Searchencrypt.com virus - How to remove

Searchencrypt.com is a website and an application that promises to keep your searches private by encrypting them between your computer and their website. People who like their online privacy might be tempted to install it, however, there really isn’t much benefit to using it. Others found that their online browsing was controlled by SearchEncrypt despite them never installing it intentionally.

The privacy feature might seem attractive to people who don’t want anyone to look at their traffic and find out all the search queries. But this type of spying is rare and irrelevant to most of the web. Still, it sounds good, so some people get seduced by the marketing and allow Searchencrypt.com to take control of their browser.

This application is honestly a browser hijacker virus. It often gets installed in secret, without getting explicit permission from the user. Then it constantly redirects from all the other main search engines to Searchencrypt.com where it can display ads together with search results and make money that way.

The Searchencrypt.com virus is released by Eightpoint Technologies Ltd., even though it looks different from their many other creations. However, they do not mention Polarity (Eightpoint) in their EULA document anymore which is rather odd, as hijackers like Search.hemailloginnow.com, Search.searchmfd.com, Search.hwatchtvnow.co all have mentioned this company as their controller. Browser hijackers have definitely earned a spot among notable malware samples that have the capacity to bring a bunch of inconveniences and even more viruses (1).

Using Searchencrypt.com is mor etrouble than it’s worth:

Symptoms	Redirected to Searchencrypt.com when attempting to search the web The default search engine is Searchencrypt.com or another unusual page The browser home page is changed Floating ads on various websites
Possible harm	Low-quality ads can lead to dangerous websites Inconveniences lead to loss of productivity A misunderstanding about the extent of the privacy that Searchencrypt.com provides might lead people to expose personal information
Similar threats	Hidemysearches.com Incognito Searches Search Private Myprivatesearch.com
Remove Searchencrypt.com and associated threats	Disable or remove suspicious browser add-ons, especially ones developed by Eightpoint/Polarity Get rid of suspicious applications on your device, possibly with the help of anti-malware tools (Spyhunter)

Symptoms of Searchencrypt.com malware infection

This platform has had its ups and downs, but currently, its positions are rather enviable: it has received the honor of being the 3,213th website in the world (2). In the United States of America, the domain has obtained an even higher rank: 836. Its rank has risen over the years. While most of the website’s web traffic is generated by people from the US, the Searchencrypt.com redirect virus is also quite active in India, United Kingdom, Canada, and France.

This Searchencrypt.com search virus usually comes in the form of a browser add-on, which gives it a lot of power over the browser. It can display pop-up ads, open new sites, redirect users to pages that it wants to be visited. Considering that it can be installed without the user’s knowledge, having their search constantly redirected and interfered with doesn’t fly, no matter the privacy features promised.

Other comparable browser hijackers have shown support for this infection by initiating referrals to it: Myquickconverter.com, Emailaccessonline.com, Directionsandmap.com and even Hp.myway.com has been involved in the mission of raising the dominance of the Searchencrypt.com computer virus. In return, the rogue search engine that proclaims to be extremely interested in raising the security of users’ browsing has been noticed to reroute its clients to the Searchincognito.com hijacker. Redirection might be a natural process in the World Wide Web, but it has been exploited by hackers that are aiming for web traffic or completion of malvertising or phishing scams (3).

Also, the disturbing Searchencrypt.com browser hijacker will not feel uncomfortable displaying advertisements from reprehensible websites, such as ones that contain pornographic content. To spare accidental visits from minors, we will not mention the exact websites that the ads will be demonstrated from, but it has been acknowledged that adult-oriented websites are sources of malware infections (4).

Furthermore, the Searchencrypt.com computer infection constantly reroutes people to online-streaming facilities and file-sharing domains, urging them to download some sort of packaged applications. Such websites are notorious for showing malicious ads, malware hosting, and attempts to steal your personally-identifiable information (5).

Next to the content we explained in the paragraph above, sponsored material will come from more or less legitimate ad-networks: AdSupply, RevenueHits, Mediahub, exoClick, and other smaller units. While not all of these advertising companies will present malware-laden content, their content will be unwelcome during your browsing due to persistent reoccurrence. However, even secure ad-networks are not immune to presenting online ads that could be dangerous (6).

Remove malware from your device without any unnecessary inconveniences

The Searchencrypt.com virus should be recognized as an issue as it does something you don’t like, such as force you to use it when you don’t want. It might be set as your default search engine, home page, or just an extension to your browser. It could have been installed by accident, but infections are harder to get rid of than to install.

You can begin by looking at the active add-ons in your browser. Remove or disable all non-essential extensions — especially ones made by Eightpoint/Polaris. They get easily installed by accident thanks to misleading ads and bundlers.

It’s common for free applications to be downloaded in wrappers and modified installers. These often bundle various unwanted programs. If you’ve seen checkboxes for additional programs during an installation of a free program, then you’re familiar with this process. Searchencrypt.com might have been installed after you failed to uncheck a checkmark during one f these setups. That is not your fault, though — these installers are set up in a way that they easily manipulate and trick people.

Misleading ads appear all over the web (though they’re just unavoidable for those whose computers are infected with adware). Searchencrypt.com and other browser hijackers use manipulation here, too, tricking people to install various add-ons without providing a clear way to quit the process or to even learn what the extensions are.

Just removing Searchencrypt.com and the other hijackers from the browser might work for some, but others reported that their problem goes deeper.

The next step is to try to find if any unwanted software applications have been installed into your system. If anti-malware programs recognize them as suspicious or as poor-reputation, they should be removed. It is recommended to run a security scan with Spyhunter. It will find all sources of malicious activity in no time.

Finally, be more attentive next time you install software: avoid packaged deals, read your EULA documents, do not agree with any terms that seem odd. Do not get software from unknown sources or be tempted by an exclusive deal from a pop-up. Also, drive-by downloads are gradually becoming a severe threat: try not to visit unknown domains or follow shortened links.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Manual removal of Searchencrypt.com virus

How to remove Searchencrypt.com virus using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like Searchencrypt.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 Searchencrypt.com virus . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make Searchencrypt.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 Searchencrypt.com virus from macOS

Delete Searchencrypt.com virus from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the Searchencrypt.com 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 Searchencrypt.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 Searchencrypt.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 Searchencrypt.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 Searchencrypt.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 Searchencrypt.com 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 Searchencrypt.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 Searchencrypt.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 Searchencrypt.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 Searchencrypt.com 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 Searchencrypt.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.

References:

1. What are browser hijackers? Us.norton.com.
2. Overview of Searchencrypt.com. Similarweb.com.
3. URL redirection. Wikipedia.com.
4. Which websites are most likely to infect you with malware? Makeuseof.com.
5. 10 Signs That Streaming Movie Site Isn’t Legit. Computer.howstuffworks.com.

6. Online ads put web users at risk to viruses. Avast.com.