Elex family of adware-like malware has been augmented by another piece of software, named Luckysearch123.com. This specific application has been developed by some unknown software developer, located in Asia. It is not disclosed neither in the License Agreement nor in the Privacy Policy nor in the About section of Luckysearch123.com’s extension. In the latter section, though, it is written that Luckysearch.com is a leading global provider of search-based advertising to publishers.
Proceeding with the services they provide, the developers of Luckysearch.com app state that they serve users with the most relevant and highest paying ads sourced from their direct advertiser base. They admit that they specialize in online advertising, web traffic generation, online search syndication and Search Engine Marketing, helping owners of websites and web networks to generate revenue. If we summarized what Luckysearch.com add-on is into two words, based on the information provided in the latter introduction, these two words would be a browser hijacker.
This post is dedicated to provide you with the most relevant information about this malware and introduce you to possible removal methods, so in case you are interested in doing so, please continue reading the article.
Luckysearch123 Com Virus quicklinks
- Why Luckysearch123.com is categorized as a virus
- Suspended domains used by hijackers like Luckysearch123.com
- How to Remove Luckysearch123.com
- Automatic Malware removal tools
- Manual removal of Luckysearch123.com Virus
- How to remove Luckysearch123.com Virus using Windows Control Panel
(Win)
Note: Spyhunter trial provides detection of parasites and assists in their removal for free. limited trial available, Terms of use, Privacy Policy, Uninstall Instructions,
(Mac)
Note: Combo Cleaner trial provides detection of parasites and assists in their removal for free. limited trial available, Terms of use, Privacy Policy, Uninstall Instructions, Refund Policy ,
Why Luckysearch123.com is categorized as a virus
Luckysearch123.com has already been reported as an application causing redirect issue. How does it do that? As you probably know, the plug-in is an alternative search tool. When you try to do a search via Luckysearch123.com add-on, you are redirected to a new tab page, displaying seemingly the search results of Google. This is a typical feature of many of the browser hijackers – extensions, which hijack your default homepage, which is, most probably, either google.com or firefox.com. There are plenty of viruses like this one – they all try to modify default settings on your the web browser and redirect users to other websites. Sashoff.com and Axszd.pro are just a couple of examples.
This redirection brings the owner of the infected computer not to the search results of Google, but to their modified version. As we have quoted in the introduction of this article, in fact, it is vice versa, Luckysearch123.com module is not a search tool, but it is rather a utility, which aims at search-based advertising. That is, it was created primarily not for web search rendering but for advertising.
Going further, the owners of Luckysearch123.com extension claim that their software displays the most relevant and highest paying ads. Decoding the phrase, it can be stated that your online activities are being tracked and you are being rendered advertisements, which bring the most profit to their producers. What good can this bring you? Absolutely, nothing good. On the contrary, your privacy is violated and you become the target of online swindlers. Moreover, as Luckysearch123.com hijacker is concerned with the web traffic generation, you are rendered the third-party advertising websites and, thus, your web search results are spoiled. And all this is done for the mere aim of creating more revenue for the 3rd party advertisers, as the creators of Lucky Search 123 extension are rewarded for this.
Luckysearch123.com malicious program is found in the free software bundles, spread across the whole of the web. Typically, the bundled software is that of the most popular free apps, such as free Flash Players, etc. Accordingly, the installation of free apps must be taken very seriously. It must be done in the Custom settings, where the user is allowed to perform the modification of the installer, meaning he can remove such PUAs (Potentially Unwanted Applications) from the installation wizard before they have gotten installed on the computer’s system.
Suspended domains used by hijackers like Luckysearch123.com
Many browser hijackers stopped being promoted actively in 2018. This happened due to changes in browser extension store security policies and various privacy laws. Luckysearch123 is one of many similar domains that stopped being promoted actively, but you can get infected with them in various software bundles that poison torrents. After infection, you will get hijacked with non-working webpage or a parked domain, which would display ads. This is significant risk, as you can not predict what will be displayed once the domain is sold or used again. E.g. similar page Popular123 stopped being search engine and became accessory store just because the domain was heavily-promoted before.
