“Yes Searches” is a Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP) that after being installed on a computer will attach itself to all browsers, change their homepage, new tab page and search engine. The user may be redirected to websites with potentially malicious content and may be shown various sponsored results.
Threat Summary
| Name | Yes Searches, ShortcutBoost.exe |
| Type | Browser Hijacker, PUP |
| Short Description | The homepage of a browser may look like a legitimate search engine, and there can be page redirects from the search results. |
| Symptoms | The user may have installed the application without his agreement. Sets a custom homepage, search engine and may also change the new tab setting for all available browsers. |
| Distribution Method | Freeware Installers, Bundling |
| Detection Tool |
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| User Experience | Join our forum to Discuss YesSearches. |
Yes Searches – How Did I Get It?
The “Yes Searches” PUP usually gets into your computer through third-party installers. It can sneak into your computer without your consent, by hiding itself in freeware installations and bundled packages. In these packages, additional components for installation are usually not disclosed in a proper way and people get tricked into installing potentially undesirable programs such as “ShortcutBoost.exe”. Sometimes that can be avoided by clicking on the “Advanced” or “Custom” setting in an installation setup to see what may be installed.
Other ways of getting infected are by opening spam emails and downloading e-mail attachments, or by clicking on different advertisements and banners containing potentially malicious content which may also add a browser extension. The domain name is the same: “www.YesSearches.com”.
Yes Searches – More About It
“Yes Searches” is classified as a browser hijacker and known to be developed in China. When it is installed on your computer, it may change DNS settings, different browser settings, such as the homepage, new tab and search engine of all browsers, and may also install browser extensions. All these settings are to make “Yes Searches” a default search engine and for you to use the “YesSearches.com” domain whenever you try making a search query. It is known to affect all browsers, especially popular ones such as Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and Safari.
The hijacker uses a secondary technique to keep browsers under its influence. It uses a standalone process called “ShortcutBoost.exe”. That process rearranges the launch options of the Desktop and Quick Launch items of all browsers, so they all project “Yes Searches” upon initiating any browser. The homepage of all browsers is changed to “YesSearches.com”.
If you try to uninstall the hijacker, you can, and even on the setup it will state that every setting will be changed back to normal. The truth is, after the required restart of the computer, all browsers are still hijacked and “ShortcutBoost.exe” cannot be simply just deleted from its folder yessearchesbnd:
Also, when searching for something in any browser, the hijacker can display incorrect or no results and sponsored links. You may also be shown advertisements in the form of pop-ups or banners. The sites which you may be redirected to, generate profit when on a pay-per-click basis and they could contain potentially malicious code to further infect your PC.
There are Terms and Conditions, and a Privacy Policy (EULA) sections on the official “YesSearches.com” domain that you can view. The hijacker may potentially collect different information about your internet activity and usage, such as your search queries, the sites you visited, your IP address, what you clicked on and other private data. It also says it may share all information about you to third parties if certain conditions are met and all email correspondence with them is kept on record. All that private data is collected by cookies of all browsers you have on your computer, so it is important you remove this malware.
Remove Yes Searches Completely
To remove “Yes Searches” manually from your system, be certain to follow the step-by-step removal instructions provided below. In case the manual removal does not get rid of this browser hijacker completely, you should search for and remove any leftover files with an advanced anti-malware program. Installing such software will also make sure that your system is safe from other threats that you encounter in the future.
- Guide 1: How to Remove Yes Searches, ShortcutBoost.exe from Windows.
- Guide 2: Get rid of Yes Searches, ShortcutBoost.exe from Mac OS X.
- Guide 3: Remove Yes Searches, ShortcutBoost.exe from Google Chrome.
- Guide 4: Erase Yes Searches, ShortcutBoost.exe from Mozilla Firefox.
- Guide 5: Uninstall Yes Searches, ShortcutBoost.exe from Microsoft Edge.
- Guide 6: Remove Yes Searches, ShortcutBoost.exe from Safari.
- Guide 7: Eliminate Yes Searches, ShortcutBoost.exe from Internet Explorer.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
How to Remove Yes Searches, ShortcutBoost.exe from Windows.
Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove Yes Searches, ShortcutBoost.exe
Step 2: Uninstall Yes Searches, ShortcutBoost.exe 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 Yes Searches, ShortcutBoost.exe 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 Yes Searches, ShortcutBoost.exe 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 Yes Searches, ShortcutBoost.exe from Mac OS X.
Step 1: Uninstall Yes Searches, ShortcutBoost.exe 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 Yes Searches, ShortcutBoost.exe 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 Yes Searches, ShortcutBoost.exe files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as Yes Searches, ShortcutBoost.exe, the recommended way of eliminating the threat is by using an anti-malware program. SpyHunter for Mac 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 Yes Searches, ShortcutBoost.exe 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 Yes Searches, ShortcutBoost.exe 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 Yes Searches, ShortcutBoost.exe 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 Yes Searches, ShortcutBoost.exe 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 Yes Searches, ShortcutBoost.exe will be removed.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Eliminate Yes Searches, ShortcutBoost.exe 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.
