What is Active Search Bar?
The cyber security professionals have determined that Active Search Bar is a potentially unwanted program (PUP) belonging to the family of Browser hijackers. Browser hijacker is a type of software that is developed to take over the web browser and control user’s surfing preferences. Active Search Bar commonly aims at Google Chrome internet browser, but it’s possible that it can hijack other web browser too. Potentially unwanted programs and browser hijackers can sneak into the computer unnoticed due to the fact that it’s actively being promoted in free software. We recommend that you uninstall Active Search Bar as soon as you notice the changes it has made to your browser settings.
Unwanted search ads
The Active Search Bar hijacker takes over your web browser’s default search provider and controls what will be shown to you whenever you do a searching. Other than the search results, it also provides a huge count of intrusive ads on the search page. Some of these advertisements developed to trick you into buying some questionable products and software. Moreover, sometimes, those advertisements could redirect you to misleading or harmful pages.
Another reason why you need to remove Active Search Bar is its online data-tracking activity. It can collect confidential info, including:
- IP addresses;
- URLs visited;
- search queries/terms;
- clicks on links and ads;
- browser version information.
To find out how to delete Active Search Bar, we suggest to read the step-by-step guidance added to this article below. The instructions was prepared by IT security professionals who discovered a way to get rid of the browser hijacker out of the PC.
How can a browser hijacker get on your PC system
Browser hijackers and PUPs usually spreads bundled with certain free applications that users download off of the Net. To avoid infection, in the Setup wizard, you should be be proactive and carefully read the ‘Terms of use’, the ‘license agreement’ and other installation screens, as well as to always choose the ‘Manual’ or ‘Advanced’ installation type, when installing anything downloaded from the Net.
Threat Summary
| Name | Active Search Bar |
| Type | redirect virus, homepage hijacker, search provider hijacker, browser hijacker, PUP |
| Affected Browser Settings | start page, newtab URL, search engine |
| Distribution | free programs installers, fake updaters, suspicious pop-up advertisements |
| Symptoms | You experience tons of of unexpected popup windows. Every time you perform an Internet search, your web-browser is redirected to another webpage. Unwanted application installed without your consent. An unexpected web-browser toolbar appears in your web browser. Your web browser search engine has changed without your permission. |
| Removal | Active Search Bar removal guide |
How to remove Active Search Bar from Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge
In the step-by-step tutorial below, we’ll try to cover Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge and provide general advice to remove Active Search Bar browser hijacker. You may find some minor differences in your MS Windows install. No matter, you should be okay if you follow the steps outlined below: remove all suspicious and unknown programs, reset web-browsers settings, fix browsers shortcuts, run free malware removal tools. Certain of the steps will require you to reboot your device or exit this web-page. So, read this instructions carefully, then bookmark this page or open it on your smartphone for later reference.
To remove Active Search Bar, use the steps below:
- How to manually get rid of Active Search Bar
- Automatic Removal of Active Search Bar
- How to stop Active Search Bar redirect
How to manually get rid of Active Search Bar
Manually removing the browser hijacker is also possible, although this approach takes time and technical prowess. You can sometimes identify browser hijacker in your computer’s list of installed programs and uninstall it as you would any other unwanted program.
Uninstalling Active Search Bar, check the list of installed apps first
The best way to begin the PC system cleanup is to delete unknown and questionable software. Using the Windows Control Panel you can do this quickly and easily. This step, in spite of its simplicity, should not be ignored, because the removing of unneeded applications can clean up the IE, Google Chrome, Firefox and MS Edge from pop-up advertisements hijackers and so on.
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Remove Active Search Bar from Firefox by resetting web-browser settings
The Mozilla Firefox reset will remove unwanted search engine and startpage such as Active Search Bar, fix modified preferences, disable malicious extensions and restore security settings. It’ll keep your personal information such as browsing history, bookmarks, passwords and web form auto-fill data.
First, launch the Mozilla Firefox. Next, press 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 press on “Refresh Firefox” button as shown on the screen below.
Confirm your action, click the “Refresh Firefox”.
Remove Active Search Bar from Chrome
Resetting Google Chrome to original settings is helpful in removing the Active Search Bar hijacker from your web-browser. This way is always useful to perform if you have trouble in removing changes caused by browser hijacker.
Open the Google Chrome menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal dotes (
). It will display the drop-down menu. Select More Tools, then click Extensions.
Carefully browse through the list of installed add-ons. If the list has the addon labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following instructions: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy otherwise, just go to the step below.
Open the Google Chrome main menu again, click 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 on the image below and click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
Confirm your action, click the “Reset” button.
Remove Active Search Bar browser hijacker from Internet Explorer
First, launch the Internet Explorer, then click ‘gear’ icon 
. It will display the Tools drop-down menu on the right part of the web-browser, then press the “Internet Options” as displayed below.
In the “Internet Options” screen, select the “Advanced” tab, then click the “Reset” button. The Microsoft Internet Explorer will display the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” dialog box. Further, press the “Delete personal settings” check box to select it. Next, click the “Reset” button as shown on the screen below.
