Cyber security professionals named the Search Administrator a browser hijacker. What is a browser hijacker? The hijacker is a web-browser extension or program that engages in behavior that is unexpected, or that negatively affects the user’s Web surfing experience. Examples include apps that switches web-browser’s startpage, search provider or some other settings of a browser to ones you don’t want.
After the hijack, common symptoms include:
- Replacing the Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer and Google Chrome built-in search box and search provider by default to Search Administrator;
- Replacing web browser’s startpage to Search Administrator;
- Modifying the ‘newtab’ URL to launch an intrusive site.
Also, adware (sometimes named ‘ad-supported’ software) may be installed on the PC system together with Search Administrator hijacker. It will insert tons of advertisements directly to the sites that you view, creating a sense that advertisements has been added by the developers of the webpage. Legal advertisements can be replaced on fake advertisements that will offer to download and install various unnecessary and malicious applications. Moreover, the Search Administrator hijacker infection can be used to gather your confidential information which can be later transferred to third parties.
The instructions below explaining steps to remove Search Administrator search problem. Feel free to use it for removal of the hijacker infection that may attack Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Firefox and Edge and other popular internet browsers. The few simple steps will allow you restore your settings of installed web-browsers which previously replaced by hijacker.
Remove Search Administrator (removal guide)
Not all unwanted software like Search Administrator hijacker infection and other browser’s malicious addons are easily uninstallable. You might see a new home page, newtab page, search provider and other type of unwanted changes to the Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Chrome and Microsoft Edge settings and might not be able to figure out the program responsible for this activity. The reason for this is that many unwanted apps neither appear in Windows Control Panel. Therefore in order to completely remove Search Administrator search, you need to execute the following steps. Read this manual carefully, bookmark or print it, because you may need to exit your browser or restart your PC system.
To remove Search Administrator, execute the steps below:
- Remove Search Administrator search without any utilities
- How to remove Search Administrator with free applications
- Use AdBlocker to stop Search Administrator redirect
- Where the Search Administrator hijacker infection comes from
- To sum up
Remove Search Administrator search without any utilities
Read this section to know how to manually remove the Search Administrator browser hijacker. Even if the steps does not work for you, there are several free malicious software removers below which can easily handle such hijacker infections.
Removing the Search Administrator, check the list of installed apps first
First, you should try to identify and remove the program that causes the appearance of annoying ads or browser redirect, using the ‘Uninstall a program’ which is located in the ‘Control panel’.
Press Windows button 
, then press Search 
. Type “Control panel”and press Enter. If you using Windows XP or Windows 7, then click “Start” and select “Control Panel”. It will open the Windows Control Panel as on the image below.
Further, click “Uninstall a program” 
It will display a list of all software installed on your PC. Scroll through the all list, and delete any dubious and unknown software.
Remove Search Administrator from Chrome
Reset Google Chrome settings can help you solve some problems caused by browser hijacker and remove Search Administrator from default search provider, homepage and newtab. This will also disable malicious extensions as well as clear cookies and site data. However, your saved bookmarks and passwords will not be lost.
- First, launch the Chrome and press the Menu icon (icon in the form of three dots).
- It will open the Chrome main menu. Select More Tools, then press Extensions.
- You will see the list of installed extensions. If the list has the plugin labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following guidance: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
- Now open the Google Chrome menu once again, press the “Settings” menu.
- Next, click “Advanced” link, that located at the bottom of the Settings page.
- On the bottom of the “Advanced settings” page, click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
- The Google Chrome will open the reset settings prompt as on the image above.
- Confirm the browser’s reset by clicking on the “Reset” button.
- To learn more, read the blog post How to reset Google Chrome settings to default.
Remove Search Administrator from Mozilla Firefox by resetting web-browser settings
Resetting your Mozilla Firefox is basic troubleshooting step for any issues with your web-browser program, including the redirect to Search Administrator page. It’ll save your personal information such as saved passwords, bookmarks, auto-fill data and open tabs.
Press the Menu button (looks like three horizontal lines), and press the blue Help icon located at the bottom of the drop down menu as displayed on the image below.
A small menu will appear, press the “Troubleshooting Information”. On this page, press “Refresh Firefox” button as on the image below.
Follow the onscreen procedure to return your Firefox internet browser settings to their original settings.
Remove Search Administrator home page from Microsoft Internet Explorer
First, launch the IE, then click ‘gear’ icon 
. It will open the Tools drop-down menu on the right part of the web browser, then click the “Internet Options” as displayed on the image below.
In the “Internet Options” screen, select the “Advanced” tab, then press the “Reset” button. The Internet Explorer will display the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” dialog box. Further, click the “Delete personal settings” check box to select it. Next, click the “Reset” button as displayed below.
When the process is finished, press “Close” button. Close the Internet Explorer and reboot your PC system for the changes to take effect. This step will help you to restore your web-browser’s home page, newtab and search provider to default state.
How to remove Search Administrator with free applications
Use malware removal tools to remove Search Administrator automatically. The free software tools specially developed for hijacker, ‘ad supported’ software and other potentially unwanted software removal. These tools can remove most of hijacker from MS Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and Chrome. Moreover, it can remove all components of Search Administrator from Windows registry and system drives.
Scan and free your PC of Search Administrator with Zemana AntiMalware
Zemana highly recommended, because it can scan for security threats such adware and hijackers that most ‘classic’ antivirus apps fail to pick up on. Moreover, if you have any Search Administrator browser hijacker removal problems which cannot be fixed by this tool automatically, then Zemana provides 24X7 online assistance from the highly experienced support staff.
