According to security researchers, Belle Search is a PUP (potentially unwanted program) that belongs to the category of browser hijackers. It takes control of the web-browser and alters your default search engine, new tab and startpage to www.belle-search.com. To remove the browser hijacker you need to browser extensions you have recently installed on your computer and perform a scan using a trustworthy anti-malware or antivirus program.
When you perform a search through Belle Search, in addition to search results from Yahoo, Bing or Google Custom Search which provide links to web pages, news articles, images or videos you’ll also be shown tons of unwanted ads. The devs behind Belle Search doing this to make advertising revenue from these advertisements.
Another reason why you need to delete Belle Search is its online data-tracking activity. It can gather privacy data, including:
- IP addresses;
- URLs visited;
- search queries/terms;
- clicks on links and advertisements;
- browser version information.
How can Belle Search get on your computer
Browser hijackers and PUPs such as Belle Search usually come as a part of free applications that downloaded from the World Wide Web. Which means that you need to be proactive and carefully read the Terms of use and the License agreement properly. For the most part, browser hijackers will be clearly described, so take the time to carefully read all the information about the software that you downloaded and want to install on your personal computer. In the Setup wizard, you should select the Advanced, Custom or Manual installation type to control what components and optional software to be installed.
Threat Summary
| Name | Belle Search |
| Related domains | www.belle-search.com |
| Type | browser hijacker, PUP, redirect virus, search engine hijacker, homepage hijacker |
| Affected Browser Settings | start page, new tab URL, search engine |
| Symptoms |
|
| Removal | Belle Search removal guide |
How to remove Belle Search browser hijacker
In the few simple steps below, we’ll try to cover the Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer and MS Edge and provide general advice to remove Belle Search hijacker. You may find some minor differences in your Microsoft Windows install. No matter, you should be okay if you follow the steps outlined below: delete all suspicious and unknown software, reset web browsers settings, fix web-browsers shortcuts, run free malware removal tools. Certain of the steps below will require you to shut down this website. So, please read the few simple steps carefully, after that bookmark it or open it on your smartphone for later reference.
To remove Belle Search, execute the steps below:
- Remove Belle Search hijacker without any tools
- Automatic Removal of Belle Search
- Block Belle Search and other unwanted webpages
- To sum up
Remove Belle Search hijacker without any tools
Most common browser hijackers can be removed without any antivirus programs. The manual browser hijacker infection removal is step-by-step instructions that will teach you how to delete PUPs and browser hijackers. If you do not want to remove Belle Search in the manually due to the fact that you are an unskilled computer user, then you can use free removal utilities listed below.
Delete Belle Search related programs through the Control Panel of your computer
First, you should try to identify and uninstall the program that causes the appearance of undesired ads or web browser redirect, using the ‘Uninstall a program’ which is located in the ‘Control panel’.
Windows 8, 8.1, 10
First, click Windows button
, then click Search 
. Type ‘Control panel’and press Enter as displayed on the image below.
After the ‘Control Panel’ opens, press the ‘Uninstall a program’ link under Programs category as on the image below.
You will see the ‘Uninstall a program’ panel as displayed in the figure below.
Very carefully look around the entire list of programs installed on your PC. Most likely, one of them is the Belle Search browser hijacker. If you have many apps installed, you can help simplify the search of malicious programs by sort the list by date of installation. Once you’ve found a dubious, unwanted or unused program, right click to it, after that click ‘Uninstall’.
Windows XP, Vista, 7
First, press ‘Start’ button and select ‘Control Panel’ at right panel as shown in the following example.
After the Windows ‘Control Panel’ opens, you need to press ‘Uninstall a program’ under ‘Programs’ as displayed in the figure below.
You will see a list of apps installed on your PC system. We recommend to sort the list by date of installation to quickly find the software that were installed last. Most probably, it’s the Belle Search hijacker. If you are in doubt, you can always check the application by doing a search for her name in Google, Yahoo or Bing. After the program which you need to remove is found, simply press on its name, and then press ‘Uninstall’ as displayed in the following example.
