Maps Search Hijacker - How to remove

Maps Search (Search.Mapsrch-site.net) is a browser add-on. It’s supposed to help you use online maps. But its main feature is to influence your web search. For that, Maps Search replaces your new tab page with its own.

Overall, Maps Search is not very helpful and you could easily make something much more personalized and useful by using built-in browser features. At the same time, Maps Search is not very dangerous, just annoying.

Maps Search in short:

Classification	Browser hijacker.
How Maps Search affects the browser	It replaces the new tab page with its own, it promotes the search engine Search.Mapsrch-site.net.
How to avoid hijackers	Block malicious websites and ads, protect your computer from malware and adware, don’t install unknown extensions.
How to remove Maps Search	Uninstall it and other unwanted extensions from your browser, remove malware with antivirus tools (Spyhunter for PC, Combo Cleaner for Mac, others), check your browser settings.

How Maps Search works

It replaces your new tab page

When Maps Search is installed, it replaces your new tab/home page. On this new tab page, Maps Search displays a search box, your most frequented sites, and a menu with a few links. Those links go to online maps, sites for finding and comparing restaurants, travel and letting sites, and a few news websites.

Since Maps Search replaces your old home page, you might lose your pinned sites and bookmarks, as well as your old background picture. To get them back, you’d need to remove the Maps Search extension.

The search box in the middle of the Maps Search new tab page opens Search.Mapsrch-site.net which then goes to Yahoo (or another site).

You might also see notifications from Maps Search (or from Mapsrch-site.net) on your screen.

It redirects search queries

You can find Maps Search on Mapsrch.com, where you can be taken to the Chrome Web Store to install the add-on. The descriptions for Maps Search imply that it does something special to let you access online maps more easily. But those three links in the menu are all there is.

You could bookmark your favorite map sites or pin them to your new tab page. That would actually be better than what Maps Search does because you can always change your bookmarks. Not to mention, users of the default Google or Bing new tabs already had access to their respective map sites.

All in all, Maps Search barely does anything for maps. Its functionality is equivalent to a list of URLs that you might find useful.

It seems like the most prominent feature of Maps Search is something not related to maps – the search bar. It works and it allows Search.Mapsrch-site.net to read your search query and decide who’ll deliver your search results. Therefore, this add-on can be considered a browser hijacker.

To be fair, Maps Search’s privacy policy is a lot better than that of some other browser extensions. There’s no mention of logging your search queries or using your data for advertising.

How to avoid browser hijackers

Even though Maps Search is not really dangerous, it can still be a bit annoying. Luckily, there are ways to recognize and avoid browser hijackers.

It’s made by Tightrope Interactive, a company whose older extensions were familiar with here on 2-viruses – there’s Quick Speed Test, FromPDFtoDoc, and the now seemingly dead MyMapsTab.

These add-ons are advertised online. The problem is that I often see them use misleading ads – ads that look like buttons to interact with the page, saying “Start” and “Continue”. They’re similar to the old fake Download buttons.

Extensions also get bundled with other browser extensions. They’re sometimes offered by a pop-up, misleadingly designed to look like a continuation of the first installation process. Search Extension by Ask is often bundled like that.

It’s good to check your other extensions and make sure there are no unfamiliar items there.

Ad blockers and malicious site blockers, as well as some anti-malware tools that can filter malicious and suspicious websites, can help you stay safe and avoid a lot of these browser hijackers.

How to remove Maps Search

Uninstall it from your browser. Check your settings, including your notification settings. The instructions for removing browser add-ons can be found below – very easy to do manually.

Scan your computer with an anti-malware app, such as Spyhunter for Windows, Combo Cleaner for macOS, and others. Especially if you aren’t sure how Maps Search was installed. That could indicate that Maps Search was brought by an adware infection. If anti-malware scanners detect something malicious or just suspicious, consider removing those programs or files.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Remove unwanted browser extensions

TopRemoving Maps Search 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 Maps Search Hijacker. Click on the trash bin icon next to Maps Search 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 Maps Search Hijacker, 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.

How to remove Maps Search 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 Maps Search Hijacker. Click on the "Remove" icon next to Maps Search 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 Maps Search 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 Maps Search 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.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to Maps Search 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.