Remove GameSearcher virus

What is GameSearcher virus

GameSearcher virus refers to a browser hijacker that promotes portal.game-searcher.com and sets it as the homepage on an infected computer. Browser hijackers are pretty minor computer infections that aim to redirect to sponsored websites to generate traffic and revenue. In order to do that, hijackers change browser’s settings and set their promoted sites as homepages.

The site set as your homepage by this hijacker is portal.game-searcher.com and it’s promoting a questionable search engine that would insert sponsored content into search results. If you use the search engine promoted on the site set as your homepage, you will be redirected constantly. You will first be redirected to a couple of different websites for a couple of seconds, and then to mybrowser-search.com. The search engine will insert a lot of sponsored content into results with the intention to redirect you to certain websites. Some of those sites could expose you to potentially dangerous content, such as scams or malware.

So while hijackers aren’t harmful directly, they can redirect you to dangerous content. Even if it doesn’t seem particularly dangerous, we strongly recommend you delete GameSearcher virus from your computer as soon as possible. Browser hijackers use a very sneaky installation method called software bundling. We will explain it in more detail in the following section, but essentially, you installed a free program that had GameSearcher virus attached to it.

Browser hijackers use software bundling to install

Browser hijackers, adware and potentially unwanted programs use software bundling to install and come attached to free software as extra offers. It’s quite a controversial installation method because it essentially allows unwanted programs to sneak past users and install alongside without permission. Programs that use it are categorized as potentially unwanted programs in many cases. The extra offers that come attached to freeware are attached in a way that allows them to install alongside automatically, unless you manually prevent this from happening. But during freeware installation, the offers are usually hidden.

Since they are optional, you can easily prevent their installation, as long as you know how. When installing free programs, especially ones you download from non-official websites, always opt for Advanced (Custom) settings instead of Default. Advanced will show if anything has been added, and you will have the option to deselect everything. All you really need to do is uncheck the boxes. Once you have done that, you can continue installing the program.

Browser hijackers try to redirect users to sponsored websites

Because of their behaviour, browser hijackers are very obvious infections. As soon as GameSearcher installs, it will proceed to change your browser’s settings (whether you’re using Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox) and set its promoted portal.game-searcher.com as your homepage and new tabs. Your default search engine will also be set to mybrowser-search.com. These changes will be irreversible until you remove GameSearcher virus because it will just keep nullifying all changes you make. The site that gets set as your homepage is a very typical browser hijacker site, it has a PDF converter, currency and cryptocurrency converter and a calculator features. There will also be a search engine box. If you try to do a search via it or the browser address bar, you will be first redirected to a couple of search.onlinebars.xyz websites and then to mybrowser-search.com.

mybrowser-search.com search results will be full of sponsored content, half the page will be just ads. We don’t recommend clicking on those results as you could be redirected to all kinds of dangerous websites, some of which could be promoting scams or hiding malware. Those results will be useless to you anyway so you have no business clicking on them.

Lastly, it should be mentioned that browser hijackers track your browsing. They will collect information related to what you search for, what sites you visit, your IP address, etc. The information would also be shared with third-parties.

GameSearcher virus removal

It would be easiest to remove GameSearcher virus using anti-virus software because the program would do everything. However, you can uninstall GameSearcher virus manually, and we will provide instructions below this report to help you if you are unsure about where to begin.

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Quick Menu

Step 1. Uninstall GameSearcher virus and related programs.

• Windows 8
• Windows 7
• Windows XP
• Mac OS

Remove GameSearcher virus from Windows 8

Right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once Quick Access Menu shows up, select Control Panel choose Programs and Features and select to Uninstall a software.

Uninstall GameSearcher virus from Windows 7

Click Start → Control Panel → Programs and Features → Uninstall a program.

Delete GameSearcher virus from Windows XP

Click Start → Settings → Control Panel. Locate and click → Add or Remove Programs.

Remove GameSearcher virus from Mac OS X

Click Go button at the top left of the screen and select Applications. Select applications folder and look for GameSearcher virus or any other suspicious software. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash, then right click the Trash icon and select Empty Trash.

Step 2. Delete GameSearcher virus from your browsers

• Internet Explorer
• Chrome
• Firefox
• Safari

Terminate the unwanted extensions from Internet Explorer

1. Tap the Gear icon and go to Manage Add-ons.
2. Pick Toolbars and Extensions and eliminate all suspicious entries (other than Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Oracle or Adobe)
3. Leave the window.

Change Internet Explorer homepage if it was changed by virus:

1. Tap the gear icon (menu) on the top right corner of your browser and click Internet Options.
2. In General Tab remove malicious URL and enter preferable domain name. Press Apply to save changes.

Reset your browser

1. Click the Gear icon and move to Internet Options.
2. Open the Advanced tab and press Reset.
3. Choose Delete personal settings and pick Reset one more time.
4. Tap Close and leave your browser.
5. If you were unable to reset your browsers, employ a reputable anti-malware and scan your entire computer with it.

Erase GameSearcher virus from Google Chrome

1. Access menu (top right corner of the window) and pick Settings.
2. Choose Extensions.
3. Eliminate the suspicious extensions from the list by clicking the Trash bin next to them.
4. If you are unsure which extensions to remove, you can disable them temporarily.

Reset Google Chrome homepage and default search engine if it was hijacker by virus

1. Press on menu icon and click Settings.
2. Look for the “Open a specific page” or “Set Pages” under “On start up” option and click on Set pages.
3. In another window remove malicious search sites and enter the one that you want to use as your homepage.
4. Under the Search section choose Manage Search engines. When in Search Engines..., remove malicious search websites. You should leave only Google or your preferred search name.
   

Reset your browser

1. If the browser still does not work the way you prefer, you can reset its settings.
2. Open menu and navigate to Settings.
3. Press Reset button at the end of the page.
4. Tap Reset button one more time in the confirmation box.
5. If you cannot reset the settings, purchase a legitimate anti-malware and scan your PC.

Remove GameSearcher virus from Mozilla Firefox

1. In the top right corner of the screen, press menu and choose Add-ons (or tap Ctrl+Shift+A simultaneously).
2. Move to Extensions and Add-ons list and uninstall all suspicious and unknown entries.

Change Mozilla Firefox homepage if it was changed by virus:

1. Tap on the menu (top right corner), choose Options.
2. On General tab delete malicious URL and enter preferable website or click Restore to default.
3. Press OK to save these changes.

Reset your browser

1. Open the menu and tap Help button.
2. Select Troubleshooting Information.
3. Press Refresh Firefox.
4. In the confirmation box, click Refresh Firefox once more.
5. If you are unable to reset Mozilla Firefox, scan your entire computer with a trustworthy anti-malware.

Uninstall GameSearcher virus from Safari (Mac OS X)

1. Access the menu.
2. Pick Preferences.
3. Go to the Extensions Tab.
4. Tap the Uninstall button next to the undesirable GameSearcher virus and get rid of all the other unknown entries as well. If you are unsure whether the extension is reliable or not, simply uncheck the Enable box in order to disable it temporarily.
5. Restart Safari.

Reset your browser

1. Tap the menu icon and choose Reset Safari.
2. Pick the options which you want to reset (often all of them are preselected) and press Reset.
3. If you cannot reset the browser, scan your whole PC with an authentic malware removal software.