Remove SearchYa toolbar and search (Uninstall Guide)

SearchYa is a program that has changed your browser home page and default search engine to searchya.com and also added a toolbar on your browser.

SearchYa got on your computer after you have installed another program that had bundled in their installer the SearchYa toolbar.

You should always pay attention when installing software because often, a software installer includes optional installs, such as this SearchYa toolbar. Be very careful what you agree to install. Always opt for the custom installation and deselect anything that is not familiar, especially optional software that you never wanted to download and install in the first place. It goes without saying that you should not install software that you don’t trust.

SearchYa – Virus Removal Instructions

STEP 1 : Uninstall SearchYa from your computer

SearchYa comes bundled with other free products, which we will need to uninstall from your computer.

1. To uninstall SearchYa program from your computer, click the Start button, then select Control Panel, and click on Uninstall a program.
   If you are a Windows 8 user, you can right-click on a bottom left hot corner (formerly known as the Start button) and select Control panel from there, then select Uninstall a program.
2. Search and uninstall SearchYa! Web Search and BrowserProtect from your computer.
   

Please note that on some computers these programs might be renamed or missing,search for any program developed by APN LLC or Bandoo Media Inc, and uninstall it from your computer.

STEP 2 : Remove the SearchYa residual damage from your browser

Remove SearchYa from Internet Explorer

1. Open Internet Explorer, click on the gear icon  (Tools for Windows XP users) at the top (far right), then click again on Internet Options.
   
2. Now in the Internet Options dialog box, click on the Advanced tab, then click on the Reset button.
   
3. In the Reset Internet Explorer settings section, check the Delete personal settings box, then click on Reset.
   
4. When Internet Explorer finishes resetting, click Close in the confirmation dialogue box and then click OK.
5. Close and open Internet Explorer again.

Remove SearchYa from Mozilla Firefox

1. At the top of the Firefox window, click the Firefox button, go over to the Help sub-menu (on Windows XP, click the Help menu at the top of the Firefox window), and select Troubleshooting Information.
   
2. Click the Reset Firefox button in the upper-right corner of the Troubleshooting Information page.
   
3. To continue, click Reset Firefox in the confirmation window that opens.
4. Firefox will close and be reset. When it’s done, a window will list the information that was imported. Click Finish and Firefox will open. That’s it – you’re done!

Remove SearchYa from Google Chrome

1. Remove SearchYa extensions from Google Chrome.
   Click the Chrome menu   button on the browser, select Tools and then click on Extensions.
   In the Extensions tab, remove (by clicking on the Recycle Bin) the iLivid extension from your Google Chrome.
   
   NOTE: It’s recommended to remove any extension that was installed in Google Chrome without your knowldge.
2. Set Google Chrome default search engine from SearchYa to google.com .
   Click the Chrome menu   button, then select Settings and click on Manage search engines in the Search section.
   In the Search Engines dialog that appears, select Google and click the Make Default button that appears in the row.
   Search for SearchYa in the Search Engines list, and click the X that appears at the end of the row.
   
3. Change Google Chrome home page from SearchYa.com to its default.
   The SearchYa has modified your Google settings to open their webpage whenever you start your browser, so we will need to revert this change.
   Click the Chrome menu   button, then select Settings and click on One the New Tab page in the On Startup section.
   

STEP 3: Remove SearchYa registry keys with AdwCleaner.

1. You can download AdwCleaner from the below link.
   ADWCLEANER DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will automatically download AdwCleaner on your computer)
2. Before starting this utility, close all open programs and internet browsers.
3. Double click on adwcleaner.exe to run the tool.
4. Click on Delete, then confirm each time with Ok.
5. Your computer will be rebooted automatically. A text file will open after the restart.
6. NEXT, double click on adwcleaner.exe to run the tool.
7. Click on Uninstall, then confirm with yes to remove this utility from your computer.

STEP 4: Run a computer scan with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

1. You can download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free from the below link, then double click on it to install this program.
   MALWAREBYTES ANTI-MALWARE DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a download page in a new window from where you can download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free)
2. When the installation begins, keep following the prompts in order to continue with the setup process. DO NOT make any changes to default settings and when the program has finished installing, make sure you leave both the Update Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware and Launch Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware checked, then click on the Finish button.
   
3. On the Scanner tab, select Perform quick scan and then click on the Scan button to start scanning your computer.
   
4. Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware will now start scanning your computer as shown below.
   
5. When the Malwarebytes scan will be completed, click on Show Result.
   
6. You will now be presented with a screen showing you the malware infections that Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware has detected.Please note that the infections found may be different than what is shown in the image. Make sure that everything is Checked (ticked) and click on the Remove Selected button.
   

STEP 5: Run a computer scan with HitmanPro

1. Download HitmanPro from the below link, then double click on it to start this program.
   HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download HitmanPro)
2. HitmanPro will start and you’ll need to follow the prompts (by clicking on the Next button) to start a system scan with this program.
   
3. HitmanPro will start scanning your computer for malware, as seen in the image below.
   
4. Once the scan is complete,you’ll see a screen which will display all the infected files that this utility has detected, and you’ll need to click on Next to remove these malicious files.
   
5. Click Activate free license to start the free 30 days trial and remove all the malicious files from your computer.
   

If you are still experiencing problems while trying to remove SearchYa from your machine, please start a new thread in our Malware Removal Assistance forum.