Jan 4, 2015

Searchtosurf.com Browser Hijacker Removal

Your favorite homepage in Internet Explorer is changed to a strange web site called Searchtosurf.com suddenly? Is it a part of the Internet Explorer? Why can’t it be changed or deleted? When surfing online, you are annoyed by a lot of pop-up windows and web page redirects? Obviously, your browser is hijacked by this browser hijacker Searchtosurf.com!

More Details about Searchtosurf.com:

Searchtosurf.com seems to be a normal web page that appears in the browser as a new homepage. However, it is actually classified as a browser hijacker or browser redirect. This hijacker should not be underestimated. Generally speaking, a browser hijacker will be dressed as a common web page with a search engine. With an appearance similar to other legitimate search engines, it deceives many inexperienced computer users easily. There is absolutely no fun to have it in your computer, so the first thing you should do is to remove it as soon as possible.

Do you have any idea of what the Searchtosurf.com browser redirect can do to your computer? How can it allow the developers to gather your personal info? First of all, you need to understand that how it gets into the computer while you know nothing. You may have used the infected computer to access a phishing web site, download an unknown “free” program, click a link released by a stranger and open a spam email attachment. The hijacker is able to hide in those online resources. Once it enters the computer, it has the ability to take over the browser entirely, so you cannot go online properly. The first thing you can notice is that your homepage is changed to Searchtosurf.com. When you want to access the Internet, you are redirected to some other strange web sites and experience a lot of pop-up ads. Be careful! All of those sites, links and pop-ups may contain dangerous viruses including Trojans, malware and spyware which can help cyber criminals to control the fragile computer remotely without letting you know. The important documents and valuable data will be collected by them. Thus, you should have Searchtosurf.com removed timely.

Processing manual removal is supposed to have a certain level of computer literacy. If you are not sure how to start and are afraid of making any critical mistakes damaging the computer system, please live chat with YooCare Expert now.

Screenshot of the Searchtosurf.com Browser Hijacker:

Searchtosurf.com Browser Hijacker

Primary Symptoms and Potential Risks:

1. Searchtosurf.com is able to become the startup page of your web browser via modifying browser settings. No matter which browser you are using (Internet Explorer, Safari, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Opera), you can see the browser is occupied by it completely.
2. It may also install plug-ins, extensions and toolbars in the browser so as to record your search history as well as cookies.
3. You need to wait for a long time when visiting websites because the browser always gets stuck and is slow in reaction.
4. This annoying redirect may also result in unstable Internet connection and system freezes frequently.
5. You are forced to receive many advertisement windows when the computer is connected to the Internet.

Manual Removal Guide:

What is the best way to get rid of this Searchtosurf.com browser hijacker (redirect)? Compared with reinstalling the whole system and formatting the hard drive, manual removal is considered to be the most effective way. Reinstalling the browser and antivirus programs are also useless. If you are not 100% sure that you can get rid of this browser hijacker and do not want to damage important data, you are suggested to make a backup beforehand.

1. Clean Add-ons and Extensions

* Internet Explorer:

(1). Click Tools in the Menu bar and then click Internet Options

Tools in IE

(3). Click Programs tab, click Manage add-ons and disable the suspicious add-ons

* Firefox:

(1). Click Tools in the Menu bar and then click Add-ons

Tools in Firefox

(2). Click Extensions, select the related browser add-ons and click Disable

* Google Chrome:

(1). Click Customize and control Google Chrome button → Tools → Extensions

Customize and control Google Chrome button

(2). Disable the extensions of Searchtosurf.com

2. End Relevant Processes

(1). Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc together to pop up Windows Task Manager, click Processes tab

Windows Task Manager

*For Win 8 Users:

Click More details when you see the Task Manager box

Win 8 Task Manager

And then click Details tab

Details Tab in Win 8 Task Manager

(2). Find out and end Searchtosurf.com’s processes

3. Show Hidden Files

(1). Click on Start button and then on Control Panel

(2). Click on Appearance and Personalization

(3). Click on Folder Options

(4). Click on the View tab in the Folder Options window

(5). Choose Show hidden files, folders, and drives under the Hidden files and folders category

(6). Click OK at the bottom of the Folder Options window

*For Win 8 Users:

Press Win+E together to open Computer window, click View and then click Options

View in Computer Window

Click View tab in the Folder Options window, choose Show hidden files, folders, and drives under the Hidden files and folders category

View Tab in Folder Options Window

4. Delete Relevant Registry Entries and Files

(1). Delete the registry entries related to Searchtosurf.com through Registry Editor

Press Win+R to bring up the Run window, type “regedit” and click “OK”

While the Registry Editor is open, search and delete its registry entries

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\[RANDOM CHARACTERS].exe

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run ‘Random’

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Random

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\Explorer\run\Random.exe

(2). Find out and remove the associated files

%AllUsersProfile%\random.exe

%AppData%\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Templates\random.exe

%AllUsersProfile%\Application Data\.dll HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Random “.exe”

Video Shows You How to Safely Modify Windows Registry Editor:

Why do the antivirus tools fail to catch this virus? Are they outdated or not good? Even with the protection of antivirus programs on your computer, vulnerabilities can still happen if you perform some improper activities online. Searchtosurf.com is able to seize every chance to secretly get into the computer. Antivirus programs can provide basic protection for your computer but they are not perfect. The Searchtosurf.com hijacker is specially designed by the developers so that it is able to bypass most antivirus tools. You should think about other ways to deal with this hateful Searchtosurf.com. And manual removal is suggested as the most useful method.

The above manual removal is quite dangerous and complicated, which needs sufficient professional skills. Therefore, only computer users with rich computer knowledge are recommended to implement the process because any errors including deleting important system files and registry entries will crash your computer system. If you have no idea of how to process the manual removal, please contact experts from YooCare Online Tech Support for further assistance.

Published by & last updated on January 4, 2015 8:00 am

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