OFFER*Source of claim SH can remove it.
Charm Searching
Charm Searching is a rogue app of the browser-hijacking type that installs in the computer’s main browser in order to show ads in it. Charm Searching also changes the browser’s search engine in order to feed users modified search results that favor advertised sites.
Apps like Charm Searching are infamous for their intrusiveness and ability to turn your browser into a platform for online advertisement. They can swarm your screen with invasive ads, page-redirect you automatically, and change the search engine of the browser with one that favors advertised results over the most relevant ones. It is also possible to have the starting page of the browser altered by the hijacker so that every time the browser is opened, an automatic visit to some of the hijacker’s partnering sites would be generated. This is an effective method of boosting the traffic to different sites, and it is one of the reasons browser hijackers get created. In order to reach more users, most browser hijackers are compatible with all kinds of browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari, Edge, and so on.
Charmsearching
Normally, the Charmsearching browser hijacker won’t harm the system it’s on but it may make it less safe and more prone to getting infected by external threats like Viruses, Trojans, and Ransomware. The main reason for that is the lack of control over the origins of the adverts and the page-redirects that the Charmsearching hijacker may spam you with.
The main goal of the creators of hijackers like Charm Searching and Captcha Reverse is to make a profit from the advertising activities of their software and they don’t really care about how safe and reliable the displayed ads actually are. For all you know, the next advert Charm Searching shows you may be a disguised link to some phishing page or to a site that spreads Trojan Horse threats or Ransomware cryptoviruses. This is why the goal of this article is to help you clean your computer from the Charm Searching hijacker. In order to succeed in doing so, you will have to carefully follow the steps from our guide and, if need be, use the recommended removal tool that’s in the guide. Hopefully, after you complete everything as instructed, you should be able to return your browser to its normal state and forget about the aggressive ads generated by the unwanted browser hijacker app.
Remember to keep your system clean in the future
After you manage to uninstall Charm Searching and remove the changes it has made in your browser, you must not forget to ensure that no more similar apps manage to enter your system. To achieve that, you ought to be careful with the software you download and the sites you visit while browsing. Do not go to any questionable or possibly illegal web locations in attempts to download cheap or free software because that may end up costing you more than it would cost you to actually buy the original software. Hijackers are often distributed in file bundles found on sketchy sites so try to avoid such sites at all times.
SUMMARY:
| Name | Charm Searching |
| Type | Browser Hijacker |
| Danger Level | Medium (nowhere near threats like Ransomware, but still a security risk) |
| Detection Tool | We tested that SpyHunter successfully removes parasite* and we recommend downloading it. Manual removal may take hours, it can harm your system if you re not careful, and parasite may reinstall itself at the end if you don't delete its core files. |
*Source of claim SH can remove it.
Remove Charm Searching Virus
To try and remove Charm Searching quickly you can try this:
- Go to your browser’s settings and select More Tools (or Add-ons, depending on your browser).
- Then click on the Extensions tab.
- Look for the Charm Searching extension (as well as any other unfamiliar ones).
- Remove Charm Searching by clicking on the Trash Bin icon next to its name.
- Confirm and get rid of Charm Searching and any other suspicious items.
If this does not work as described please follow our more detailed Charm Searching removal guide below.
If you have a Windows virus, continue with the guide below.
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
Some of the steps will likely require you to exit the page. Bookmark it for later reference.
Reboot in Safe Mode (use this guide if you don’t know how to do it).
WARNING! READ CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING!
*Source of claim SH can remove it.
Press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC at the same time and go to the Processes Tab (the “Details” Tab on Win 8 and 10). Try to determine which processes are dangerous.
Right click on each of them and select Open File Location. Then scan the files with our free online virus scanner:
After you open their folder, end the processes that are infected, then delete their folders.
Note: If you are sure something is part of the infection – delete it, even if the scanner doesn’t flag it. No anti-virus program can detect all infections.
Hold together the Start Key and R. Type appwiz.cpl –> OK.
You are now in the Control Panel. Look for suspicious entries. Uninstall it/them.
Type msconfig in the search field and hit enter. A window will pop-up:
Startup —> Uncheck entries that have “Unknown” as Manufacturer or otherwise look suspicious.
*Source of claim SH can remove it.
Hold the Start Key and R – copy + paste the following and click OK:
notepad %windir%/system32/Drivers/etc/hosts
A new file will open. If you are hacked, there will be a bunch of other IPs connected to you at the bottom. Look at the image below:
If there are suspicious IPs below “Localhost” – write to us in the comments.
Open the start menu and search for Network Connections (On Windows 10 you just write it after clicking the Windows button), press enter.
- Right-click on the Network Adapter you are using —> Properties —> Internet Protocol Version 4 (ICP/IP), click Properties.
- The DNS line should be set to Obtain DNS server automatically. If it is not, set it yourself.
- Click on Advanced —> the DNS tab. Remove everything here (if there is something) —> OK.
- After you complete this step, the threat will be gone from your browsers. Finish the next step as well or it may reappear on a system reboot.
Right click on the browser’s shortcut —> Properties.
NOTE: We are showing Google Chrome, but you can do this for Firefox and IE (or Edge).
Properties —–> Shortcut. In Target, remove everything after .exe.
Remove Charm Searching from Internet Explorer:
Open IE, click 
—–> Manage Add-ons.
Find the threat —> Disable. Go to —–> Internet Options —> change the URL to whatever you use (if hijacked) —> Apply.
Remove Charm Searching from Firefox:
Open Firefox, click 
——-> Add-ons —-> Extensions.
Remove Charm Searching from Chrome:
Close Chrome. Navigate to:
C:/Users/!!!!USER NAME!!!!/AppData/Local/Google/Chrome/User Data. There is a Folder called “Default” inside:
Rename it to Backup Default. Restart Chrome.
Type Regedit in the windows search field and press Enter.
Inside, press CTRL and F together and type the threat’s Name. Right click and delete any entries you find with a similar name. If they don’t show up this way, go manually to these directories and delete/uninstall them:
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER—-Software—–Random Directory. It could be any one of them – ask us if you can’t discern which ones are malicious.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER—-Software—Microsoft—-Windows—CurrentVersion—Run– Random
HKEY_CURRENT_USER—-Software—Microsoft—Internet Explorer—-Main—- Random
If the guide doesn’t help, download the anti-virus program we recommended or try our free online virus scanner. Also, you can always ask us in the comments for help!
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