Searchessearches Chrome Extension

Browser Hijacker
by Lidia Howler
May 29, 2023
 

Searchessearches

If you have recently started experiencing frequent browsing interruptions and your homepage URL or search engine have been replaced with some unfamiliar ones, then most probably your system has been invaded by Searchessearches. Searchessearches is one of the numerous representatives of the browser hijacker category.

Searchessearches
The Searchessearches Chrome extension will redirect your searches and display pop up ads

The Searchessearches Chrome Extension

Why are you seeing the Searchessearches chrome extension ads in your browser? Is there a way to remove them and make them stop? If these are the questions that brought you to this page, then we suggest you pay close attention to the next lines because there we will explain to you what kind of application Searchessearches Chrome extension exactly is, where all of its nagging ad messages come from and how to safely uninstall this software from some of the most popular browsers including Chrome, Firefox and Edge.

However, apart from the ads invasion, there are other signs of a browser hijacker invasion. For example, you may experience problems while browsing or while using browser tools such as the search engine, the toolbar buttons, some of the browser’s add-ons and so on. The hijacked browser may frequently become unresponsive, freeze or stop unexpectedly and in this way prevent you from browsing the web normally. In such cases, it is usually advisable to detect and uninstall the browser hijacker application and to remove all of its changes in order to restore the normal functionality of your browser.

Those of you who are worried about the potential damage that Searchessearches may cause to the system should know that browser hijacker applications are not identical to viruses and do not typically contain malicious features. Many users may initially mistake them for some nasty threats similar to Trojans, spyware or ransomware but in reality, hijackers aren’t anything more than advertising tools.

SUMMARY:

NameSearchessearches
Type Browser Hijacker
Detection Tool

Please follow all the steps below in order to remove Searchessearches!

How to remove Searchessearches Chrome Extension

  1. First, click the Start Menu on your Windows PC.
  2. Type Programs and Settings in the Start Menu, click the first item, and find Searchessearches in the programs list that would show up.
  3. Select Searchessearches from the list and click on Uninstall.
  4. Follow the steps in the removal wizard.

If you have a Mac virus, please use our How to remove Ads on Mac guide.

If you have an Android virus, please use our Android Malware Removal guide.

If you have an iPhone virus, please use our iPhone Virus Removal guide.

What we suggest you do first is, check the list of programs that are presently installed on the infected device and uninstall any rogue software that you find there:

  • From the Start Menu, navigate to Control Panel ->>> Programs and Features ->>> Uninstall a Program.
  • Next, carefully search for unfamiliar programs or programs that have been installed recently and could be related to Searchessearches.
  • If you find any of the programs suspicious then uninstall them if they turn out to be linked to Searchessearches.
  • If a notification appears on your screen when you try to uninstall a specific questionable program prompting you to just alter it or repair it, make sure you choose NO and complete the steps from the removal wizard.

Remove Searchessearches from Chrome

  1. Click on the three dots in the right upper corner
  2. Go to more tools
  3. Now select extensions
  4. Remove the Searchessearches extension
  • Once you open Chrome, click on the three-dots icon to open the browser’s menu, go to More Tools/ More Options, and then to Extensions.
  • Again, find the items on that page that could be linked to the malware and/or that might be causing problems in the browser and delete them.
  • Afterwards, go to this folder: Computer > C: > Users > *Your User Account* > App Data > Local > Google > Chrome > User Data. In there, you will find a folder named Default – you should change its name to Backup Default and restart the PC.
  • Note that the App Data folder is normally hidden so you’d have to first make the hidden files and folders on your PC visible before you can access it.

How to get rid of Searchessearches on FF/Edge/etc.

  1. Open the browser and select the menu icon.
  2. From the menu, click on the Add-ons button.
  3. Look for the Searchessearches extension
  4. Get rid of Searchessearches by removing it from extensions

If using Firefox:

  • Open Firefox
  • Select the three parallel lines menu and go to Add-ons.
  • Find the unwanted add-on and delete it from the browser – if there is more than one unwanted extension, remove all of them.
  • Go to the browser menu again, select Options, and then click on Home from the sidebar to the left.
  • Check the current addresses for the browser’s homepage and new-tab page and change them if they are currently set to address(es) you don’t know or trust.

