How to uninstall PremiumSearch from Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge

What is PremiumSearch?

The security experts have determined that PremiumSearch is a potentially unwanted program (PUP) from the group of Browser hijackers. Browser hijacker is a kind of software that is developed to change the web browser settings without the knowledge or permission of the computer user, and it usually redirects the affected system’s browser to some advertisement-related web-sites. A browser hijacker redirects user web searches to its own web site, alters the default internet browser search engine or startpage, generates multiple pop-up ads, installs multiple toolbars on the web browser and initiates numerous pop-ups. If your computer is affected by a browser hijacker you need to perform manual steps or use a malware removal tool to revert changes made to your browsers.

The PremiumSearch browser hijacker will change your internet browser’s search engine so that all searches are sent via “https://www.premiumsearch.xyz/” which redirects to Bing Search engine that shows the search results for your query. The devs behind this hijacker are utilizing legitimate search provider as they may make money from the advertisements that are displayed in the search results.

Another reason why you need to remove PremiumSearch is its online data-tracking activity. It can gather sensitive info, including:

• IP addresses;
• URLs visited;
• search queries/terms;
• clicks on links and advertisements;
• web-browser version information.

If the Google Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Internet Explorer have been infected with the PremiumSearch hijacker, you must have finished the steps below. Once you’ve cleaned your computer by following our suggestions, make sure not to commit the same mistakes again in the future.

How can a browser hijacker get on your device

Potentially unwanted programs and browser hijackers such as PremiumSearch most likely to occur during the install of freeware due the fact that unwanted software like this are usually hidden in the installer. Thus, if you have installed some free software using Quick(Standard) mode, you may have let a hijacker get inside the PC. Keep in mind that the Quick mode is unreliable because it do not warn about third-party programs. Thus, bundled apps will be installed automatically unless you choose Advanced/Custom mode and disable its installation.

Threat Summary

Name	PremiumSearch
Type	PUP, browser hijacker, homepage hijacker, search engine hijacker, redirect virus
Affected Browser Settings	newtab page URL, search engine, home page
Distribution	fake software updaters, free applications installers, misleading popup ads
Symptoms	Popup ads won’t go away. Every time you perform an Internet search, your browser is redirected to another web page. There is an unwanted program in the ‘Uninstall a program’ section of your Control Panel. New icons in your web browser. Your browser home page has changed and you are unable to change it back.
Removal	PremiumSearch removal guide

How to remove PremiumSearch from Google Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge

There are a few ways that can be used to remove PremiumSearch. But, not all potentially unwanted software like this browser hijacker can be completely removed using only manual solutions. Most often you are not able to uninstall any browser hijacker utilizing standard Windows options. In order to remove PremiumSearch you need complete a few manual steps and run free malware removal tools. Most IT security experts states that Zemana, MalwareBytes Anti Malware or HitmanPro tools are a right choice. These free programs are able to find and get rid of PremiumSearch from your personal computer and return your browser settings to defaults.

To remove PremiumSearch, perform the following steps:

1. How to manually remove PremiumSearch
   • Delete PremiumSearch associated software by using Windows Control Panel
   • Remove PremiumSearch hijacker from web-browsers
2. Automatic Removal of PremiumSearch
3. How to stop PremiumSearch redirect

How to manually remove PremiumSearch

If you perform exactly the few simple steps below you should be able to get rid of the PremiumSearch hijacker from the MS Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and IE web-browsers.

Delete PremiumSearch associated software by using Windows Control Panel

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

1. If you are using Windows 8, 8.1 or 10 then click Windows button, next press Search. Type “Control panel”and press Enter.
2. If you are using Windows XP, Vista, 7, then press “Start” button and click “Control Panel”.
3. It will show the Windows Control Panel.
4. Further, click “Uninstall a program” under Programs category.
5. It will show a list of all apps installed on the device.
6. Scroll through the all list, and delete questionable and unknown programs. To quickly find the latest installed apps, we recommend sort programs by date.

See more details in the video tutorial below.

Remove PremiumSearch hijacker from web-browsers

If you have ‘PremiumSearch hijacker’ removal problem, then remove unwanted plugins can help you. In the steps below we will show you the method to remove malicious extensions without reinstall. This will also allow to remove PremiumSearch hijacker from your internet browser.

Google Chrome	Mozilla Firefox
In the top right hand corner, click on ‘three vertical dots’, and this will open up the main menu on Chrome. Select ‘More tools’, then ‘Extensions’. Click ‘Remove’ to uninstall an extension. Click ‘Remove’ in the dialog box. You can also try to remove PremiumSearch browser hijacker by reset Chrome settings.	Click on ‘menu’ button and select ‘Add-ons’. Go to ‘Extensions’ tab. To uninstall an add-on, click on ‘Remove’ button next to it. If you are still experiencing issues with PremiumSearch hijacker removal, you need to reset Firefox browser.
Internet Explorer	Safari
Click ‘Tools’ button in the top-right corner. Select ‘Manage add-ons’. In the drop-down menu under ‘Show’, select ‘All add-ons’. To delete an add-on, double-click it; in the new window click ‘Remove’. Another method to remove PremiumSearch hijacker from IE is reset IE settings.	On the top menu select ‘Safari’, then ‘Preferences’. Select ‘Extensions’ tab. Select an extension you want to delete and click ‘Uninstall’ button next to it.

