What is SearchDirect?
According to cyber security researchers, SearchDirect is a PUP (potentially unwanted program) that belongs to the family of browser hijackers. A browser hijacker is a part of software whose motive is to generate profit for its creator. It have various methods of earning by displaying ads forcibly to its victims. Browser hijackers can display unwanted advertisements, modify the victim’s internet browser search engine and home page, or redirect the victim’s web browser to unrequested webpages. Below we are discussing ways which are very effective in uninstalling browser hijackers. The few simple steps will also help you to delete SearchDirect from your browser.
If your computer has been infected by SearchDirect browser hijacker you will be forced to use its own search engine. It could seem not to be dangerous, but you still should be very careful, since it can display intrusive and harmful ads designed to mislead you into buying some questionable apps or products, provide search results that may redirect your web browser to some deceptive, misleading or harmful web-pages.
In addition to the above, SearchDirect has the ability to gather lots of your personal info which may be later transferred to third parties. You do not know if your home address, account names and passwords are safe. And of course you completely don’t know what will happen when you click on any ads on the SearchDirect web page.
To find out how to delete SearchDirect, we suggest to read the few simple steps added to this post below. The guidance was prepared by experienced security researchers who discovered a solution to remove the browser hijacker out of the computer.
How can a browser hijacker get on your personal computer
Potentially unwanted programs and browser hijackers usually gets on your device as a part of free software 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, a browser hijacker 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 choose the Advanced, Custom or Manual setup type to control what components and optional apps to be installed, otherwise you run the risk of infecting your computer with an unwanted program such as the SearchDirect browser hijacker.
Threat Summary
| Name | SearchDirect, “Direct Search” |
| Type | PUP, search engine hijacker, browser hijacker, redirect virus, homepage hijacker |
| Associated web-site | search-direct.net |
| Affected Browser Settings | new tab URL, search engine, start page |
| Distribution | dubious pop up advertisements, fake update tools, free applications installers |
| Symptoms | Pop ups and new tab pages are loaded without your request. Web-site links redirect to web sites different from what you expected. There is an unexpected application in the ‘Uninstall a program’ section of your Control Panel. An unexpected browser toolbar appears in your browser. Your internet browser home page or search provider keeps changing or is not set to Google anymor. |
| Removal | SearchDirect removal guide |
How to remove SearchDirect browser hijacker
In the step-by-step instructions below we will demonstrate how to get rid of SearchDirect from Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome and Edge web-browsers for Windows OS, natively or by using free malware removal tools. Read this manual carefully, bookmark it or open this page on your smartphone, because you may need to close your web-browser or reboot your computer.
To remove SearchDirect, use the steps below:
- How to manually remove SearchDirect
- Automatic Removal of SearchDirect
- How to stop SearchDirect redirects
How to manually remove SearchDirect
Most common hijackers may be removed without any antivirus software. The manual hijacker removal is step-by-step guide that will teach you how to remove browser hijacker. If you do not want to remove SearchDirect in the manually due to the fact that you are an unskilled computer user, then you can run free removal utilities listed below.
Uninstall potentially unwanted applications using MS Windows Control Panel
When troubleshooting a personal computer, one common step is go to Windows Control Panel and delete questionable programs. The same approach will be used in the removal of SearchDirect hijacker. Please use instructions based on your Windows version.
Make sure you have closed all internet browsers and other software. Next, remove any undesired and suspicious applications from your Control panel.
Windows 10, 8.1, 8
Now, press the Windows button, type “Control panel” in search and press Enter. Choose “Programs and Features”, then “Uninstall a program”.
Look around the entire list of programs installed on your computer. Most probably, one of them is the SearchDirect hijacker. Select the suspicious application or the program that name is not familiar to you and remove it.
Windows Vista, 7
From the “Start” menu in MS Windows, select “Control Panel”. Under the “Programs” icon, choose “Uninstall a program”.
Choose the dubious or any unknown programs, then click “Uninstall/Change” button to uninstall this undesired program from your personal computer.
Windows XP
Click the “Start” button, select “Control Panel” option. Click on “Add/Remove Programs”.
Select an unwanted program, then press “Change/Remove” button. Follow the prompts.
Remove SearchDirect hijacker from IE
By resetting IE browser you revert back your web-browser settings to its default state. This is first when troubleshooting problems that might have been caused by browser hijacker like SearchDirect.
First, open the IE, then click ‘gear’ icon 
. It will display the Tools drop-down menu on the right part of the internet browser, then click the “Internet Options” similar to the one below.
In the “Internet Options” screen, select the “Advanced” tab, then click 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, press the “Reset” button like below.
Once the procedure is complete, click “Close” button. Close the IE and restart your computer for the changes to take effect. This step will help you to restore your browser’s start page, new tab and default search engine to default state.
Delete SearchDirect browser hijacker from Firefox
The Mozilla Firefox reset will get rid of unwanted search provider and start page such as SearchDirect, modified preferences, extensions and security settings. It’ll keep your personal information like browsing history, bookmarks, passwords and web form auto-fill data.
Click 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 in the figure below.
A small menu will appear, click the “Troubleshooting Information”. On this page, press “Refresh Firefox” button as shown in the following example.
Follow the onscreen procedure to return your Mozilla Firefox internet browser settings to their default state.
Remove SearchDirect from Chrome
Reset Google Chrome settings can help you solve some problems caused by browser hijacker and get rid of SearchDirect from new tab page, search engine and home page. This will also disable malicious add-ons as well as clear cookies and site data. Your saved bookmarks, form auto-fill information and passwords won’t be cleared or changed.
