If your default search provider, new tab page and start page keeps changing back to the unwanted page named Search.searchcoun2.com,then you need to know that a browser hijacker get installed on your PC. It’s a type of undesired software. Scammers use this unwanted software to take control of your computer’s internet browser and modify how and what it shows when you’re surfing the Web. If you are already a victim of Search.searchcoun2.com browser hijacker, then the following step-by-step guidance can assist you free the Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, IE and MS Edge from the hackers, boost web-browser security and return internet browser settings.
While redirecting, your web-browser’s status bar may show the following messages: ‘Waiting for Search.searchcoun2.com’, ‘Transferring data from Search.searchcoun2.com’, ‘Looking up Search.searchcoun2.com’, ‘Read Search.searchcoun2.com’, ‘Connected to Search.searchcoun2.com’.
The Search.searchcoun2.com browser hijacker will modify your browser’s search engine so that all searches are sent via Search.searchcoun2.com, which redirects to Bing, Yahoo or Google Custom Search engine which displays the search results for your query. The devs behind this hijacker are using legitimate search provider as they may make revenue from the advertisements that are shown in the search results.
We strongly suggest you to complete the few simple steps which follow below. We’ll show you how to get rid of hijacker infection and thereby remove Search.searchcoun2.com from your Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and MS Edge forever.
Remove Search.searchcoun2.com
There are a simple manual instructions below that will help you to get rid of Search.searchcoun2.com from your MS Windows system. The most effective method to delete this hijacker infection is to complete the manual removal steps and then run Zemana, MalwareBytes or HitmanPro automatic tools (all are free). The manual way will help to weaken this browser hijacker and these malicious software removal tools will completely delete Search.searchcoun2.com and return the Edge, Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Chrome settings to default.
To remove Search.searchcoun2.com, follow the steps below:
- How to remove Search.searchcoun2.com start page without any software
- Run free malware removal utilities to completely remove Search.searchcoun2.com
- Stop Search.searchcoun2.com and other intrusive webpages
- Why is my browser redirected to Search.searchcoun2.com?
- To sum up
How to remove Search.searchcoun2.com start page without any software
The following instructions is a step-by-step guide, which will help you manually remove Search.searchcoun2.com homepage from the Google Chrome, MS Edge, Internet Explorer and Firefox.
Delete Search.searchcoun2.com related applications through the Control Panel of your machine
In order to remove Search.searchcoun2.com, first thing you need to do is to delete unknown and questionable applications from your machine using Microsoft Windows control panel. When removing this browser hijacker infection, check the list of installed apps and try to find suspicious applications and delete them all. Pay special attention to recently installed software, as it is most probably that the Search.searchcoun2.com browser hijacker infection сame along with it.
Windows 8, 8.1, 10
First, click the Windows button , then click Search . Type “Control panel”and press Enter.
Windows XP, Vista, 7
First, click “Start” and select “Control Panel”.
It will display the Windows Control Panel as on the image below.
Next, click “Uninstall a program”
It will display a list of all applications installed on your system. Scroll through the all list, and uninstall any questionable and unknown programs. To quickly find the latest installed programs, we recommend sort apps by date in the Control panel.
Delete Search.searchcoun2.com from Mozilla Firefox by resetting web-browser settings
If the Mozilla Firefox web browser newtab, start page and search provider by default are changed to Search.searchcoun2.com and you want to restore the settings back to their default values, then you should follow the step-by-step guidance below. When using the reset feature, your personal information like passwords, bookmarks, browsing history and web form auto-fill data will be saved.
First, launch the Mozilla Firefox and click button. It will display the drop-down menu on the right-part of the web-browser. Further, click the Help button () as shown below.
In the Help menu, select the “Troubleshooting Information” option. Another way to open the “Troubleshooting Information” screen – type “about:support” in the browser adress bar and press Enter. It will open the “Troubleshooting Information” page as shown below. In the upper-right corner of this screen, click the “Refresh Firefox” button.
