A hoax browser search engine has been detected by malware researchers several days ago. The search engine exhibits a strange behavior and has the ability to display advertisements, modify web browser settings and also display advertisements that may turn out to be harmful. Since Safesearch4.ru is classified as a potentially unwanted program and is together with what many refer to a browser hijacker. Users who see the homepage of Safesearch4.ru are advised to immediately take down this PUP using the information provided in this article.

Threat Summary

Name	Safesearch4.ru hijacker
Type	Browser Hijacker, PUP
Short Description	Each browser application on your computer can be affected. The hijacker will redirect you and show various advertisements.
Symptoms	Browser settings which could be modified are the homepage, the search engine and the new tab window.
Distribution Method	Freeware Installations, Bundle Packages
Detection Tool	See If Your System Has Been Affected by Safesearch4.ru hijacker Download Malware Removal Tool
User Experience	Join Our Forum to Discuss Safesearch4.ru hijacker.

How Did I Get Safesearch4.ru Hijacker

The most likely method that may have gotten the suspicious web page to open every time you start Chrome, Firefox or Internet Explorer is called bundling. Since it is very similar to another hijacker – Safesearch1.ru, it involves the adding of indirectly dangerous programs like Safesearch4.ru on the computer of the user disguised “as free extras”. These programs are also known as fake “helpers”, apps that aim to improve the online experience, like seemingly useful toolbars and other forms. Such bundled installers may be downloaded without the user realizing they are bundled. Usually this happens when third-party websites who provide widely downloaded freeware, like well-known media players, torrent programs and even antivirus programs, ironically enough. These websites make money by including the free installers of those fake helpers in the form of either an installation step having a convincing statement as if the app is a part of the installation process:

• “Add Safesearch4.ru to improve your browsing experience.”
• “Insall Safesearch toolbar utility to help you find what you are looking for faster”.

Since these type of threats are classified as low-level, antivirus programs may do nothing to stop them, because of their sheer size in numbers. This is why users are advised to use advanced tools for removing them.

Safesearch4.ru Hijacker – More Information

When it has been successfully situated onto an affected computer, the hijacking software begins to modify Windows Registry Entries heavily. It may primarily target the subkeys of the web browsers that are installed on a given PC, for example:

The modifications of those subkeys and the values in them as well as some other tweaks may change the home page of the web browser to the default home page of Startsearch4.ru:

The page Startsearch4.ru itself is nothing special. For starters, it is created to faintly resemble Google and includes Google Custom Search which is essentially a searching service by google, indicating the search engine does not have it’s original searching database. In addition to this, the search engine also does not possess it’s own custom HTTPs encryption which is a strong indicator that the software is a hoax search engine due to the fact that most official search engines are properly secured.

Another very suspicious behavior the suspicious hijacker connected with Startsearch4.ru exhibited was that it uses cookies to collect different information, like:

• Search history.
• Online clicks.
• Banners.
• Possibly user information, if entered.

The software also does not have a privacy policy which increases the risk of using Safesearch4.ru, because it may be the opposite of safe. Another indicator that the program is solely created for the interests of it’s owner is that it displays ad-supported search results that may be based on what you search, here is what we received when searching for something online:

In addition to that, Safesearch4.ru also advertises third-party software with a suspicious character directly on it’s home page.

Safesearch4.ru – Conclusion and Removal Instructions

As a bottom line, the suspicious Safesearch4.ru search engine is an indicator that your computer is at risk. It may display advertisements that lead to dangerous websites that may either be scamming or directly infect your computer with malware.

Not only this, but Safeseaarch4.ru is primarily created for profit, this is why it may cause multiple redirects or advertisements in other forms to generate traffic to hoax websites or generate funds via pay-per click or other schemes.

This is why it is strongly advisable to remove Safesearch4.ru hijacker from your computer in full. To do this, you should follow the instructions which we have posted below. They are carefully designed to guide you in removing this PUP manually and if you do not have the experience or the time, automatically with a specific anti-malware tool.

Manually delete Safesearch4.ru hijacker from Windows and your browser

Note! Substantial notification about the Safesearch4.ru hijacker threat: Manual removal of Safesearch4.ru 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.

1. Remove or Uninstall Safesearch4.ru hijacker in Windows

Remove or Uninstall Safesearch4.ru hijacker in Windows.

Step 1: Remove/Uninstall Safesearch4.ru hijacker in Windows

Here is a method in few easy steps to remove that program. No matter if you are using Windows 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 get left behind, and that can lead to unstable work of your PC, mistakes 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 Safesearch4.ru hijacker.

2. Remove Safesearch4.ru hijacker from Your Browser and Your Registry Editor

Remove Safesearch4.ru 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 Fix registry entries created by Safesearch4.ru hijacker on your PC.

Start Mozilla Firefox Open the menu window

Select the “Add-ons” icon from the menu

Select Safesearch4.ru hijacker and click “Remove”

After Safesearch4.ru 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 Safesearch4.ru hijacker and click on the garbage bin icon on the right of it.

After Safesearch4.ru 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 Safesearch4.ru 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 Safesearch4.ru 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 Safesearch4.ru hijacker
Click ‘Uninstall’

A pop-up window will appear asking for confirmation to uninstall Safesearch4.ru hijacker. Select ‘Uninstall’ again, and the Safesearch4.ru hijacker will be removed.

Some malicious scripts may modify the registry entries of your computer to change different settings. This is why manual clean up of your Windows Registry Database is strongly recommended. Since the tutorial on how to do this is a bit lenghty, we recommend following our instructive article about fixing registry entries.

Automatically remove Safesearch4.ru hijacker by downloading an advanced anti-malware program

1. Remove Safesearch4.ru hijacker with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool and back up your data

Remove Safesearch4.ru hijacker with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

1. Install SpyHunter to scan for and remove Safesearch4.ru hijacker.2. Scan with SpyHunter to Detect and Remove Safesearch4.ru hijacker. Back up your data to secure it against infections and file encryption by Safesearch4.ru hijacker in the future.

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

Download

Malware Removal Tool

It is highly 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.

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 Safesearch4.ru 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.

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

Optional: Using Alternative Anti-Malware Tools

Remove Safesearch4.ru hijacker Using Other Alternative Tools

STOPZilla Anti Malware

1. Download and Install STOPZilla Anti-malware to Scan for And Remove Safesearch4.ru 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 Safesearch4.ru 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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