Search.searcheazel.com

Sometimes computer security threats come straight at you from places you do not even expect. Search.searcheazel.com may look like your regular search engine, but the truth is that this program is a browser hijacker, and if you do not remove it from your system right away, it could expose you a variety of unfamiliar content. And, as a result, you could also get infected with malware. That is something every single user should try to avoid, so it goes without saying that your best choice right now is to remove Search.searcheazel.com and safeguard your PC against other potential threats.

When we talk about browser hijackers and their distribution methods, we cannot overlook the overall system security status. In other words, if you see that your default homepage was modified without your permission, it is your cue to run a full system scan with an antispyware program of your choice. A browser hijacker could be just one of the many unwanted and potentially harmful programs currently running on your PC. So, in a way, Search.searcheazel.com functions as a good tell-tale sign that it is about time to take care of your system’s security. Do not ignore this sign because it could lead to devastating consequences.

It should also be pointed out that Search.searcheazel.com is not a malicious infection because it requires user’s intervention when it comes to its installation. That is right; you install this browser hijacker on your computer yourself even if you are not aware of that. This happens because the browser hijacker is distributed together with other applications. For example, it might come in a third-party installer that installs some file converter on your PC. The point is that it would be possible to avoid this browser hijacker if you stayed away from file-sharing sites, and downloaded programs only from their official homepages.

That having been said, it is a bit of a relief that Search.searcheazel.com comes from a big browser hijacker family. When there are a lot of similar security threats, it is a lot easier to remove new hijackers because the chances are that all of these programs are identical, so they drop their files in the same directories. That is to say, whatever removal instructions we used for Search.youremailnow.com, Search.yourclassifiedscenter.com or Search.yourinterestscenter.com, they can be easily used for Search.searcheazel.com, too. So, to get rid of this hijacker, simply scroll down to the bottom of this description and use the instructions you find there.

We would like to emphasize that you should not use Search.searcheazel.com for your daily searches. It might seem that this program can work as a decent search engine, but that is only because it uses a custom version of the Yahoo! Search. Please do not misunderstand: Yahoo! Search is not in any way related to this browser hijacker. The program simply makes use of the engine to make users think it is a reliable tool. But all the search results delivered via Search.searcheazel.com will be modified in one way or the other.

This happens because the browser hijacker monitors your online activity for marketing purposes. It needs to generate custom content you would like to make you click it. Every single click you make makes some money for the people behind this application. To generate this profit, they employ the pay-per-click system, and while it is not illegal, it is rather vulnerable to third-party exploitation. You see, the hijacker needs third-party content to make you click its links. It outsources this content, but it does not check its reliability. So if cyber criminals decide to make use of Search.searcheazel.com to spread their malicious programs, they could easily do that.

Your personal information and your computer’s security cannot ever be overlooked. Please remove Search.searcheazel.com to ensure your system’s safety. When you are done with the manual removal, get yourself a licensed antispyware tool to protect your PC from similar intruders in the future.

What’s more, you may need to delete other unwanted programs that might have entered your system together with this browser hijacker, so an automated antispyware tool is always a good idea. Should you have further questions about security threats or how to avoid them, please do not hesitate to contact us by leaving a comment below.

How to Remove Search.searcheazel.com

Internet Explorer

1. Press Win+R and type regedit into the Open box.
2. Click OK and open HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main.
3. On the right, right-click the Start Page value.
4. Choose Modify and edit your homepage address. Press OK.
5. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes\{0633EE93-D776-472f-A0FF-E1416B8B2E3A}.
6. Change these values on the right:
   FaviconURL
   FaviconURLFallback
   TopResultURL
   URL

Firefox

1. Press Win+R and enter %AppData%. Click OK.
2. Navigate to Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\[User ID].
3. Use Notepad to open the prefs.js file.
4. Delete this string: user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", "http://Search.searcheazel.com);
5. Save changes and exit the file.

Chrome

1. Press Win+R and type %LocalAppData%. Hit Enter.
2. Go to Google\Chrome\User Data\Default.
3. Find and delete these files: Preferences, Secure Preferences, and Web Data.