Search.thelocalclassifieds.co Infection - How to remove

The Local Classifieds browser extension is a malicious tool that can affect most popular browsers and hijack new tab pages, setting them to www.search.thelocalclassifieds.co. This is why this free tool is categorized as browser hijacker.

Besides that, Search.thelocalclassifieds.co can not only change your personal settings but also cause various harm, some of which is very serious. For instance, other potentially unwanted programs can be automatically installed on your computer due to the presence of Search.thelocalclassifieds.co, or your private information can be leaked to third parties.

As a matter of fact, you are also likely to experience slower work of your computer, additional excessive advertisements on the internet and other bad consequences due to this malware, so there is no doubt that you should get rid of it right away.

The problem is that users often struggle to do that. Search.thelocalclassifieds.co is designed to look nice and professional, so a lot of users just ignore the fact that their web browser was hijacked and continue to use it this way. Others, who try to eliminate it, bump into some troubles because the developers of this infection don’t want this virus to be removed, so they make the process complicated.

This is why we inform our readers about the features of Search.thelocalclassifieds.co and how to remove it – to help you make your computer more secure. So if your system is infected, please continue reading the article. Also, if we have missed something out and you need additional assistance – feel free to contact us in the comments section below.

Dangers of Search.thelocalclassifieds.co Virus

So we have already told you that this Search.thelocalclassifieds.co website is a consequence of “The Local Classifieds” browser extension. That means it’s enough to activate this extension on one of your web browsers to get the computer infected.

This free extension should solve the problem of finding classified ads over the internet. It should make the process easier and faster. They promise you a one-click access to sites like Craigslist, Super Ads, and others. Actually, that is true, but the overall usefulness of this tool is highly doubtful.

Once the extension gets active, it will automatically change your regular new tab page to www.search.thelocalclassifieds.co, so from now on you will be seeing this website every time you open a new tab on the infected browser. Even though that website looks completely normal, we do not suggest to use it for any reason.

As promised, there are some links to reliable websites, but is it really worth to keep a malicious extension on your computer just to have one-click access to websites that can be accessed by simply typing in the URL. Also, all web browsers nowadays feature an Auto-complete function, so this extension won’t save you any time at all.

The main function of this new tab page is a web search. Even though it is powered by Yahoo, the cybercriminals behind this infection can make adjustments to the results displayed there, thus it’s really easy for them to promote various websites. Also, they might insert banner or pop-up ads. Unfortunately, those promoted links usually have nothing to do with what you are searching for, so it is really distracting.

You should know that this free browser extension was developed by Polarity Technologies LTD – the same company that has developed infections like Search.hpackagetrackeronline.co, Search.hquickemailaccess.co, or Search.huniversalconverter.co. It goes without saying that it is very dangerous to give access to your personal data to a company like this. Actually, all search queries submitted to Search.thelocalclassifieds.co will be collected and that is the main reason why we suggest not to use it.

Search.thelocalclassifieds.co Distribution

Your computer might work slower because Search.thelocalclassifieds.co might create various junk files or infiltrate other malware into your system. By the way, usually, it comes to the computers the same way – attached to other free software that can even be legitimate.

This distribution method is called bundling and it is really common – the majority of malware is distributed using this method. So all it takes to get infected with a malware like Search.thelocalclassifieds.co – to download and install a free application that has the installer of malware attached to it.

Obviously, it can be avoided. You can avoid it either by being very careful and only installing legitimate software from trustworthy websites or protecting your computer with anti-malware software that has real-time security features. Take a look at the antivirus programs we’ve reviewed, such as IObit Malware Fighter.

Removal of Search.thelocalclassifieds.co

Without a doubt, the most efficient method to eliminate Search.thelocalclassifieds.co from your computer is to use a professional tool that is capable of doing that. We recommend to scan your system with Spyhunter for Windows or Combo Cleaner for Mac OS – these programs have huge virus databases that are being constantly updated and they can easily detect and remove Search.thelocalclassifieds.co automatically.

However, you will have to restore your previous settings manually – anti-malware software can’t do that for you. Instructions on how to do that can be found below this article.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Get Rid Of Search.thelocalclassifieds.co Infection

How to remove thelocalclassifieds Infection using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like Search.thelocalclassifieds.co Infection 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 thelocalclassifieds Infection . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make Search.thelocalclassifieds.co Infection 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 thelocalclassifieds Infection from macOS

Delete Search.thelocalclassifieds.co Infection from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the thelocalclassifieds Infection 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.thelocalclassifieds.co Infection 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.thelocalclassifieds.co Infection, 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.thelocalclassifieds.co Infection 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.thelocalclassifieds.co Infection 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 thelocalclassifieds Infection, 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.thelocalclassifieds.co Infection 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.thelocalclassifieds.co Infection, 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.thelocalclassifieds.co Infection from Safari:Top

Remove malicious extensions

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences.
  
• Select Extensions and uninstall thelocalclassifieds Infection 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.thelocalclassifieds.co Infection, 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.