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

Ventsislav Krastev

Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.

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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.

Note! Your computer system may be affected by Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker or other threats.
Scan Your PC with SpyHunter
SpyHunter is a powerful malware removal tool designed to help users with in-depth system security analysis, detection and removal of threats such as Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker.
Keep in mind, that SpyHunter’s scanner is only for malware detection. If SpyHunter detects malware on your PC, you will need to purchase SpyHunter’s malware removal tool to remove the malware threats. Read our SpyHunter 5 review. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria.

To remove Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker follow these steps:

1. Uninstall malicious programs from Windows

How to Uninstall malicious programs 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:

Hold the Windows Logo Button and “R” on your keyboard. A Pop-up window will appear (fig.1).

In the field type in “appwiz.cpl” and press ENTER (fig.2).

This will open a window with all the programs installed on the PC.
Select the program that you want to remove, and press “Uninstall” (fig.3).

Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall most programs.

2. Clean your Browser and Registry from Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker

Remove Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker by cleaning your Browser and Registry.

Remove an extension from Mozilla FirefoxRemove an extension from Google Chrome Remove an extension from Internet Explorer Remove an extension from Microsoft Edge Fix registry entries created by Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker on your PC.

Start Mozilla Firefox. Open the menu window

Select the “Add-ons” icon from the menu.

Select the unwanted extension and click “Remove“

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.

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 the unwanted extension and click on its “Remove” button.

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.

Start Internet Explorer:

Click on the gear icon labeled ‘Tools’ to open the drop menu and select ‘Manage Add-ons’

In the ‘Manage Add-ons’ window.

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’.

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.

Start Edge

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

From the drop menu select “Extensions”.

Choose the suspected malicious extension you want to remove and then click on the gear icon.

Remove the malicious extension by scrolling down and then clicking on Uninstall.

Some malicious scripts may modify the registry entries on your computer to change different settings. This is why cleaning your Windows Registry Database is recommended. Since the tutorial on how to do this is a bit long and tampering with registries could damage your computer if not done properly you should refer and follow our instructive article about fixing registry entries, especially if you are unexperienced in that area.

Use SpyHunter to scan for malware and unwanted programs

3. Scan for malware and unwanted programs with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

Scan your PC and Remove Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool and back up your data

1. Install SpyHunter to scan for Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker and remove them.2. Scan with SpyHunter, Detect and Remove Searchvay(.)com Browser Hijacker. Back up your data to secure it from malware in the future.

Step 1: Click on the “Download” button to proceed to SpyHunter’s download page.

Download

Malware Removal Tool

It is recommended to run a scan before purchasing the full version of the software to make sure that the current version of the malware can be detected by SpyHunter. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria.

Step 2: Guide yourself by the download instructions provided for each browser.

Step 3: After you have installed SpyHunter, wait for it to update automatically.

Step 1: After the update process has finished, click on the ‘Malware/PC Scan’ tab. A new window will appear. Click on ‘Start Scan’.

Step 2: After SpyHunter has finished scanning your PC for any files of the associated threat and found them, you can try to get them removed automatically and permanently by clicking on the ‘Next’ button.

Step 3: If any threats have been removed, it is highly recommended to restart your PC.

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 with a cloud backup solution and insure your files against any type of loss, even from the most severe threats. We recommend you to read more about it and to download SOS Online Backup .

SOS Online Backup

Ventsislav Krastev

Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.

More Posts - Website

Ventsislav Krastev

Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.

More Posts - Website