How to remove SearchZone (Virus removal guide)

SearchZone is a potentially unwanted program (PUP) from the browser hijackers family. A common tactic used by PUPs authors is to modify browser settings such as startpage, newtab page and default search engine so that the affected internet browser goes to a web page under the creator’s control. In order to look for potentially unwanted software, delete SearchZone from your internet browser, you can use the helpful tutorial below.

Most often, browser PUPs and hijackers promote fake search providers by setting their address as the default search engine. In this case, SearchZone installs feed.search-zone.com as a search provider. This means that users whose web-browser is infected with the hijacker are forced to visit search-zone.com each time they search in the Internet, open a new window or tab. And since search-zone.com is not a real search engine and does not have the ability to find the information users need, this website reroutes the user’s web browser to the Yahoo search engine.

As well as undesired browser redirects to search-zone.com, the SearchZone PUP can gather your World Wide Web surfing activity by saving URLs visited, IP addresses, web-browser version and type, cookie information, Internet Service Provider (ISP) and websites visited. Such kind of behavior can lead to serious security problems or privacy information theft. This is another reason why the SearchZone browser hijacker is classified as PUP and should be removed sooner.

Threat Summary

Name	SearchZone
Related domains	feed.search-zone.com, install.search-zone.com
Type	homepage hijacker, browser hijacker, search engine hijacker, PUP, redirect virus
Affected Browser Settings	newtab page URL, start page, search engine
Symptoms	undesired advertising links appear on web sites that you are visiting every time you perform an Internet search, your web browser is re-directed to another web site there is an unexpected program in the ‘Uninstall a program’ section of your Control Panel unexpected internet browser add-ons or toolbar keep coming back unexpected changes in your web-browser such as using a new default search provider
Removal	SearchZone removal guide

 

How can the SearchZone browser hijacker get on your computer

Browser hijackers sich as SearchZone usually are bundled within free programs which downloaded from the Internet. Which means that you need to be proactive and carefully read the Terms of use and the License agreement properly. For the most part, a browser hijacker will be clearly described, so take the time to carefully read all the information about the software that you downloaded and want to install on your computer. In the Setup wizard, you should select the Advanced, Custom or Manual install mode to control what components and additional programs to be installed, otherwise you run the risk of infecting your machine with an infection like the SearchZone browser hijacker.

We recommend you to remove SearchZone browser hijacker and clean your machine of PUPs immediately, until the presence of the hijacker has not led to even worse consequences. Complete the steps below that will allow you to completely delete SearchZone, using only the built-in Windows features and a few of specialized free tools.

How to remove SearchZone from Windows 10 (8, 7, XP)

The SearchZone is a hijacker that you might have difficulty in deleting it from your personal computer. Happily, you have found the effective removal instructions in this blog 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 have any questions or need assist then type a comment below. Certain of the steps below will require you to close this webpage. So, please read the guidance carefully, after that bookmark it or open it on your smartphone for later reference.

To remove SearchZone, use the following steps:

1. How to get rid of SearchZone manually
   • Remove SearchZone associated software by using Microsoft Windows Control Panel
   • Remove SearchZone from Chrome
   • Remove SearchZone hijacker from Firefox
   • Get rid of SearchZone hijacker from IE
2. Automatic Removal of SearchZone browser hijacker
   • How to delete SearchZone with Zemana
   • Get rid of SearchZone browser hijacker from web-browsers with HitmanPro
   • Get rid of SearchZone browser hijacker with MalwareBytes Anti Malware
3. How to stay safe online
4. To sum up

How to get rid of SearchZone manually

SearchZone is a hijacker infection that can change your internet browser startpage, new tab page and search provider by default and redirect you to the web-pages which may contain countless ads. Not every antivirus program can detect and get rid of SearchZone easily from the PC. Follow the steps below and you can remove browser hijacker by yourself.

