How to remove Search Protect by Conduit (Virus Help Guide)

Search Protect by Conduit is a potentially unwanted program that is designed to protect its bundled programs and make sure they remain installed or unchanged by other third party programs. The Search Protect by Conduit program is a part of the “Search Protect” program, and is developed by Conduit, a company known for their malicious programs.

Search Protect by Conduit it’s technically not a virus, but it does exhibit plenty of malicious traits, such as browser hijacking, and in general just interfering with the user experience. The industry generally refers to it as a “PUP,” or potentially unwanted program.

Search Protect by Conduit is an ad-supported (users may see additional banner, search, pop-up, pop-under, interstitial and in-text link advertisements) cross web browser plugin for Internet Explorer (BHO) and Firefox/Chrome (plugin) and distributed through various monetization platforms during installation. The browser extension includes various features that will modify the default or custom settings of the browser including the home page, search settings and in some cases will modify Internet Explorer’s load time threshold, place a lock file within Firefox to prevent competing software from changing its settings as well as disable the browser’s Content Security Policy in order to allow for cross site scripting of the plugin.

Search Protect by Conduit got on your computer after you have installed a freeware software (video recording/streaming, download-managers or PDF creators) that had bundled into their installation this browser hijacker. Search Protect by Conduit is designed to prevent other competing web browser plugins from changing the homepage and search settings that are created by the Conduit OurToolbar from being changed automatically. It is typically installed with various Community toolbars.
Upon installation the program will add three background startup options to Windows in order to make sure the program runs on each reboot. This includes a StartUp run activation on user login for both the current user as well as one for all users. Additionally a Windows Service is added (CtlMngSvc). During setup, the software will connect to the Internet and download a file called SPSetup.exe from integration.download.conduit-services.com which is loaded from the user’s web browser temporary folder.

For example, when you install VPlay, you will also agree to change your browser homepage to search.conduit.com, install the Free Ride Toolbar, set your default search engine to search.yahoo.com, and install the Search Protect by Conduit program.

However when you uninstall VPlay from your computer, your web browser’s default settings will not be restored. This means that you’ll have to remove Search Protect by Conduit and search.conduit.com from your favorite web browser manually.

How to remove Search Protect by Conduit search redirect (Removal Guide)

• STEP 1: Uninstall the malicious programs from Windows
• STEP 2: Use Malwarebytes to remove Search Protect by Conduit redirect
• STEP 3: Use Zemana AntiMalware Free to scan for malware and unwanted programs
• STEP 4: Double-check for malicious programs with HitmanPro
• (OPTIONAL) STEP 5: Reset your browser settings to default

STEP 1: Uninstall the malicious programs from Windows

In this first step, we will try to identify and remove any malicious program that might be installed on your PC.

1. Go to the uninstall menu.
   

   Windows 10 or Windows 8.1

   1. To uninstall a program on Windows 10 or Windows 8, right-click on the Windows Start button and choose “Control Panel” from the pop-up menu.
      
   2. When the “Control Panel” window opens click on the “Uninstall a program” option under “Programs” category.
      

   Windows 7

   1. If you are using Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7, click the “Start” button, then click on the “Control Panel” menu option.
      
   2. When the “Control Panel” window opens click on the “Uninstall a program” option under “Programs” category.
      
2. When the “Programs and Features” screen is displayed, scroll through the list of currently installed programs and uninstall any unwanted programs.
   Known malicious programs: Search Protect, Client-Connect_uninstaller, TakeSave, DNS Unlocker, Cinema Plus, Price Minus, SalesPlus, New Player, MediaVideosPlayers, Browsers_Apps_Pro, PriceLEess, Pic Enhance, Sm23mS, Salus, Network System Driver, SS8, Save Daily Deals, Word Proser, Desktop Temperature Monitor, CloudScout Parental Control, Savefier, Savepass, HostSecurePlugin, CheckMeUp or HD-V2.2.
   The malicious program may have a different name on your computer. To view the most recently installed programs, you can click on the “Installed On” column to sort your program by the installation date. Scroll through the list, and uninstall any unwanted or unknown programs.

