How to Remove Dartsearch Hijacker

Can’t Remove Dartsearch hijacker virus? This page includes detailed Dartsearch Removal instructions!

If your browser is flooded with ads “Powered by Dartsearch” or if your homepage is replaced by a suspicious search engine, prepare for bad news. Your computer is no longer infection-free. The Dartsearch hijacker lurks in the shadows of your OS and causes issues. The invader is a malicious utility which corrupts your web browsers. Chrome, Opera, Edge, Firefox. There is no immune program. The hijacker corrupts them and takes control of your user experience. This parasite follows programming to interfere with your every online activity. Whether you watch a video or browse your favorite website, it is always there to annoy you. It opens pop-ups, loads notifications, and injects in-text and banner ads on every website you visit. Even web pages that used to be ad-free get heavy on coupons and discounts. And the hijacker doesn’t stop there. It also turns random website text into hyperlinks. Dartsearch knows no boundaries. The more ads you see, the bigger the chance you click. And when you do, it gets paid. That’s right! The hijacker floods you with ads for money. This parasite is an advertising tool. It floods your browser with ads. It uses every opportunity to interrupt you with an ad of some kind. No ad-blocking tool is powerful enough to stop the hijacker. The ads pile up on your screen and make your system sluggish. What’s worse, your situation worsens with every passing day. The nasty hijacker gets more and more aggressive with time. It tends to get out of control. Do not wait for this scenario to unfold. Spare yourself many future headaches. Remove Dartsearch the first chance you get. Clean your system for good!

How did I get infected with?

Dartsearch is not a virus. It cannot hack your system. This parasite is a malicious app. To get installed, it needs you, the user, to approve its access. No permission, no admission. The hijacker is bound to seek your approval. And it does. It asks permission in the sneakiest way possible. The Dartsearch menace lurks behind torrents, fake updates, and software bundles. It hides in the shadows and waits for you to let your guard down. Do not give into naivety. No anti-virus app can protect you if you throw caution to the wind. Only your vigilance can keep your system secure and virus-free. Even a little extra attention can spare you tons of problems. Don’t visit shady websites. Download software and updates from reliable sources only. And don’t rush through any installation process. When available, use the advanced/custom setup option. More often than not, the programs we download off the Web come bundled with bonus apps. Under the advanced option, you would be able to deselect all unwanted extras. Make sure you know what you install. Read the terms and conditions before you agree to them. If you cannot spare enough time to go through the whole document, scan it with an online EULA analyzer. Opt out of the installation if you notice anything suspicious!

Why is this dangerous?

Dartsearch is a complete and utter menace. It follows you around the Web and throws ads at you. Whether you watch a video or type a search query, the hijacker is always there to annoy you. It displays ads, opens pop-ups, loads notifications. This parasite makes a mess of your browser. It constantly increases the number of its interventions and becomes more and more annoying. Its aggressive nature, however, is not a mere annoyance. It takes a toll on your system. Dartsearch jeopardizes your security and privacy. Don’t underestimate the situation. The parasite does not flood you with random ads in hope that you’ll click on one. No, it opens your browser to surveillance and targeted ads. The hijacker studies your browsing habits and uses the collected data for customized advertising. In other words: it spies on you and uses the gathered data against you. The hijacker knows your every online step. Which websites you visit, what search queries you make, what videos you watch. When it deems it has enough data, it uploads it to a remote server. Anyone willing to pay can access and use the data there. Numerous crooks take advantage of the hijacker and its resources. They customize their schemes and flood your browser with deceptive ads. They show you what you want to see, but when you click, bad things happen. Do not risk falling into their traps. Do what’s best for you and your system’s well-being. Remove Dartsearch ASAP! The sooner you eliminate this invader, the better!

How to Remove Dartsearch virus

The Dartsearch 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 Dartsearch 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 Dartsearch related processes in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate Dartsearch startup location

STEP 3: Delete Dartsearch traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down Dartsearch 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 Dartsearch 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 Dartsearch 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 Dartsearch traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

• Open Google Chrome

• In the Main Menu, select Tools then Extensions
• Remove the Dartsearch 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 Dartsearch

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 Dartsearch, 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 Dartsearch 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 Dartsearch 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.