SearchAholic Hijacker - How to remove

SearchAholic is a browser hijacker that causes Yahoo redirects. It gets installed without your permission and changes default search settings so that it can take control over where your search queries go and how the results are delivered. For as long as SearchAholic is installed, you can’t fix the default search engine setting, and it gets access to your browsing history. Needless to say, SearchAholic should be removed, along with any other adware that may be lurking.

In short about SearchAholic:

Classification	Browser hijacker, adware.
Removing SearchAholic	Uninstall unwanted extensions, apps, and programs, find malware with anti-malware tools (Spyhunter for PC, Combo Cleaner for Mac, others), block notification pop-ups in browser settings.
Effects of the hijacking	Web search results now delivered by Search.yahoo.com and the default search engine setting can’t be changed, SearchAholic reads your browsing history and search queries.
How SearchAholic got installed	Installed by certain free programs without getting your permission, advertised by deceptive ads, promoted by adware.

How to remove SearchAholic

Anti-malware programs like Spyhunter (for Windows), Combo Cleaner (for macOS), and others can recognize browser hijackers and remove them for you. Or you can do it yourself and uninstall SearchAholic manually by accessing your browser settings. More detailed instructions with screenshots are at the bottom of this post.

Remember to check your default search engine settings afterward. Decide which site you want to deliver your search results.

If you don’t scan your computer, then be very careful when you check your other browser extensions. Are there any that you didn’t install? Did any of them ask for new permissions lately? What about your apps and programs, are there any new and unexpected entries there? Often, the arrival of a browser hijacker like SearchAholic is accompanied by potentially unwanted programs and sneaky adware that also needs to be removed.

If you see unwanted pop-ups from Search-Aholic.com in the corner of your screen, also check this article on how to block web push notifications.

Problems with SearchAholic

SearchAholic is a useless browser extension. For the user, at least. For advertisers and its creators, it’s a useful marketing and data collection tool.

SearchAholic can read the browsing history, which can contain valuable data about people’s interests and demographics. Not to mention, SearchAholic gets access to the search queries that are typed into the browser’s search bar, which can reveal even more intimate information about the person typing them.

And the reason that SearchAholic gets access to people’s search queries is that it changes the browser’s search engine settings to its own site, Feed.search-aholic.com. This site redirects to Search.yahoo.com regardless of your previous search engine preferences.

SearchAholic isn’t the only hijacker of this type. It’s similar to Searchaize, SearchZone, AnonymoSearch, and other Webcoapps creations.

How SearchAholic got installed

A few ways that people could install SearchAholic:

• install it for its features (unlikely),
• install it unintentionally (thanks to deceptive advertisements),
• have another program install it (adware and potentially unwanted programs do this).

Odds are, most of those who have SearchAholic did not install it on purpose. It’s not that uncommon. Installing a browser extension is very easy and malicious actors have been taking advantage of that to trick people into installing unwanted programs. The Chrome team has called that out and has been trying to curb the use deceptive installation tactics, but it’s not always possible to catch all the offenders.

You can find SearchAholic on Install.search-aholic.com, where a page encourages you to download SearchAholic without clearly explaining what it is. This page is shown as an ad on various websites that allow you to download files. If you got confused by the ad that is also a download button, it would be totally understandable.

SearchAholic can also come bundled int he installer of another program, especially one that is downloaded from an unreliable site. Free programs installing junkware is nothing new, and the junkware varies from unwanted but legitimate programs, to browser hijackers and adware.

Adware infection can also promote SearchAholic. They cause pop-up ads and online redirects to dangerous websites. An ad for SearchAholic is only one of many possible issues caused by adware.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Removing a browser extension

TopHow To remove SearchAholic 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 SearchAholic 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 SearchAholic 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 SearchAholic 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 SearchAholic 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 SearchAholic 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 SearchAholic 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.