Visit the following page to download Zemana Free. Save it directly to your Microsoft Windows Desktop.
164106 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
When the downloading process is finished, close all programs and windows on your machine. Double-click the set up file called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as displayed in the figure below, click the “Yes” button.
It will open the “Setup wizard” which will help you set up Zemana Anti-Malware on your personal computer. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
Once setup is done successfully, Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) will automatically start and you can see its main screen as shown on the image below.
Now click the “Scan” button . Zemana AntiMalware program will scan through the whole system for the hijacker that causes web browsers to show intrusive Search Administrator web page. This task can take quite a while, so please be patient. While the Zemana is scanning, you can see number of objects it has identified either as being malware.
When the scan get completed, Zemana Free will show a list of found items. Review the report and then press “Next” button. The Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) will start to remove hijacker responsible for redirections to Search Administrator. After the clean-up is complete, you may be prompted to restart the computer.
Scan and clean your computer of hijacker with Hitman Pro
All-in-all, HitmanPro is a fantastic tool to clean your system from any undesired apps like browser hijacker that causes web browsers to show intrusive Search Administrator site. The HitmanPro is portable program that meaning, you don’t need to install it to use it. HitmanPro is compatible with all versions of MS Windows operating system from Microsoft Windows XP to Windows 10. Both 64-bit and 32-bit systems are supported.
Hitman Pro can be downloaded from the following link. Save it directly to your MS Windows Desktop.
Download and run Hitman Pro on your personal computer. Once started, click “Next” button to perform a system scan for the hijacker infection which designed to redirect your web browser to the Search Administrator web-page. A scan may take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of files on your computer and the speed of your computer. When a malicious software, ‘ad supported’ software or potentially unwanted apps are found, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the scanning is done..
When that process is complete, Hitman Pro will display you the results.
When you are ready, click Next button.
It will display a dialog box, click the “Activate free license” button to start the free 30 days trial to remove all malicious software found.
How to get rid of Search Administrator with Malwarebytes
We recommend using the Malwarebytes Free. You can download and install Malwarebytes to detect and get rid of Search Administrator from your system. When installed and updated, the free malware remover will automatically scan and detect all threats present on the machine.
- Installing the MalwareBytes Free is simple. First you will need to download MalwareBytes AntiMalware by clicking on the link below. Save it to your Desktop so that you can access the file easily.
Malwarebytes Anti-malware
326460 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
- Once the downloading process is finished, close all software and windows on your personal computer. Open a directory in which you saved it. Double-click on the icon that’s named mb3-setup.
- Further, press Next button and follow the prompts.
- Once setup is done, click the “Scan Now” button . MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) program will scan through the whole personal computer for the hijacker that developed to reroute your internet browser to the Search Administrator site. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your computer. During the scan MalwareBytes Anti-Malware will search for threats exist on your personal computer.
- Once the scan is done, MalwareBytes Free will open a list of detected items. Make sure all threats have ‘checkmark’ and press “Quarantine Selected”. After the cleaning procedure is finished, you may be prompted to reboot your personal computer.
The following video offers a few simple steps on how to remove hijackers, ad supported software and other malware with MalwareBytes Free.
Use AdBlocker to stop Search Administrator redirect
Use an ad-blocker tool like AdGuard will protect you from malicious ads and content. Moreover, you can find that the AdGuard have an option to protect your privacy and stop phishing and spam web-pages. Additionally, adblocker applications will help you to avoid intrusive pop up ads and unverified links that also a good way to stay safe online.
Visit the page linked below to download AdGuard. Save it on your Microsoft Windows desktop or in any other place.
26656 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
After the download is finished, double-click the downloaded file to launch 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 guide as shown below.
Click “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick guide which will allow you get to know AdGuard better.
Each time, when you start your computer, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop unwanted pop-up ads, Search Administrator redirect, as well as other malicious or misleading 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, which can be found on your desktop.
Where the Search Administrator hijacker infection comes from
In most cases Search Administrator hijacker spreads bundled with freeware. So, think back, have you ever download and run any free programs? Because most users, in the Setup Wizard, simply click the Next button and don’t read any information such as ‘Terms of use’ and ‘Software license’. This leads to the fact that the computer is infected, the web browser’s settings are modified and your’s default search provider, start page and newtab page set to the Search Administrator. Even removing the free applications that contains this browser hijacker, your web browser’s settings will not be restored. Therefore, you must follow the tutorial above to return the IE, Google Chrome, Firefox and Edge’s homepage, new tab page and search engine by default.
To sum up
Now your PC system should be clean of the browser hijacker infection responsible for Search Administrator search. We suggest that you keep Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) (to periodically scan your computer for new hijackers and other malicious software) and AdGuard (to help you stop intrusive pop-up advertisements and harmful websites). Moreover, to prevent any browser hijacker infection, please stay clear of unknown and third party applications, make sure that your antivirus program, turn on the option to detect potentially unwanted applications.
If you need more help with Search Administrator related issues, go to here.
I’ve been trying to figure out how to make google my default engine for forever now! It used to be and then it just stopped at some point and started making every bing. Even after i went on google’s website to search as soon as i pushed enter it would default my search back to bing! It was super frustrating and this website helped me figure out how to fix it FINALLY! Thanks !