How To Remove SearchFly Browser Hijacker

Complete Guideline To Delete SearchFly

SearchFly is a potentially unwanted program that has been categorized as a browser hijacker. It looks like a typical toolbar that includes a search box however; you should not install this PUP on your computer as it is actively spread around in a software bundle. After sneaking into the PC systems, it can hijack each of the running internet browsers including Chrome, Safari, Firefox and others. Afterwards, you will notice that you can’t use Google, Bing, Yahoo like before since each of your search queries ends with unwanted redirects and similar issues.

Know More About SearchFly:

You should not keep programs like SearchFly in your computer devices for a long time because they are typically used to increase advertising profits, web traffic and sales. For this, this perilous hijacker displays manipulated search results that can be filled with misleading links and commercial content. Moreover, it also interrupts you with frequent pop-up ads that are also exhibited for the same reason, i.e., to make revenue from advertising. Nonetheless, the most important reason why you should stay away from this hijacker is that it may try to gather its victims’ browsing-related data.

Typically, SearchFly collects information about people’s search terms, mostly visited websites, data that they enter when accessing those sites, their PCs’ IP address, location, user’s IP address, and similar data. These details are utilized by advertisers to produce and display eye-catching advertisements in order to get as many hits on them as possible and earn maximum income. It is also important to mention that this hijacker can also steal your personal and confidential information like user IDs, passwords, credit card and bank account details and expose them to cyber hackers for bad purposes.

During the presence of this hijacker in your computer, you are bombarded with thousands of intrusive ads and pop-ups all the time that make your online surfing very complex. These ads often contain links of various third-party sites that could be even malicious ones, hosting trojan, ransomware and other unwanted programs. We strongly advise you to avoid web portals that promote software updates, free applications, or ask to provide sensitive information. This notorious hijacker slows down the overall computer performance drastically as it consumes huge amount of memory resources and increases the usage of CPU. And hence, an instant SearchFly removal is strongly required.

Threat Specification

Name: SearchFly  

Type: Browser hijacker, Redirect virus, Potentially unwanted program

Short Description: Alters default browser’s settings, displays annoying ads, Redirects users to affiliate web pages, promotes sponsored products, services and programs and generate online revenues for the developers. 

Symptoms: Modified startpage, new tab settings, search engine, regular appearance of intrusive commercial contents, fake pop-up messages, identity theft, slowness of infected system’s performance.

Distribution methods: Free software installers (bundling), malicious pop-ups ads, fake flash player installers.

Damage: Web browsing tracking (potential privacy issues), exhibition of unwanted ads, redirects to shady websites.

Removal: To get rid of this infection and other malware threats, our security researchers recommend scanning your device with an effective anti-malware tool.

Penetration of SearchFly:

These browser-based applications usually hijack web browsers when installed by careless PC users. These PUPs are typically spread along with free applications although, many of them can also have their official websites that provide their download links and be downloaded from web app stores. However, users don’t often install these infections by themselves, so creators of these parasites use several tactics to make people install their malicious programs. As stated before, they usually take advantage of software bundling and distribute their products in conjunction with other apps.

How To Prevent PUP Intrusion?

To decompose such software bundles, it is important to select the Custom or Advanced installation mode and untick all the pre-ticked options. By this way, you can opt-out all the contents that give a concerning look and pick only the required software. Also, you should download any product or software from reliable sources, official sites, direct links only and stay away from peer-to-peer sharing networks, third-party downloaders and unofficial sites as much as you can. Avoid clicking on suspicious commercial content and links while web surfing as you might be redirected to potentially dangerous sites. But at the moment, you must remove SearchFly from the computer without wasting any time.

Antimalware Details And User Guide

Click Here For Windows Click Here For Mac

Important Note: This malware asks you to enable the web browser notifications. So, before you go the manual removal process, execute these steps.

Google Chrome (PC)

• Go to right upper corner of the screen and click on three dots to open the Menu button
• Select “Settings”. Scroll the mouse downward to choose “Advanced” option
• Go to “Privacy and Security” section by scrolling downward and then select “Content settings” and then “Notification” option
• Find each suspicious URLs and click on three dots on the right side and choose “Block” or “Remove” option

Google Chrome (Android)

• Go to right upper corner of the screen and click on three dots to open the menu button and then click on “Settings”
• Scroll down further to click on “site settings” and then press on “notifications” option
• In the newly opened window, choose each suspicious URLs one by one
• In the permission section, select “notification” and “Off” the toggle button

Mozilla Firefox

• On the right corner of the screen, you will notice three dots which is the “Menu” button
• Select “Options” and choose “Privacy and Security” in the toolbar present in the left side of the screen
• Slowly scroll down and go to “Permission” section then choose “Settings” option next to “Notifications”
• In the newly opened window, select all the suspicious URLs. Click on the drop-down menu and select “Block”

