edge and Mozilla Firefox will no longer show annoying SearchVaults.com website on startup. Unfortunately, if the few simple steps does not help you, then you have caught a new browser hijacker infection, and then the best way – ask for help.

Please start a new thread by using the “New Topic” button in the Spyware Removal forum. When posting your HJT log, try to give us some details about your problems, so we can try to help you more accurately. Wait for one of our trained “Security Team” or Site Administrator to provide you with knowledgeable assistance tailored to your problem with the intrusive SearchVaults.com .