Cyber security specialists called the Search.searchwmtn2.com a browser hijacker. What is a browser hijacker? The hijacker is a browser extension or program that engages in behavior that is unexpected, or that negatively affects the user’s Net surfing experience. Examples include apps that replaces web-browser’s home page, search provider or other browser settings to ones you don’t want.
The browser hijacker can also set up the Search.searchwmtn2.com web site as the Firefox, Google Chrome, MS Edge and IE default search engine that cause search redirects via the page. In this way, creators of the browser hijacker have an opportunity to display various ads together with the search results for your query. These undesired ads will be summarized in the redirected page. This can bring a lot of profit for developers of the hijacker.
The Search.searchwmtn2.com hijacker is not a virus, but the virus behaves similarly. As a rootkit hides in the system, changes current settings of web browsers, and blocks them from changing. Also this browser hijacker can install additional web browser plugins and modules that will display advertisements and pop-ups. And finally, the Search.searchwmtn2.com browser hijacker can be used to collect confidential information about you such as what web-pages you’re opening, what you’re looking for the World Wide Web and so on. This information, in the future, can be used for marketing purposes.
So, it is very important to free your computer of hijacker without a wait. The step-by-step guidance, which is shown below, will allow you to remove Search.searchwmtn2.com from the Chrome, MS Edge, IE and Firefox and other web browsers.
Remove Search.searchwmtn2.com (removal instructions)
The Search.searchwmtn2.com is a hijacker that you might have difficulty in removing it from your PC. Thankfully, you have found the effective removal instructions in this post. Both the manual removal method and the automatic removal method will be provided below and you can just select the one that best for you. If you’ve any questions or need help then type a comment below. Read this manual carefully, bookmark or print it, because you may need to exit your web-browser or restart your system.
To remove Search.searchwmtn2.com, execute the steps below:
- How to manually get rid of Search.searchwmtn2.com
- Run free malware removal tools to completely remove Search.searchwmtn2.com home page
- Block Search.searchwmtn2.com redirect and other intrusive web pages
- How did Search.searchwmtn2.com browser hijacker infection get on your computer
- To sum up
How to manually get rid of Search.searchwmtn2.com
The following instructions is a step-by-step guide, which will help you manually remove Search.searchwmtn2.com from the MS Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and Google Chrome.
Remove potentially unwanted applications using Windows Control Panel
Some PUPs, browser hijacking software and ‘ad supported’ software may be removed by uninstalling the free software they came with. If this way does not succeed, then looking them up in the list of installed apps in MS Windows Control Panel. Use the “Uninstall” command in order to remove them.
Make sure you have closed all web browsers and other programs. Next, uninstall any undesired and suspicious apps from your Control panel.
Windows 10, 8.1, 8
Now, press the Windows button, type “Control panel” in search and press Enter. Choose “Programs and Features”, then “Uninstall a program”.
Look around the entire list of applications installed on your PC system. Most probably, one of them is the hijacker that redirects your web browser to intrusive Search.searchwmtn2.com webpage. Choose the dubious program or the application that name is not familiar to you and delete it.
Windows Vista, 7
From the “Start” menu in Windows, select “Control Panel”. Under the “Programs” icon, choose “Uninstall a program”.
Select the dubious or any unknown software, then click “Uninstall/Change” button to delete this undesired program from your personal computer.
Windows XP
Click the “Start” button, select “Control Panel” option. Click on “Add/Remove Programs”.
Select an unwanted application, then click “Change/Remove” button. Follow the prompts.
Get rid of Search.searchwmtn2.com redirect from Microsoft Internet Explorer
In order to restore all web-browser search engine by default, new tab and home page you need to reset the Internet Explorer to the state, which was when the Microsoft Windows was installed on your PC system.
First, run the IE, then click ‘gear’ icon . It will show the Tools drop-down menu on the right part of the browser, then press the “Internet Options” as shown in the following example.
