SearchAssist.me Redirect Removal

I recently found my browser has been infected by SearchAssist.me redirect. As soon as I open Firefox, this page appears automatically as a new tab. Also while I was browsing online, I got lots of pop-ups. Now my computer works extremely slow and it takes more than one minute to load up a page. I run AVG scan but it found nothing. How to get rid of this redirect virus?

SearchAssist.me Description:

SearchAssist.me is classified as browser hijacker which is able to take over the most popular web browsers like Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox as well as Google Chrome and Safari. It looks like a friendly website, with its bright colors and welcoming-looking search box. But don’t be taken in by the juvenile tactics. This is just a spam engine that does nothing but delivers ads. It will not provide you any reliable search results related to your queries. Instead, the only thing you can get from the fake search engine is sponsored ads and deceitful information. Once installed, it changes your homepage and your default search engine without your permission and you will be redirected to other pages again and again. And it will corrupt the local DNS (or Domain Name System) entries to accomplish their hijackers – therefore, these problems will remain embedded in your operating system even if you uninstall and reinstall all of your web browsers.

Although this website seems to be harmless, it is actually a dangerous website that hosts malware. It can install unwanted applications, browser helper objects (add-ons, extensions, toolbars), and third party programs to your computer and browser without consent. This tactic often entraps victims and causes browsers to redirect to SearchAssist.me. Whenever you go online,  a seemingly endless barrage of ads pop up on your screen. Also you may notice that new toolbars or favorites are installed that give you icons and links to web pages that you don’t want. Everything on your computer runs sluggishly. Therefore, you have to get rid of it as soon as possible.

SearchAssist.me Redirect Image:

Potential Dangers Caused by A Hijacker Virus:

It belongs to browser hijacker virus which can totally mess up your browser setting.
It changes your default DNS configuration and blocks you accessing your favorite sites.
It may install some malware in your computer to make bad influence without your consent.
It degenerates your computer performance gradually.

How Can SearchAssist.me Hijacker Get On Your PC?

Browser hijacker infection like SearchAssist.me may enter your system as an add-on for your browser or bundled-up with some free software. Most of time, it can be downloaded from a website you visited, something you clicked on, or a pop-up that you did not request to view. You may not even know when and how you download this browser hijacker which compromises your internet security until you find your computer is fully messed up. A hijack virus is a type of computer virus known for its ability to disrupt your Internet browsing. It can redirect your Internet searches to random sites, disallow you from visiting certain Web sites, and change your Internet home page. In addition, it is able to slow your computer, decrease your available memory, and flood your computer with popup advertisements. When you detect the presence of such malicious hijacker, a complete removal is needed without any hesitation.

It May Initiate the Following Symptoms:

1. You keep getting random pop-ups opening in new browser tabs.
2. When clicking on Google search links you get taken to sites that have nothing to do with the subject you searched for.
3. Anti-virus and firewall software won’t start.
4. Internet stops working.
5. Unknown software has been installed without your authorization.
6. You can’t access reputable sites unless you type the URL into the navigation bar

Malicious Browser Hijacker Manual Removal Guides:

SearchAssist.me hijacks your browser to redirect your web search results and changes the homepage and browser settings. To completely uninstall it from an infected system, manual removal is the first choice because sometimes antivirus software cannot pick up the exact computer threat timely or remove it permanently. Now most browser hijackers are quite similar to spyware and adware threats and therefore cannot be removed with the help of popular antivirus products. Users can follow the manual guide here to get rid of this browser hijacker completely.

1. Clear all the cookies of your affected browsers.

Since this tricky hijacker virus has the ability to use cookies for tracing and tracking the internet activity of users, it is suggested users delete all the cookies before a complete removal.

Google Chrome:

Click on the “Tools” menu and click the “Clear browsing data” button.
Select “Delete cookies and other site data” to delete all cookies from the list.

Internet Explorer:
Open Internet explorer window
Click the “Tools” button
Point to “safety” and then click “delete browsing history”
Tick the “cookies” box, then click “delete”

Mozilla Firefox:

Click on Tools, then Options, select Privacy
Click “Remove individual cookies”
In the Cookies panel, click on “Show Cookies”
To remove a single cookie click on the entry in the list and click on the “Remove Cookie”
To remove all cookies click on the “Remove All Cookies” button

2. End the malicious process from Task Manager.

Once SearchAssist.me redirect is installed, computer user may notice that CPU usage randomly jumps to 100 percent. At any time Windows always has many running processes. A process is an individual task that the computer runs. In general, the more processes, the more work the computer has to do and the slower it will run. If your system’s CPU spike is constant and remain at a constant 90-95%, users should check from Task Manager and see if there is a suspicious process occupying the system resources and then end it immediately.

(The name of the virus process can be random.)

Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to quickly bring up Task Manager Window：

3. Show hidden files and folders.

Open Folder Options by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Appearance and Personalization, and then clicking Folder Options.

Click the View tab.

Under Advanced settings, click Show hidden files and folders, uncheck Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) and then click OK.

4. Remove all the malicious files related to SearchAssist.me hijacker manually.

%AppData%Local[random].exe
C:\Documents and Settings\LocalService\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\*.exe

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main StartPage
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

Video Shows You How to Safely Modify Windows Registry Editor:

SearchAssist.me is a web site that provides online searches. It claims to display reliable search results. However, if you have a closer look, you will notice that on top of its results it shows a list with sponsored links. This is due to the fact that SearchAssist.me works together with third-party web sites. It is sponsored by browser hijackers and adware that may add an unwanted toolbar on the compromised web browser and make changes to browser settings. Also it helps promote PUP or other junk programs. It is extremely annoying because it automatically loads each time you open your web browser. Users had better find and remove all the related add-ons in order to stop the constant redirection to SearchAssist.me.

Note: If you are not a computer expert and have no idea how to perform the removal, please contact experts from YooCare Online Tech Support for further help.

Published by & last updated on June 17, 2014 5:01 am