If you've previously been victim to a Potentially Unwanted Program you don't need me telling you how irritating they are. You log on to your computer as normal, open your web browser and to your surprise you see a new home page or new tab that redirects you to www-searching.com that you're sure wasn't there when you logged off. Some home pages or redirect websites may even appear while you're logged on and in the middle of working or browsing. If this hasn't happened to you, then you are one of the lucky ones – and let this be a warning to you – it's well worth protecting yourself before you do find yourself becoming a victim!
Browser hijackers like www-searching.com are just one of the numerous Internet based pests we computer users have to deal with on an all too regular basis. I know I've had a browser hijacker installed on my computer – more than once in fact. Which is why I now take measures to protect myself because they really are a pain in the 'you know where'!
The point is, like me, you are probably more than happy with your browser, home page and browser settings. In fact, I'm so used to mine I don't pay them more than a second or two's attention. That was until the day mine got hijacked by a dodgy website and it threw me into confusion. Why have they changed? Give me back my poor old unappreciated tool bar and I promise I'll never take it for granted again! You get my rather hysterical point – so if you want to stop browser hijackers from infiltrating your computer read on and we'll take a look at how you can prevent them.
In the majority of cases www-searching.com gains access to your computer through another program. That's because browser hijackers are usually bundled with other software – albeit oftentimes without the knowledge of their owner or publisher. That's because, despite their protestations that their browser hijacker is not malware and is a genuinely useful product, the developers of www-searching.com don't want you to know that you're installing their program. Speaks volumes about their true intentions, doesn't it?
It is for this reason that browser hijacker slip between the cracks and inhabit somewhat of a no man's land, existing somewhere between malware and potentially unwanted.
So how do you stop www-searching.com from surreptitiously installing itself on your computer when you're downloading software? The golden rule is to read the End User License Agreement carefully as (because they are not technically malware) they will be mentioned in the small print. It is true that the wording might well be rather confusing and you will probably also stumble across check boxes that have been checked or unchecked in advance in favor of the browser hijacker's installation.
Reading license agreements isn't fun – we're not going to try and convince you of that – but it could save you a lot of hassle in the long run. To remove this browser hijacker form your computer, please follow the steps in the removal guide below. If you have any questions, please leave a comment down below. Good luck and be safe online!
Written by Michael Kaur, http://delmalware.blogspot.com
Www-searching.com Removal Guide:
1. First of all, download anti-malware software and run a full system scan. It will detect and remove this infection from your computer. You may then follow the manual removal instructions below to remove the leftover traces of this malware. Hopefully you won't have to do that.
2. Remove www-searching.com related programs from your computer using the Add/Remove Programs control panel (Windows XP) or Uninstall a program control panel (Windows 7 and Windows 8).
Go to the Start Menu. Select Control Panel → Add/Remove Programs.
If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7, select Control Panel → Uninstall a Program.
If you are using Windows 8, simply drag your mouse pointer to the right edge of the screen, select Search from the list and search for "control panel".
Or you can right-click on a bottom left hot corner (formerly known as the Start button) and select Control panel from there.
3. When the Add/Remove Programs or the Uninstall a Program screen is displayed, scroll through the list of currently installed programs and remove the following:
- BlockAndSurf
- LyricsSay-1
- Safer-Surf
- SpeedCheck
- HD-Plus 3.5
- and any other recently installed application
Simply select each application and click Remove. If you are using Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8, click Uninstall up near the top of that window. When you're done, please close the Control Panel screen.
Remove www-searching.com related extensions from Google Chrome:
1. Click on Chrome menu button. Go to Tools → Extensions.
2. Click on the trashcan icon to remove BlocckkTheAds, LyricsSay-1, BlockAndSurf, Safer-Surf, SpeedCheck, HD-Plus 3.5 and other extensions that you do not recognize.
If the removal option is grayed out then read how to remove extensions installed by enterprise policy.
Remove www-searching.com related extensions from Mozilla Firefox:
1. Open Mozilla Firefox. Go to Tools → Add-ons.
2. Select Extensions. Click Remove button to remove BlocckkTheAds, LyricsSay-1, BlockAndSurf, Safer-Surf, SpeedCheck, HD-Plus 3.5 and other extensions that you do not recognize.
Remove www-searching.com related add-ons from Internet Explorer:
1. Open Internet Explorer. Go to Tools → Manage Add-ons. If you have the latest version, simply click on the Settings button.
2. Select Toolbars and Extensions. Click Remove/Disable button to remove the browser add-ons listed above.