Remove SearchZone associated software by using Microsoft Windows Control Panel

Some PUPs, browser hijacking programs and adware can be removed by uninstalling the free programs they came with. If this way does not succeed, then looking them up in the list of installed programs in Windows Control Panel. Use the “Uninstall” command in order to get rid of them.

Carefully browse through the list of installed applications and remove all dubious and unknown applications. We recommend to press ‘Installed programs’ and even sorts all installed apps by date. After you’ve found anything questionable that may be the SearchZone hijacker or other potentially unwanted application (PUA), then choose this program and click ‘Uninstall’ in the upper part of the window. If the questionable application blocked from removal, then run Revo Uninstaller Freeware to fully remove it from your machine.

Remove SearchZone from Chrome

If Google Chrome newtab, home page and search engine by default were hijacked by SearchZone then ‘Reset Chrome’ is a solution that helps to return the web-browser to its factory state. To reset Chrome to the original defaults, follow the few simple steps below.

First start the Google Chrome. Next, click the button in the form of three horizontal dots ().

It will show the Chrome menu. Select More Tools, then press Extensions. Carefully browse through the list of installed addons. If the list has the add-on signed with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following tutorial: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.

Open the Google Chrome menu once again. Further, click the option called “Settings”.

The browser will open the settings screen. Another solution to open the Chrome’s settings – type chrome://settings in the browser adress bar and press Enter

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the “Advanced” link. Now scroll down until the “Reset” section is visible, as displayed below and click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.

The Google Chrome will open the confirmation prompt as displayed in the following example.

You need to confirm your action, click the “Reset” button. The browser will start the task of cleaning. After it is complete, the web-browser’s settings including default search engine, homepage and new tab back to the values which have been when the Google Chrome was first installed on your computer.

Remove SearchZone hijacker from Firefox

If Mozilla Firefox start page or search engine are hijacked by the SearchZone, your web browser shows unwanted popup ads, then ‘Reset Mozilla Firefox’ could solve these problems. It will save your personal information such as saved passwords, bookmarks, auto-fill data and open tabs.

First, run the Mozilla Firefox. Next, click the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (). It will display the drop-down menu. Next, press the Help button ().

In the Help menu press the “Troubleshooting Information”. In the upper-right corner of the “Troubleshooting Information” page click on “Refresh Firefox” button as shown on the screen below.

Confirm your action, press the “Refresh Firefox”.

Get rid of SearchZone hijacker from IE

The Microsoft Internet Explorer reset is great if your web-browser is hijacked by SearchZone or you’ve unwanted extensions or toolbars on your web browser, that installed by a malware.

First, launch the Internet Explorer, click ) button. Next, press “Internet Options” as displayed on the image below.

In the “Internet Options” screen select the Advanced tab. Next, click Reset button. The Internet Explorer will display the Reset Internet Explorer settings prompt. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box and click Reset button.

You will now need to reboot your personal computer for the changes to take effect. It will remove SearchZone browser hijacker, disable malicious and ad-supported web-browser’s extensions and restore the Microsoft Internet Explorer’s settings like search engine by default, home page and new tab to default state.

Automatic Removal of SearchZone browser hijacker

Computer security professionals have built efficient malware removal tools to help users in removing browser hijackers , adware and PUPs. Below we will share with you the best malware removal utilities with the ability to find and remove SearchZone and other potentially unwanted programs.

How to delete SearchZone with Zemana

Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) is extremely fast and ultra light weight malware removal tool. It will help you get rid of SearchZone browser hijacker, adware, PUPs and other malware. This program gives real-time protection which never slow down your PC system. Zemana Anti-Malware is developed for experienced and beginner computer users. The interface of this utility is very easy to use, simple and minimalist.

Now you can install and use Zemana to get rid of SearchZone browser hijacker from your web browser by following the steps below:

Click the following link to download Zemana Free setup file called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup on your computer. Save it on your Microsoft Windows desktop or in any other place.

Start the setup file after it has been downloaded successfully and then follow the prompts to install this tool on your machine.

