Do you know what Gl-search.com is?
Gl-search.com is a browser hijacker and as such this program will modify your browser’s settings. Quite often these modifications occur with your permission even if you are not aware of it. Browser hijackers are very common computer intruders, but they are not genuine malware infections. Rather than that, they are tools used by shady people to make a financial profit. You can easily remove Gl-search.com from your system if you follow the instructions below our description. At the same time, you should also make sure that there are no other unwanted programs installed on your computer.
At first, some users may not understand that their browser settings have been changed because Gl-search.com looks very much like a regular search engine. The main difference is that this search engine comes with several shortcuts that lead users to Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, eBay, and other popular websites. Of course, it is nice when you can have your favorite pages at your fingertips, but the question is whether it is okay to click outgoing links offered by a browser hijacker. After all, it is very likely that this program will employ tracking cookies to monitor your online activity.
Why do browser hijackers track user’s browser history? Gl-search.com and other similar browser hijackers thrive on promoting third-party content. They make money each time you interact with that content. If you see something that you like, there is a bigger chance that you will click it. So browser hijackers try to figure out your likes and preferences by tracking what websites you frequent and what keywords you use when you search the web. Of course, Gl-search.com is not sophisticated enough to employ key logging, so it cannot steal your personal information. In other words, your banking login data and passwords should be safe.
Gl-search.com screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions
This browser hijacker works on Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer. It gets distributed just like most of the browser hijackers out there. Since there is no official website that would be responsible for distributing Gl-search.com, it is obvious that the program tends to come bundled with freeware. Freeware downloads are commonly used by browser hijacker, adware, and other unwanted software developers to distribute their programs. It is a very frustrating fact because users could easily avoid adding the likes of Gl-search.com to their browser if only they were a little bit more attentive during freeware installation.
That is also the reason computer security experts are often against downloading programs from file-sharing websites. You should really get all of your applications only from reliable vendors. And if you can only find a particular application at a file-sharing website, you should check every single step in the installation wizard before you click Finish. More often than not, it is possible to avoid adding additional applications and features to your systems, but users tend to breeze through the setup without reading everything, and so a number of potential threats do get installed.
What are the main security risks associated with Gl-search.com? Well, this browser hijacker is more annoying than dangerous. As you can already tell, it changes your homepage settings and then proceeds to collect data on your web browsing habits, so that it could provide you with modified search results. The modified search results often come with relevant links, but in between them you will always find promoted links and other customized content that is there to make you click it. While clicking such content does not necessarily entail a malware infection, it could always happen! Hence, you should never interact with unfamiliar content provided by Gl-search.com. Your best choice right now is to remove this browser hijacker.
The removal method for each browser is somewhat different, but it is not complicated. Deleting a browser hijacker on your own is a lot easier than dealing with a Trojan. However, after manual removal, you should not forget to run a full PC scan with a security tool of your choice. If Gl-search.com entered your system in a software bundle, you are bound to have more unwanted programs running on your system, and you most definitely have to remove them all ASAP. After all, your system’s security should be one of your top priorities.
How to Remove Gl-search.com
Internet Explorer
- Press Win+R and type regedit. Click OK.
- Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main.
- On the right side, right-click the Start Page value.
- Select Modify and change your homepage address. Click OK.
Firefox
- Press Win+R and type %AppData%. Click OK.
- Go to Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\[Unique User ID].
- Use Notepad to open the prefs.js file.
- Delete this string from the file: user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", "Gl-search.com");
- Save changes and close the file.
Chrome
- Press Win+R and type %LocalAppData%. Click OK.
- Go to Google\Chrome\User Data\Default.
- Locate and delete the Preferences, Secure Preferences, and Web Data files.
In non-techie terms:
Gl-search.com is a type of computer security threat that monitors your online activity for monetary purposes. It does not try to steal your data, but the browser hijacker can significantly slow down your browser, at the same time exposing you to a number of potentially harmful websites. To protect yourself and your computer from various issues, you need to remove Gl-search.com today. Please get yourself a powerful antispyware tool if you cannot do it on your own.