If using MS Edge/IE:

  • Start Edge
  • Select the browser menu and go to Extensions.
  • Find and uninstall any Edge extensions that look undesirable and unwanted.
  • Select Settings from the browser menu and click on Appearance.
  • Check the new-tab page address of the browser and if it has been modified by the malicious program or another unwanted app, change it to an address that you’d want to be the browser’s new-tab page.

How to Delete Searchessearches

  1. Open task manager
  2. Look for the Searchessearches process
  3. Select it and click on End task
  4. Open the file location to delete Searchessearches
  • Access the Task Manager by pressing together the Ctrl + Alt + Del keys and then selecting Task Manager.
  • Open Processes and there try to find a process with the name of the unwanted software. If you find it, select it with the right button of the mouse and click on the Open File Location option.
  • If you don’t see a malicious process in the Task Manager, look for another suspicious process with an unusual name. It is likely that the unwanted process would be using lots of RAM and CPU so pay attention to the number of resources each process is using.
  • Tip: If you think you have singled out the unwanted process but are not sure, it’s always a good idea to search for information about it on the Internet – this should give you a general idea if the process is a legitimate one from a regular program or from your OS or if it is indeed likely linked to the adware.
  • If you find another suspicious process, open its File Location too.
  • Once in the File Location folder for the suspicious process, start testing all of the files that are stored there by dragging them to our free online scanner available below.
  • Each file will be scanned with up to 64 antivirus programs to ensure maximum accuracy
    This scanner is free and will always remain free for our website's users.
    This file is not matched with any known malware in the database. You can either do a full real-time scan of the file or skip it to upload a new file. Doing a full scan with 64 antivirus programs can take up to 3-4 minutes per file.
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    • If the scanner finds malware in any of the files, return to the Processes tab in the Task Manager, select the suspected process, and then select the End Process option to quit it.
    • Go back to the folder where the files of that process are located and delete all of the files that you are allowed to delete. If all files get deleted normally, exit the folder and delete that folder too. If one or more of the files showed an error message when you tried to delete them, leave them for now and return to try to delete them again once you’ve completed the rest of the guide.

    How to Uninstall Searchessearches

    1. Click on the home button
    2. Search for Startup Apps
    3. Look for Searchessearches in there
    4. Uninstall Searchessearches from Startup Apps by turning it off
    • Now you need to carefully search for and uninstall any Searchessearches-related entries from the Registry. The easiest way to do this is to open the Registry Editor app (type Regedit in the windows search field and press Enter) and then open a Find dialog (CTRL+F key combination) where you have to type the name of the threat. 
    • Perform a search by clicking on the Find Next button and delete any detected results. Do this as many times as needed until no more results are found. 
    • After that, to ensure that there are no remaining entries lined to Searchessearches in the Registry, go manually to the following directories and delete them:
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Random Directory. 
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Run/Random
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Internet Explorer/Main/Random
    What is Searchessearches?

    Browser hijackers like Searchessearches, Lookaside.fbsbx.com, Mintnav in general, are commonly encountered online advertising applications that typically install ad-generating and/or page-redirecting components in users’ browsers in order to initiate an aggressive online advertising activity on their screen. They usually launch hundreds of ads, pop-ups, sponsored links, banners and offers during regular browsing sessions and prompt users to click on them or to visit some predetermined pages of partnering sites.


    Is Searchessearches dangerous?

    They cannot encrypt your data like a ransomware cryptovirus, neither can they corrupt your files or spy on your activity like a Trojan. In fact, if you uninstall them correctly, you can effectively remove all of their ads and imposed browser changes without any risk for your system. But how do you remove a nagging piece of software like Searchessearches Virus from your browser if you are not a computer expert? Fortunately, the process of uninstallation is not so complicated and in the removal guide on this page, we have explained all the necessary steps that you are supposed to complete. Still, if you find it difficult to follow any of the instructions or you simply don’t want to tinker with the settings of your system, you can always use the professional removal tool included in the guide and get rid of the browser hijacker in a fast and reliable manner with its help.


    About the author

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    Lidia Howler

    Lidia is a web content creator with years of experience in the cyber-security sector. She helps readers with articles on malware removal and online security. Her strive for simplicity and well-researched information provides users with easy-to-follow It-related tips and step-by-step tutorials.

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