Topstreamssearch.com Hijacker - How to remove

Did Topstreamssearch.com start showing you pop-up ads Maybe your search results started opening in Yahoo.com? If yes, then Topstreamssearch.com might have hijacked your browser with the help of the TopStreamsSearch browser extension. Topstreamssearch.com is not very dangerous, it’s just adware, though it’s a little bad for privacy.

Getting rid of Topstreamssearch.com is as simple as uninstalling the TopStreamsSearch extension and changing a browser setting. But it is advisable to also check your computer for malware and for potentially unwanted programs, just in case.

Topstreamssearch.com in short:

Type of threat	Browser hijacker, adware.
Problems caused by TopStreamsSearch	Topstreamssearch.com is set as the default search engine, it logs search queries and redirects to Yahoo, it may inject ads and display pop-up ads in the browser.
How adware spreads	Bundled with other programs, advertised online, especially by adware infections and other browser hijackers.
How to stop Topstreamssearch.com redirects	Uninstall TopStreamsSearch, find and remove other malware (Spyhunter for PC, Combo Cleaner for Mac, others), block notifications.

What is Topstreamssearch.com

Adware

Topstreamssearch.com is a website. It causes redirects to Yahoo.com. It has nothing to offer besides that. Nothing to do with streams or searching for streams. Just a Yahoo redirect.

Well, Topstreamssearch.com does do a little more… it logs your search queries, your clicks, and some technical information about your device. According to Topstreamssearch.com’s privacy policy, it does use your data to recommend content based on your preferences, which sounds like targeted advertising.

In addition, Topstreamssearch.com may have offered you to allow its notifications. Notifications can be used by websites to message your browser and get it to show that message – it could be an update about a new direct message, email, or a post on a blog that you follow. In Topstreamssearch.com’s case, though, notifications are advertisements for various affiliated sites.

Browser hijacker

To get this access to the browser, Topstreamssearch.com needs help – a browser extension called TopStreamsSearch. It currently has over thirty thousand users on the Chrome Web Store, though no reviews or ratings so far, which is pretty normal for malicious extensions. They usually hide from their victims. There are many complaints online about Yahoo hijacking people’s browsers but the responsible browser extension always varies.

TopStreamsSearch makes Topstreamssearch.com the default search engine, meaning that when you try to search for something in your browser’s address bar, Topstreamssearch.com receives the query.

Also, TopStreamsSearch gets to read your browsing history, which doesn’t sound very impressive but I’ve seen some malicious extensions (PopStop, AdPop Block) use only that permission to hijack all searches, so it shouldn’t be underestimated.

How TopStreamsSearch gets installed

Topstreamssearch.com has a page that offers TopStreamsSearch, although what’s being offered is not very clear. The page looks like it’s made to confuse people. These sorts of pages usually open in new browser tabs as very aggressive ads on file download sites, pirating sites, and movie streaming sites, so that could explain why so many people installed an extension as useless as TopStreamsSearch – they were tricked into doing it by a misleading advertisement.

It’s also not uncommon for hijackers to be bundled with free programs as optional offers. Optional offers are offered during installation but they also get installed by default, so if the offers are a little hidden, that leads to accidental installations.

Overall, it’s extremely unlikely that anyone intentionally installed TopStreamsSearch, as even its description in the Chrome Web Store says that it’s a Yahoo search redirect.

How to remove Topstreamssearch.com

Three steps

If you noticed Topstreamssearch.com in your browser, you probably want to remove it so that you can take back control over your search engine settings.

The checklist to fix the issues with Topstreamssearch.com redirects is short:

• Remove TopStreamsSearch and other suspicious extensions.
• Check your computer for malware.
• Check notification settings.

Uninstall browser extensions

If you’ve never removed an extension, know that it’s very simple: TopStreamsSearch can be found by opening the affected browser, opening the main menu, Settings, then finding Extensions. There, TopStreamsSearch and all the other browser extensions are listed. Click the Remove button to remove an extension or press the switch button to disable/enable it.

Look at the other extensions, too. Topstreamssearch.com is related to Vid-search.com, Tiktok-searches.com, and others. Adware apps often spread in the same ways. So if you have TopStreamsSearch, that’s a good reason to check for other adware, too.

Look for other malware

Scan your device with an antivirus program (Spyhunter for Windows, Combo Cleaner for macOS, and others if you want to check your computer for other potentially unwanted software. For example, bundlers – installers that bundle items like TopStreamsSearch – may be detected. If you successfully find where you got the Topstreamssearch.com hijacker from, it’ll help you avoid future infections.

Block notifications

As for notifications, they can be blocked in browser settings:

• Chrome – type “chrome://settings/content/notifications” in the address box.
• Edge (Chromium) – type “edge://settings/content/notifications” in the address box.
• Firefox – open Settings, Privacy & Security, scroll down to Permissions, and click on Settings next to Notifications.

Find Topstreamssearch.com, click the button next to it, click Block. While you’re there, check what other sites are able to make your browser show pop-ups.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Restore browser settings

TopHow To remove Topstreamssearch.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 Topstreamssearch.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 Topstreamssearch.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 Topstreamssearch.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 Topstreamssearch.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 Topstreamssearch.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 Topstreamssearch.com 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.