First launch the Chrome. Next, click the button in the form of three horizontal dots (
).
It will open the Google Chrome menu. If “Managed by your organization” is written at the bottom of the menu, then you need to first follow the steps from the Managed by your organization malware removal guide.
Further, click the option called “Settings”.
The web-browser will open the settings screen. Another solution to display the Google 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 shown in the following example and click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
The Google Chrome will show the confirmation dialog box as shown in the following example.
You need to confirm your action, press the “Reset” button. The web-browser will run the procedure of cleaning. When it is complete, the internet browser’s settings including newtab page, search provider and start page back to the values that have been when the Chrome was first installed on your computer.
Automatic Removal of SearchDirect
Manual removal guide may not be for an unskilled computer user. Each SearchDirect removal step above, such as removing questionable applications, restoring infected shortcuts, removing the browser hijacker from system settings, must be performed very carefully. If you are in doubt during any of the steps listed in the manual removal above, then we recommend that you use the automatic SearchDirect removal tutorial listed below.
Use Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) to remove SearchDirect hijacker
Thinking about remove SearchDirect browser hijacker from your web browser? Then pay attention to Zemana AntiMalware. This is a well-known utility, originally created just to detect and get rid of malicious software, adware and PUPs. But by now it has seriously changed and can not only rid you of malware, but also protect your personal computer from malicious software and adware software, as well as identify and get rid of common viruses and trojans.
Download Zemana on your Windows Desktop from the following link.
164106 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
When downloading is complete, close all software and windows on your computer. Double-click the set up file named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up like below, click the “Yes” button.
It will open the “Setup wizard” which will help you install Zemana AntiMalware on your personal computer. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
Once setup is complete successfully, Zemana Anti Malware (ZAM) will automatically start and you can see its main screen as shown below.
Now click the “Scan” button . Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) program will scan through the whole PC for the SearchDirect hijacker. This procedure can take some time, so please be patient. While the Zemana Free is scanning, you can see number of objects it has identified either as being malware.
Once Zemana has completed scanning, the results are displayed in the scan report. All found items will be marked. You can remove them all by simply click “Next” button. The Zemana will delete SearchDirect browser hijacker and move the selected threats to the program’s quarantine. After finished, you may be prompted to reboot the PC system.
Use HitmanPro to delete SearchDirect hijacker
Hitman Pro is a portable program which requires no hard installation to identify and delete SearchDirect hijacker. The program itself is small in size (only a few Mb). HitmanPro does not need any drivers and special dlls. It is probably easier to use than any alternative malware removal utilities you’ve ever tried. HitmanPro works on 64 and 32-bit versions of Windows 10, 8, 7 and XP. It proves that removal tool can be just as effective as the widely known antivirus applications.
Download HitmanPro from the following link. Save it to your Desktop.
Once the downloading process is complete, open the file location. You will see an icon like below.
Double click the HitmanPro desktop icon. When the utility is started, you will see a screen as displayed in the following example.
Further, press “Next” button to search for SearchDirect hijacker. This procedure may take some time, so please be patient. When the scanning is done, Hitman Pro will open a screen which contains a list of malicious software that has been detected like below.
Once you’ve selected what you wish to delete from your PC system click “Next” button. It will show a prompt, click the “Activate free license” button.
Delete SearchDirect browser hijacker with MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM)
Manual SearchDirect browser hijacker removal requires some computer skills. Some files and registry entries that created by the hijacker can be not fully removed. We advise that run the MalwareBytes Free that are fully clean your PC system of hijacker. Moreover, this free application will help you to remove malware, PUPs, adware and toolbars that your PC can be infected too.
Click the following link to download MalwareBytes. Save it directly to your MS Windows Desktop.
326460 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
Once the downloading process is finished, close all windows on your computer. Further, open the file called MBSetup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as shown in the figure below, press the “Yes” button.
It will display the Setup wizard which will help you install MalwareBytes AntiMalware on the computer. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
Once installation is done successfully, click “Get Started” button. Then MalwareBytes Anti Malware will automatically run and you can see its main window as displayed in the following example.
Next, click the “Scan” button to perform a system scan with this utility for the SearchDirect browser hijacker. This procedure can take quite a while, so please be patient. When a threat is detected, the number of the security threats will change accordingly.
After the scan get completed, MalwareBytes Anti-Malware will show a scan report. In order to delete all threats, simply click “Quarantine” button.
The MalwareBytes Free will start to delete SearchDirect hijacker. Once the process is complete, you may be prompted to restart your computer. We recommend you look at the following video, which completely explains the process of using the MalwareBytes to delete browser hijackers, adware and other malicious software.
How to stop SearchDirect redirects
By installing an ad blocking program like AdGuard, you are able to block SearchDirect, stop autoplaying video ads and get rid of a lot of distracting and annoying ads on web-sites.
Click the link below to download AdGuard. Save it directly to your Windows Desktop.
26656 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
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 like below.
Press “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick guidance that will help you get to know AdGuard better.
Each time, when you run your device, AdGuard will run automatically and stop unwanted ads, block SearchDirect, 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 is located on your desktop.
Finish words
Once you have finished the steps outlined above, your PC should be free from the SearchDirect browser hijacker and other malicious software. The IE, Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome will no longer open the SearchDirect web site on startup. Unfortunately, if the few simple steps does not help you, then you have caught a new browser hijacker, and then the best way – ask for help here.
