Remove Safe-search.net redirect (Virus Removal Guide)

Safe-search.net is a browser hijacker, which is promoted via other free downloads, and once installed it will change your browser homepage and default search engine to http://www.safe-search.net/…
This itself is not considered malicious as there are many legitimate programs that change these settings as well. What is considered malicious, though, is that it will also append the argument http://www.safe-search.net… to random Windows shortcuts on your desktop and your Windows Start Menu.

Safe-search.net homepage 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.
Safe-search.net uses a variety of Registry entries to hijack your browsers even after you clean your shortcuts or change your homepage settings. For example, this browser hijacker adds the HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Policies\Google\Chrome\HomepageLocation and HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Policies\Google\Chrome\RestoreOnStartupURLs\1 registry policies that will automatically open Chrome to the Safe-search.net site even if your shortcuts are cleaned and you have your homepage set to another location.

You should always pay attention when installing software because often, a software installer includes optional installs, such as this Safe-search.net browser hijacker. 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.

How to remove Safe-search.net redirect (Virus Removal Guide)

This page is a comprehensive guide, which will remove Safe-search.net browser hijacker from your computer and any other adware program that may have been installed during the setup process.
Please perform all the steps in the correct order. If you have any questions or doubt at any point, STOP and ask for our assistance.

STEP 1: Remove Safe-search.net homepage with AdwCleaner
STEP 2: Remove Safe-search.net redirect with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
STEP 3: Double-check for the Safe-search.net browser hijacker with HitmanPro
(Optional) STEP 4: Clean up the various Windows shortcuts that have been hijacked by Safe-search.net
(Optional) STEP 5: Remove Safe-search.net from Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge

STEP 1: Remove Safe-search.net homepage with AdwCleaner

The AdwCleaner utility will scan your computer and web browser for the adware and unwanted browser extensions, that may have been installed on your computer without your knowledge.

1. You can download AdwCleaner from the below link.
   ADWCLEANER DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download “AdwCleaner”)
2. Before starting AdwCleaner, close your web browser, then double-click on the AdwCleaner icon.
   
   If Windows prompts you as to whether or not you wish to run AdwCleaner, please allow it to run.
3. When the AdwCleaner program will open, click on the “Scan” button as shown below.
   
   AdwCleaner will now start to search for adware and other malicious files that may be installed on your computer.
4. To remove the malicious files that were detected in the previous step, please click on the “Cleaning” button.
   
5. AdwCleaner will prompt you to save any open files or documents, as the program will need to reboot the computer to complete the cleaning process. Please do so, and then click on the “OK” button.
   
   When your computer reboots and you are logged in, AdwCleaner will automatically open a log file that contains the files, registry keys, and programs that were removed from your computer.

STEP 2: Remove Safe-search.net redirect with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free uses industry-leading technology to detect and remove all traces of malware, including worms, Trojans, rootkits, rogues, dialers, spyware, and more.
It is important to note that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware works well and should run alongside antivirus software without conflicts.

1. You can download download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware from the below link.
   MALWAREBYTES ANTI-MALWARE DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download “Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free”)
2. Once downloaded, close all programs, then double-click on the icon on your desktop named “mbam-setup” to start the installation of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.
   
   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. When the installation begins, you will see the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Setup Wizard which will guide you through the installation process.
   
   To install Malwarebytes Anti-Malware on your machine, keep following the prompts by clicking the “Next” button.
   
4. Once installed, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will automatically start and you will see a message stating that you should update the program, and that a scan has never been run on your system. To start a system scan you can click on the “Scan Now” button.
   
5. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now start scanning your computer for malware. When Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is scanning it will look like the image below.
   
6. When the scan has completed, you will be presented with a screen showing the malware infections that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware has detected. To remove the malicious programs that Malwarebytes Anti-malware has found, click on the “Remove Selected” button.
   
   Please note that the infections found may be different than what is shown in the image.
7. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now quarantine all the malicious files and registry keys that it has found. When removing the files, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware may require a reboot in order to remove some of them. If it displays a message stating that it needs to reboot your computer, please allow it to do so.
   
   After your computer will restart, you should open Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and perform another “Threat Scan” scan to verify that there are no remaining threats

STEP 3: Double-check for the Safe-search.net browser hijacker with HitmanPro

HitmanPro is a second opinion scanner, designed to rescue your computer from malware (viruses, trojans, rootkits, etc.) that have infected your computer despite all the security measures you have taken (such as anti-virus software, firewalls, etc.). HitmanPro is designed to work alongside existing security programs without any conflicts. It scans the computer quickly (less than 5 minutes) and does not slow down the computer.

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. Double-click on the file named “HitmanPro.exe” (for 32-bit versions of Windows) or “HitmanPro_x64.exe” (for 64-bit versions of Windows). When the program starts you will be presented with the start screen as shown below.
   
   Click on the “Next” button, to install HitmanPro on your computer.
   
3. HitmanPro will now begin to scan your computer for Safe-search.net malicious files.
   
4. 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 Safe-search.net virus.
   
5. Click on the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial, and remove all the malicious files from your computer.
   

(Optional) STEP 4: Clean up the various Windows shortcuts that have been hijacked by Safe-search.net

This infection has hijacked your browser shortcuts, so in this step we will need to manually clean them by removing the http://www.safe-search.net/ argument.

1. Search for your browser shortcut (Desktop, Taskbar or Start Menu Shortcut), then right click on it and select Properties.
   
   To view the Properties menu for the browser shortcuts pinned to your Task Bar, right-click on the browser shortcut from the Taskbar, then right-click again on the browser icon as see in the below image. Alternatively, you can just Unpin the browser shortcut from your task bar, then you can add it back after you have removed the “Safe-search.net” argument from the original browser shortcut.
   
2. In the Shortcut tab, in the Target field, remove the http://www.safe-search.net/ argument. Basically, there should be only the path to browser executable file. Nothing more.
   These are the default shortcut path that should be in your Target box, if the http://www.safe-search.net/ argument is there, then you should remove it.

   Internet Explorer

   Default Target value: C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
   

   Google Chrome

   Default Target value:
   C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe” for Windows 32 bit
   OR
   “C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe” for Windows 64-bit
   

   Mozilla Firefox

   Default Target value:
   “C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe” for Windows 32-bit
   OR
   “C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe” for Windows 64-bit
   
   

(Optional) STEP 5: Remove Safe-search.net from Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge

If you are still experiencing issues with the Safe-search.net browser hijacker in Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome, we will need to reset your browser to its default settings. This step needs to be performed only if your issues have not been solved by the previous steps.

If you are still experiencing problems while trying to remove Safe-search.net redirect from your machine, please do one of the following:

• Run a system scan with Zemana AntiMalware
• Start a new thread in our Malware Removal Assistance forum.