SearchApp.exe Virus

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*Source of claim SH can remove it.

SearchApp.exe

SearchApp.exe is a Trojan horse virus that has been recently released. SearchApp.exe has already attacked a considerable number of computers and is capable of causing very serious harm if not removed in a timely manner.

SearchApp.exe
The SearchApp.exe virus is versatile cyber-crime tool with stealth abilities

There are many different kinds of cyber threats out there that seek to infiltrate your PC and cause all sorts of harm to it. However, not many of them are as nasty and as dangerous as the ones that belong to the infamous malware category of Trojan horses. As you likely already know, Trojans are some of the worst and most dangerous virus programs that you can encounter. They are versatile cyber-crime tools with stealth abilities that allow them to stay hidden and undetected once they have managed to infect the user’s system. 

If you are among the users who have had their machines infiltrated by SearchApp.exe, we might have something for you that would hopefully enable you to deal with the nasty Trojan. At the bottom of this article, you can find detailed instructions that will show you how to manually find any Trojan-related data on your PC and delete it in order to save your computer from the malware’s effects. Within the removal guide, we have also added a suggested software tool that you can use to scan your machine and automatically remove the threat if you don’t feel like using the manual method.

In our opinion, the best course of action would be to use a combination of both of these methods as this will have the highest chance for success in removing the infection. Nevertheless, regardless of what option you choose to go for, make sure to eliminate the malware as soon as possible before it has managed to cause any serious damage to your system and/or to your virtual privacy and safety.

What is SearchApp.exe?

The real SearchApp.exe file is a safe Microsoft Windows system process called “SearchApp”. However, the programmers involved in producing malware programs, such as viruses and Trojans, quite deliberately give their processes the SearchApp.exe file name to avoid being noticed and detected.

The majority of Trojan horse viruses share a number of similar traits and it is very important that you are well aware of what those traits are so that you can effectively disarm any future Trojan horse threats in their infancy. The first thing that ought to be pointed out here with regards to Trojan horse infections is that they are known for oftentimes occurring with little to no symptoms.

In most cases, the hackers who develop such viruses make use of some kind of disguise for the malware program. They might distribute it via malvertising, through pirated software, by sending it to their victims using spam messages and through many other similar sneaky methods. The bottom line is that you need to be really vigilant and observant so that you could avoid running into any online content that might be a carrier of such a malware threat. Next, bear in mind that if a Trojan like SearchApp.exe and Energy.exe makes its way to your computer and manages to infect it, it’s likely that there won’t be any signs during the time the infection lasts.

Sometimes increased RAM, CPU or GPU use as well as random and frequent errors, freezes and crashes might give away the virus but such symptoms are situational and might not be present in your case. This leads us to our next point – get yourself an antivirus tool that is strong and reliable. Do not compromise with your machine’s security as in a lot of cases your only semi-reliable way of spotting a threat like SearchApp.exe would indeed be a good security program.

Potential damage

Trojans, as mentioned above, can be extremely versatile and can be used in different ways depending on what the hackers’ goal really is. Such a virus could be employed for destructive tasks like system corruption, data deletion, formatting of the HDD but also for tasks such as espionage, data theft or backdooring of other viruses (ransomware, spyware, worms, etc.).

Oftentimes the malware might also take over your machine and force it to conduct tasks without you being able to do anything about it. Such tasks could be the participation in DDoS attacks, cryptomining for the hacker’s profit, spam message distribution and so on. As you can see, Trojans can harm you in all kinds of way and if you do not make sure to eliminate such a threat from your PC you should prepare for many unforeseen consequences.

SUMMARY:

NameSearchApp.exe
TypeTrojan
Detection Tool

*Source of claim SH can remove it.

Remove SearchApp.exe Virus

If you are looking for a way to remove SearchApp.exe you can try this:

  1. Click on the Start button in the bottom left corner of your Windows OS.
  2. Go to Control Panel -> Programs and Features -> Uninstall a Program.
  3. Search for SearchApp.exe and any other unfamiliar programs.
  4. Uninstall SearchApp.exe as well as other suspicious programs.

Note that this might not get rid of SearchApp.exe completely. For more detailed removal instructions follow the 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


Step1

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).

Step2

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. Try to determine which processes are dangerous. 

malware-start-taskbar

Right click on each of them and select Open File Location. Then scan the files with our free online virus scanner:

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    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. 

    Step3

     

    Hold together the Start Key and R. Type appwiz.cpl –> OK.

    appwiz

     

    You are now in the Control Panel. Look for suspicious entries. Uninstall it/them. If you see a screen like this when you click Uninstall, choose NO:

    virus-removal1

     

    Step4

     

    *Source of claim SH can remove it.

    Type msconfig in the search field and hit enter. A window will pop-up:

    msconfig_opt

     

    Startup —> Uncheck entries that have “Unknown” as Manufacturer or otherwise look suspicious.

    • Remember this step – if you have reason to believe a bigger threat (like ransomware) is on your PC, check everything here.

    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:

    hosts_opt (1)

     

    If there are suspicious IPs below “Localhost” – write to us in the comments.

    Step5

     

    Type Regedit in the windows search field and press Enter.

    Once inside, press CTRL and F together and type the virus’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!


    About the author

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    Violet George

    Violet is an active writer with a passion for all things cyber security. She enjoys helping victims of computer virus infections remove them and successfully deal with the aftermath of the attacks. But most importantly, Violet makes it her priority to spend time educating people on privacy issues and maintaining the safety of their computers. It is her firm belief that by spreading this information, she can empower web users to effectively protect their personal data and their devices from hackers and cybercriminals.

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