Internet Explorer

• In the Internet Explorer window, select the Gear button present on the right corner
• Choose “Internet Options”
• Select “Privacy” tab and then “Settings” under the “Pop-up Blocker” section
• Select all the suspicious URLs one by one and click on the “Remove” option

Microsoft Edge

• Open the Microsoft Edge and click on the three dots on the right corner of the screen to open the menu
• Scroll down and select “Settings”
• Scroll down further to choose “view advanced settings”
• In the “Website Permission” option, click on “Manage” option
• Click on switch under every suspicious URL

Safari (Mac):

• On the upper right side corner, click on “Safari” and then select “Preferences”
• Go to “website” tab and then choose “Notification” section on the left pane
• Search for the suspicious URLs and choose “Deny” option for each one of them

Manual Steps to Remove SearchFly:

Remove the related items of SearchFly using Control-Panel

Windows 7 Users

Click “Start” (the windows logo at the bottom left corner of the desktop screen), select “Control Panel”. Locate the “Programs” and then followed by clicking on “Uninstall Program”

Windows XP Users

Click “Start” and then choose “Settings” and then click “Control Panel”. Search and click on “Add or Remove Program’ option

Windows 10 and 8 Users:

Go to the lower left corner of the screen and right-click. In the “Quick Access” menu, choose “Control Panel”. In the newly opened window, choose “Program and Features”

Mac OSX Users

Click on “Finder” option. Choose “Application” in the newly opened screen. In the “Application” folder, drag the app to “Trash”. Right click on the Trash icon and then click on “Empty Trash”.

In the uninstall programs window, search for the PUAs. Choose all the unwanted and suspicious entries and click on “Uninstall” or “Remove”.

After you uninstall all the potentially unwanted program causing SearchFly issues, scan your computer with an anti-malware tool for any remaining PUPs and PUAs or possible malware infection. To scan the PC, use the recommended the anti-malware tool.

How to Remove Adware (SearchFly) from Internet Browsers

Delete malicious add-ons and extensions from IE

Click on the gear icon at the top right corner of Internet Explorer. Select “Manage Add-ons”. Search for any recently installed plug-ins or add-ons and click on “Remove”.

Additional Option

If you still face issues related to SearchFly removal, you can reset the Internet Explorer to its default setting.

Windows XP users: Press on “Start” and click “Run”. In the newly opened window, type “inetcpl.cpl” and click on the “Advanced” tab and then press on “Reset”.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 Users: Press the Windows logo, type inetcpl.cpl in the start search box and press enter.  In the newly opened window, click on the “Advanced Tab” followed by “Reset” button.

For Windows 8 Users: Open IE and click on the “gear” icon. Choose “Internet Options”

Select the “Advanced” tab in the newly opened window

Press on “Reset” option

You have to press on the “Reset” button again to confirm that you really want to reset the IE

Remove Doubtful and Harmful Extension from Google Chrome

Go to menu of Google Chrome by pressing on three vertical dots and select on “More tools” and then “Extensions”. You can search for all the recently installed add-ons and remove all of them.

Optional Method

If the problems related to SearchFly still persists or you face any issue in removing, then it is advised that your reset the Google Chrome browse settings. Go to three dotted points at the top right corner and choose “Settings”. Scroll down bottom and click on “Advanced”.

At the bottom, notice the “Reset” option and click on it.

In the next opened window, confirm that you want to reset the Google Chrome settings by click on the “Reset” button.

Remove SearchFly plugins (including all other doubtful plug-ins) from Firefox Mozilla

Open the Firefox menu and select “Add-ons”. Click “Extensions”.  Select all the recently installed browser plug-ins.

Optional Method

If you face problems in SearchFly removal then you have the option to rese the settings of Mozilla Firefox.

Open the browser (Mozilla Firefox) and click on the “menu” and then click on “Help”.

Choose “Troubleshooting Information”

In the newly opened pop-up window, click “Refresh Firefox” button

The next step is to confirm that really want to reset the Mozilla Firefox settings to its default by clicking on “Refresh Firefox” button.

Remove Malicious Extension from Safari

Open the Safari and go to its “Menu” and select “Preferences”.

Click on the “Extension” and select all the recently installed “Extensions” and then click on “Uninstall”.

Optional Method

Open the “Safari” and go menu. In the drop-down menu, choose “Clear History and Website Data”.

In the newly opened window, select “All History” and then press on “Clear History” option.

Delete SearchFly (malicious add-ons) from Microsoft Edge

Open Microsoft Edge and go to three horizontal dot icons at the top right corner of the browser. Select all the recently installed extensions and right click on the mouse to “uninstall”

Optional Method

Open the browser (Microsoft Edge) and select “Settings”

Next steps is to click on “Choose what to clear” button

Click on “show more” and then select everything and then press on “Clear” button.

Conclusion

In most cases, the PUPs and adware gets inside the marked PC through unsafe freeware downloads. It is advised that you should only choose developers website only while downloading any kind of free applications.  Choose custom or advanced installation process so that you can trace the additional PUPs listed for installation along with the main program.

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