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It’s a bad sign to come across the Search.searchmpct.com website. Why? Well, the page acts as a front to a dangerous cyber threat. A browser hijacker uses it as a shield to lurk behind, and wreak havoc. The site is its way of cluing you into its existence. Don’t ignore the warning, its display is, but act on it! Heed experts’ advice and take action against the hijacker menace. Do it as soon as it first throws Search.searchmpct.com your way. The sooner, the better! It would be a mistake not to. The site may appear as a legitimate search engine, but it’s not! It’s a malicious website, concealing a deceitful and harmful program. One, developed by the notorious Spigot entity. Spigot tries to convince you that the program is, in fact, quite helpful. That, you can use it to convert various file formats to PDF, and vice versa. Guess what? Lies. The tool does nothing. The website does nothing. Well, actually, they do one thing. Harm you and your system. The hijacker application puts you through an ever-growing array of grievances. And, do you know what towers over all other problems, the tool throws at you? A security threat. Yes, the hijacker threatens your privacy. It follows programming to steal information from you, and then send it to strangers. The third parties that published it, to be exact. Malicious cyber criminals with access to your personal and financial data. Does that sound like it will end well for you? Are you okay with these people getting a hold of your private life? Don’t allow that. Do what’s best for you, and your system, and get rid of the nasty hijacker plague. You’ll save yourself countless issues, and your future self will thank you for it.
How did I get infected with?
Hijackers invade your system with the help of the old but gold means of infiltration. The usual lineup includes spam email attachments and corrupted links. As well as bogus updates, like Java or Adobe Flash Player. But the most common method of invasion is freeware. It provides quite possibly the easiest way into your system. Think about it. Infections rely on your carelessness to gain entry to your system. And, most if not all users throw caution to the wind when dealing with freeware. They tend to skip reading the terms and conditions. Instead of making sure to know what they agree to, they head straight for the ‘Yes’ at the bottom. That’s an amazing strategy to get stuck with malware. Not so much so if you wish to keep infections out. Choose vigilance over carelessness. You have nothing to gain from the latter apart from negatives and headaches. Do yourself a favor, and always opt to do your due diligence. Sometime even a little extra attention goes a long way.
Why is this dangerous?
After you get stuck with the hijacker, be wary. Issues follow the tool close by. And, they manifest not long after its invasion. All of a sudden, you start to experience all kinds of intrusions. Your browsing turns to hell. Every time you open your browser, you see the Search.searchmpct.com site. It’s in place of your preferred homepage ad search engine. Every time you type a search, the link is among the suggested results. Open a new tab, it’s there, as well. The site’s everywhere. But it’s not just redirects to Search.searchmpct.com, you suffer from. The hijacker also puts you through an endless bombardment of pop-up ads. Think about what your browsing becomes after the hijacker’s invasion. It’s a never-ending display of pop-ups, Search.searchmpct.com, and other suspicious sites. And, don’t forget, the slower PC and frequent crashes, they cause. Given all the issues, the tool throws your way, do you think it belongs on your PC? All these intrusions and annoyances, coupled with the privacy risk? Don’t you think the tool should get removed ASAP? Wouldn’t you agree the hijacker has no place on your computer? Avoid the troubles, which otherwise plague you on a daily basis, because of the threat. As soon as the hijacker menace clues you into its existence, find and delete it. Take Search.searchmpct.com, as the warning sign it is. And, act on it the first chance you get. The sooner you delete the tool, the better.
How to Remove Search.searchmpct.com virus
The Search.searchmpct.com 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 Search.searchmpct.com 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.
Please, keep in mind that SpyHunter’s scanner tool is free. To remove the Search.searchmpct.com infection, you need to purchase its full version.
STEP 1: Track down Search.searchmpct.com in the computer memory
STEP 2: Locate Search.searchmpct.com startup location
STEP 3: Delete Search.searchmpct.com traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer
STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus
STEP 1: Track down Search.searchmpct.com 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 Search.searchmpct.com 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 Search.searchmpct.com 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 Search.searchmpct.com traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer
-
Open Google Chrome
- In the Main Menu, select Tools then Extensions
- Remove the Search.searchmpct.com 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 Search.searchmpct.com
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 Search.searchmpct.com, 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 Search.searchmpct.com 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 Search.searchmpct.com Virus (automatic) Removal Guide
Please, have in mind that SpyHunter offers a free 7-day Trial version with full functionality. Credit card is required, no charge upfront.
Please, have in mind that once you are infected with a single virus, it compromises your system 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.