Search-goal.com Redirect Removal

I downloaded a video converter program from Internet and then my browser was hijacked. I always use Google as my homepage but somehow it changed to Search-goal.com now. Also when I clicked on any link in any search engine it redirects me to other websites that are irrelevant to what I’m looking for. I’ve run just about every scan on the web and nothing detects it. What should I do? Is it a virus? How do I get rid of it?

Search-goal.com Redirect Description:

Search-goal.com is a browser hijacker that is promoted together with free downloads from the Internet and it can take over Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. Being as a browser hijacker virus, it can cause an immense problem to the functioning of a computer system by altering the browser settings and changing browser settings without any consent. This website looks like a normal search website as similar as Google, Bing or Yahoo but it won’t provide you any useful search results. If you enter search query and start to make a search, you will see it only shows many sponsored websites and various advertisement. It is an advertising platform that displays enormous amount of pop up ads on the infected system and interrupts browsing activities.

It can be extremely annoying if you use Search Goal as your default search engine. This hijacker can automatically load each time you open your web browser. When you make a search, you will also notice many commercial ads websites including your search results showing on the page, if you click any of the ads by accident, it may bring other malware to your computer immediately. In addition, Search-goal.com can be used to track your browsing activity and steal your personal information. It can track what websites you are visiting and what information you are looking for on the Internet. All the data could be useful for third parties that are looking for way to improve marketing system. Sometimes, you will get unwanted search toolbar appeared at the top of your browser and it won’t allow you to uninstall it. And constant pop-up may appear on your computer screen and without giving you any option to close it down. As mentioned above, don’t hesitate to remove Search-goal.com popup from your computer once you detect it on your browser.

The following instructions require certain levels of computer skills. If you’re not sure and are afraid to make any critical mistakes during the process, please live chat with YooCare Expert now.

Search-goal.com Redirect/ Hijacker Appears On Google Chrome Browser:

Potential Dangers Caused by A Hijacker Virus:

1. Annoying pop-up alerts and advertisements always come up while a user is browsing online;
2. Other spywares and viruses will be installed without your permission under the help of Trojans;
3. Personal privacy is in high risk of loss as Search-goal.com hijacker can create a fake website for you to register and enter important information and passwords;
4. Significant files will be relocated or hidden which may pose a sudden death of computer

Malicious Browser Hijacker Manual Removal Guides:

Search-goal.com 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. Users can follow the manual guide here to have this virus removed instantly.

1. Clear all the cookies of your affected browsers.

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

Google Chrome:

Click on the “Tools” menu and select “Options”.
Click the “Under the Bonnet” tab, locate the “Privacy” section 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 button”
To remove all cookies click on the “Remove All Cookies button”

2. End the malicious process from Task Manager.

Once Search-goal.com redirect is installed, computer user may notice that CPU usage randomly jumps to 100 percent, slowing down the computer. If your system’s CPU spike is constant, 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 at the same time and it will open up task manager directly. Then change to “Processes” tab.

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 manually.

%AllUsersProfile% random.exe
%Temp% random.exe

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “[RANDOM]”
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “[RANDOM].exe”
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Temp

Video Shows You How to Safely Modify Windows Registry Editor:

It can be a clear sign if your browser has been hijacked by Search-goal.com. You will notice that your homepage and your default search engine are replaced to be Search-goal.com against your will. This threat installs itself if a computer user has ever visited illegal or malicious websites or downloaded freeware or shareware from untrustworthy sources. Generally speaking, the purpose of this hijacker is to create traffic to certain websites, promote bogus Search Goal search engine and collect information about your browser habits. It is prone to infect any kind of Internet browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome. Although this website appears itself as your homepage in a form of search engine, it will not provide you any reliable search results related to your queries. Therefore, remove it as quickly as you can once it is found.

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.