Time-search2016.com Removal Guide

Do you know what Time-search2016.com is?

Time-search2016.com is a newcomer in a new family of unreliable search engines that do not seem to work at all. We have seen several identical search pages emerging in the past weeks, including Newsearch2016.com and Mim-search2016.com. These pages are identical clones of each other with the only difference being the URL and the name displayed on the page. Our researchers believe that the creator will soon activate this malware threat because if they had shut down this project and the web server, why on earth would they go on creating new clones, right? In any case, you may still infect your computer with this threat so it is worth knowing what kinds of potential risks you may have to face one day. As a matter of fact, our researchers have labeled this infection as a browser hijacker because it can change your home page setting. We think that the best solution for you is to remove Time-search2016.com because it is certainly not a good idea to keep something on board that does not even seem to work for the time being.

Our research indicates that this malware infection can be installed when you click on corrupted third-party content, such as banner and pop-up advertisements. The most likely way for you to be introduced to such ads is during surfing the web. You may have noticed that certain websites are filled with annoying and flashing advertising. What you may not have realized is that some of these ads can be disguised and show up as a notification warning you about an urgent Windows update you need, or a plugin you must download to see certain content on the page. So you may not even think that such content is actually a third-party ad. This is all about deception, of course.Time-search2016.com Removal GuideTime-search2016.com screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions

If you are exposed to unsafe advertising, the reason could be twofold. First, it is possible that adware programs previously found a way to your computer and these infections show you such ads. Second, you may find yourself on a suspicious file-sharing, gambling, or any other website that promotes third parties. This can happen when you search the web, for example, to find a free book, music file, video, or software to download. If you are unfamiliar with schemers’ tricks and their malicious sites, you may easily end up on one of those. Another click and you could download a malicious bundle or open additional malicious pages on new tabs. This is why you should stay away from third-party ads altogether unless you are perfectly sure that there are no malware programs on your computer and you are viewing a totally reliable and reputable website. We suggest that you delete Time-search2016.com and use a free online scanner to detect any other potentially risky programs. Just make sure that the scanner you are about to use is a trustworthy one because the web is full of rogue tools that could cause further security-related issues instead of weeding them out.

This search engine page looks exactly like its “siblings.” On bluish-green background, you can see the search box and below it, eight different categories separated in brownish boxes each containing five typical keywords. The only thing that actually functions on this page is that when you click on one of these keywords, it is copied in the search box above. However, no real web search takes place. Pressing the Enter key would simply reload this page. This, of course, may change in the near future, and then, your queries will probably be taken to a third-party search results page that could be a popular and reputable engine, such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing, which are mostly used by browser hijackers to mislead computer users.

Obviously, when you see that you are on a Google results page, you would not expect to find unreliable advertisements and links. However, if this hijacker is capable of modifying the results by inserting its own affiliates’ websites as ads and links, you could be exposed to harmful content. Clicking on these could drop infections onto your machine or you could also end up on malicious websites and lose money from your bank accounts when scammed by crooks. If you want to put an end to all these probabilities, you need to delete Time-search2016.com from your computer.

One way you can say goodbye to this browser hijacker is to reset the affected browsers. However, that could also remove your preferences and the extensions you installed. Therefore, we have prepared for you a guide that manually removes Time-search2016.com from your browsers. Please follow our instructions if you are ready to act on your own. But, if you are looking for a secure method to safeguard your PC, we suggest that you download and install a reliable anti-malware application. But even if your computer is protected with a security tool, you should not forget about updating all your drivers and programs regularly to be on the safe side.

Remove Time-search2016.com from browsers

Google Chrome

  1. Press Win+E to open File Explorer.
  2. Locate the “C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default” folder.
  3. Delete these files: Preferences, Secure Preferences, and Web Data

Mozilla Firefox

  1. Press Win+E to open File Explorer.
  2. Locate the “C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{Unique Mozilla user ID}” folder.
  3. Open the prefs.js file in a text editor.
  4. Find the user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", "http://time-search2016.com/") string and overwrite “time-search2016.com” with your preference.

Internet Explorer

  1. Press Win+R and type regedit. Press OK.
  2. Edit the value data “http://time-search2016.com” in the following registry keys:
    HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Start Page (64-bit)
    HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Start Page
    HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Start Page
  3. Close the editor.

In non-techie terms:

Time-search2016.com is a new clone in a new browser hijacker family. Its authors seem to have come up with new copies quite often lately; however, the strange thing is that none of them actually work as a search engine. These hijackers seem to be on hold for the time being. But we cannot know when they start functioning. If this search engine works, it can show you potentially unreliable third-party web content since its main goal is obviously to make money through advertising. However, if you click on any unreliable ad or link, you could end up on malicious websites and let more malware infections onto your computer or lose money by being scammed by cyber criminals. We believe that you should remove Time-search2016.com even if it looks harmless right now. If you want proper protection for your computer, we suggest that you install a decent anti-malware program.