How to remove Search.gg [Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge]

As mentioned above, the Search.gg browser hijacker also changes the internet browser’s search engine. So, your web-browser, when searching something, will display a hodgepodge of advertisements, links to unwanted and ad web-pages and search results from the big search engines like Google or Bing. As a result, actual use of a internet browser’s search becomes uncomfortable. Moreover, it can also lead to slowing or even freeze your internet browser.

Often, the computer which has been infected by Search.gg hijacker, will be also infected by ‘ad-supported’ software (also known as adware) that shows tons of various ads. It can be pop-ups, text links in the web-sites, banners where they never had. What is more, the ‘ad supported’ software can replace the legitimate advertisements with malicious advertisements that will offer to download and install malicious software and unwanted programs or visit the various dangerous and misleading web-sites.

We strongly suggest that you perform the few simple steps below which will assist you to delete Search.gg using the standard features of Windows and some proven free programs.

How to remove Search.gg redirect

In the step by step instructions below we will have a look at the browser hijacker and how to remove Search.gg from Chrome, Internet Explorer, FF and Microsoft Edge web browsers for Windows OS, natively or by using a few free removal tools. Read this manual carefully, bookmark or print it, because you may need to exit your browser or restart your PC.

How to manually get rid of Search.gg

The following instructions is a step-by-step guide, which will help you manually get rid of Search.gg from the Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge.

Remove Search.gg related software through the Control Panel of your PC

The process of hijacker removal is generally the same across all versions of MS Windows OS from 10 to XP. To start with, it’s necessary to check the list of installed software on your system and remove all unused, unknown and suspicious software.

It will show the Windows Control Panel like below.

Next, press “Uninstall a program”
It will display a list of all software installed on your PC system. Scroll through the all list, and remove any suspicious and unknown applications. To quickly find the latest installed applications, we recommend sort applications by date in the Control panel.

Fix web-browser shortcuts, altered by Search.gg browser hijacker

Important to know, most antimalware software that are able to remove hijacker, but unable to find and recover changed shortcuts. So, you need to fix the desktop shortcuts for your Firefox, Chrome, IE and Edge internet browsers manually.

Right click on the browser’s shortcut, click Properties option. On the Shortcut tab, locate the Target field. Click inside, you will see a vertical line – arrow pointer, move it (using -> arrow key on your keyboard) to the right as possible. You will see a text “http://site.address” that has been added here. Remove everything after .exe. An example, for Google Chrome you should remove everything after chrome.exe.

To save changes, click OK . You need to clean all web-browser’s shortcuts. So, repeat this step for the Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and MS Edge.

Remove Search.gg from Mozilla Firefox by resetting web-browser settings

If the FF settings like start page, newtab page and default search provider have been changed by the browser hijacker, then resetting it to the default state can help.

Launch the Mozilla Firefox and click the menu button (it looks like three stacked lines) at the top right of the web-browser screen. Next, press the question-mark icon at the bottom of the drop-down menu. It will open the slide-out menu.

Select the “Troubleshooting information”. If you are unable to access the Help menu, then type “about:support” in your address bar and press Enter. It bring up the “Troubleshooting Information” page as shown in the figure below.

Click the “Refresh Firefox” button at the top right of the Troubleshooting Information page. Select “Refresh Firefox” in the confirmation prompt. The Firefox will start a process to fix your problems that caused by the Search.gg browser hijacker. Once, it is finished, click the “Finish” button.

Get rid of Search.gg from Microsoft Internet Explorer

The Internet Explorer reset is great if your internet browser is hijacked or you have unwanted addo-ons or toolbars on your web browser, that installed by an malicious software.

First, launch the Internet Explorer, then press ‘gear’ icon . It will show the Tools drop-down menu on the right part of the web-browser, then click the “Internet Options” as on the image below.

In the “Internet Options” screen, select the “Advanced” tab, then click the “Reset” button. The Internet Explorer will show the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” dialog box. Further, press the “Delete personal settings” check box to select it. Next, press the “Reset” button as on the image below.

Once the procedure is finished, click “Close” button. Close the Internet Explorer and restart your PC system for the changes to take effect. This step will help you to restore your internet browser’s startpage, new tab page and default search engine to default state.

Delete Search.gg home page from Google Chrome

1. First start the Chrome and click Menu button (small button in the form of three horizontal stripes).
2. It will display the Google Chrome main menu. Select “Settings” option.
3. You will see the Google Chrome’s settings page. Scroll down and click “Show advanced settings” link.
4. Scroll down again and click the “Reset settings” button.
5. The Chrome will open the reset profile settings page as on the image above.
6. Next press the “Reset” button.
7. Once this process is finished, your browser’s homepage, new tab page and search provider by default will be restored to their original defaults.
8. To learn more, read the post How to reset Chrome settings to default.

Run free malware removal utilities to completely delete Search.gg startpage

Manual removal steps does not always help to completely delete the browser hijacker, as it is not easy to identify and delete components of browser hijacker infection and all malicious files from hard disk. Therefore, it’s recommended that you run malicious software removal utility to completely get rid of Search.gg off your PC. Several free malicious software removal utilities are currently available that may be used against the browser hijacker. The optimum solution would be to run Zemana Anti-malware, Malwarebytes Free and AdwCleaner.

