Search.search-el.com virus - How to remove

Search.search-el.com virus – computer infection targeted to web browsers and listed as a browser hijacker. If it is installed on your computer, you will notice changes immediately – it hijacks new tab page on the infected web browser, so once you open it, www.ssearch.search-el.com will appear.

Don’t get too scared even if your computer is already infected – even though browser hijackers are extremely annoying, they can be easily removed from infected systems. However, it has to be done without hesitation. If you leave Search.search-el.com installed on your computer, it can infiltrate other similar malware or even leak your personal information.

If you have found yourself in this unfortunate situation, please continue reading the article. We will provide you with needed information that will help to get rid of Search.search-el.com fast and effortless. Also, you are going to learn how this virus is distributed and what are the main features, so next time you will be prepared for an attack like this better.

Why Search.search-el.com Is Considered To Be Malicious

First of all, it goes without saying that changing personal settings without even hesitating to ask for permission, is not something a program should do. Add deceptive distribution methods to that and you have an application that is truly unwanted and malicious.

This infection belongs to the Polarity Technologies LTD malware family. If you don’t already know, this company is distributing most of the browser hijackers at the time. Recent examples would be Directions.cm, Search.hdesignyoursite.co, and search.hmyconverterhub.com.

All those infections produced by Polarity are very similar to each other, almost the same. They all are distributed using the same techniques, they all share common features. That makes thing a little bit easier for us – it’s not that hard to examine and sort out those infections.

If you are wondering what’s worst about this Search.search-el.com virus, we would light to highlight several facts. First of all, it will change the way you are browsing the Internet. You will be forced to use Search.search-el.com virus for your web searches and along with this comes some dangers. You might be exposed to excessive advertisements, you might get redirected to dangerous websites and most importantly, your private data will be collected and might be leaked to third parties.

If that’s not enough, there is a possibility that Search.search-el.com virus might infiltrate other potentially unwanted programs into your system. That’s why you should remove this infection from your computer as soon as possible.

Specifics of Search.search-el.com Website

Usually, browser hijackers distributed by Polarity are hiding under some specific image of a useful tool that is supposed to perform beneficial actions. However, Search.search-el.com is not designed that way and it’s just a regular website that tries to impersonate a typical homepage.

There are various links and shortcuts to other, but obviously, the main and very defined function is the web search. Even though it employs the Yahoo search engine to deliver results, we highly recommend avoiding using it.

First of all, Search.search-el.com will display corrupt search results, by displaying affiliated websites at the top, regardless of what you are searching for. That being said, you can expect search results that are completely irrelevant – that’s a waste of time. Moreover, those links might lead to websites that are dangerous, owned by cyber criminals.

Also, every single search query you fill into Search.search-el.com search field will be collected. This way Polarity is collecting information about you. Last but not least, you can expect additional ads due to the presence of Search.search-el.com virus. It is a common trait for adware infections, yet some browser hijackers also have this feature.

How Search.search-el.com Hijacked Your Web Browser

We have already mentioned that this infection is distributed using deceptive methods. I..e. it usually gets installed without user consent. How does that happen?

Well, as most of the other malware, Search.search-el.com is distributed bundled with various free software that can be downloaded from the Internet. This is the reason why we suggest to keep your computer secured with anti-malware software that features real-time protection. This way you will be able to browse the Internet and download various software without worrying that your computer will get infected.

Currently, the best anti-malware tools with real-time protection feature are Plumbytes and Malware Fighter – feel free to check them out.

Removal of Search.search-el.com Hijacker

To effectively eliminate Search.search-el.com virus, you will have to get yourself a decent anti-malware tool that is proven to be effective in removing such infections. We recommend to use Spyhunter

What you have to do is scan your computer with either one of those programs and Search.search-el.com virus will be automatically detected and removed. What’s more, the anti-malware program will also detect other viruses or malicious files that are operating on your computer and remove them as well.

Also, we have created a step-by-step Search.search-el.com virus removal instructions – find it below this article. If you manage to complete all steps correctly, you will be able to eliminate the infection by yourself.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Search.search-el.com virus removal

How to remove search-el virus using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like Search.search-el.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 search-el virus . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make Search.search-el.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.

How to remove search-el virus from macOS

Delete Search.search-el.com virus from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the search-el virus 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.search-el.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 Search.search-el.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 Search.search-el.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 Search.search-el.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.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to search-el virus, 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.search-el.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 Search.search-el.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 Search.search-el.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 search-el 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.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings(older versions) If you are still experiencing any issues related to Search.search-el.com virus, 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.