It will open the confirmation dialog box. Further, click the “Refresh Firefox” button. The Firefox will start a process to fix your problems that caused by the hijacker responsible for redirecting your internet browser to Search.searchcoun2.com website. When, it is done, press the “Finish” button.
Get rid of Search.searchcoun2.com startpage from Internet Explorer
If you find that Internet Explorer web browser settings like new tab, search provider by default and start page having been hijacked, then you may restore your settings, via the reset browser process.
First, launch the Internet Explorer, click ) button. Next, click “Internet Options” as displayed in the following example.
In the “Internet Options” screen select the Advanced tab. Next, click Reset button. The Internet Explorer will show the Reset Internet Explorer settings dialog box. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box and click Reset button.
You will now need to restart your PC system for the changes to take effect. It will remove hijacker which redirects your internet browser to unwanted Search.searchcoun2.com webpage, disable malicious and ad-supported web-browser’s extensions and restore the IE’s settings such as homepage, new tab and search engine to default state.
Remove Search.searchcoun2.com from Google Chrome
Reset Google Chrome settings is a simple way to delete the browser hijacker, harmful and ‘ad-supported’ extensions, as well as to recover the internet browser’s homepage, search provider by default and new tab page that have been modified by Search.searchcoun2.com hijacker.
Open the Chrome menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal dotes (). It will show the drop-down menu. Choose More Tools, then click Extensions.
Carefully browse through the list of installed add-ons. If the list has the add-on labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following tutorial: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy otherwise, just go to the step below.
Open the Chrome main menu again, click to “Settings” option.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the “Advanced” link. Now scroll down until the Reset settings section is visible, as displayed on the screen below and click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
Confirm your action, click the “Reset” button.
Run free malware removal utilities to completely remove Search.searchcoun2.com
If you’re not expert at computers, then we suggest to use free removal utilities listed below to remove Search.searchcoun2.com home page for good. The automatic method is highly recommended. It has less steps and easier to implement than the manual way. Moreover, it lower risk of system damage. So, the automatic Search.searchcoun2.com removal is a better option.
Run Zemana Free to remove Search.searchcoun2.com start page
You can remove Search.searchcoun2.com search automatically with a help of Zemana Anti-Malware. We advise this malware removal tool because it can easily remove hijacker infections, potentially unwanted software, adware and toolbars with all their components such as folders, files and registry entries.
- Installing the Zemana Free is simple. First you will need to download Zemana AntiMalware from the link below. Save it on your Windows desktop or in any other place.
Zemana AntiMalware
164033 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
- At the download page, click on the Download button. Your internet browser will display the “Save as” prompt. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
- After the downloading process is finished, please close all applications and open windows on your system. Next, start a file named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
- This will run the “Setup wizard” of Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) onto your computer. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
- When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) will start and show the main window.
- Further, click the “Scan” button . Zemana application will scan through the whole personal computer for the hijacker infection that created to redirect your web-browser to the Search.searchcoun2.com web-page. This procedure may take some time, so please be patient.
- Once the scan is finished, Zemana AntiMalware will open a list of all threats found by the scan.
- When you’re ready, press the “Next” button. The utility will remove browser hijacker infection that changes internet browser settings to replace your startpage, search engine by default and new tab page with Search.searchcoun2.com web site. Once the cleaning procedure is complete, you may be prompted to reboot the computer.
- Close the Zemana Anti Malware and continue with the next step.
Remove Search.searchcoun2.com search from web-browsers with Hitman Pro
HitmanPro frees your computer from ad-supported software, PUPs, unwanted toolbars, web-browser addons and other unwanted applications such as browser hijacker infection that causes web-browsers to open intrusive Search.searchcoun2.com website. The free removal utility will help you enjoy your personal computer to its fullest. Hitman Pro uses advanced behavioral detection technologies to search for if there are unwanted software in your machine. You can review the scan results, and choose the threats you want to delete.
- HitmanPro can be downloaded from the following link. Save it on your Desktop.
- Once the downloading process is complete, double click the Hitman Pro icon. Once this tool is launched, click “Next” button . Hitman Pro program will scan through the whole computer for the browser hijacker infection responsible for redirecting your web-browser to Search.searchcoun2.com web-page. A system scan may take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your personal computer. During the scan HitmanPro will find out threats present on your PC system.
