Safeplex Search - How to remove

Safeplex Search is supposed to enhance your online security by scanning your internet search results. Safeplex Search should let you know if a result opens a dangerous site or a safe one. I have doubts about its quality, and I wonder why Safeplex Search acts like a browser hijacker by changing your browser settings to make Yahoo.com your new search engine. There are other problems with it, too, like a suspicious lack of reviews and an association with deceptive websites. It’s just not advisable to rely on Safeplex Search for your online security.

In short about Safeplexsearch.com’s problems and removal:

Classification	PUP (potentially unwanted program), browser hijacker.
What Safeplex Search does	Changes the default search engine, displays icons to mark Yahoo search results as safe or not safe.
How it was installed	Manually installed, offered by other browser hijackers, advertised online, downloaded with free programs.
Removing Safeplex Search	Uninstall unwanted browser extensions manually, get rid of malware (Spyhunter for Windows, Combo Cleaner for macOS), Block notifications from Safeplexsearch.com.

Does Safeplex Search work?

Safeplex Search is a web browser extension – a little app that changes slightly how your browser works. It’s supposed to add security to your browsing: Safeplex Search should detect malicious sites and warn you about them in your web search results.

To achieve this, Safeplex Search changes your default search engine to Safeplexsearch.com, which opens Yahoo.com. Safeplex has access to anything you do on Safeplex.com and Yahoo.com. It scans your search results and labels them with a little green or red shield to indicate whether it thinks the site is safe. Seems like Safeplex Search does not scan ads, though.

I tested a few sites. First, I looked for and found a few pirating sites that download cracked, modified, and infected files and adware bundles – Safeplex did not have an issue with them, plastering a nice green shield icon next to them. Really? Some of those sites spread actual malware. And yet, I didn’t see Safeplex Search put up a single warning.

Another weird issue is Safeplex Search showing a “This site is Safe!” pop-up on obviously malicious sites. This is the pop-up seen when you click on Safeplex Search’s extension icon. First of, can Safeplex Search even read the site? According to its description in the Chrome Web Store, it only reads Yahoo.com and Safeplex.com. It has access to your browsing history, but only uses it to “create a personalized user experience”, which doesn’t sound like a security feature. Maybe the “This site is Safe!” pop-up is just the default which doesn’t mean anything, but that would give the user a false sense of security and would be an obvious mistake.

Safeplex Search probably does work and I justs did not test it on sufficiently malicious sites. Whatever spam detection database Safeplex Search is using, it needs an upgrade, because it’s pretty lacking at the moment.

Browser hijacker

It’s possible to install Safeplex Search manually by finding it online, in extension stores, and then downloading it because the description made it look useful. But that seems unlikely considering that Safeplex Search doesn’t seem to have reviews or ratings from any of its users – despite having been installed by more than ten thousand people. And reviews are one of the most important aspects that help you assess the safety of an extension.

Safeplex Search is made by Innover Group, which has developed a ton of browser hijackers: Daily Top Coupons, Ezy Photo Tab, Maps Assist, and others. These extensions are usually distributed by misleading ads, but there are a few ways that they and Safeplex Search get installed:

• Bundled with free programs or with other browser extensions. You think you’re getting one program, but you end up with five adware infections.
• Advertised on certain websites, usually alternative search engines, like Hidemysearches.com.
• Downloaded with adware bundles and malicious programs.

Alternative/fake search engines already are mostly just seen by those whose browser is infected. The more adware infections you have, the more likely you are to have even more malware make it on your computer.

How to remove Safeplex Search

In the next section, I put instructions for removing browser extensions. You should be able to get rid of Safeplex Search quickly and easily. Then, check your default search engine in browser settings.

If you want to be sure that your computer is clean, it would be useful to scan your computer for malware with a security program, like Spyhunter for PC, Combo Cleaner for Mac, etc. If you want a real security check to protect you online, look into antivirus programs that have real-time web security. These programs can block malicious sites and scripts for you, and though they do show false positives, I think that that’s preferable to letting bad sites slip through.

If Safeplexsearch.com sends you unwanted notifications, you can block them by going to your browser settings, finding “Safeplexsearch.com”, pressing the menu next to it, and choosing the “Block” option.

• Chrome – type “chrome://settings/content/notifications” in the address box.
• Edge – type “edge://settings/content/notifications” in the address box.
• Firefox – open Settings, Preferences, Privacy & Security, scroll down to Permissions, and click on Settings next to Notifications.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Manually remove unwanted extensions

TopRemoving Safeplex Search 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 Safeplexsearch.com. Click on the trash bin icon next to Safeplex Search 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 Safeplexsearch.com, 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 Safeplex Search 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 Safeplex Search. Click on the "Remove" icon next to Safeplexsearch.com 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 Safeplex Search 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 Safeplexsearch.com 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 Safeplex Search, 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.