SearchZilla Adware - How to remove

SearchZilla is a browser add-on that gets installed through dishonest means (manipulation, bundling) and then changes the browser’s default search engine to Feed.search-zilla.com, which redirects to Yahoo.com. It’s not Yahoo being bad or anything – the company behind SearchZilla is unrelated and goes by Webcoapps. SearchZilla’s goal is to remain inconspicuous while getting internet search traffic to be sent through Search-zilla.com. This translates into ad revenue for Webcoapps. The people whose browsers got infected only notice that Yahoo delivers their search results, but they may not realize why that happens.

In short about Search-zilla.com:

Classification	Adware, browser hijacker.
Problems with SearchZilla	Hijacks your searches, forces Yahoo.com to return search results, has no useful features, gets installed dishonestly.
Installation tricks	Ads that make it look like installing SearchZilla is mandatory, bundling with other programs to slip in unnoticed.
Removing Search-zilla.com	Delete malware (Combo Cleaner for Mac, Spyhunter for PC, other antivirus programs), remove all unwanted browser extensions, block notifications in your browser.

SearchZilla Adware

SearchZilla is a type of Yahoo redirect virus. When it takes over your web browser, doing internet searches takes you to Yahoo.com. There’s nothing really wrong with Yahoo, but people who don’t want to use it are forced to when SearchZilla gets installed.

SearchZilla changes your search settings and reads your browsing history. This gives Search-zilla.com pretty much complete control over and knowledge of your internet search results. Even Search-zilla.com’s privacy policy mentions that search logs are among the data that is collected from each user.

This just underlines the real nature of SearchZilla – it exists purely to show advertisements. Its maker, Webcoapps, must have released more than a dozen very similar browser extensions, including Cranchit, Anonymo Search, Vista Search, and others. These apps may be presented as having this or that useful function, but all that they really do is hijack the search settings of anyone who installs them.

So, how does SearchZilla get installed?

• Advertised on file-download sites, often as a pop-up ad when you try to download a file.
• Promoted of free video streaming sites, appears when you try to watch a video.
• Advertised by adware infections and notification spammers.
• Offered alongside other browser extensions.
• Bundled with free programs as an optional offer.

Let’s say you’re trying to download a file from some random website, you click on the Download button, and this pops up:

Some people, especially those who are feeling impatient, will see that and think that they need to press the “ADD TO CHROME” button to get on with downloading their file, watching their movie, etc. That’s absolutely not true. Pages like the one above should always be ignored. They’re specifically made to take advantage of people and to confuse them.

Almost all the people who have installed SearchZilla did that unwittingly and without knowing how it would affect their browser. That’s just how well-designed the process for spreading this adware is. It’s extremely easy to get tricked into allowing junkware on your computer, especially if you have no prior experience with malware.

Luckily, it’s simple enough to remove Search-zilla.com and stop its pop-up ads from showing up again.

How to remove Search-zilla.com

The quickest way to check your computer for malware must be to scan it with an antivirus program and review the scan results. If there’s an option for this, set the antivirus app to look for PUPs (potentially unwanted programs), too. You can use Combo Cleaner for macOS, Spyhunter for Windows, or any program that you’re comfortable with.

To get rid of pop-up ads by Search-zilla.com, open your browser notification settings:

• Chrome – type “chrome://settings/content/notifications” in the address box.
• Safari – in the Safari menu, choose Preferences, Websites, Notifications.
• New Edge – type “edge://settings/content/notifications” in the address box.
• Firefox – open Settings, Preferences, Privacy & Security, scroll down to Permissions, and click on Settings next to Notifications.

Click the menu next to Search-zilla.com and choose the option to block it. No new notifications should come from Search-zilla.com.

To fix your browser settings, you need to find and remove the SearchZilla browser extension (if you haven’t already done that with an antivirus program). I put the instructions in the section below.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Remove extensions manually

TopRemoving SearchZilla Adware from Chrome

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Google Chrome window. Select “Settings”.
  
• Click “Extensions” on the left menu bar.
• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to SearchZilla Adware. Click on the trash bin icon next to SearchZilla Adware or other add-ons you want to remove.
  
• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.
  
• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.
  
• Restart Chrome.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to SearchZilla Adware, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on Chrome’s menu button (three horizontal lines) and select Settings.
  
• Scroll to the end of the page and click on the Reset 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.

TopRemoving SearchZilla Adware from Firefox

• 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 SearchZilla Adware 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.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to SearchZilla Adware, 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.
  
• Choose Troubleshooting Information on the Help menu.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button on the confirmation box. Mozilla Firefox will close and change the settings to default.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How to remove SearchZilla Adware from Microsoft Edge:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Microsoft Edge window. Select “Extensions”.

• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to SearchZilla Adware. Click on the "Remove" icon next to SearchZilla Adware or other add-ons you want to remove.

• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.

• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.

• Restart Microsoft Edge.