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Visiting SafeSear.ch without actually intending to is an indication of virus activity, so take advantage of the instructions in this post to remove the adware.
Notwithstanding the somewhat cheesy stereotypical perception, computer threat landscape isn’t restricted to just the vicious screen locker attacks, ransomware hoaxes and Stuxnet-like alleged global conspiracy. Sometimes it appears to be hard to even affiliate a specific sample with the cybercrime underground. Adware programs, for instance, do not cause direct damage to a compromised machine or steal one’s identity. In fact, they aren’t designed to. The intensions of black hat hackers and their tactics are growing increasingly subtle, balancing somewhere in between the lawful and the illicit. As an illustration, the PUP (potentially unwanted program) named “SafeSear.ch” won’t harvest your personally identifiable data, nor will it make your PC a thoughtless node in a botnet. All it does is it makes your web browser hit a particular URL off and on, and the web traffic obtained this way gets exploited for affiliate marketing objectives.
You don’t install the add-on related to SafeSear.ch. It infects you. The methodology adopted for delivering the controversial code to computers is all about third party software installations. Numerous free applets, such as movie downloaders, media players, and builds of critical tools (Java, Adobe Reader, etc.) that are customized to include the adware, will ensure that the infection finds its victims. There is nothing illegal about this sort of bundling, but open source software developers ought to inform their would-be customers more clearly about the items that are being pushed along with their products. The main idea of such an approach is to get people infected without giving them a straightforward notification that extra objects are built into the package.
The default search, home page and new tab settings in Internet Explorer, Chrome and Firefox undergo the brunt of this virus. The entity claiming to be a browser enhancement tool will automatically alter these values to its own, that is, SafeSear.ch domain. Therefore, whenever an event occurs that associates with the contorted configuration, the user will be redirected to said web page. In other words, SafeSear.ch replaces your browsing preferences without even a hue of agreement request.
That site proper is tailored to resemble a rather commonplace search provider, but it does not bear the corresponding functionality at all. The web search feature is outsourced over to Yahoo!, including the lookup by keyword, images, video and news. The shopping capacity is affiliated with the AliExpress service. Even though SafeSear.ch page itself thus seems to be worthless, its creators are definitely happy because user leads are well paid for, so the only unsatisfied link in this chain is the attacked user. In order to undo this blatant injustice, make sure you follow the recommendations below and get rid of the virus.
Automatic removal of the SafeSear.ch virus
When it comes to handling infections like this one, using a reputable cleaning tool is the place to start. Sticking to this workflow ensures that every component of the adware gets found and eradicated from the affected computer.
1. Download and install the cleaning tool and click the Start Computer Scan button Download SafeSear.ch removal tool
2. The wait is worth it. Once the scan completes, you will see a report listing all malicious or potentially unwanted objects detected on your PC. Go ahead and click the Fix Threats option in order to get SafeSear.ch malware automatically uninstalled from your machine along with all of its modules. This being done, you should be good to go.
Uninstall SafeSear.ch through Control Panel
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From your Windows menu, go to Control Panel. Select Add or Remove Programs (for Windows XP / Windows 8) or Uninstall a program (Windows Vista / Windows 7)
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Find SafeSear.ch on the list. If it’s nowhere to be found, look for multimedia related programs (e.g. Flash Enhancer) or other odd-looking apps you remember to have installed lately.
Select the suspicious one and click Uninstall/Change
Remove SafeSear.ch virus from web browsers manually
The workflow covered below is intended to undo all changes that the SafeSear.ch virus made to Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer. The fix includes several steps: removing the malicious extension; and (if the previous action turned out inefficient) resetting the browser. Be advised there’s some collateral inconvenience you will encounter in the latter case, namely the loss of all installed add-ons and personalized information (saved passwords, cached data, bookmarks and other content).
Remove SafeSear.ch in Chrome
1. Uninstall the SafeSear.ch extension-
Click the Chrome menu icon and select More tools > Extensions
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Find the add-on associated with SafeSear.ch and click the trash bin next to the bad entry
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Go back to Chrome menu and select Settings
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Go to On startup sub-section and activate the Open a specific page or set of pages option. Also, click Set pages
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Locate the SafeSear.ch entry under Startup pages and hit X button next to it
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Proceed to Manage search engines and select the service you prefer to use
Remove SafeSear.ch in Firefox
1. Eliminate the respective add-on-
In Firefox, go to Tools > Add-ons
- Hit the Extensions tab and locate SafeSear.ch on the list. Click Remove to get rid of it
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Go to Tools > Options
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Hit the General tab and click Restore to Default (see image below)
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Click the magnifying glass icon in Firefox search box and select Change Search Settings
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Select the search engine to use by default and hit OK to save the changes
removal from Internet Explorer
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Open IE. Go to Tools > Manage Add-ons
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Select Toolbars and Extensions in the navigation pane, locate the items related to SafeSear.ch, including the SafeSear.ch API, right-click each one select
Remove in the context menu
- Restart IE and check for symptoms of the infection. If the SafeSear.ch ads are not appearing anymore, then no further action is required. If the adware is still there, proceed to the steps below
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Go to Tools > Internet Options
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Hit the Advanced tab and click Reset
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Make sure the Delete personal settings option on the Reset Internet Explorer Settings dialog is ticked and click Reset
- Restart Internet Explorer for the changes to take effect
Did the problem go away? Check and see
Computer threats like the SafeSear.ch virus can be stealthier than you can imagine, skillfully obfuscating their components inside a compromised computer to evade removal. Therefore, by running an additional security scan you will dot the i’s and cross the t’s in terms of the cleanup.