Searchme.com Removal Guide

Do you know what Searchme.com is?

The researchers in our malware team agree that Searchme.com is a browser hijacker, and it should not be difficult for you to identify it as such if it has corrupted your browsers illegally. Of course, it is possible that some users will let this infection in themselves after being convinced that it is genuine and reliable. According to our researchers, most users should face this hijacker as they download the Search Assistant extension. At the moment, this extension is promoted at searchassistant.co and the Chrome web store at chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/search-assistant/fafnilhpmeffadmbdlepblmgfakbgfdp. Based on the data represented on this page, there might be at least 10,000 victims of this browser hijacker. Hopefully, that is not the case, and the hijacker’s removal does not affect that many Chrome, Firefox, or Internet Explorer users. If you are one of the victims, we will help you delete Searchme.com.

How did Searchme.com affect your browsers? Did it change the homepage or default search provider? Is it represented via the New Tab? If you see it on the New Tab page, it is very likely that a browser add-on is responsible for its existence. Now, if it has corrupted the search provider or homepage, you might need to modify the settings. Have you tried that already but the hijacker did not move? That might be because of the Target modification that this infection might be capable of initiating. The Target is the location of where your browser shortcut is launched from. A normal Target represents the location of the original .exe file of your browser. When a hijacker capable of modifying the Target slithers in, the Target can be modified to include the URL of the hijacker as well, and, because of that, you are greeted by an unwanted page even if you modify the homepage. Needless to say, it is very easy to change the Target, but the reality is that not many users know about this feature, which is why they often fail to delete the hijacker themselves.Searchme.com Removal GuideSearchme.com screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions

Do you know how Searchme.com functions? You might have figured out by now that it does not function as a regular search tool. Instead of producing original search results, it silently redirects to Yahoo Search. Do not be mistaken; although this search tool is well-know and deemed trustworthy, it could be utilized by the hijacker to expose you to sponsored links, advertisements. Although the Privacy Policy guarantees that intrusive ads will not pop up from left and right when you use the search tool, we doubt that the sponsored links that are attached to search results are considered intrusive. So far, we know that Searchme.com can redirect you to a third-party engine and introduce you to ads. Another thing you need to keep in mind is that – just like most search tools – it uses tracking instruments (e.g., web cookies) to record information about your activity. What does that mean? That means that the hijacker could select ads according to your searches. It might also mean that affiliate companies might get to access information about you.

We believe it is best for you to remove Searchme.com from your browsers, and the first thing we suggest is removing the unreliable extensions that could be linked to it. If that does not work, you might have to reset your browsers and change homepage and search provider settings. These tasks are very simple, and you should have no trouble following the steps below even if you have no experience. Of course, if you face issues, you can post a comment below to seek out help. The most critical advice we have for you is to invest in an anti-malware tool. This tool will reliably erase all existing threats, as well as ensure that your operating system remains secure in the future.

Delete Searchme.com from browsers

Internet Explorer

  1. Right-click the infected shortcut (note that you will need to fix all shortcuts separately).
  2. Select Properties, click the Shortcut tab, and move to Target.
  3. Erase the hijacker’s URL or everything after iexplore.exe” and click OK.
  4. Open the browser and tap Alt+T to open the Tools menu.
  5. Select Internet options, click the General tab, and modify the Home Page URL.

Google Chrome

  1. Right-click the infected shortcut (note that you will need to fix all shortcuts separately).
  2. Select Properties, click the Shortcut tab, and move to Target.
  3. Erase the hijacker’s URL or everything after chrome.exe” and click OK.
  4. Open the browser, tap Alt+F, click More tools, and, finally, click Extensions.
  5. Click the trash button next to the add-on associated with the hijacker and choose Remove.
  6. In the menu on the left click Settings and, first, navigate to On Startup.
  7. Select Open a specific page or set of pages and click Set pages.
  8. Change the hijacker’s URL and click OK.
  9. Go to Search and click Manage search engines
  10. Set the new default search engine, erase the hijacker, and click Done.

Mozilla Firefox

  1. Right-click the infected shortcut (note that you will need to fix all shortcuts separately).
  2. Select Properties, click the Shortcut tab, and move to Target.
  3. Erase the hijacker’s URL or everything after firefox.exe” and click OK.
  4. Launch the browser and tap Ctrl+Shift+A to access Adons Manager.
  5. In the Extensions menu Remove the unwanted add-ons.
  6. Tap Alt+T to access the Tools menu and choose Options.
  7. Move to the General menu and modify the Home Page URL.
  8. Navigate to the Search menu and Remove the unwanted search provider.

In non-techie terms:

Do not waste any time deleting Searchme.com. This hijacker might seem harmless, but, in reality, the longer you wait to get rid, the riskier it gets. This hijacker can spy on you in a clandestine manner, and, if you use it, it can expose you to links that represent potentially unreliable sites and annoying advertisements. It is strongly recommended that you install anti-malware software to have your operating system cleared from malware automatically, but note that you might be able to get rid of the hijacker yourself. If you are having any issues – regardless of which removal method you choose – feel free to start a discussion.