In this article, you will find how to remove defendsearch.com from your browser and Windows system. The step-by-step removal at the end of the article is all you need to get rid of defendsearch.com hijacker once and forever.
In case that the suspicious search engine Defend Search appears during your browsing sessions without your prior consent, there is chance that you have an installed adware program on your PC. As a result, the dubious domain defendsearch.com may be set as browser homepage, new tab page and its search engine as a default one. In addition, lots of intrusive advertisements may be sent to your browser. If you are concerned about your privacy be advised to remove this nasty hijacker from the affected browser and system as soon as possible. Otherwise, you allow defendsearch.com to collect sensitive details about you and your online behavior from the browser.
Threat Summary
| Name | Defendsearch.com |
| Type | Browser Hijacker, PUP |
| Short Description | You are redirected to the suspicious website Defendsearch.com during browsing sessions. |
| Symptoms | Many redirects and advertisements can occur during browsing sessions. Defendsearch.com pushes various offers on its main page. |
| Distribution Method | Freeware Installations, Bundled Packages |
| Detection Tool |
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| User Experience | Join Our Forum to Discuss Defendsearch.com. |
Defendsearch.com – Spread Techniques
For the distribution of defendsearch.com hijacker may be utilized various shady techniques. Among the most common spread ways are compromised freeware installers, suspicious web pages, browser add-ons and malwertising campaigns.
Many free apps come with extras that infiltrate the system without your knowledge. These nasty additional components can be injected into the installers of different programs that you are able to download for free from various websites. However, the information usually remains hidden in the Advanced/Custom configuration options as most of the users prefer to follow the regular installation steps. Thus, a way to prevent the installation of some potentially unwanted programs like adware and browser hijackers you need to read carefully all what the installer states and choose the Advanced/Custom options. There you are likely to find out whether the installer incorporates some extras or not and deselect the unwanted.
Defendsearch.com website may also be pushed by dubious browser add-ons installed in the affected browser. Their installation may happen after a visit to a corrupted web page.
The Defendsearch.com hijacker can affect commonly used web browsers like Goolge Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Edge and Safari.
Defendsearch.com – More Details
Once the suspicious program infiltrates your system it causes all these annoying redirects to the Defendsearch.com website. And you may see the domain during your regular browsing sessions. The domain may be set as homepage and new tab page while its default search may be your new default one:
The infection may be the reason why you see lots of advertisements in the browser. As a result, it may become sluggish and crash at times. All these ads generate revenue to Defendsearch.com owners by advertising model pay-per-click. However, you should be very careful with all the pop-ups, pop-unders, new tab pages, videos, images and links to sponsored content as a visit of the wrong web page may deliver severe malware infection on your PC.
Another undesirable consequence of using the services of Defendsearch.com hijacker is that it can steal valuable data from the affected browser and then use it for business and advertising purposes. In case that you want to prevent privacy-related issues, you should remove Defendsearch.com and all files associated with the infection entirely from the infected device. To do this follow the step-by-step guide below.
Remove Defendsearch.com Browser Hijacker
Below are listed all the steps that will help you to remove defendsearch.com hijacker completely from an affected browser. The guide includes steps that reveal how to remove the nasty program associated with the hijacker from your Windows system as well. You can choose whether to follow a manual or an automatic removal. Once you complete the manual removal some leftovers may remain on the system so you need to check out whether your PC is safe or not. With a scan of an advanced anti-malware tool, you will be able to locate all harmful files and remove them completely from the PC.
Gergana Ivanova
Gergana has a bachelor's degree in Marketing. She has been with the STF team for five years, researching malware, reporting on the latest computer infections, and following digital marketing trends.
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- Guide 1: How to Remove Defendsearch.com from Windows.
- Guide 2: Get rid of Defendsearch.com from Mac OS X.
- Guide 3: Remove Defendsearch.com from Google Chrome.
- Guide 4: Erase Defendsearch.com from Mozilla Firefox.
- Guide 5: Uninstall Defendsearch.com from Microsoft Edge.
- Guide 6: Remove Defendsearch.com from Safari.
- Guide 7: Eliminate Defendsearch.com from Internet Explorer.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
How to Remove Defendsearch.com from Windows.
Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove Defendsearch.com
Step 2: Uninstall Defendsearch.com and related software from Windows
Here is a method in few easy steps that should be able to uninstall most programs. No matter if you are using Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP, those steps will get the job done. Dragging the program or its folder to the recycle bin can be a very bad decision. If you do that, bits and pieces of the program are left behind, and that can lead to unstable work of your PC, errors with the file type associations and other unpleasant activities. The proper way to get a program off your computer is to Uninstall it. To do that:
Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall most programs.
Step 3: Clean any registries, created by Defendsearch.com on your computer.
The usually targeted registries of Windows machines are the following:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
You can access them by opening the Windows registry editor and deleting any values, created by Defendsearch.com there. This can happen by following the steps underneath:
Tip: To find a virus-created value, you can right-click on it and click "Modify" to see which file it is set to run. If this is the virus file location, remove the value.
Before starting "Step 4", please boot back into Normal mode, in case you are currently in Safe Mode.
This will enable you to install and use SpyHunter 5 successfully.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Get rid of Defendsearch.com from Mac OS X.
Step 1: Uninstall Defendsearch.com and remove related files and objects
1. Hit the ⇧+⌘+U keys to open Utilities. Another way is to click on “Go” and then click “Utilities”, like the image below shows:
- Go to Finder.
- In the search bar type the name of the app that you want to remove.
- Above the search bar change the two drop down menus to “System Files” and “Are Included” so that you can see all of the files associated with the application you want to remove. Bear in mind that some of the files may not be related to the app so be very careful which files you delete.
- If all of the files are related, hold the ⌘+A buttons to select them and then drive them to “Trash”.
In case you cannot remove Defendsearch.com via Step 1 above:
In case you cannot find the virus files and objects in your Applications or other places we have shown above, you can manually look for them in the Libraries of your Mac. But before doing this, please read the disclaimer below:
You can repeat the same procedure with the following other Library directories:
→ ~/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons
Tip: ~ is there on purpose, because it leads to more LaunchAgents.
Step 2: Scan for and remove malware from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts, programs and malware, the recommended way of eliminating the threat is by using an anti-malware program. Combo Cleaner offers advanced security features along with other modules that will improve your Mac’s security and protect it in the future.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Remove Defendsearch.com from Google Chrome.
Step 1: Start Google Chrome and open the drop menu
Step 2: Move the cursor over "Tools" and then from the extended menu choose "Extensions"
Step 3: From the opened "Extensions" menu locate the unwanted extension and click on its "Remove" button.
Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Google Chrome by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Erase Defendsearch.com from Mozilla Firefox.
Step 1: Start Mozilla Firefox. Open the menu window
Step 2: Select the "Add-ons" icon from the menu.
Step 3: Select the unwanted extension and click "Remove"
Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Mozilla Firefox by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Uninstall Defendsearch.com from Microsoft Edge.
Step 1: Start Edge browser.
Step 2: Open the drop menu by clicking on the icon at the top right corner.
Step 3: From the drop menu select "Extensions".
Step 4: Choose the suspected malicious extension you want to remove and then click on the gear icon.
Step 5: Remove the malicious extension by scrolling down and then clicking on Uninstall.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Remove Defendsearch.com from Safari.
Step 1: Start the Safari app.
Step 2: After hovering your mouse cursor to the top of the screen, click on the Safari text to open its drop down menu.
Step 3: From the menu, click on "Preferences".
Step 4: After that, select the 'Extensions' Tab.
Step 5: Click once on the extension you want to remove.
Step 6: Click 'Uninstall'.
A pop-up window will appear asking for confirmation to uninstall the extension. Select 'Uninstall' again, and the Defendsearch.com will be removed.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Eliminate Defendsearch.com from Internet Explorer.
Step 1: Start Internet Explorer.
Step 2: Click on the gear icon labeled 'Tools' to open the drop menu and select 'Manage Add-ons'
Step 3: In the 'Manage Add-ons' window.
Step 4: Select the extension you want to remove and then click 'Disable'. A pop-up window will appear to inform you that you are about to disable the selected extension, and some more add-ons might be disabled as well. Leave all the boxes checked, and click 'Disable'.
Step 5: After the unwanted extension has been removed, restart Internet Explorer by closing it from the red 'X' button located at the top right corner and start it again.