In the “Internet Options” screen, select the “Advanced” tab, then click the “Reset” button. The Internet Explorer will display the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” dialog box. Further, click the “Delete personal settings” check box to select it. Next, press the “Reset” button like below.
After the task is finished, press “Close” button. Close the Internet Explorer and reboot your computer for the changes to take effect. This step will help you to restore your web browser’s search engine, newtab and start page to default state.
Remove Search.searchwmtn2.com from Chrome
Reset Google Chrome settings is a simple way to remove the hijacker, harmful and adware extensions, as well as to restore the web browser’s homepage, new tab and search provider that have been changed by browser hijacker infection.
- First launch the Google Chrome and press Menu button (small button in the form of three dots).
- It will display the Google Chrome main menu. Choose More Tools, then click Extensions.
- You’ll see the list of installed extensions. If the list has the extension labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following steps: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
- Now open the Google Chrome menu once again, click the “Settings” menu.
- You will see the Chrome’s settings page. Scroll down and click “Advanced” link.
- Scroll down again and click the “Reset” button.
- The Google Chrome will display the reset profile settings page as shown on the screen above.
- Next click the “Reset” button.
- Once this procedure is finished, your web-browser’s new tab, search provider by default and homepage will be restored to their original defaults.
- To learn more, read the post How to reset Google Chrome settings to default.
Delete Search.searchwmtn2.com from Firefox by resetting internet browser settings
If Firefox home page or search engine are hijacked by the Search.searchwmtn2.com, your web-browser displays unwanted popup advertisements, then ‘Reset Firefox’ could solve these problems. 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. Next, click the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (). It will open the drop-down menu. Next, press the Help button ().
In the Help menu click the “Troubleshooting Information”. In the upper-right corner of the “Troubleshooting Information” page click on “Refresh Firefox” button as on the image below.
Confirm your action, press the “Refresh Firefox”.
Run free malware removal tools to completely remove Search.searchwmtn2.com home page
Many antivirus companies have designed software that allow detect and delete hijacker, and thereby return installed internet browsers settings. Below is a a few of the free programs you may want to run. Your machine can have a large amount of PUPs, ‘ad supported’ software and hijackers installed at the same time, so we suggest, if any unwanted or harmful program returns after rebooting the PC, then boot your computer into Safe Mode and use the anti malware utility again.
Run Zemana to remove Search.searchwmtn2.com hijacker
You can get rid of Search.searchwmtn2.com homepage automatically with a help of Zemana. We recommend this malware removal tool because it can easily get rid of hijackers, potentially unwanted apps, ad-supported software and toolbars with all their components such as folders, files and registry entries.
Zemana AntiMalware can be downloaded from the following link. Save it on your Windows desktop.
164032 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
Once downloading is finished, close all windows on your PC system. Further, launch the install file named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up like below, click the “Yes” button.
It will display the “Setup wizard” which will help you install Zemana on the PC. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
Once installation is finished successfully, Zemana AntiMalware will automatically start and you can see its main window as shown below.
Next, click the “Scan” button to perform a system scan for the Search.searchwmtn2.com hijacker and other web-browser’s harmful extensions. This task can take quite a while, so please be patient. While the Zemana Free utility is scanning, you may see count of objects it has identified as being infected by malicious software.
Once finished, Zemana AntiMalware will show a scan report. In order to remove all items, simply click “Next” button.
The Zemana Free will start to remove hijacker which cause Search.searchwmtn2.com web-page to appear. After the cleaning procedure is complete, you can be prompted to reboot your system.
Scan and free your PC system of hijacker infection with Hitman Pro
All-in-all, HitmanPro is a fantastic tool to free your personal computer from any unwanted programs such as browser hijacker that cause a redirect to Search.searchwmtn2.com web page. The HitmanPro is portable application that meaning, you don’t need to install it to run it. Hitman Pro is compatible with all versions of MS Windows OS from Microsoft Windows XP to Windows 10. Both 64-bit and 32-bit systems are supported.
Please go to the link below to download Hitman Pro. Save it to your Desktop so that you can access the file easily.
