What is TheSearch.net?
As you might have witnessed for yourself, TheSearch.net is not a highly functional search provider. Although it searches for the information you are looking for, it does not offer any specific search tools, and it does not show many useful search results. Instead, this strange search provider showcases more advertisements identified by the “Ad” tag than regular search results. Even though we do not claim that all of the sponsored links represented via this search engine are malicious, you need to keep in mind that the content represented via them might be unpredictable and misleading. This is the main reason why we do not recommend interacting with this search tool even if you have installed it yourself. Instead, we recommend deleting TheSearch.net from your browsers, and you can learn how to do that by reading this report.
How does TheSearch.net work?
TheSearch.net comes from the Spigot family, which is often associated with other suspicious programs, such as the MyBeesearch.com hijacker. This piece of software is not represented in an official manner, and an official installer does not exist. This means that the hijacker is most likely to rely on third-party programs for its distribution. Software bundles are often spread by suspicious installers that cannot be trusted. Did you install TheSearch.net using an unfamiliar installer? Unfortunately, it is possible that this installer was used for the distribution of much more dangerous infections as well. So, if you discover the hijacker, the first thing you need to do is scan your operating system. Even if you have been introduced to this search tool and you installed it willingly, you cannot be sure that malware was not infiltrated silently. If you scan your operating system right away, the situation will become clearer, and you will be able to take any necessary steps. Maybe you will discover more dangerous infections, in which case, you will need to delete them first. Maybe you will find that you only need to remove TheSearch.net. In any case, we strongly recommend inspecting your PC before moving on.
It seems that the only reason TheSearch.net was created for was to showcase third-party advertisements. It is possible that this tool provides an advertising platform for parties who cannot use legitimate advertising platforms. Needless to say, this could be a window of opportunity for unreliable parties, which is the main reason you need to be cautious about the ads you are exposed to. Of course, the ads shown to you might seem quite appealing, and this is because TheSearch.net employs tracking cookies to analyze your virtual behavior and interests. If this hijacker analyzes your recent browsing history, it is most likely that the ads shown to you will correspond to your recent searches, and this, of course, increases the chances of you interacting with the advertisements. Overall, because the advertisers and their intentions are unknown, we cannot say that interacting with the ads shown to you is safe.
How to delete TheSearch.net
If you are removing TheSearch.net, you need to figure out which browser got infected. Note that if several different browsers are installed on your PC, you should check all of them just to make sure that they are not infected as well. According to our research, this hijacker can affect Chrome, Firefox, IE, and Edge browsers. Notably, the hijacker might replace the homepage on all of these browsers, but it does not modify the default search provider on the Microsoft Edge browser. The instructions below show how to reset your browsers and change the start page settings on Edge (because it cannot be reset). If you have any questions about the removal process, please start a discussion below. You should also not forget about the possibility of other threats being active on your PC. If a reliable scanner identifies no threats, quickly employ a trusted security tool to keep your operating system malware-free. If threats are detected, eliminate them first. You can do that using an automated malware remover.
Removal Guide
Google Chrome:
- Open the browser, tap Alt+F, and move to Settings.
- Click Show advanced settings (at the bottom).
- Click Reset settings (at the bottom) and then click Done.
- Restart the browser.
Mozilla Firefox:
- Open the browser, tap Alt+H, and click Troubleshooting Information.
- Click the Refresh Firefox button on the right.
- Confirm your choice.
- Restart the browser.
Internet Explorer:
- Open the browser, tap Alt+T, and select Internet options.
- Click the Advanced tab and then click Reset.
- Select Delete personal settings and click Reset again.
- Restart your browser.
Microsoft Edge:
- Open the browser and tap Alt+X to access the menu on the right.
- Navigate to the Open with menu.
- Click A specific page or pages and eliminate the unwanted option by clicking the “X”.
- Type the URL of the desired homepage into the box and click “+”.
- Restart the browser.
tested removal of TheSearch.net*
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