Automatically remove Search.gg homepage with Zemana Anti-malware

We suggest you to use the Zemana Anti-malware that are completely clean your computer. Moreover, the utility will help you to remove potentially unwanted programs, malware, toolbars and adware that your PC can be infected too.

1. Download Zemana antimalware (ZAM) by clicking on the link below.
   
   

   Zemana AntiMalware
   164032 downloads
   Author: Zemana Ltd
   Category: Security tools
   Update: July 16, 2019
   
2. When the download is done, close all software and windows on your computer. Open a directory in which you saved it. Double-click on the icon that’s named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
3. Further, press Next button and follow the prompts.
4. Once installation is done, click the “Scan” button to perform a system scan for the hijacker infection that cause a redirect to Search.gg. While the tool is scanning, you may see how many objects and files has already scanned.
5. When it has finished scanning, a list of all threats detected is produced. In order to remove all items, simply click “Next”. Once disinfection is done, you can be prompted to restart your machine.

Remove Search.gg with Malwarebytes

We recommend using the Malwarebytes Free. You can download and install Malwarebytes to find and delete Search.gg redirect from your personal computer. When installed and updated, the free malicious software remover will automatically scan and detect all threats exist on the PC system.

Download Malwarebytes on your PC from the link below. Save it on your Windows desktop or in any other place.

Once downloading is finished, close all programs and windows on your system. Double-click the set up file named mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up as shown in the figure below, click the “Yes” button.

It will open the “Setup wizard” which will help you install Malwarebytes on your computer. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.

Once installation is done successfully, click Finish button. Malwarebytes will automatically start and you can see its main screen as shown on the image below.

Now press the “Scan Now” button to perform a system scan for the hijacker that reroutes your internet browser to the Search.gg intrusive site. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your computer. While the application is checking, you can see number of objects it has identified as threat.

When it has finished scanning your computer, it will display a list of all items detected by this utility. Make sure all entries have ‘checkmark’ and click “Quarantine Selected” button. The Malwarebytes will begin removing Search.gg hijacker and other security threats. Once disinfection is finished, you may be prompted to restart the computer.

We suggest you look at the following video, which completely explains the process of using the Malwarebytes to get rid of hijacker infection and other malicious software.

Use AdwCleaner to get rid of Search.gg redirect

The AdwCleaner utility is free and easy to use. It can scan and delete hijacker such as Search.gg, malware, potentially unwanted programs and ad supported software in Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge and IE browsers and thereby return their default settings (homepage, newtab and default search provider). AdwCleaner is powerful enough to find and get rid of malicious registry entries and files that are hidden on the personal computer.

1. Download AdwCleaner from the following link.
   
   

   AdwCleaner download
   225261 downloads
   Version: 8.4.1
   Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: October 5, 2024
   
2. Select the file location as Desktop, and then press Save.
3. Once downloading is done, launch the AdwCleaner, double-click the adwcleaner_xxx.exe file.
4. If the “User Account Control” prompts, click Yes to continue.
5. Read the “Terms of use”, and click Accept.
6. In the AdwCleaner window, press the “Scan” for scanning your computer for the Search.gg browser hijacker and other malicious software and adware. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the count of files on your PC and the speed of your PC.
7. When it has finished scanning, a list of all items found is produced. When you are ready, click “Clean”. If the AdwCleaner will ask you to restart your computer, click “OK”.

The guidance shown in detail in the following video.

Run AdBlocker to stop Search.gg and stay safe online

Enabling an adblocker program like AdGuard is an effective way to alleviate the risks. Additionally, ad-blocking applications will also protect you from harmful ads and web-pages, and, of course, block redirection chain to Search.gg and similar web pages.

Installing the AdGuard adblocker application is simple. First you’ll need to download AdGuard by clicking on the following link.

When downloading is finished, double-click the downloaded file to start it. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen as shown below.

Follow the prompts. AdGuard will then be installed and an icon will be placed on your desktop. A window will show up asking you to confirm that you want to see a quick instructions as on the image below.

Click “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick guidance that will assist you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you launch your system, AdGuard will start automatically and block advertisements, sites such Search.gg, as well as other harmful or misleading web-pages. For an overview of all the features of the application, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the AdGuard icon, that is located on your desktop.

Tips to prevent Search.gg and other unwanted programs

The Search.gg browser hijacker actively distributed with free software, as a part of the installer of these programs. Therefore, it’s very important, when installing an unknown program even downloaded from known or big hosting page, read the Terms of use and the Software license, as well as to select the Manual, Advanced or Custom installation mode. In this mode, you can disable the installation of unneeded modules and software and protect your machine from such browser hijackers as the Search.gg. Unfortunately, most users when installing unknown applications, simply press the Next button, and don’t read any information which the free applications open them during its installation. This leads to the fact that the web-browser settings are changed and web-browser’s new tab, homepage and search engine by default set to Search.gg.

Finish words

Now your computer should be free of the Search.gg home page. Delete AdwCleaner. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted popups and undesired harmful web-pages) and Malwarebytes (to periodically scan your PC for new malware, browser hijackers and adware). Make sure that you have all the Critical Updates recommended for Windows OS. Without regular updates you WILL NOT be protected when new browser hijacker, malicious software and ‘ad supported’ software are released.

If you are still having problems while trying to remove Search.gg home page from your web-browser, then ask for help in our Spyware/Malware removal forum.