During installation you can change certain settings, but we suggest you don’t make any changes to default settings.

When installation is finished, this malicious software removal utility will automatically start and update itself. You will see its main window as shown in the figure below.

Now click the “Scan” button to perform a system scan with this tool for the SearchZone hijacker. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of files on your machine and the speed of your PC system.

After the scan get completed, the results are displayed in the scan report. Once you have selected what you want to delete from your personal computer press “Next” button.

The Zemana will get rid of SearchZone browser hijacker infection and move items to the program’s quarantine. After the procedure is done, you can be prompted to restart your personal computer to make the change take effect.

Get rid of SearchZone browser hijacker from web-browsers with HitmanPro

All-in-all, HitmanPro is a fantastic utility to clean your PC system from any unwanted programs such as SearchZone hijacker. The Hitman Pro is portable application that meaning, you do not need to install it to use it. HitmanPro is compatible with all versions of MS Windows operating system from Windows XP to Windows 10. Both 64-bit and 32-bit systems are supported.

Visit the page linked below to download the latest version of Hitman Pro for Microsoft Windows. Save it on your Windows desktop or in any other place.

When downloading is done, open the folder in which you saved it and double-click the Hitman Pro icon. It will launch the HitmanPro tool. If the User Account Control prompt will ask you want to start the application, press Yes button to continue.

Next, click “Next” to perform a system scan with this tool for the SearchZone browser hijacker. This procedure can take some time, so please be patient. While the Hitman Pro tool is checking, you can see how many objects it has identified as being affected by malware.

After the system scan is complete, Hitman Pro will display a screen which contains a list of malicious software that has been detected similar to the one below.

Make sure to check mark the items that are unsafe and then click “Next” button. It will show a prompt, click the “Activate free license” button. The Hitman Pro will get rid of SearchZone browser hijacker and add threats to the Quarantine. After that process is done, the utility may ask you to restart your PC system.

Get rid of SearchZone browser hijacker with MalwareBytes Anti Malware

We recommend using the MalwareBytes. You can download and install MalwareBytes Free to locate and get rid of SearchZone hijacker from your personal computer. When installed and updated, this free malware remover automatically detects and removes all threats exist on the PC system.

MalwareBytes Free can be downloaded from the following link. Save it to your Desktop so that you can access the file easily.

When the download is done, run it and follow the prompts. Once installed, the MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) will try to update itself and when this process is done, click the “Scan Now” button to detect SearchZone browser hijacker infection. A system scan may take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your computer. When a malware, adware software or PUPs are detected, the count of the security threats will change accordingly. Review the scan results and then click “Quarantine Selected” button.

The MalwareBytes AntiMalware is a free program that you can use to delete all detected folders, files, services, registry entries and so on. To learn more about this malicious software removal tool, we recommend you to read and follow the steps or the video guide below.

How to stay safe online

In order to increase your security and protect your personal computer against new unwanted advertisements and harmful web-pages, you need to use ad-blocking application that stops an access to harmful advertisements and web-sites. Moreover, the application may block the open of intrusive advertising, which also leads to faster loading of web-pages and reduce the consumption of web traffic.

AdGuard can be downloaded from the following link. Save it on your Desktop.

After downloading it, launch the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen as displayed on the screen below.

Follow the prompts. After the install is finished, you will see a window such as the one below.

You can click “Skip” to close the setup program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” button to see an quick tutorial that will assist you get to know AdGuard better.

In most cases, the default settings are enough and you don’t need to change anything. Each time, when you start your machine, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop undesired advertisements, block malicious 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 may be found on your desktop.

To sum up

Once you have finished the few simple steps above, your machine should be clean from SearchZone and other PUPs. The Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox and Internet Explorer will no longer display the search-zone.com webpage. Unfortunately, if the step-by-step tutorial does not help you, then you have caught a new browser hijacker, and then the best way – ask for help here.