When the process is complete, click “Close” button. Close the Internet Explorer and reboot your device for the changes to take effect. This step will help you to restore your internet browser’s startpage, search provider and new tab page to default state.
Automatic Removal of Active Search Bar
There are not many good free anti-malware programs with high detection ratio. The effectiveness of malicious software 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, adware, browser hijackers and other potentially unwanted programs. We advise to use several programs, not just one. These programs which listed below will help you remove all components of the browser hijacker from your disk and Windows registry and get rid of Active Search Bar.
Delete Active Search Bar browser hijacker with Zemana
Thinking about remove Active Search Bar hijacker from your browser? Then pay attention to Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM). This is a well-known tool, originally created just to find and remove malicious software, adware and PUPs. But by now it has seriously changed and can not only rid you of malware, but also protect your device from malware and adware, as well as identify and delete common viruses and trojans.
- Download Zemana Free by clicking on the link below. Save it to your Desktop.
Zemana AntiMalware
154650 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
- At the download page, click on the Download button. Your web-browser will open the “Save as” prompt. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
- Once downloading is finished, please close all apps and open windows on your device. Next, start a file called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
- This will open the “Setup wizard” of Zemana Anti Malware onto your computer. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
- When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the Zemana Anti-Malware will run and open the main window.
- Further, click the “Scan” button to search for Active Search Bar. This procedure can take some time, so please be patient. When a threat is found, the number of the security threats will change accordingly.
- When Zemana is finished scanning your device, you can check all items found on your PC.
- Review the report and then click the “Next” button. The utility will remove Active Search Bar browser hijacker and move the selected items to the program’s quarantine. Once disinfection is done, you may be prompted to reboot the computer.
- Close the Zemana Free and continue with the next step.
Run Hitman Pro to remove Active Search Bar browser hijacker
HitmanPro will help remove Active Search Bar browser hijacker that slow down your device. The browser hijackers, adware and other potentially unwanted software slow your internet browser down and try to mislead you into clicking on dubious ads and links. HitmanPro deletes the hijacker and lets you enjoy your device without Active Search Bar hijacker.
- Installing the Hitman Pro is simple. First you will need to download Hitman Pro on your Windows Desktop from the link below.
- After the downloading process is done, start the Hitman Pro, double-click the HitmanPro.exe file.
- If the “User Account Control” prompts, click Yes to continue.
- In the HitmanPro window, click the “Next” to begin checking your computer for the Active Search Bar hijacker. While the Hitman Pro is checking, you can see how many objects it has identified either as being malware.
- After HitmanPro completes the scan, a list of all items found is prepared. All detected items will be marked. You can delete them all by simply press “Next”. Now, click the “Activate free license” button to start the free 30 days trial to remove all malware found.
Remove Active Search Bar browser hijacker with MalwareBytes AntiMalware
Manual Active Search Bar browser hijacker removal requires some computer skills. Some files and registry entries that created by the hijacker may be not fully removed. We suggest that run the MalwareBytes Anti-Malware that are completely free your PC system of hijacker. Moreover, this free program will help you to get rid of malicious software, potentially unwanted applications, adware and toolbars that your PC system can be infected too.
- First, visit the following page, then click the ‘Download’ button in order to download the latest version of MalwareBytes Anti-Malware.
Malwarebytes Anti-malware
309943 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
- When the download is finished, close all programs and windows on your computer. Open a folder in which you saved it. Double-click on the icon that’s named MBsetup.
- Select “Personal computer” option and press Install button. Follow the prompts.
- Once installation is done, click the “Scan” button . MalwareBytes Free program will scan through the whole personal computer for the Active Search Bar hijacker. This task can take some time, so please be patient. During the scan MalwareBytes Free will detect threats exist on your PC.
- After the scanning is complete, MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) will display a list of detected threats. You may remove threats (move to Quarantine) by simply press “Quarantine”. After the task is complete, you can be prompted to restart your PC system.
The following video offers a steps on how to remove hijackers, adware software and other malicious software with MalwareBytes Free.
How to stop Active Search Bar redirect
If you browse the World Wide Web, you cannot avoid malvertising. But you can protect your internet browser against it. Download and run an ad-blocking program. AdGuard is an ad blocker that can filter out a large amount of of the malvertising, blocking dynamic scripts from loading harmful content.
- Visit the page linked below to download the latest version of AdGuard for MS Windows. Save it on your Windows desktop.
Adguard download
24688 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
- After downloading it, run the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
- Once the installation is done, click “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial which will help you get to know AdGuard better.
- In most cases, the default settings are enough and you don’t need to change anything. Each time, when you run your device, AdGuard will run automatically and stop unwanted advertisements, block Active Search Bar redirects, as well as other malicious or misleading websites. For an overview of all the features of the application, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the icon called AdGuard, that may be found on your desktop.
To sum up
We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted popup ads and annoying harmful web sites) and Zemana Free (to periodically scan your device for new malware, hijackers and adware software). Make sure that you have all the Critical Updates recommended for Windows operating system. Without regular updates you WILL NOT be protected when new hijackers, harmful programs and adware are released.
If you are still having problems while trying to delete Active Search Bar from your web browser, then ask for help here.