Automatic Removal of PremiumSearch

Malware removal tools are pretty useful when you think your device is infected by browser hijacker. Below we’ll discover best utilities which can be used to identify and get rid of PremiumSearch from your PC.

How to remove PremiumSearch with Zemana Free

Zemana is a free tool that performs a scan of your PC system and displays if there are existing adware, browser hijackers, viruses, worms, spyware, trojans and other malware residing on your device. If malicious software is found, Zemana Anti Malware can automatically remove it. Zemana doesn’t conflict with other anti malware and antivirus software installed on your PC system.

Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) can be downloaded from the following link. Save it on your Microsoft Windows desktop.

Once downloading is finished, close all applications and windows on your PC system. Open a directory in which you saved it. Double-click on the icon that’s named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup as on the image below.

When the installation starts, you will see the “Setup wizard” which will allow you setup Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) on your PC system.

Once installation is finished, you will see window as shown in the following example.

Now click the “Scan” button to perform a system scan for the PremiumSearch hijacker. Depending on your personal computer, the scan may take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. While the Zemana Anti-Malware is checking, you can see how many objects it has identified either as being malware.

After the scan get finished, you can check all items found on your computer. Make sure all items have ‘checkmark’ and click “Next” button.

The Zemana Anti-Malware will start to get rid of PremiumSearch hijacker.

Use HitmanPro to remove PremiumSearch from the PC

HitmanPro is a free removal tool which can check your PC system for a wide range of security threats such as adware software, malicious software, potentially unwanted software as well as PremiumSearch hijacker. It will perform a deep scan of your computer including hard drives and MS Windows registry. Once a malicious software is found, it will help you to delete all detected threats from your computer with a simple click.

1. Please go to the link below to download the latest version of Hitman Pro for Windows. Save it to your Desktop.
   
   

   HitmanPro
   12066 downloads
   Author: Sophos
   Category: Security tools
   Update: June 28, 2018
   
2. Once the download is complete, launch the HitmanPro, double-click the HitmanPro.exe file.
3. If the “User Account Control” prompts, click Yes to continue.
4. In the Hitman Pro window, press the “Next” to perform a system scan for the PremiumSearch hijacker.
5. After that process is finished, HitmanPro will open a list of found threats. Next, you need to click “Next”. Now, click the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial to remove all malware found.

Remove PremiumSearch hijacker with MalwareBytes Anti Malware

We suggest using the MalwareBytes Anti Malware which are fully clean your personal computer of the browser hijacker. The free tool is an advanced malware removal program designed by (c) Malwarebytes lab. This application uses the world’s most popular anti-malware technology. It is able to help you remove browser hijacker, PUPs, malware, adware, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your PC for free.

Download MalwareBytes on your device by clicking on the following link.

Once the downloading process is complete, close all applications and windows on your computer. Open a directory in which you saved it. Double-click on the icon that’s named MBSetup as shown on the image below.

When the setup begins, you will see the Setup wizard which will help you install Malwarebytes on your PC.

Once installation is done, you will see window like the one below.

Now press the “Scan” button to perform a system scan with this utility for the PremiumSearch browser hijacker. A scan may take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of files on your computer and the speed of your computer. While the tool is checking, you can see number of objects and files has already scanned.

When MalwareBytes Free is done scanning your computer, it will open the Scan Results. Review the results once the utility has complete the system scan. If you think an entry should not be quarantined, then uncheck it. Otherwise, simply press “Quarantine” button.

The Malwarebytes will now remove PremiumSearch hijacker and move the selected items to the program’s quarantine. When the cleaning procedure is done, you may be prompted to restart your computer.

The following video explains instructions on how to remove browser hijacker, adware and other malware with MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM).

How to stop PremiumSearch redirect

It’s important to run ad-blocking applications such as AdGuard to protect your PC from malicious web-pages. Most security experts says that it’s okay to block advertisements. You should do so just to stay safe! And, of course, the AdGuard can stop PremiumSearch and other unwanted web-pages.

1. AdGuard can be downloaded from the following link. Save it on your Microsoft Windows desktop.
   
   

   Adguard download
   26627 downloads
   Version: 6.4
   Author: © Adguard
   Category: Security tools
   Update: November 15, 2018
   
2. Once downloading is done, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
3. After the install is complete, click “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial which will allow you get to know AdGuard better.
4. In most cases, the default settings are enough and you do not need to change anything. Each time, when you start your personal computer, AdGuard will run automatically and stop unwanted ads, block PremiumSearch, as well as other harmful or misleading webpages. 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 can be found on your desktop.

Finish words

We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted pop-ups and intrusive malicious web-sites) and Zemana (to periodically scan your device for new hijackers and other malicious software). Probably you are running an older version of Java or Adobe Flash Player. This can be a security risk, so download and install the latest version right now.

If you are still having problems while trying to remove PremiumSearch from the Chrome, Edge, Firefox and IE, then ask for help here here.