SearchFor Hijacker - How to remove

SearchFor is a browser add-on. It causes search redirects to Bing.com and it replaces the new tab page. SearchFor supposedly helps people with TimeBucks (a reward site). But it behaves like a browser hijacker, taking over the new tab page and default search engine.

SearchFor is not harmful like malware, but it’s also very unhelpful as a browser add-on. It’s safest to remove this extension.

About SearchFor/Searchfor.cc:

Classification	Adware, browser hijacker.
How SearchFor affects the browser	It changes the home page, it makes Bing.com return internet search results, it shows new ads.
Problems and issues	It negatively affects your privacy, it hijacks browser settings.
How to stop Searchfor.cc redirects	Uninstall suspicious apps and extensions manually and with the help of anti-malware tools, such as Spyhunter for Mac, Spyhunter for PC, Malwarebytes, and others.

Problems with SearchFor?

SearchFor takes over the browser

Searchfor.cc is connected to SearchFor. Searchfor.cc is a website and SearchFor is a browser add-on. If you install SearchFor, you should start seeing Searchfor.cc in your browser.

Once SearchFor is installed, it takes over your new tab page and your default search settings. Here are some changes you might notice:

• The new tab page looks different.
• Bing.com now returns web search results.
• New ads appear in unusual spots.

Other SearchFor’s effects are not so visible. For instance, the extension can read user data, such as search history and browsing data. This data is valuable to advertisers who want to show people targeted ads.

There are plenty of web browsers that customize your new tab page or help manage search. Good new tab extensions and search managers add to web browsers by offering customization and cool new functionality. But SearchFor is more of a newtab virus. It doesn’t deliver any such useful features.

Searchfor.cc has a somewhat similar name to SearchFort, Searchfox.me, or SearchForWords, but it’s completely unrelated to those adware infections.

Is SearchFor dangerous?

SearchFor is bad for privacy

SearchFor hijacks internet search, injects ads into webpages, tracks data about user activity, and restricts browser features.

If you care about your privacy, SearchFor is bad. So are many browser extensions, honestly. They log your browsing and search history, then sell that data to big data companies or use it for advertising.

Search history is especially sensitive, as it often contains personal data. If you have shady browser add-ons installed, make sure to conduct personal searches in private mode, where browser extensions are disabled by default (though you should not rely on private mode too much).

It’s an obscure extension

It’s hard to say much more about SearchFor, as it’s quite an obscure add-on. It’s not clear what company is behind the site/add-on combo, which itself is a bit of a red flag. For what it’s worth, Searchfor.cc may be related to Timebucks.com through a shared IP. If the reward site is why you installed SearchFor, that must have been expected.

On the other hand, SearchFor’s description on the Chrome Web Store does not even mention Timebucks, so it’s possible that some users install the extension without knowing about the reward site. For those users, SearchFor is nothing more than a malicious browser hijacker.

How to stop Searchfor.cc redirects

In the end, it’s up to you if you trust SearchFor enough to let it remain installed on your browser. If you’re using SearchFor voluntarily and fully understand what it does, that’s great. Searchfor.cc is not directly dangerous, after all.

However, some users who installed SearchFor might not have expected it to have the effect it has on one’s browser – hijacked search, data tracking. Luckily, it’s simple enough to remove this extension.

Uninstall the SearchFor extension and then check your new tab and search engine settings: the settings that SearchFor takes over when it’s installed. Now that SearchFor is gone, those settings should be in your control.

But Searchfor.cc might not be the only problem. After all, adware infections often spread in groups and promote each other.

You can check your device for other adware and malware with anti-malware apps, such as Spyhunter for Mac, Spyhunter for Windows, Malwarebytes, and others. If they detect dangerous or potentially unwanted programs, remove them.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Hwo to uninstall extensions

TopHow To remove SearchFor 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 SearchFor 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 SearchFor 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 SearchFor 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 SearchFor 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 SearchFor 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 SearchFor 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.