Searcher4u.com Hijacker - How to remove

Searcher4u.com is a fake search engine that redirects search on infected internet browsers. Currently, it opens Yahoo.com to display the search results.

People don’t choose to use it but are forced by malicious browser add-ons and other parasites. Searcher4u.com’s goal is to control people’s internet search and to gather valuable browsing data.

In short about Searcher4u.com:

Classification	Adware, browser hijacker.
How Searcher4u.com hijacks browsers	It replaces the default search engine setting in web browsers, it redirects search queries to Yahoo or another site.
How malicious extensions get installed	They are installed by bundlers, they are advertised deceptively.
How to stop Searcher4u.com redirects	Remove suspicious programs from your computer with the help of anti-malware tools (Combo Cleaner for Mac, Spyhunter for PC, others), uninstall suspicious extensions from your browser, review your search settings.

How Searcher4u.com hijacks browsers

Searcher4u.com takes over internet search

Searcher4u.com is one of many Conduit-like browser hijackers. Hijackers are browser add-ons that make unwanted changes to your browser settings, such as changing your default search engine setting. This allows the add-on to control what site you land on when you use your browser’s address field as a search bar.

Although it is more correct to say that Searcher4u.com is a website. It exists independently, but it works with a browser add-on.

You might briefly notice Searcher4u.com in your address field when you search the web before it opens another site. Searcher4u.com is related to Genieo Search and it has Yahoo.com deliver web search results.

There are many more sites like it, such as Installmac.com, Lavradoor.com, Epolife.com, and Dailybugget.com. Although Searcher4u.com is not very popular on its own, it’s sure part of a big family of hijacker sites.

Searcher4u.com and its siblings want a few things:

• They want to control how you browse the internet. They promote partner sites in order to increase their traffic and help them make more money from advertising.
• They can track your search data, which is valuable and can be sold or used by advertisers.

In the end, Searcher4u.com is here to make money. It’s really the goal of a lot of malware.

Extensions get installed without permission

It’s most likely a browser extension that’s responsible for unwanted Searcher4u.com redirects. But how do malicious add-ons get their paws on your browser? There are a few common ways:

• Extensions come bundled with freeware installers. Free programs sometimes offer you optional software during their installation, and sometimes that software is an iffy browser add-on. Such free programs might be called bundlers or potentially unwanted programs.
• Deceptive advertisements appear online and trick people into installing malicious extensions. These ads are similar to the fake download buttons that used to plague download sites.

Either way, it is very easy to accidentally allow a bad extension to be installed on your browser. Even the most cautious users can fall for a well-crafted fake ad. The important thing is to then recognize the problem (Searcher4u.com redirects) and to remove the cause (the bad browser extension).

How to stop the Searcher4u.com hijacker

Since Searcher4u.com is a website, it doesn’t live on your device.

If your browser is opening it against your wishes, there must be an application or a setting causing it.

To stop Searcher4u.com from being opened, you need to find the cause and remove it:

• Remove suspicious and malicious programs, especially those that were installed at or before the time that the Searcher4u.com redirects started.
• Remove all suspicious browser extensions.
• Review your search engine and other settings.

You can use an anti-malware application, such as Combo Cleaner for macOS or Spyhunter for Windows, to scan your device and look for malware and for potentially unwanted programs. PUPs might not always be harmful, but they can contribute to malware infections.

Automatic Malware removal tools

The instructions for removing unwanted programs and browser extensions can be found below. Feel free to ask us questions in the comments, too.

Manual removal instructions

How to remove Searcher4u.com using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like Searcher4u.com Hijacker install some of their components as regular Windows programs as well as additional software. This part of malware can be uninstalled from the Control Panel. To access it, do the following.

• Start→Control Panel (older Windows) or press Windows Key→Search and enter Control Panel and then press Enter (Windows 8, Windows 10).
• Choose Uninstall Program (if you don't see it, click in the upper right next to "View by" and select Category).
• Go through the list of programs and select entries related to Searcher4u.com . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make Searcher4u.com Hijacker easier to find.
• Click the Uninstall button. If you're asked if you really want to remove the program, click Yes.
• In many cases anti-malware programs are better at detecting related parasites, thus I recommend installing Spyhunter to identify other programs that might be a part of this infection.

How to remove Searcher4u.com from macOS

Delete Searcher4u.com Hijacker from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the Searcher4u.com app.
5. Select it and right-click it (or hold the Ctrl and click the left mouse button).
6. In the dropdown, click Move to Bin/Trash. You might be asked to provide your login password.

TopHow To remove Searcher4u.com Hijacker from Google Chrome:

• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select More Tools→Extensions
  
• Select all malicious extensions and delete them.
  
• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select Settings
  
• Select Manage Search engines
  
• Remove unnecessary search engines from the list
  
• Go back to settings. On Startup choose Open blank page (you can remove undesired pages from the set pages link too).
• If your homepage was changed, click on Chrome menu on the top right corner, select Settings. Select Open a specific page or set of pages and click on Set pages.
  
• Delete malicious search websites at a new Startup pages window by clicking “X” next to them.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to Searcher4u.com Hijacker, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on a Chrome’s menu button (three horizontal lines) and select Settings.
• Scroll to the end of the page and click on theReset browser settings button.
  
• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How To remove Searcher4u.com Hijacker from Firefox:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla window and select the “Add-ons” icon (Or press Ctrl+Shift+A on your keyboard).
  
• Go through Extensions and Addons list, remove everything Searcher4u.com Hijacker related and items you do not recognise. If you do not know the extension and it is not made by Mozilla, Google, Microsoft, Oracle or Adobe then you probably do not need it.
  
• If your homepage was changed, click on the Firefox menu in the top right corner, select Options → General. Enter a preferable URL to the homepage field and click Restore to Default.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to Searcher4u.com, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla Firefox window. Click on the Help button.
  
• ChooseTroubleshooting Information on the Help menu.
  
• Click on theReset Firefox button.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button on the confirmation box. Mozilla Firefox will close and change the settings to default.
  

If the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program to identify malicious entries.

How to remove Searcher4u.com Hijacker from Microsoft Edge:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Microsoft Edge window. Select “Extensions”.

• Select all malicious extensions and delete them.

• Click on the three-dot menu on the browser toolbar and Select Settings

• Select Privacy and Services and scroll down. Press on Address bar.

• Choose Manage search engines.

• Remove unnecessary search engines from the list: open the three-dot menu and choose Remove.

• Go back to Settings. Open On start-up.
• Delete malicious search websites at Open specific page or pages by opening the three-dot menu and clicking Delete.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to Searcher4u.com Hijacker, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings

• Click on Edge's menu button and select Settings. Click on the Reset Settings button on the left.
• Press the Restore settings to their default values option.

• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How to remove Searcher4u.com Hijacker from Safari:Top

Remove malicious extensions

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences.
  
• Select Extensions and uninstall Searcher4u.com and other suspicious extensions.
  
• If your homepage was changed, click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences and choose General tab. Enter preferable URL to the homepage field.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings(older versions) If you are still experiencing any issues related to Searcher4u.com Hijacker, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Reset Safari…
  
• Select which options you want to reset (usually all of them come preselected) and click on the Reset button.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.