Get rid of Belle Search browser hijacker from Internet Explorer
By resetting Internet Explorer web-browser you return your browser settings to its default state. This is good initial when troubleshooting problems that might have been caused by a browser hijacker like Belle Search.
First, start the Internet Explorer, press 
) button. Next, click “Internet Options” as displayed in the following example.
In the “Internet Options” screen select the Advanced tab. Next, click Reset button. The Internet Explorer will show the Reset Internet Explorer settings prompt. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box and press Reset button.
You will now need to reboot your personal computer for the changes to take effect. It will remove Belle Search, disable malicious and ad-supported web-browser’s extensions and restore the Microsoft Internet Explorer’s settings like default search engine, home page and newtab page to default state.
Remove Belle Search from Chrome
Another solution to get rid of Belle Search from Google Chrome is Reset Google Chrome settings. This will disable malicious plugins and reset Chrome settings including default search provider, startpage and new tab to default state. It’ll save your personal information like saved passwords, bookmarks, auto-fill data and open tabs.
- First run the Chrome and press Menu button (small button in the form of three dots).
- It will show the Google Chrome main menu. Choose More Tools, then click Extensions.
- You will see the list of installed extensions. If the list has the extension labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following guide: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
- Now open the Google Chrome menu once again, click the “Settings” menu.
- You will see the Google Chrome’s settings page. Scroll down and press “Advanced” link.
- Scroll down again and press the “Reset” button.
- The Google Chrome will display the reset profile settings page as shown on the screen above.
- Next press the “Reset” button.
- Once this process is complete, your web-browser’s startpage, newtab page and default search provider will be restored to their original defaults.
- To learn more, read the post How to reset Chrome settings to default.
Remove Belle Search hijacker from Mozilla Firefox
If the Mozilla Firefox settings such as newtab page, search engine by default and startpage have been modified by the browser hijacker, then resetting it to the default state can help. When using the reset feature, your personal information such as passwords, bookmarks, browsing history and web form auto-fill data will be saved.
First, open the Firefox. Next, click the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (
). It will display the drop-down menu. Next, click the Help button (
).
In the Help menu click the “Troubleshooting Information”. In the upper-right corner of the “Troubleshooting Information” page press on “Refresh Firefox” button as shown below.
Confirm your action, click the “Refresh Firefox”.
Automatic Removal of Belle Search
Manual removal is not always as effective as you might think. Often, even the most experienced users can not completely remove hijacker from the infected PC system. So, we advise to scan your computer for any remaining malicious components with free browser hijacker removal programs below.
How to delete Belle Search with Zemana
If you need a free utility that can easily search for and remove Belle Search browser hijacker, then use Zemana AntiMalware. This is a very handy application, which is primarily created to quickly detect and get rid of adware and malware infecting internet browsers and changing their settings.
- Installing the Zemana Anti-Malware is simple. First you’ll need to download Zemana Free on your computer from the link below.
Zemana AntiMalware
164113 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
- Once you have downloaded the setup file, make sure to double click on the Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. This would start the Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) installation on your PC.
- Select setup language and click ‘OK’ button.
- On the next screen ‘Setup Wizard’ simply click the ‘Next’ button and follow the prompts.
- Finally, once the install is complete, Zemana Anti-Malware will start automatically. Else, if does not then double-click on the Zemana icon on your desktop.
- Now that you have successfully install Zemana, let’s see How to use Zemana Free to delete Belle Search browser hijacker from your computer.
- After you have started the Zemana, you will see a window as shown in the figure below, just press ‘Scan’ button . Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) tool will start scanning the whole system to find out hijacker.
- Now pay attention to the screen while Zemana scans your PC.
- Once finished, you may check all items detected on your system. Review the results once the tool has complete the system scan. If you think an entry should not be quarantined, then uncheck it. Otherwise, simply click ‘Next’ button.
- Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) may require a restart computer in order to complete the Belle Search hijacker removal procedure.
- If you want to fully remove browser hijacker from your computer, then press ‘Quarantine’ icon, select all malware, adware, potentially unwanted applications and other items and click Delete.
- Reboot your machine to complete the browser hijacker removal procedure.
Remove Belle Search hijacker and malicious extensions with HitmanPro
HitmanPro cleans your PC from adware software, PUPs, unwanted toolbars, internet browser plugins and other undesired applications like Belle Search hijacker. The free removal utility will help you enjoy your system to its fullest. HitmanPro uses advanced behavioral detection technologies to find if there are undesired applications in your personal computer. You can review the scan results, and select the items you want to erase.
Installing the HitmanPro is simple. First you will need to download HitmanPro from the following link. Save it to your Desktop.
After the download is done, open the directory in which you saved it and double-click the HitmanPro icon. It will start the HitmanPro utility. If the User Account Control dialog box will ask you want to start the application, click Yes button to continue.
Next, click “Next” for checking your computer for the Belle Search hijacker infection. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the count of files on your computer and the speed of your computer. While the tool is checking, you can see number of objects and files has already scanned.
When the system scan is complete, Hitman Pro will display you the results as displayed below.
Next, you need to click “Next” button. It will open a dialog box, click the “Activate free license” button. The HitmanPro will begin to delete Belle Search browser hijacker. When disinfection is done, the tool may ask you to reboot your machine.
Get rid of Belle Search browser hijacker with MalwareBytes Anti-Malware
If you are still having problems with the Belle Search browser hijacker infection — or just wish to scan your computer occasionally for hijacker and other malicious software — download MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM). It is free for home use, and searches for and removes various undesired applications that attacks your machine or degrades PC performance. MalwareBytes can remove adware, potentially unwanted apps as well as malware, including ransomware and trojans.
- Installing the MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) is simple. First you’ll need to download MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) from the link below.
Malwarebytes Anti-malware
326464 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
- At the download page, click on the Download button. Your internet browser will open the “Save as” dialog box. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
- When the download is complete, please close all software and open windows on your computer. Double-click on the icon that’s called MBSetup.
- This will open the Setup wizard of MalwareBytes onto your personal computer. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
- When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the MalwareBytes will launch and display the main window.
- Further, click the “Scan” button to scan for Belle Search browser hijacker. A system scan may take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your PC system. During the scan MalwareBytes will locate threats exist on your machine.
- Once the scan is complete, the results are displayed in the scan report.
- Make sure to check mark the items that are unsafe and then click the “Quarantine” button. After disinfection is finished, you may be prompted to restart the computer.
- Close the Anti-Malware and continue with the next step.
Video instruction, which reveals in detail the steps above.
Block Belle Search and other unwanted webpages
To put it simply, you need to use an ad blocker tool (AdGuard, for example). It’ll stop and protect you from all unwanted websites such as Belle Search, advertisements and pop-ups. To be able to do that, the ad-blocking application uses a list of filters. Each filter is a rule that describes a malicious web-site, an advertising content, a banner and others. The ad-blocking program automatically uses these filters, depending on the webpages you’re visiting.
Installing the AdGuard is simple. First you’ll need to download AdGuard on your MS Windows Desktop by clicking on the link below.
26659 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
After downloading it, double-click the downloaded file to run it. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen as displayed 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 displayed on the screen below.
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 computer, AdGuard will start automatically and stop unwanted ads, block Belle 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, which can be found on your desktop.
To sum up
After completing the guidance shown above, your machine should be clean from this browser hijacker and other malicious software. The Firefox, Edge, Google Chrome and Microsoft Internet Explorer will no longer show the Belle Search web site on startup. Unfortunately, if the step-by-step tutorial does not help you, then you have caught a new browser hijacker infection, and then the best way – ask for help.
Please create a new question by using the “Ask Question” button in the Questions and Answers. 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 Belle Search hijacker.
