How to Remove Chromesearch.net Redirects

Can’t Remove Chromesearch.net hijacker virus? This page includes detailed Chromesearch.net Removal instructions!

The appearance of the Chromesearch.net website as your new homepage should raise red flags. This page is presented as an alternative search engine. Yet, it is to be avoided. The website is the face of a nasty browser hijacker. This parasite sneaks into your computer unnoticed and modifies your browser’s settings. It replaces both your homepage and default search engine. From this point onward, every online ad you are exposed to is provided by the hijacker. This tool is designed to generate ad revenue. Basically, when you click on add displays by the parasite, its owners will get paid. So, they programmed the hijacker to be extremely intrusive. The Chromesearch.net hijacker injects various advertisements on every website you open. It redirects your traffic to sponsored web pages and pauses your online videos for commercial breaks. This intense advertising, however, has a price — your privacy. You wouldn’t click on just an ad, would you? The crooks have found a solution. They programmed the hijacker to monitor your browsing related data and to use the collected information as a base for better ad-targeting. The furtive utility knows which pages you visit, what search inquiries you make, what links you follow, etc. The collected data is analyzed and stored on a remote server. And this is a huge problem. Anyone willing to pay can access the information. All sorts of crooks can use the hijacker to target you with customized marketing campaigns. This utility has no verifying mechanism. The crooks can easily use it to redirect you to scam websites. This hijacker is too hazardous to be kept on board. We recommend you to remove it as soon as possible.

How did I get infected with?

To reach its victims, the Chromesearch.net hijacker uses a lot of trickery. Torrents, spam emails, malvertising, software bundling. All these techniques and many others are part of its arsenal. Yet, if you are vigilant, you can prevent the hijacker from succeeding. Let’s take the software bundling mothod as an example. The app developers tend to attach “bonus” programs their software. If you rush through an installation process, you may install these bonuses unintentionally. Always opt for the Advanced Installation option in the Setup Wizard. Under it, you will be presented with a list of all extra apps that are about to be installed. Examine the list carefully. You can deselect all extras and still install the program you originally planned to set up. Make sure you know what you are giving your approval to. Read the Terms and Conditions. If you spot breaches, abort the installation immediately. Don’t let programs like the Chromesearch.net hijacker on board. This parasite is removable. Yet, there are others that are not. Don’t play with your luck. The Internet is a dangerous place. Don’t be lazy. Always do your due diligence.

Why is this dangerous?

The Chromesearch.net hijacker is extremely annoying. It redirects your web traffic, pauses your online videos and displays pop-ups. Thanks to the hijacker, websites that used to be ad-free are now covered with ad banners, hyperlinks and in-text adverts. This parasite prevents you from using your computer normally. It is a pain in the neck that is hard to be tolerated. And it shouldn’t. The Chromesearch.net hijacker displays unverified advertisements. These questionable adverts are more likely to redirect you to scam websites that to legitimate ones. All sorts of crooks use the hijacker as an advertising platform. If you are extremely unlucky, they may redirect you to an infected website. Avoiding the advertisements is not a solution. The hacker is programmed to trick you into clicking. This parasite injects fake entries among the search results you are provided with. No matter which search engine you use, the hijacker can modify the displayed results. The fake entries are also ads. Yet, they are not marked as such. You can never be sure which results are organic and which are sponsored. The Chromesearch.net hijacker can easily trick you. This pest is a giant hole in your security wall. Do not waste your time. Take immediate action against the hijacker!

How to Remove Chromesearch.net virus

The Chromesearch.net infection is specifically designed to make money to its creators one way or another. The specialists from various antivirus companies like Bitdefender, Kaspersky, Norton, Avast, ESET, etc. advise that there is no harmless virus.

If you perform exactly the steps below you should be able to remove the Chromesearch.net infection. Please, follow the procedures in the exact order. Please, consider to print this guide or have another computer at your disposal. You will NOT need any USB sticks or CDs.

STEP 1: Track down Chromesearch.net related processes in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate Chromesearch.net startup location

STEP 3: Delete Chromesearch.net traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down Chromesearch.net related processes in the computer memory

• Open your Task Manager by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ESC keys simultaneously
• Carefully review all processes and stop the suspicious ones.

• Write down the file location for later reference.

Step 2: Locate Chromesearch.net startup location

Reveal Hidden Files

• Open any folder
• Click on “Organize” button
  
• Choose “Folder and Search Options”
• Select the “View” tab
• Select “Show hidden files and folders” option
• Uncheck “Hide protected operating system files”
• Click “Apply” and “OK” button

Clean Chromesearch.net virus from the windows registry

• Once the operating system loads press simultaneously the Windows Logo Button and the R key.

• A dialog box should open. Type “Regedit”

• WARNING! be very careful when editing the Microsoft Windows Registry as this may render the system broken.

Depending on your OS (x86 or x64) navigate to:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run] or
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run] or
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]

• and delete the display Name: [RANDOM]

• Then open your explorer and navigate to: %appdata% folder and delete the malicious executable.

Clean your HOSTS file to avoid unwanted browser redirection

Navigate to %windir%/system32/Drivers/etc/host

If you are hacked, there will be foreign IPs addresses connected to you at the bottom. Take a look below:

STEP 3 : Clean Chromesearch.net traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

• Open Google Chrome

• In the Main Menu, select Tools then Extensions
• Remove the Chromesearch.net by clicking on the little recycle bin
• Reset Google Chrome by Deleting the current user to make sure nothing is left behind

• Open Mozilla Firefox

• Press simultaneously Ctrl+Shift+A
• Disable the unwanted Extension
• Go to Help
• Then Troubleshoot information
• Click on Reset Firefox

• Open Internet Explorer

• On the Upper Right Corner Click on the Gear Icon
• Click on Internet options
• go to Toolbars and Extensions and disable the unknown extensions
• Select the Advanced tab and click on Reset

• Restart Internet Explorer

Step 4: Undo the damage done by Chromesearch.net

This particular Virus may alter your DNS settings.

Attention! this can break your internet connection. Before you change your DNS settings to use Google Public DNS for Chromesearch.net, be sure to write down the current server addresses on a piece of paper.

To fix the damage done by the virus you need to do the following.

• Click the Windows Start button to open the Start Menu, type control panel in the search box and select Control Panel in the results displayed above.
• go to Network and Internet
• then Network and Sharing Center
• then Change Adapter Settings
• Right-click on your active internet connection and click properties. Under the Networking tab, find Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4). Left click on it and then click on properties. Both options should be automatic! By default it should be set to “Obtain an IP address automatically” and the second one to “Obtain DNS server address automatically!” If they are not just change them, however if you are part of a domain network you should contact your Domain Administrator to set these settings, otherwise the internet connection will break!!!

You must clean all your browser shortcuts as well. To do that you need to

• Right click on the shortcut of your favorite browser and then select properties.

• in the target field remove Chromesearch.net argument and then apply the changes.
• Repeat that with the shortcuts of your other browsers.
• Check your scheduled tasks to make sure the virus will not download itself again.

How to Permanently Remove Chromesearch.net Virus (automatic) Removal Guide

Please, have in mind that once you are infected with a single virus, it compromises your whole system or network and let all doors wide open for many other infections. To make sure manual removal is successful, we recommend to use a free scanner of any professional antimalware program to identify possible registry leftovers or temporary files.