When the download is finished, open the file location and double-click the Hitman Pro icon. It will start the Hitman Pro utility. If the User Account Control dialog box will ask you want to start the program, click Yes button to continue.
Next, press “Next” for checking your PC for the browser hijacker infection responsible for redirecting your web-browser to Search.searchwmtn2.com web site. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of files on your machine and the speed of your computer. When a malware, adware or potentially unwanted programs are detected, the count of the security threats will change accordingly.
When HitmanPro has finished scanning your PC system, Hitman Pro will show a screen which contains a list of malware that has been found as displayed on the screen below.
All found items will be marked. You can remove them all by simply press “Next” button. It will display a prompt, press the “Activate free license” button. The HitmanPro will remove browser hijacker that responsible for web-browser reroute to the annoying Search.searchwmtn2.com web site and move threats to the program’s quarantine. When the process is complete, the utility may ask you to reboot your PC system.
Scan and free your PC system of hijacker with Malwarebytes
Manual Search.searchwmtn2.com search removal requires some computer skills. Some files and registry entries that created by the browser hijacker may be not completely removed. We suggest that run the Malwarebytes Free that are completely free your computer of hijacker infection. Moreover, the free application will help you to remove malware, potentially unwanted apps, adware and toolbars that your computer can be infected too.
Download MalwareBytes on your machine from the link below.
326385 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
After downloading is finished, run it and follow the prompts. Once installed, the MalwareBytes Free will try to update itself and when this task is complete, click the “Scan Now” button . MalwareBytes Free utility will start scanning the whole personal computer to find out Search.searchwmtn2.com browser hijacker infection and other internet browser’s malicious add-ons. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the count of files on your PC system and the speed of your computer. During the scan MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) will find out threats present on your computer. Once you’ve selected what you want to remove from your computer click “Quarantine Selected” button.
The MalwareBytes Free is a free application that you can use to remove all detected folders, files, services, registry entries and so on. To learn more about this malicious software removal utility, we recommend you to read and follow the steps or the video guide below.
Block Search.searchwmtn2.com redirect and other intrusive web pages
In order to increase your security and protect your computer against new undesired advertisements and harmful web sites, you need to use ad blocker program that stops an access to malicious advertisements and web-sites. Moreover, the program may block the display of intrusive advertising, that also leads to faster loading of websites and reduce the consumption of web traffic.
Please go to the link below to download the latest version of AdGuard for Windows. Save it on your Microsoft Windows desktop or in any other place.
26627 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
Once the downloading process is done, double-click the downloaded file to launch it. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen like 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 tutorial as shown below.
Press “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick instructions that will help you get to know AdGuard better.
Each time, when you start your system, AdGuard will start automatically and block pop up ads, Search.searchwmtn2.com redirect, 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, which is located on your desktop.
How did Search.searchwmtn2.com browser hijacker infection get on your computer
Many hijacker infections such as Search.searchwmtn2.com are included in the free applications installer. In many cases, a user have a chance to disable all included “offers”, but some installers are made to confuse the average users, in order to trick them into installing an ad-supported software or PUPs. Anyway, easier to prevent the browser hijacker infection rather than clean up your personal computer after one. So, keep the web browser updated (turn on automatic updates), run a good antivirus programs, double check a freeware before you open it (do a google search, scan a downloaded file with VirusTotal), avoid malicious and unknown web pages.
To sum up
After completing the step-by-step guidance outlined above, your computer should be clean from this hijacker and other malware. The Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and Google Chrome will no longer open annoying Search.searchwmtn2.com page on startup. Unfortunately, if the steps does not help you, then you have caught a new hijacker, and then the best way – ask for help.
Please start a new thread by using the “New Topic” button in the Spyware Removal forum. When posting your HJT log, try to give us some details about your problems, so we can try to help you more accurately. Wait for one of our trained “Security Team” or Site Administrator to provide you with knowledgeable assistance tailored to your problem with the undesired Search.searchwmtn2.com homepage.