How to get rid of Search Umaxsrch Browser Hijacker from your system?

Guide to Remove Search Umaxsrch Browser Extension

Are pop-up alerts, spam messages and tons of maddening ads becoming a part of your daily web browsing? Are the web pages loading slowly? Are you being redirected to search.umaxsrch.com page whenever you search online? Probably, your browser has fallen a victim to browser hijacker– Search.umaxsrch.com!

A Search Umaxsrch Browser Hijacker alters the web browser settings in order to change default home page or search engine. It redirects the users to apprehensive web locations that may lead to malware infection. Hijackers earn high revenue by compelling the users visit certain websites that users never intend to visit. These websites may also contain spyware that may fetch your banking information, login credentials and other sensitive data!

Template of the New Search Engine :

Threat Behavior:

This unpleasant web page may get installed in the system without user’s permission. Primarily, the browser hijackers are installed along with hazardous free applications, by taking the advantage of browser vulnerabilities. It then offers tons of annoying advertisements bundled with software that are free to download, leaving the users puzzled!

The accidental installation of Search Umaxsrch may appear convenient at first as it uses Bing as its search engine. The website developers earn the trust of the users by this mere trick. However, their main aim is to mint money by driving the web traffic to promoted web pages and promoting goods & services of partner sites. Search Umaxsrch may further result in malfunctioning of the system and installed applications.

The UI of Search Umaxsrch incorporates link to YahooMail, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and trending streaming service Netflix. A mere click on these links will redirect to the web pages that are infected by the spyware that can steal sensitive information such as usernames and passwords. It triggers browser instability problems, repeated errors while surfing and general performance-related issues.

Other threats caused by Search Umaxsrch:

• Your favorite or frequently visited site may get blocked!
• It may gather and record information related to your net surfing.
• Modification in the web browser may not let you bring back your preferred search settings.
• Ruins your web surfing experience by redirecting to sponsored pages
• You may not be able to access the required information!
• The hijackers may sell your browsing habits to the third-party marketers, which may further enhance the annoying ads, coupons and pop-ups.

You can understand the level of frustration this rogue application can cause when you lose your default browser and home page settings! Imagine you loosing the default homepage of your favorite stock marketing site to this application! It could be an informative site or the daily news site, you try to surf through your preferred site and are redirected to sponsor third party websites bundled with ads!

No one would entertain slow web pages, pop-ups and exasperating ads in this pacing world. Search Umaxsrch should not be authorized to remain in your system.

How is Search Umaxsrch browser Hijacker distributed?

The cybercriminals use various strategies for malware distribution which include –

1. Software Bundling: Software bundling is the process in which a malicious program is distributed with other free software, to get an unnoticed entry into your computer system. When a user installs a free application, the malicious programs gains a front door entry with the free application, the user has downloaded. Thus, it is a good idea to keep an eye on the installation screens while installing these free applications.
2. Infected Storage Devices: Your system can also get infected by using removable media such as USB hard drives and jump drives without scanning them with an anti-virus.
3. Spam Emails – Spamming is the most economic and common method used for the distribution of such malware. The targeted users get genuine looking emails which contain .doc, .txt, and other similar attachments. These attachments can be named as anything which can grab the user’s attention and triggers him/her to open the attachment. As soon as the user opens this attachment, the malware infects the user’s computer system.
4. Malicious Websites or Malevolent Advertisements: The malicious websites are the ones which are created just for promoting the malware infections. Such websites include but are not limited to porn sites, torrent sites and other free downloading platforms. By visiting such websites, the adware infects the user’s computer without permission. Fake advertisements and updates like Flash player and windows updates which ask the user to update to the latest version are a few examples. When the users click on such links, their computer system gets infected. That is why, it is highly recommended to resist clicking on such links. Also avoid clicking on advertisements offering free stuff such as Win an iPhones, cars or free overseas trips etc.

Threat Summary:

Name: Search Umaxsrch

Browsers Affected: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer.

Targeted Operating System: Windows, MAC.

Category: Browser Hijacker

Symptoms: Change in the default web-browser settings, appearance of annoying ads, download links, popups, torrents, spam messages that may redirect the user to another web-page and interrupt their browsing activity.

How to remove the malware?

STEP A : Remove malicious extensions from your browser

Google Chrome

1. Open Google Chrome and click on the three vertical dots ( ) i.e.Menu option which are located at the upper right corner of the Chrome Window.
2. Find and click on More tools from the drop down menu that is displayed & select Extensions or you can open a Chrome window and type “chrome://extensions” in the address bar.
3. Check the developer mode option which is located opposite to extensions heading on the top of the Chrome window. By enabling the developer mode, additional details and option related to all the installed extensions will be displayed. One of the details that will be displayed is the ID. ID is the folder name created by the extension at the location “C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions”.
4. Locate the extension you want to uninstall or delete. Copy and paste the folder name opposite to the ID Tag of that extension into a notepad file. In this case the folder name is “Search Umaxsrch”
5. Now, uncheck the enabled option next to the extension in question. Make sure you also click the trash icon to delete the extension from the browser. It is important to note that even after uninstalling and deleting the extensions from the browser, the extension might not uninstall properly. Thus, it is a good practice to make sure that we have deleted the folder as mentioned in step 3.
6. Make sure that you have made the hidden files and folders visible.
7. Open My Computer and go to “C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions”. Now, look for folder with the name as specified in Step 4 i.e. “Search Umaxsrch”. Delete the folder if present.
8. Close and reopen the browser. It is also advisable to restart your computer once done.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Open Mozilla Firefox, click on three horizontal lines ( ) at the top right corner of the Firefox Window and select the Add-ons option. ) at the top right corner of the Firefox Window and select the Add-ons option.
2. On the Add-ons manger page, select and click on the Extensions tab as shown below.
3. Find the extensions related to Search Umaxsrch and click on the remove button.
4. In addition, try to remember how the extension got downloaded on your computer system. If this extension was bundled with some other software, then make sure to delete that as well.

