Search.searchfch2.com Hijacker - How to remove

File conversion is useful for people who work a lot with documents, but installing a browser extension to help with regular file conversion is not a good idea. Especially when that extension is Free Converter Hub, an extension that forces the search.searchfch2.com page on the users, causes them to see more ads than before, and does not really provide a useful function at all.

People whose home page is search.searchfch2.com usually have that because they installed Free Converter Hub or another extension created by Eightpoint Technologies. This company, which is already responsible for quite a few suspicious browser add-ons, including those dedicated to converting files: search.heasyconverter.co, search.hconvert2pdfnow.com, search.hmyquickconverter.com — among many others. The problem with them is not only that they all look and behave exactly the same, but also that they unnecessarily change browser settings, take privilege and powers they shouldn’t need, and use some dubious distribution methods.

The issues with search.searchfch2.com

Search.searchfch2.com looks innocent, and it’s certainly very mild malware, if malware at all, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re safer uninstalling it. There are real reasons for why so many antivirus programs have a problem with search.searchfch2.com. Such as:

• Search.searchfch2.com tracking your browsing habits. Why does this extension need to know what you search for and what your browsing history is? (It’s to deliver ads and monetize the extension)
• Search.searchfch2.com forcing a particular search webpage on users. You can’t even set a different search site without disabling the extension.
• The new search engine results serve as fluff for ads that search.searchfch2.com delivers (ads that are improved with data on your browsing history), meaning that you’re exposed to more ads than before.
• Search.searchfch2.com on Chrome bundles another extension (SearchEncrypt). Bundling is problematic because it can easily result in unintentional installation of software and is abused to spread malware (also, because SearchEncrypt is used to stop you from using other search websites by redirecting you away from them).
• The extension links to converting websites, some of which are full of suspicious ads which lead to scam and spam pages.

So, using search.searchfch2.com won’t result in some immediate virus infection, but it’s still not advisable to keep this browser add-on installed. In fact, all extensions should be considered carefully before they’re installed.

Do you need Free Converter Hub?

But if this (and most other) document-converting extensions are unsafe, what should people do when they need to change one type of file into another one?

Instead of search.searchfch2.com, use a website — especially for tasks that you don’t do regularly. After all, search.searchfch2.com doesn’t even do any conversion. Instead, it links to websites which do, and anyone can bookmark a few links. If a website prompts you to install an extension to be able to use a function once, run away and find a less shady page.

Instead of an extension or a website, consider using a reputable program. Whatever function you need regularly enough to install an extension, you could use a desktop application. This is especially beneficial when using an extension involves uploading your own files to some server online. Not all online file converting and editing services delete your files — some make them available to others.

You can also review your workflow to reduce the amount of third-party file converting that you need to do. PDF converters feature a lot online, but these files are specifically made to be difficult to edit. PDFs are meant to preserve the document as it was originally. That’s why you need specialized and expensive programs for editing them. If that’s an option, ask to be provided with editable files, such as HTML or doc. As for the other conversions, it’s extremely easy to export various files to PDF using built-in functions in your programs. Likewise, special software is not required to convert between images and documents, or presentations and documents.

How to remove search.searchfch2.com

To manually remove search.searchfch2.com from your browser, you must remove the Free Converter Hub extension. This can be done manually, by following the guide below, but should be combined with automatic scanning of your device with a reputable antivirus tool like Spyhunter. That’s because malware installations are often combined together with the help of bundling and because malicious programs and ads promote fellow malware all the time. Be sure that your PC is clear of viruses — that will serve to prevent some infections in the future.

An extension like search.searchfch2.com is promoted using malicious ads, so you might also want to consider which websites you visit have a lot of unsafe advertisements and maybe be more careful in the future. If you don’t remember installing search.searchfch2.com at all, it’s also possible that bundling is responsible for bringing this extension to you, which makes the automatic scan all the more needed.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Remove search.searchfch2.com

How to remove FreeConverterHub.com using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like Search.searchfch2.com 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 FreeConverterHub.com . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make Search.searchfch2.com 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 FreeConverterHub.com from macOS

Delete Search.searchfch2.com Hijacker from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the FreeConverterHub.com 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.searchfch2.com 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.searchfch2.com 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.searchfch2.com 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.searchfch2.com 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 FreeConverterHub.com, 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.searchfch2.com 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.searchfch2.com 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.searchfch2.com 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 FreeConverterHub.com 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.searchfch2.com 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.