SearchAssist virus - How to remove

SearchAssist virus is a browser hijacker that replaces your homepage and default search provider to searchassist.me or searchassist.net without your permission and tries to advertise various websites. The hijacker can affect Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. These are the most popular browsers, so it affects a lot of users all over the world. Although SearchAssist virus looks like a lot of other search providers, it is not able to provide reliable search results. Moreover, the program can allow various threats to enter your system, so it is recommended to remove it from your browser once you detect it.

SearchAssist virus comes bundled to various freeware applications. If you want to avoid it, you have to be more careful with freeware downloads. Make sure you don’t allow them to change your homepage, search provider or other browser settings. This you can control if you choose a Custom installation and follow the installation steps very carefully.

If SearchAssist virus has already affected you browser, yo have no other choice but to remove it. Otherwise, the program will constantly interfere your browsing and try to make you visit sponsored websites. Its creators get paid for creating bigger traffic for various websites of commercial companies. This is the main purpose of SearchAssist virus. Below you can find a tutorial explaining how to remove this annoying application.

At first, you have to uninstall SearchAssist virus from your computer. Go to Control Panel, Add/Remove programs list and uninstall anything related to searchassist.me, searchassit.net or similar domains from there. Some versions of this hijacker add software that blocks browser settings from changing. To identify them, scanning with Spyhunter or other reputable antispyware tool might be useful. Then you can uninstall the extensions and reset settings in your browsers.

How to get rid of SearchAssist virus

TopHow To remove SearchAssist virus 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 SearchAssist virus, 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 SearchAssist virus 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 SearchAssist virus 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 SearchAssist virus, 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.

TopHow to remove SearchAssist virus virus from Internet Explorer:

How to remove SearchAssist virus virus from Internet Explorer (older versions):

• Click on the arrow on the right of the search box.
• Do the following: on IE8-9 choose Manage Search providers, on IE7 click Change search defaults.
• Remove the SearchAssist.me virus from the list.

How to remove SearchAssist virus from IE 11:

• Click on the Settings icon (top right) → Manage Addons.
  
• Go through Toolbars and extensions. Remove everything related to SearchAssist virus and items you do not know that are made not by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Oracle or Adobe.
  
• Select Search Providers.
  
• If any of these search providers is not available, follow “Find more search providers” in the bottom of the screen and install Google.
  
• Close the Options.
• If your homepage was changed, click on the Gear icon on the top right corner to open the Internet Explorer menu, select Internet options and choose General tab. Enter a preferable URL to the homepage field and click Apply.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to SearchAssist.me virus, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Gear icon→Internet Options.
  
• Choose the Advanced tab and click on the Reset
• Select “Delete personal settings” checkbox and click on the Reset button.
  
• Click on the Close button on the confirmation box, then close your browser.
  

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

TopRemove shortcut hijack (all browsers) (optional): If your browser opens SearchAssist.me virus page on startup only, try this:

• Right click on your browser icon. Choose Properties;
  
• Open Short cut tab;
  
• Delete SearchAssist.me virus part from target field.

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