Search-goal.com virus - How to remove

Search-goal.com virus is a browser hijacker that tries to increase traffic and advertise some websites. This third party software was developed by Babylon Ltd. and it causes numerous unwanted changes in your browser settings, constant redirections and other inconveniences that follow because of that. The program usually comes bundled to free software that you can download from the Internet.

The main changes that Search-goal.com virus makes on the infected systems are these: it replaces your homepage and default search page no matter which were your preferences before and modifies your search results by adding numerous commercial websites. If you try to use another search engine or set other websites as your homepage, you can have some problems to do it. Search-goal.com virus also installs additional tool that protects Internet browser settings from being changed.  If you try to make a search using Search-goal.com, you will notice that it includes dozens of sponsored websites to your search results and also displays numerous ads that may not even be related to your searches.

What is more Search-goal.com virus may collect information about your search queries, websites that your are visiting and even get access to some of your sensitive information, like your emails, usernames and passwords. Later this data can be sent to the third parties which will most likely use it for marketing purposes or even try to steal your money. Also keep in mind that Search-goal.com can redirect you to some malicious websites where your computer can be infected.

It is highly recommended to remove Search-goal.com virus as soon as you notice it on Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome. Go to Control Panel, Add/Remove programs list and uninstall anything related to this domain from there. Some versions of this hijacker install software that blocks browser settings from changing. To identify them, scanning with Spyhunter or other reputable antispyware tool might be useful. Then you can uninstall the extensions and reset settings in your browsers.

Special removal instructions of Search-goal.com virus

How to remove Search-goal.com virus from Internet Explorer (older versions):

1. Click on the arrow on the right of the search box;
2. Do the following: on IE8-9 choose Manage Search providers, on IE7 click on Change search defaults;
3. Remove Search-goal.com from the list.

How to remove Search-goal.com virus from IE 11:

1. Click on the Settings icon (top right)->Manage Addons;
2. Select Search Providers;
3. Change the default search engine to Bing or Google;
4. If any of these search providers is not available, follow “Find more search providers” in the bottom of the screen and install Google.

How to remove Search-goal.com virus from Firefox:

1. Enter “about:config” in url bar. This will open settings page;
2. Type “Keyword.url” in the search box. Right click and reset it;
3. Type “browser.search.defaultengine” in the search box. Right click it and reset it;
4. Type “browser.search.selectedengine” in the search box. Right click it and reset it;
5. Type “browser.startup.homepage” in the search box. Right click it and reset;
6. Search for “browser.newtab.url”. Right-click and reset. This will make sure that the search page won’t launch on every new tab;
7. If the settings revert and scan with anti-malware programs are clean: close Firefox, open file explorer and enter %AppData% in the address bar. Enter user.js in the search box. If this file exists, rename it and start Firefox again. You will have to repeat the steps above.

How to remove Search-goal.com virus from Google Chrome:

1. Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on the browser toolbar;
2. Select Settings;
3. Select Basics ->Manage Search engines;
4. Remove unnecessary search engines from the list;
5. Go back to Settings. On Startup choose ‘Open blank page’ (you can remove undesired pages from the set pages link too);
6. If your New Tab page is hijacked, you will have to scan with anti-malware program or use New Tab Redirect extension from Chrome Store.

Remove shortcut hijack (all browsers) (optional):

If your browser opens Search-goal.com page on startup only, try this:

1. Right click on your browser icon. Choose Properties;
2. Open Short cut tab;
3. Delete Search-goal.com part from target field.

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