Guardian Search Protector - How to remove

Guardian Search Protector is a potentially unwanted program, a browser extension that replaces the browser’s search engine with Guardian-search.com, which immediately redirects to Google. Although Guardian Search Protector can be helpful as a way to fix a hijacked browser, it still has some issues with privacy and restricting your search engine choices. As it is, Guardian Search Protector is a potentially unwanted add-on that ought to be avoided.

About Guardian Search Protector:

Type of threat	Potentially unwanted program (PUP), browser hijacker.
How Guardian Search Protector affects the browser	Sets the default search engine to Google, loads Guardian-search.com first, logs some user data based on what they do on Google.com.
Problems and issues	The extension ignores the user’s search engine preferences, its operators can change the search engine at any time, it may use the data that’s collected about each user for ad targeting.
How to remove Guardian Search Protector	Uninstall Guardian Search Protector, uninstall other search hijackers manually or with an anti-malware program (Spyhunter for PC, Combo Cleaner for Mac, others).

What does Guardian Search Protector do?

Replace the default search engine

Guardian Search Protector is presented on the Chrome Web Store as a tool for recovering from an infection by a malicious browser extension:

This extension will revert changes that might have been made to your search provider via other nasty extensions by making the Guardian Search Protector Pro the default (and safe) search provider.

Looks like Guardian Search Protector is trying to appeal to people whose browsers were hijacked. Hijackers change your browse’rs default search engine setting. One common example is Yahoo redirect virus. It’s caused by browser extensions that lock down the search engine setting in the browser to a website that then redirects to a search engine. Search hijackers often use legitimate search engines but cause additional ads to be displayed in the results.

Once Guardian Search Protector is installed, it replaces the default search engine with Guardian-search.com which redirects searches to Google.com. To those who used to use Google.com to begin with, this looks like their browser went back to normal. Even if there’s a quick little redirect from Guardian-search.com each time they search.

Those who use search engines other than Google might not be thrilled with Guardian Search Protector.

Get access to user data

It is true that if you install a search hijacker on top of a search hijacker, only the latest one will have an effect. But that is not a good or safe way to take care of hijackers. For one, Guardian Search Protector now has control over your search engine, as well as access to your Google.com pages – and it could do some intrusive things with it:

• Change the search engine at any time simply by updating Guardian-search.com.
• Read your search queries and observe which results you click on.
• Inject ads and replace links.

According to Guardian Search Protector’s privacy policy, data collected about users could be used to research your interests and target advertisements. The privacy policy implies that some third parties might show their own ads via Guardian Search Protector. So not only does Google see your habits, now Guardian Search Protector does as well, and it can even share this data with some of its business partners – sites that promote content through Guardian Search Protector.

In the end, it’s hard to see Guardian Search Protector as anything but a very mild spyware add-on (as are many browser add-ons). I’m not sure what it needs access to Google.com for other than to spy on its users.

How to remove Guardian Search Protector

Guardian Search Protector can be removed as any browser extension. If you installed it yourself, then you shouldn’t have any problems removing it as described in the instructions at the bottom of this page and in Guardian Search Protector’s description on the Chrome Web Store.

There is more than one version of Guardian Search Protector (that’s very common for browser hijackers) so you might even have two of this same extension installed. Also, Guardian Search Protector is related to various new tab replacers that use Gl-search.com.

If you didn’t install Guardian Search Protector intentionally, then a free program might have installed it for you. Or a deceptive ad might have promoted it for you. You might want to check what programs were installed at the same time as Guardian Search Protector showed up.

To find and remove adware and browser hijackers, scan your computer with an anti-malware program, like Spyhunter for Windows, Combo Cleaner for macOS, and others. If malicious items are detected, remove them. Or check your programs and browser extensions manually and disable or remove browser extensions that are suspicious, that you don’t use, and that you did not install yourself. In case you can’t remove them because the Remove button is not there or is grayed out, check this post – you probably need to manage certain settings on your computer that malware turned on to prevent hijackers from being removed.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Restore browser settings

TopHow To remove Guardian Search Protector 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 Guardian Search Protector, 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 Guardian Search Protector 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 Guardian Search Protector, 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 Guardian Search Protector 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 Guardian Search Protector 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 Guardian Search Protector, 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.