Search.hsearchsmart.co Hijacker - How to remove

search.hsearchsmart.co might not look like much but it is a part of an insidious trend of unintrusive little add-ons hijacking our browsers to force us to visit certain websites and collect data about our activity online. Our web browsers are amazing programs which allow us to interact with the internet for everything from chatting with friends to online banking, so allowing an extension to access this program should be carefully considered.

search.hsearchsmart.co is the new tab page of everyone who has installed — willingly or unwillingly — the Search Smart browser extension. This extension can read your browsing history and change your search settings.

From the description of search.hsearchsmart.co, its only function seems to be to let people use the Yahoo search engine. This is something that applies not just to search.hsearchsmart.co, but to a lot of extensions developed by Eightpoint Technologies: Weather Forecaster, Email Anytime, Search.hthereadinghub.com, the many, many others. It is refreshing to see search.hsearchsmart.co admit its real purpose.

Is search.hsearchsmart.co safe?

Yes, search.hsearchsmart.co is safe to use. But it still has problems that make it unattractive.

Most browser hijackers are functionally adware. They collect data about what you do online (search.hsearchsmart.co can track what websites you visit, what you search for, etc.) and use it to help advertisers targets ads more effectively. They also force the infected browser to go to certain websites (that’s why search.hsearchsmart.co changes your search engine) on which the ads are displayed. Essentially, search.hsearchsmart.co is a roundabout way of publishing ads. The Yahoo search results page is a great place for that.

You might wonder, who would install an extension that simply lets you use the search engine that you want. Do you really need search.hsearchsmart.co to use Yahoo? No. For example, if you use the Chrome browser, you can set your preferred search engine in the settings in just two clicks.

The truth is that a lot of browser hijackers are installed by people unknowingly or involuntarily. And that reveals something bad about search.hsearchsmart.co, as dishonest distribution is used by dishonest programs.

How search.hsearchsmart.co is installed

Adware redirects always promote unwanted extensions. Adware — for example, sites like Drecentreshu.info — could cause new tabs, links, and ads to take you to unexpected websites, such as a promotional page for some interesting extension, say, Watch TV Easy. That page is where the bundling would start.

Bundling is the method that lots of hijackers use to add three or even four redundant extensions to one browser. Let’s say that you’re interested in a particular extension, but when you try to install it, you’re constantly prompted to install other add-ons, like search.hsearchsmart.co. And there is no way to refuse. This method is used to distribute not just unethical programs, but serious malware, too. To avoid bundling, you should only install extensions from the official store, though even that won’t protect you from all the malicious and imposter extensions.

Besides extension bundling, there is also freeware bundling. Perhaps you downloaded a media player, or a PC optimizer, and found search.hsearchsmart.co mysteriously added to your browser. This is dishonest not just because search.hsearchsmart.co spies on its users and takes over the browser, but also because an extension was installed without you asking for it.

So, even though search.hsearchsmart.co is not dangerous beyond you being forced to change your search engine and see a lot more advertisements, it does say something about how likely malware is to have infected your computer.

How to remove search.hsearchsmart.co

Search.hsearchsmart.co can be uninstalled like any extension, by removing it from your browser using one of the ways outlined in the guide below. Depending on how you installed it, it might be reinstalled. If that happens, there must be some malicious program working in the background. Uninstall it manually or find it using Spyhunter, or another strong antivirus program.

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to remove hsearchsmart using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like Search.hsearchsmart.co 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 hsearchsmart . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make Search.hsearchsmart.co 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 hsearchsmart from macOS

Delete Search.hsearchsmart.co Hijacker from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the hsearchsmart 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.

TopRemove malicious extensions from Internet Explorer

• Press on the Gear icon→Manage Add-ons.
  
• Go through Toolbars and extensions. Remove everything related to Search.hsearchsmart.co Hijacker and items you do not know that are made not by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Oracle or Adobe.
  
• Close the Options.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

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

• Press on the Gear icon->Internet Options.
  
• Choose the Advanced tab and click on the Reset button.
  
• Select a “Delete personal settings” checkbox and click on the Reset button.
  
• Click on the Close button on the confirmation box, then close your browser.
  

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

TopRemoving Search.hsearchsmart.co Hijacker from Chrome

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Google Chrome window. Select “Settings”.
  
• Click “Extensions” on the left menu bar.
• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to hsearchsmart. Click on the trash bin icon next to Search.hsearchsmart.co Hijacker or other add-ons you want to remove.
  
• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.
  
• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.
  
• Restart Chrome.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

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

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

TopRemoving Search.hsearchsmart.co Hijacker from Firefox

• 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 hsearchsmart 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.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to Search.hsearchsmart.co Hijacker, 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.
  
• Choose Troubleshooting Information on the Help menu.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button on the confirmation box. Mozilla Firefox will close and change the settings to default.
  

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

How to remove Search.hsearchsmart.co Hijacker from Microsoft Edge:Top

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

• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to hsearchsmart. Click on the "Remove" icon next to Search.hsearchsmart.co Hijacker or other add-ons you want to remove.

• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.

• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.

• Restart Microsoft Edge.

TopRemoving hsearchsmart from Safari (Mac OS X)

• Click on the Safari menu.
• Choose Preferences.
  
• Click on the Extensions Tab.
• Click on the Uninstall button near the Search.hsearchsmart.co Hijacker. Remove all other unknown or suspicious entries too. If you are not sure whether you need the extension or not, you can simply uncheck the Enable check-box to disable the extension temporarily.
  
• Restart Safari.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

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

• Click on the 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.