   If you cannot find any unwanted programs on your computer, you can proceed with the next step.

   If you are having issues while trying to uninstall a program, you can use Revo Uninstaller to completely remove this unwanted program from Windows.

   

STEP 2: Use Malwarebytes to remove Search Protect by Conduit search redirect

Malwarebytes is a powerful on-demand scanner which will remove the Search Protect by Conduit search redirect from your PC. It is important to note that Malwarebytes will run alongside antivirus software without conflicts.

1. You can download download Malwarebytes from the below link.
   MALWAREBYTES DOWNLOAD LINK (This link open a new page from where you can download “Malwarebytes”)
2. When Malwarebytes has finished downloading, double-click on the “mb3-setup-consumer” file to install Malwarebytes on your computer.
   
   You may be presented with an User Account Control pop-up asking if you want to allow Malwarebytes to make changes to your device. If this happens, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.
   
3. When the Malwarebytes installation begins, you will see the Malwarebytes Setup Wizard which will guide you through the installation process.
   
   To install Malwarebytes on your machine, keep following the prompts by clicking the “Next” button.
   
4. Once installed, Malwarebytes will automatically start and update the antivirus database. To start a system scan you can click on the “Scan Now” button.
   
5. Malwarebytes will now start scanning your computer for malicious programs.
   This process can take a few minutes, so we suggest you do something else and periodically check on the status of the scan to see when it is finished.
   
6. When the scan has completed, you will be presented with a screen showing the malware infections that Malwarebytes has detected.
   To remove the malicious programs that Malwarebytes has found, click on the “Quarantine Selected” button.
   
7. Malwarebytes will now quarantine all the malicious files and registry keys that it has found.
   To complete the malware removal process, Malwarebytes may ask you to restart your computer.
   
   When the malware removal process is complete, you can close Malwarebytes and continue with the rest of the instructions.

STEP 3: Use Zemana AntiMalware Free to scan for Malware and Unwanted Programs

Zemana AntiMalware is a free malware scanner which can detect malicious programs that your antivirus has failed to find.

1. You can download Zemana AntiMalware Free from the below link:
   ZEMANA ANTIMALWARE FREE DOWNLOAD LINK (This link open a new webpage from where you can download “Zemana AntiMalware Free”)
2. Double-click on the file named “Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.exe” to start the installation of Zemana AntiMalware.
   
   You may be presented with a User Account Control dialog asking you if you want to run this file. If this happens, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.
   
3. Click on the “Next” button, to install Zemana AntiMalware on your computer.
   
   When you reach the “Select Additional Tasks” screen, you can opt-out the “Enable Real Time Protection” option, then click on the “Next” button.
   
4. When Zemana AntiMalware will start, click on the “Scan” button.
   
5. Zemana AntiMalware will now scan computer for malicious files. This process can take up to 10 minutes.
   
6. When Zemana AntiMalware has finished it will display a list of all the malware that the program found. Click on the “Next” button, to remove the malicious files from your computer.
   
   Zemana AntiMalware will now start to remove all the malicious programs from your computer. When the process is complete, you may need to restart your computer.

STEP 4: Double-check for malicious programs with HitmanPro

HitmanPro finds and removes malware, adware, bots, and other threats that even the best antivirus suite can oftentimes miss. It’s designed to run alongside your antivirus suite, firewall, and other security tools.

1. You can download HitmanPro from the below link:
   HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download “HitmanPro”)
2. When HitmanPro has finished downloading, double-click on the “hitmanpro” file to install this program on your computer.
   
   You may be presented with an User Account Control pop-up asking if you want to allow HitmanPro to make changes to your device. If this happens, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.
   
3. When the program starts you will be presented with the start screen as shown below. Now click on the Next button to continue with the scan process.
   
4. HitmanPro will now begin to scan your computer for malware.
   
5. When it has finished it will display a list of all the malware that the program found as shown in the image below. Click on the “Next” button, to remove malware.
   
6. Click on the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial, and remove all the malicious files from your computer.
   
   When the process is complete, you can close HitmanPro and continue with the rest of the instructions.

(Optional) STEP 5: Reset your browser to the default settings