PowerfulSearch.net browser hijacker - How to remove

PowerfulSearch.net is a website that appears every time you open a web browser? Then it’s almost a sure thing that your computer is infected with this virus, unless you installed it yourself and find it useful.

Now if you are searching for a solution to this problem, you have come to the right place because in this article we will provide you with detailed instructions how to detect and remove the virus both manually and automatically.

The easies and fastest method to eliminate the infection is to do it automatically – simply download reliable anti-malware software, install it on your computer and then run a full scan of all files stored on your hard drive. Either one of them should be able to detect and remove the threat in no time. It will also protect your computer from similar viruses in the future, thus it’s worth to keep it installed.

In case you prefer to perform this removal manually – scroll down below this article and take a look at our step-by-step PowerfulSearch.net manual removal guide – do your best to complete all steps correctly and you should be able to eliminate this infection manually by your own.

If you have some questions regarding this topic, feel free to ask them in the comments section below and we will do our best to answer them all. To learn more about specific features of PowerfulSearch.net please continue reading the article.

About PowerfulSearch.net browser hijacker

As most of other viruses like this, PowerfulSearch.net is operating as browser add-on that can be added to all most common web browsers out there, including Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox or even Safari. That means Apple users are vulnerable too.

This virus hijacks web browser by changing homepage and default search engine to www.powerfulSearch.net without an actual opportunity to change those settings back until you vanish itself from the system.

As suggested by the name and description of this tool, PowerfulSearch.net is supposed to be an useful and powerful search engine. However, we find this description to be completely misleading.

As you can see in the picture above, this search engine displays tons of results that are not even relevant to the search query. And that’s not even the biggest problem, since those sponsored results might lead you to some suspicious websites – it’s not recommended to even click on them. Additionally, it blends paid search results (ads) with organic search. This is not legitimate practice but trying to force you into clicking on advertisements and make money for them.

If it happens so that you click on the sponsored result displayed by PowerfulSearch, you will be immediately redirected to other websites that might be owned by various cyber criminals, such as hackers or scammers. This way your computer can get infected with other viruses or if you attempt to purchase something there you can even get scammed and lose money.

Another unwanted quality of this infection is that they collect data about you. This includes but not limits to IP address, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), cookie information, and the webpage that you visit. This information can be transferred to third parties in order to make those ads more relevant and attractive to you – this way a chance that you will click on one of them is enhanced. And that’s the main goal of PowerfulSearch.net because they get paid for every click you make.

If that’s not enough, PowerfulSearch.net also features some attributes of adware malware. Once inside of your computer it will flood your web browsers with various ads in all kinds of forms, such as pop-up, pop-under, in-text, banner or contextual advertisements. New tab or even window with ads on it can be opened at any time as well.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Manual removal of PowerfulSearch.net virus

How to remove PowerfulSearch using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like PowerfulSearch.net browser 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 PowerfulSearch . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make PowerfulSearch.net browser 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 PowerfulSearch from macOS

Delete PowerfulSearch.net browser hijacker from your applications.

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

Manual removal