Search Defender Hijacker - How to remove

Search Defender, also referred to as Search Defender Prime, is advertised by its developers as a tool that allows people to surf the web in a safe way and to prevent the attacks of various computer viruses. These features are definitely important and are demanded by many people today. The problem is that Search Defender is a rogue security software with clear traits of browser hijacker. Its distribution method is basically the same as the one used by the variety of PUPs (potentially unwanted programs). It is installed into the browser without the user’s permission or knowledge.

Search Defender additionally changes very important browser settings, such as your default search engine. You will no longer surf the web through Google Search. Your search queries will instead be redirected through the pseudo search engine that is not considered as a genuine search provider. Furthermore, Search Defender tracks your personal information related to your browsing habits in an illegal way. Removing this program is, therefore, the only correct solution.

Search Defender distribution ways.

You may install the Search Defender extension simply by going to its official website searchdefenderprime.com. However, we strongly doubt that this will be your personal decision. The hijacker is instead promoted through bundling with other free software. This is the most common way though which Search Defender gains control over your browser settings, such as the new tab URL, default search engine and startup page.

The pop-ups advertising Search Defender may also be generated in your browser as a result of specific adware currently active in your system. Once your browser is under the control of adware, it will be randomly generating numerous unexpected pop-ups that may forward you to a lot of sponsored pages, including searchdefenderprime.com.

Does Search Defender protect your browsing?

In spite of the advertised functions, Search Defender works in a totally opposite way. It sets searchdefenderprime.com as your default search engine instead of Google Search. When you submit specific search queries, they will initially be redirected through searchdefenderprime.com and then eventually the results will be given by Yahoo Search. Note that Yahoo company is not related to this hijacker and physically cannot control its malicious activity. In other words, searchdefenderprime.com simply steals the search results from Yahoo Search and additionally adds a lot of its promoted links and advertisement banners on top of the list. This way the authors of Search Defender obtain their revenue by advertising specific products or services.

Searchdefenderprime.com through its Search Defender extension actively tracks your browsing habits. It keeps records of all the information you submit through your browser regarding your search preferences, interests, visited websites, geographic locations and other strictly private details. So, instead of protecting your privacy, Search Defender collects this information and additionally may reveal it to third parties, mainly to specific advertising companies in order to target your screen with more relevant ads. The relevance of advertisements, of course, does not legalize the presence of the hijacker in your browser.

Ads and sponsored links displayed by Search Defender may lead you to certain commercial websites, however, there are times when you will be forwarded to a lot of dubious pages that cannot be treated as genuine, for example:

• fake software update alerts that secretly lead to the installation of malware;
• bogus surveys, questionnaires and lotteries that aim to collect your personal details;
• landing pages of other browser hijackers;
• fake Microsoft or Apple pop-up warnings demanding installation of PUPs (potentially unwanted programs.

How to remove Search Defender?

It is not difficult to come to the right conclusion that Search Defender brings many troubles instead of improving your browsing experience. You will not be able to manually change your default search engine unless the extension is enabled. It will control all your actions, so when you try to set the search provider back to Google Search, the extension will immediately restore its own searchdefenderprime.com as the default engine.

Search Defender mainly attacks Google Chrome, so follow this sequence of steps carefully to remove it manually:

• In Google Chrome menu, click on “More Tools”;
• select “Extensions”;
• look for Search Defender, disable and delete it.

Be very careful whenever you decide to install free software in the future. Pay attention to all important details during the setup process. Always choose the option of the “Advanced” or “Custom” installation where you may easily uncheck all third-party software from being injected by default. The last but not the least, scan your computer with the Spyhunter to identify other hidden malware that may cause problems for you while you surf the web.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Search Defender Virus Removal

How to remove Search Defender Hijacker using Windows Control Panel

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

Delete Search Defender Hijacker from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the Search Defender Hijacker 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 Search Defender 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 Search Defender 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 Search Defender 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 Search Defender 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 Search Defender 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.
  
• 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 Search Defender 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 Search Defender 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 Search Defender 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 Search Defender Hijacker 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 Search Defender 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.