ImSearch Hijacker - How to remove

ImSearch is a browser hijacker attacking Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and other popular browsers. The hijacker modifies the default search engine settings of all targeted browsers. Your default search provider is no longer the object of your choice, but rather the decision of ImSearch.

ImSearch functions as a browser extension. As long as the extension is active you cannot browse the web through Google Search. Instead, all your queries will be forwarded via Searchgg Custom Search. You may obtain certain information that will match your queries, however, additionally there will be a lot of irrelevant sponsors links leading to shady websites. Distribution of ImSearch is often done through bundling, which is quite typical for promotion of other PUPs (potentially unwanted programs). There are many other valid reasons why you should remove ImSearch, so continue reading this tutorial for more detailed information on how to do it effectively.

ImSearch distribution methods

Our research team has recently performed a detailed analysis of ImSearch and determined that various adware programs take part in promoting the extension. Once the browser is hijacked and modified by adware it starts randomly generating the multitude of random pop-ups to the dubious online page. One of them is called chissk.icu. As soon as it pops up, the following message is displayed:

Flash SD App required to proceed
Click Download then simply Add to Chrome to continue
Download ready
Flash SD App required

Some people mistakenly think that this is some important update and agree to install this pseudo software called Flash SD App. Clicking on the “Download” button leads the to the landing page of the ImSearch extension in Chrome Web Store. Adding the extension to Google Chrome immediately sets Seachgg Custom Search as the default search engine instead of Google or another decent search provider.

Apart from chissk.icu there may be some other malicious websites involved in promoting the ImSearch extension. The peculiarity of the hijacker is that there are some particular pages delivering the Searchgg Custom Search information. Currently, the users notice ao0c.club in the address bar, however, previously the data was rendered by mao1.club, vxo.world, nxt01.club and wajm.icu.

ImSearch – how good is it

The hijacker does not care about providing its customers with genuine search results. Submitting the search queries will give some relevant information, however, it will be placed at the bottom of the page. The hijacker will primarily display a lot of its advertisement banners and sponsored links that aim to promote some other third-party websites. Clicking on these supported websites often leads to many low-quality pages that have the potential of infecting computers with other malware samples.

Additionally, ImSearch may track your personal data. It has the built-in tool to access your browser history for the purpose of analyzing your search preferences. This may be done in order to furnish you with more relevant ads, however, collecting your personal details is done illegally. The following data is collected by ImSearch:

• submitted search queries;
• geographical location;
• URLs of the visited websites;
• IP address;
• logins, passwords, credit card details and other confidential information.

ImSearch works as spyware in your browser. It gathers the information about your online activities and may transfer these details to third parties in an absolutely illegal way, without taking your personal opinion into consideration. The data may be sold to online frauds who may manipulate it for generating the revenue.

How to remove ImSearch

ImSearch is similarly reviewed by other computer-related blogs and is detected as a browser hijacker by popular anti-virus programs. There is no doubt that it should be immediately deleted from your browser. To do it manually, follow these steps in Google Chrome:

• click on the icon in the form of three dots;
• select “More Tools”;
• choose “Extensions”;
• look for ImSearch, disable and delete it;
• restart your browser.

ImSearch can be removed much faster and more effectively with the help of reliable anti-virus software. This automatic system cleanup is a better choice because it helps to detect other malware that may still remain on your computer. Please scan your computer with Spyhunter for complete fix and restoration of your browser after the malicious attack by ImSearch.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Get rid of ImSearch Virus

How to remove ImSearch using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like ImSearch Hijacker 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 ImSearch . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make ImSearch Hijacker 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 ImSearch from macOS

Delete ImSearch Hijacker from your applications.

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

Remove malicious extensions

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences.
  
• Select Extensions and uninstall ImSearch 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 ImSearch Hijacker, 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.