Vid-search.com Redirects - How to remove

Vid-search.com is a website that takes in search queries and sends them to Yahoo.com. It appears in internet browsers when the VidSearch extension is installed. VidSearch does nothing besides redirecting searches to Vid-search.com, a site that logs search queries and shows notification ads. Because of this behavior, Vid-search.com can be considered adware.

In short about Vid-search.com:

Type of threat	Browser hijacker, adware.
Problems with Vid-search.com	Logs user data, uses that data to show targeted ads, redirects searches to Yahoo, has the ability to redirect searches to other sites.
How VidSearch gets installed	Bundled with free programs, advertised online as a “recommended extension”.
How to remove Vid-search.com	Uninstall all unwanted browser extensions including VidSearch, check for other malicious items with an anti-malware tool, like Combo Cleaner for Mac, Spyhunter for PC, and others, block notifications from Vid-search.com.

Is Vid-search.com dangerous?

Vid-search.com is nothing but a site that redirects search queries to another site. On its own, it’s basically a portal to Yahoo.com. That’s not user-friendly but it’s also not as dangerous as malware.

It could turn dangerous, though. VidSearch, when it’s installed, changes your default search engine – the page your browser sends your search queries to. While Vid-search.com always sends your queries to Yahoo, it could, in theory, change the destination at any time. It could send you to a scam site or a phishing site if its operators wanted. If your browser does suddenly load the wrong site or a suspicious site for you, you might have to blame Vid-search.com.

Another problem is privacy. Vid-search.com gets to log your search queries while VidSearch can read your system settings. All this data can be used to show you targeted ads based on your preferences as well as perform analysis and research. This is all laid out in Vid-search.com’s privacy policy.

One of the ways that Vid-search.com can show you content and ads is through browser notifications. If you allowed Vid-search.com’s notifications (which is very easy to do by accident), it could show you pop-ups with links to various related and promoted webpages – ads.

So, Vid-search.com is there to redirect searches, log data, and advertise. That’s all there is to it – VidSearch doesn’t have any other features. Nothing to do with videos or searching for video content, nothing to make up for all of the inconvenience caused by this browser extension.

How VidSearch gets installed

There’s a page on the Vid-search.com site that offers visitors to download VidSearch. It looks like a Recommended Extension window. It says “Please add VidSearch” and opens the Chrome Web Store if you agree.

The problem is that it could be used to trick people. I’ve seen that Recommended Extension format used to spread various browser-hijacking extensions, such as Tiktok-searches.com and Allconverterssearch.com. It’s meant to look like a warning, like you need to add VidSearch before you can do something… And the ad appears as a pop-up on another site:

• On video (movie, TV show, anime, adult video) streaming sites.
• On file download sites (such as mod sites) and pirating sites.
• Some sites infected with malicious redirects.

The pop-up ad for Vid-search.com kind of looks like a requirement to install VidSearch before watching your video/downloading your file. This might be how people get Vid-search.com on their browsers.

Alternatively, VidSearch could come bundled with free installers for other, unrelated software. Optional offers are hidden in the installer’s custom settings and are easy to miss. People can easily end up allowing (unknowingly) adware like VidSearch to be installed and Vid-search.com to take over searches.

How to remove Vid-search.com

There are three parts to stopping Vid-search.com from interfering with your browser:

• Uninstall VidSearch and other suspicious browser extensions.
• Find and delete malware and PUPs (potentially unwanted programs) if there are any.
• Block notifications from Vid-search.com and other sites.

To remove VidSearch, follow the instructions at the bottom for removing a browser extension. It can also be done by opening the extension’s menu that can be found in the upper right corner of your browser (the jigsaw piece button). If you can’t remove the extension, check out our post on removing enterprise policy-abusing add-ons.

Next, it might be helpful to scan your computer with an anti-malware application (such as Combo Cleaner for macOS, Spyhunter for Windows, or others and read the scan results. This isn’t necessary or anything, but knowing that adware spreads more adware, it’s likely that if one malicious app is on the computer, there are others, too. At least consider using an anti-malware program (some of them detect Vid-search.com as malicious and wouldn’t let it show up on your screen) or an ad-blocker extension if you don’t use one yet.

Finally, Vid-search.com’s notifications can easily be blocked in browser settings:

• Chrome – type “chrome://settings/content/notifications” in the address box.
• Safari – in the Safari menu, choose Preferences, Websites, Notifications.
• 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.

If you see Vid-search.com in the list, open the three-dot menu next to it and press Block. Vid-search.com will then be moved from the Allow list to the Block list. It won’t be able to send any new notification pop-ups or ask you to allow them again.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Remove unwanted browser extensions

TopRemoving Vid-search.com Redirects 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 Vid-search.com Redirects. Click on the trash bin icon next to Vid-search.com Redirects 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 Vid-search.com Redirects, 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.

How to remove Vid-search.com Redirects 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 Vid-search.com Redirects. Click on the "Remove" icon next to Vid-search.com Redirects 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.

TopRemoving Vid-search.com Redirects 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 Vid-search.com Redirects 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 Vid-search.com Redirects, 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.