- Once the system scan is done, HitmanPro will display a screen that contains a list of malware that has been detected. When you are ready, click “Next” button. Now click the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial to remove all malware found.
Run Malwarebytes to get rid of hijacker infection
Manual Search.searchcoun2.com search removal requires some computer skills. Some files and registry entries that created by the browser hijacker may be not completely removed. We recommend that use the Malwarebytes Free that are completely free your computer of browser hijacker. Moreover, the free application will allow you to get rid of malware, PUPs, ad-supported software and toolbars that your machine can be infected too.
MalwareBytes can be downloaded from the following link. Save it on your MS Windows desktop or in any other place.
326387 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
Once downloading is finished, close all windows on your PC. Further, start the file named mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as shown in the figure below, click the “Yes” button.
It will open the “Setup wizard” that will allow you set up MalwareBytes Anti Malware on the computer. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
Once setup is finished successfully, click Finish button. Then MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) will automatically run and you can see its main window as shown in the figure below.
Next, click the “Scan Now” button to perform a system scan with this tool for the browser hijacker which reroutes your web browser to undesired Search.searchcoun2.com webpage. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of files on your computer and the speed of your system. During the scan MalwareBytes Free will find threats present on your PC.
Once MalwareBytes Anti-Malware has completed scanning your PC system, MalwareBytes Anti-Malware will show you the results. Once you have selected what you want to delete from your PC press “Quarantine Selected” button.
The MalwareBytes will remove hijacker that changes web-browser settings to replace your new tab, home page and default search engine with Search.searchcoun2.com web site and add threats to the Quarantine. Once the procedure is finished, you can be prompted to reboot your PC. We recommend you look at the following video, which completely explains the procedure of using the MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) to remove hijackers, adware and other malicious software.
Stop Search.searchcoun2.com and other intrusive webpages
We recommend to install an ad-blocker application that can block Search.searchcoun2.com and other unwanted web-sites. The ad-blocking utility like AdGuard is a program that basically removes advertising from the Internet and blocks access to malicious web sites. Moreover, security experts says that using ad-blocker software is necessary to stay safe when surfing the World Wide Web.
- Download AdGuard by clicking on the following link. Save it to your Desktop so that you can access the file easily.
Adguard download
26627 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
- After downloading it, run the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
- Once the install is finished, press “Skip” to close the install application and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial which will assist you get to know AdGuard better.
- In most cases, the default settings are enough and you do not need to change anything. Each time, when you start your PC system, AdGuard will start automatically and block pop-up advertisements, sites such as Search.searchcoun2.com, as well as other harmful or misleading websites. For an overview of all the features of the program, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the icon called AdGuard, that may be found on your desktop.
Why is my browser redirected to Search.searchcoun2.com?
The Search.searchcoun2.com hijacker infection usually spreads bundled with another program in the same installer. The risk of this is especially high for the various freeware downloaded from the Internet. The creators of the programs are hoping that users will run the quick installation mode, that is simply to press the Next button, without paying attention to the information on the screen and do not carefully considering every step of the installation procedure. Thus, the browser hijacker infection can infiltrate your computer without your knowledge. Therefore, it’s very important to read all the information that tells the program during installation, including the ‘Terms of Use’ and ‘Software license’. Use only the Manual, Custom or Advanced install option. This mode will help you to disable all optional and unwanted programs and components.
To sum up
Now your PC system should be free of the browser hijacker infection responsible for changing your web browser settings to Search.searchcoun2.com. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted advertisements and intrusive malicious sites) and Zemana Free (to periodically scan your computer for new malicious software, hijacker infections and adware). Make sure that you have all the Critical Updates recommended for Windows operating system. Without regular updates you WILL NOT be protected when new browser hijacker infections, malicious apps and ad-supported software are released.
If you are still having problems while trying to remove Search.searchcoun2.com from your browser, then ask for help in our Spyware/Malware removal forum.