How to remove Web Bear Search and Webbearsearch.com from browsers

Web Bear Search

No matter how advanced operating systems and security tools become, it appears that annoying forms of malware and scamware like Web Bear Search will always find their ways inside users’ browsers. This particular example is what is most often categorized as a browser hijacker – a small, mostly non-harmful, yet highly intrusive software component that gets embedded in your browser without your knowledge.

The end goal is, of course, to collect your data and then flood your browser with obnoxious ads, most of which are fakes that lead to unrelated and, possibly, harmful websites. All in all, you don’t need Web Bear Search on your computer and in your browser, hence why we are writing this article to help you deal with it.

The Web Bear Search Virus

Now, many of you might think they have become the target of a serious malware attack and refer to this hijacker as the “Web Bear Search virus”. While this rogue software is indeed something that must be removed, the good news is that it likely doesn’t have any harmful abilities. It is unlikely to attack any of your files or attempt to encrypt them, and it will probably not access sensitive personal data with the goal of stealing it. Hijackers like the “Web Bear Search virus” use other tactics to profit their creators that typically do not involve harmful behavior.

What is Web Bear Search?

Think of Web Bear Search as an online marketing tool that rides the thin line between being legal and illegal software. As we said, it won’t harm your files, steal valuable data like credit or debit card numbers, or blackmail you. However, its actions can still put your system and your privacy at risk.

The way hijackers like Web Bear Search, Explore Spot or NymphMiniica profit their creators is gather and sell user behavioral data (browsing habits, search queries, visited and bookmarked sites, likes on social media, etc.). They also flood you with Pay-Per-Click ads to further boost their revenue.

None of this is directly harmful, but there’s always the chance of accidentally clicking on a fake ad that leads to a phishing or malware-distribution page. Therefore, getting rid of this rogue app is still the recommended course of action.

Web Bear Search Pop-ups

The Web Bear Search pop-ups are the biggest issue with such hijackers, because they are the thing that could compromise your security and privacy. As mentioned, an accidental click on the wrong advert could easily land you on a fake page that mimics a real and well-known website. There, you could be asked to enter personal details, such as your name, social security number, account passwords, or credit/debit card numbers, thus giving them directly to the scammers who host the fake page.

From then on, you could end up losing money or getting blackmailed, among other things. The hijacker itself isn’t connected to the site, but its creators aren’t concerned with the quality and legality of the sites they advertise. Thus, trusting any Web Bear Search pop-ups you may see on your screen is strongly inadvisable.

Web Bear Search on Chrome

Noticing Web Bear Search on Chrome or another browser is certainly unpleasant and if you’ve tried to remove it yourself, you are probably quite frustrated by now. The good news is that removing hijackers like it is typically not all that difficult as long as you know where to look for its elements and how to securely delete them.

The guide below will explain everything you need to know on how to deal with the Web Bear Search on Chrome issue. And in case the hijacker turns out to be more stubborn than what is typical, you can always rely on the recommended removal tool posted below to take care of the situation for you.

WebBearSearch.com

WebBearSearch.com is the site that will usually be promoted by this hijacker. It’s even likely that your browser’s main page will be changed to it if the hijacker has entered your system. Obviously, interacting with the WebBearSearch.com site is inadvisable, so try not to do that. Instead, focus on deleting the hijacker from the browser, which will eventually result in the site’s removal as well.

Remove Web Bear Search Virus

 To try and remove Web Bear Search quickly you can try this:

1. Go to your browser’s settings and select More Tools (or Add-ons, depending on your browser).
2. Then click on the Extensions tab.
3. Look for the Web Bear Search extension (as well as any other unfamiliar ones).
4. Remove Web Bear Search by clicking on the Trash Bin icon next to its name.
5. Confirm and get rid of Web Bear Search and any other suspicious items.

If this does not work as described please follow our more detailed Web Bear Search 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 may require you to exit the page. Bookmark it for later reference.
Next, Reboot in Safe Mode (use this guide if you don’t know how to do it).

Uninstall the Web Bear Search app and kill its processes

The first thing you must try to do is look for any sketchy installs on your computer and uninstall anything you think may come from Web Bear Search. After that, you’ll also need to get rid of any processes that may be related to the unwanted app by searching for them in the Task Manager.

Note that sometimes an app, especially a rogue one, may ask you to install something else or keep some of its data (such as settings files) on your PC – never agree to that when trying to delete a potentially rogue software. You need to make sure that everything is removed from your PC to get rid of the malware. Also, if you aren’t allowed to go through with the uninstallation, proceed with the guide, and try again after you’ve completed everything else.

• Uninstalling the rogue app
• Killing any rogue processes

Type Apps & Features in the Start Menu, open the first result, sort the list of apps by date, and look for suspicious recently installed entries.

Click on anything you think could be linked to Web Bear Search, then select uninstall, and follow the prompts to delete the app.

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc, click More Details (if it’s not already clicked), and look for suspicious entries that may be linked to Web Bear Search.

If you come across a questionable process, right-click it, click Open File Location, scan the files with the free online malware scanner shown below, and then delete anything that gets flagged as a threat.

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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After that, if the rogue process is still visible in the Task Manager, right-click it again and select End Process.

Undo Web Bear Search changes made to different system settings

It’s possible that Web Bear Search has affected various parts of your system, making changes to their settings. This can enable the malware to stay on the computer or automatically reinstall itself after you’ve seemingly deleted it. Therefore, you need to check the following elements by going to the Start Menu, searching for specific system elements that may have been affected, and pressing Enter to open them and see if anything has been changed there without your approval. Then you must undo any unwanted changes made to these settings in the way shown below:

• DNS
• Hosts
• Startup
• Task
  Scheduler
• Services
• Registry

Type in Start Menu: View network connections

Right-click on your primary network, go to Properties, and do this:

Type in Start Menu: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts

Type in the Start Menu: Startup apps

Type in the Start Menu: Task Scheduler

Type in the Start Menu: Services

Type in the Start Menu: Registry Editor

Press Ctrl + F to open the search window

Remove Web Bear Search from your browsers