Internet Explorer

1. Open Internet Explorer, Click on the Gear icon ( ) which is at the top right corner of the Internet Explorer Window.
2. From the newly appeared dropdown menu, click on the option that reads Manage Add-ons.
3. A new window will appear on the screen. On this window choose the option that reads Toolbar and Extensions. Under the Show option, select the option that reads “All add-ons”. This option will allow you to see all the browser extensions.
4. Select the Extension related to Search Umaxsrch and click on the Disable button which is at the bottom right of the computer screen.

Apple’s Safari

1. On your Mac Desktop, click on the option that reads “Safari”.
2. A drop down menu will appear as shown below. From this menu chose the option that reads “Preferences”.
3. The Preferences window will appear on the screen, where the list of all your safari extensions will be shown.
4. On the list displayed at the left side of the screen, select the Extension you want to uninstall.
5. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid of the extension.

STEP B: Show Hidden files and Folders

Windows 7

1. Left click on the Organize button on the Windows Explorer. A drop down menu will appear.
   
2. On this menu left click on the option that reads “Folder and search options” as shown above. A folder options dialogue box will appear.
3. On the View tab under the Advanced settings, Check the option that reads “Show hidden files, folders, and drives” and uncheck the option that reads “Hide protected operating system files“.
   
4. Click on the “OK” button to save your changes. This will make all the hidden files and folders visible to you.

Windows 8 and 10

1. On the file explorer toolbar, click on the View
   
2. In the Show/hide section, Click on the “Hidden items” checkbox.
3. Click on the options button.
4. Under folder options, click on the “View” tab.
   
5. Uncheck the “Hide protected operating system files” option.
6. Click the “OK” button to save your changes.

STEP C: How to Reset Your Browser 

Mozilla Firefox

1. Open Mozilla Firefox and click on the three horizontal lines () which are at the top right corner of the computer screen.
2. A Drop down menu will be displayed. On this menu click on the “Help” () button as shown in the image below. The Help menu will be displayed on the screen.) button as shown in the image below. The Help menu will be displayed on the screen.
3. From this menu click the option that reads “Troubleshooting information“. A new tab will open up with the Troubleshooting information.
   
4. On the Troubleshooting Information page, click on the button that reads “Refresh Firefox” as shown in the image below.
5. The “Refresh Firefox” message box will pop up on the screen. On this message box click on the “Refresh Firefox” button.
6. After this Firefox will close itself and a new window will be displayed which will list the information that is imported. Click on the option that reads “Finish” to complete the task.

Google Chrome

1. Open Google chrome and click on the three vertical dots ( ) which is at the top right corner of the computer screen. A drop down menu will appear on the screen. From this menu choose the option that reads “Settings”. ) which is at the top right corner of the computer screen. A drop down menu will appear on the screen. From this menu choose the option that reads “Settings”.
2. The Chrome’s settings window will be displayed on the screen. On this screen scroll through the bottom of the page and click on the option that reads “Advanced option” as shown below.
3. The Advanced setting options will be displayed on the screen. Scroll through the list of options till you find the “ Reset browser settings” section. Click on the icon as shown below.
4. The reset dialogue box will pop up on the screen. From this dialogue box click on the button that reads “Reset”.

Internet Explorer

1. Open Internet Explorer and click on the gear icon ( ) which is at the top right corner of the browser screen. A drop down menu will be displayed on the screen. From this drop down menu, click on the option that reads “Internet options”. ) which is at the top right corner of the browser screen. A drop down menu will be displayed on the screen. From this drop down menu, click on the option that reads “Internet options”.
2. The “Internet options” dialogue box will be displayed. Click on the “Advanced” tab. In the Advanced tab click on the button that reads “Reset” as shown in the image below. The “Reset Internet Explorer Settings” section will be displayed on the screen. Now click on the button that reads “Reset” .Precautions: In this dialogue box make sure to uncheck the “Delete Personal settings” option to save your passwords and other important data.
3. When it’s done, click on the button that reads “Close” to complete the task. Now close and reopen your browser.

Tips to prevent your computer system from getting infected –

1. Keeping the Operating System Updated- In order to remain protected and avoid such infections, it is recommended to keep your Operating System updated by enabling the automatic update on your system. The systems with outdated or older versions of Operating System become an easy target for the attackers.
2. Resist clicking on spam emails – One of the major techniques used for malware distribution is forwarding spam emails to the user. The system gets infected as soon as the user clicks on the attachment. These mails appear to be genuine, so be aware and resist falling for these tricks.
3. Keep an eye on third party installations- It is quite important that you take due care while installing any third party applications for they are major source of such infections. Such malware programs come bundled with the free applications thereby requiring the user to remain cautious.
4. Regular periodical backup- In order to keep your data and files safe, it is recommended to take regular back up of all your data and files either on an external drive or cloud.
5. Use Anti-Virus Protection- We strongly recommend the use of antivirus protection/internet security in your PC like Hitman pro and Vipre so that it remains safe.
6. Enable the Ad Blocker/Popup Blocker in your browser- Enabling the popup blocker/ ad blocker in your chosen browser will help you to stay protected from annoying adware.