Remove Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker Ads from Your Computer

A search engine, pretending to be Google has been reported to have associations with a browser hijacker. The hijacker also known as PUP (Potentially Unwanted Program) is reported to heavily advertise content to users, collect different user information. In addition to that, a lot of third-party content may be displayed to the user in the form of different types of advertisements on the web browser. Since some third-parties may be dangerous, we advise users to read the tutorial for removing Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker in this article and implement it.

Threat Summary

Name	Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker
Type	Adware, Browser Hijacker, PUP
Short Description	Your browsers will have their homepage, new tab and the search engine changed. Sponsored adverts appear in your search results.
Symptoms	Shows ads, redirects and modifies a browser’s homepage, new tab and search engine.
Distribution Method	Freeware Installations, Bundle Packages
Detection Tool	See If Your System Has Been Affected by Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker Download Malware Removal Tool
User Experience	Join Our Forum to Discuss Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker.

Searchvay(.)com Hijacker – How Is It Spread

To be installed onto user systems, this program may pose as a useful application along with the installation of other free programs downloaded online. Such freeware is usually available on websites that provide many different programs in one place. Some of those third-party websites may use bundling and do not mind what type of programs they bundle, even if they advertise heavily, like the Searchvay(.)com browser hijacker.

Searchvay(.)com Hijacker In Detail

Once it has been installed on a computer, the program may modify the following registry keys of the unsuspecting user’s computer:

→ HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\User Shell Folders
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\Shell Folders] HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServicesOnce
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\CLASSES

Besides those keys, it may target the registry entries of your web browser as well, because it may immediately change your home page to Searchvay(.)com:

When the search engine itself was investigated, we immediately established that it had all the symptoms of a hoax search engine. For starters, the suspicious search engine does not have HTTPs secured connection and uses cookies to obtain different user information:

In addition to those details, the suspicious search engine does not have its own database, and instead it redirects to a modified third-party. In this case, this is most likely Google Custom Search with Ads.

Not only this, but the company, calling itself “The Website” in its license agreement, has some shady claims in its privacy policy as well:

Not only this but this suspicious software may conceal several dangers from the user. The first danger is associated with the cookies it uses. Such can be utilized to collect different type of information from the user’s computer, like what you search for, where you click and what you browsed previously.

Since this information may be used by the hijackers to display different types of advertisements by suspicious third-party websites, it is considered indirectly dangerous. The content displayed might assume different kinds:

• Pop-ups.
• Banners.
• Ad-supported search results.
• Intrusive browser redirects.

Since these advertisements may lead to different online locations, some of which may turn to be harmful(scams or malicious URLs), researchers recommend getting rid of this ransomware from your computer.

Remove Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker from Your System

In case you want to delete this hijacking software from your device, you should make sure to methodologically follow the instructions below. The manual instructions will help you discover and delete files associated with Searchvay(.)com hijacker from your computer, however, there may be some leftover objects because such programs usually create objects and files with random names and in different locations. This is why experts recommend following the automatic removal instructions illustrated below for maximum effectiveness. It is also advisable to choose an appropriate anti-malware software because it will not only remove the threat but will also protect you from future intrusions.

Manually delete Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker from Windows and your browser

Note! Substantial notification about the Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker threat: Manual removal of Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker requires interference with system files and registries. Thus, it can cause damage to your PC. Even if your computer skills are not at a professional level, don’t worry. You can do the removal yourself just in 5 minutes, using a malware removal tool.

2. Remove Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker from Your Browser

Remove Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker from Your Browser.

Remove a toolbar from Mozilla FirefoxRemove a toolbar from Google Chrome Remove a toolbar from Internet Explorer Remove a toolbar from Safari

Start Mozilla Firefox Open the menu window

Select the “Add-ons” icon from the menu

Select Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker and click “Remove”

After Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker is removed, restart Mozilla Firefox by closing it from the red “X” in the top right corner and start it again.

Start Google Chrome and Open the drop menu

Move the cursor over “Tools” and then from the extended menu choose “Extensions“

From the opened “Extensions” menu locate Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker and click on the garbage bin icon on the right of it.

After Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker is removed, restart Google Chrome by closing it from the red “X” in the top right corner and start it again.

Start Internet Explorer:

Click “‘Tools’ to open the drop menu and select ‘Manage Add-ons’

In the ‘Manage Add-ons’ window, make sure that in the first window ‘Add-on Types’, the drop menu ‘Show’ is on ‘All add-ons’

Select Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker to remove, and then click ‘Disable’. A pop-up window will appear to inform you that you are about to disable the selected toolbar, and some additional toolbars might be disabled as well. Leave all the boxes checked, and click ‘Disable’.

After Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker has been removed, restart Internet Explorer by closing it from the red ‘X’ in the top right corner and start it again.

Start Safari

Open the drop menu by clicking on the sprocket icon in the top right corner.

From the drop menu select ‘Preferences’
In the new window select ‘Extensions’
Click once on Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker
Click ‘Uninstall’

A pop-up window will appear asking for confirmation to uninstall Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker. Select ‘Uninstall’ again, and the Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker will be removed.

Automatically remove Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker by downloading an advanced anti-malware program

1. Remove Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

Remove Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

1. Install SpyHunter to scan for and remove Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker.2. Scan with SpyHunter to Detect and Remove Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker.

Step 1: Click here to go to SpyHunter’s download instruction page.
Step 2: Guide yourself by the download instructions provided for each browser.
Step 3: After you have installed SpyHunter, wait for it to automatically update.

Step1: After the update process has finished, click on the ‘Scan Computer Now’ button.

Step2: After SpyHunter has finished scanning your PC for any Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker files, click on the ‘Fix Threats’ button to remove them automatically and permanently.

Step3: Once the intrusions on your PC have been removed, it is highly recommended to restart it.

2. Back up your data to secure it against attacks related to Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker in the future

Back up your data to secure it against attacks in the future

IMPORTANT! Before reading the Windows backup instructions, we highly recommend to back up your data automatically with cloud backup and insure it against any type of data loss on your device, even the most severe. We recommend reading more about and downloading SOS Online Backup .

SOS Online Backup

1. For Windows 7 and earlier 1. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10 1. Enabling the Windows Defense Feature (Previous Versions)

1-Click on Windows Start Menu

2-Type Backup And Restore
3-Open it and click on Set Up Backup

4-A window will appear asking you where to set up backup. You should have a flash drive or an external hard drive. Mark it by clicking on it with your mouse then click on Next.

5-On the next window, the system will ask you what do you want to backup. Choose the ‘Let Me Choose’ option and then click on Next.

6-Click on ‘Save settings and run backup’ on the next window in order to protect your files from possible attacks by Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker.

1-Press Windows button + R

2-In the window type ‘filehistory’ and press Enter

3-A File History window will appear. Click on ‘Configure file history settings’

4-The configuration menu for File History will appear. Click on ‘Turn On’. After its on, click on Select Drive in order to select the backup drive. It is recommended to choose an external HDD, SSD or a USB stick whose memory capacity is corresponding to the size of the files you want to backup.

5-Select the drive then click on ‘Ok’ in order to set up file backup and protect yourself from Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker.

1- Press Windows button + R keys.

2- A run windows should appear. In it type ‘sysdm.cpl’ and then click on Run.

3- A System Properties windows should appear. In it choose System Protection.

5- Click on Turn on system protection and select the size on the hard disk you want to utilize for system protection.
6- Click on Ok and you should see an indication in Protection settings that the protection from Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker is on.

Restoring a file via Windows Defense feature:
1-Right-click on the encrypted file, then choose Properties.

2-Click on the Previous Versions tab and then mark the last version of the file.

3-Click on Apply and Ok and the file encrypted by Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker should be restored.

Optional: Using Alternative Anti-Malware Tools

Remove Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker Using Other Alternative Tools

STOPZilla Anti Malware

1. Download and Install STOPZilla Anti-malware to Scan for And Remove Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker.
Step 1: Download STOPZilla by clicking here.
Step 2: A pop-up window will appear. Click on the ‘Save File’ button. If it does not, click on the Download button and save it afterwards.

Step 3: After you have downloaded the setup, simply open it.
Step 4: The installer should appear. Click on the ‘Next’ button.

Step 5: Check the ‘I accept the agreement’ check circle if not checked if you accept it and click the ‘Next’ button once again.

Step 6: Review and click on the ‘Install’ button.

Step 7: After the installation process has completed click on the ‘Finish’ button.

2. Scan your PC with STOPZilla Anti Malware to remove all Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker associated files completely.
Step 1: Launch STOPZilla if you haven’t launched it after install.
Step 2: Wait for the software to automatically scan and then click on the ‘Repair Now’ button. If it does not scan automatically, click on the ‘Scan Now’ button.

Step 3: After the removal of all threats and associated objects, you should Restart your PC.

Vencislav Krustev

A network administrator and malware researcher at SensorsTechForum with passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cyber security. Strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.

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