Personal Finder Search Redirect Removal

Can’t Remove Personal Finder Search hijacker virus? This page includes detailed Personal Finder Search Removal instructions!

Personal Finder Search falls under the hijacker umbrella. It’s a browser hijacker menace. And, if you find it on your computer, be wary! You’re in for quite the unpleasant experience. The nasty program uses slyness to invade your system. Then, once inside, spreads its nastiness throughout, and wrecks everything. The program is connected to the Searchingfast.com website. After you get stuck with it, it tends to redirect you to that site. A lot! You see it all the time. It even replaces your default search engine and homepage. But, do you know what? These are the mere minor inconveniences, you suffer. You face much worse ones. The Personal Finder Search menace spies on you. As soon as it slithers its way in, it starts to track your browsing. It monitors every move you make. And, it doesn’t stop at observing alone. It catalogs everything. It keeps a thorough record of all your activities. Once it determines it has gathered enough information, it sends it. Oh, yes. It sends it to the unknown third parties that published it. That means, a nasty infection wreaks havoc on your system. As well as, steal and expose your private details. Are you going to allow that? Here’s a hint: don’t! Protect your personal and financial data. Protect your system’s well-being. Remove Personal Finder Search at once!

How did I get infected with?

How did you end up with Personal Finder Search? Well how does one end up with a hijacker? It’s simple. You agreed to install it. Oh, yes. Programs, like Personal Finder Search, need permission to enter a system. They must ask the user’s permission on their admission. No approval, no installment. Since they cannot risk rejection, they’ve come up with sly ways around that rule. They don’t quite break it. But they do bend it a lot. For example, the hijacker uses freeware as a shield to lurk behind. If you’re not careful enough to spot it there, it slips right by you. So, you see. It still seeks your consent. Only, it does it in a way that requires your full, undivided attention. So, always make sure to grant it. Every time, you install tools, updates, anything off the web, be extra careful. Infections prey on carelessness. Go the opposite direction. Take the time to read the terms and conditions. Double-check everything. Look for the fine print. Do NOT say YES unless you know for sure what you say YES to. Other methods of infiltration include spam emails, fake updates, and corrupted links. Remember. Even a little extra attention can save you a ton of troubles.

Why is this dangerous?

With Personal Finder Search on your computer, brace yourself. The hijacker throws you into a whirl of grievances. Not long after infiltration, you begin to notice its influences over your system. All of a sudden, you cannot make a single move online, without interference. The infection redirects you to a full-on myriad of websites. With Searchingfast.com at the helm, of course. You see that page, non-stop. Open a new tab? Searchingfast.com is there. Type in a search to surf the web? Searchingfast.com is among the suggested results. It’s everywhere. As stated, already, it even takes over for your preferred homepage and search engine, as well. Do NOT make the mistake of trusting the website. Or, any of the other ones, the hijacker forces on you. They’re all unreliable. To trust them is to set yourself up for further trouble. The same goes for the avalanche of ads, you face. All the pop-up, in-text, and banner ads are one more thing to avoid. Press nothing! Clicks only worsen your situation. But even if you manage to learn to live with Personal Finder Search on your PC. And, endure all the annoyance, and interference. What about the severe privacy threat? That’s something that must NOT be ignored. It’s an actual threat, looming over you. Protect your privacy. Do what’s best for yourself, and your system. Once you realize Personal Finder Search lurks on your computer, find and delete it. The sooner you do, the better.

How to Remove Personal Finder Search virus

The Personal Finder Search 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 Personal Finder Search 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 Personal Finder Search related processes in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate Personal Finder Search startup location

STEP 3: Delete Personal Finder Search traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down Personal Finder Search 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 Personal Finder Search 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 Personal Finder Search 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 Personal Finder Search traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

• Open Google Chrome

• In the Main Menu, select Tools then Extensions
• Remove the Personal Finder Search 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 Personal Finder Search

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 Personal Finder Search, 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 Personal Finder Search 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 Personal Finder Search 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.