There is a category of malicious applications (browser hijackers) that redirects users to Google. They all operate in a similar manner and even look very alike. As described by the TechAdvisor, ‘redirect aims to generate profit by displaying advertisements (sponsored links) on Google search results pages. These infections perfectly fit this description:
| Created | Additional Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| Luckysite123.com | 2017 | |
| Luckystarting.com | 2017 | |
| Luckypage123.com | 2017 | |
| Startpageing123.com | 2017 | |
| MyHomePage123.com | 2017 | |
| Funnysearching.com | 2016 | |
| Myluckysurfing.com | 2017 | redirects to ads landing pages |
| MyStarting123.com | 2017 | redirects to ads landing pages |
| Initialsite123.com | 2017 | redirects to ads landing pages |
| Newsearch123.com | 2016 | redirects to ads landing pages |
| Istartpageing.com | 2015 | expired domain name |
| 7searches.org | unknown | expired domain name |
| MyBeginning123.com | unknown | expired domain name |
| Seek123.net | unknown | expired domain name |
How to Remove Luckysearch123.com
Better opt for the automatic removal of Luckysearch123.com program, as these kind of programs tend to append malicious registry entries as well as junky system folders. You can choose from the following security applications: Spyhunter or Hitman. Currently, these programs are distributed in bundles only, as their websites are closed down, so you will have to identify and delete all the additional malware that is distributed with hijacker.
Automatic Malware removal tools
(Win)
Note: Spyhunter trial provides detection of parasites and assists in their removal for free. limited trial available, Terms of use, Privacy Policy, Uninstall Instructions,
(Mac)
Note: Combo Cleaner trial provides detection of parasites and assists in their removal for free. limited trial available, Terms of use, Privacy Policy, Uninstall Instructions, Refund Policy ,
Manual removal of Luckysearch123.com Virus
How to remove Luckysearch123.com Virus using Windows Control Panel
Many hijackers and adware like Luckysearch123.com Virus 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 Luckysearch123.com Virus . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make Luckysearch123.com Virus 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.
TopRemove shortcut hijack (all browsers) (optional): If your browser opens Luckysearch123.com Virus page on startup only, try this:
- Right click on your browser icon. Choose Properties;
- Open Short cut tab;
- Delete Luckysearch123.com Virus part from target field.
TopHow To remove Luckysearch123.com Virus 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 Luckysearch123.com Virus, 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 Luckysearch123.com Virus 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 Luckysearch123.com Virus 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.
- 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.
TopHow to remove Luckysearch123.com Virus virus from Internet Explorer:
How to remove Luckysearch123.com Virus virus from Internet Explorer (older versions):
- Click on the arrow on the right of the search box.
- Do the following: on IE8-9 choose Manage Search providers, on IE7 click Change search defaults.
- Remove the Luckysearch123.com Virus from the list.
How to remove Luckysearch123.com Virus from IE 11:
- Click on the Settings icon (top right) → Manage Addons.
- Go through Toolbars and extensions. Remove everything related to Luckysearch123.com Virus
and items you do not know that are made not by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Oracle or Adobe.
- Select Search Providers.
- If any of these search providers is not available, follow “Find more search providers” in the bottom of the screen and install Google.
- Close the Options.
- If your homepage was changed, click on the Gear icon on the top right corner to open the Internet Explorer menu, select Internet options
and choose General tab. Enter a preferable URL to the homepage field and click Apply.
(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings
If you are still experiencing any issues related to Luckysearch123.com Virus, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.
- Gear icon→Internet Options.
- Choose the Advanced tab and click on the Reset
- Select “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.
How to remove Luckysearch123.com Virus 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 Luckysearch123.com Virus, 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 Luckysearch123.com Virus from Safari:Top
Remove malicious extensions- Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences.
- Select Extensions and uninstall Luckysearch123.com Virus 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.
- 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.
