Remove Searchou.com redirect (Removal Guide)

Searchou.com 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 google.com/webhp
Searchou.com will display advertisements and sponsored links in your search results, and may collect search terms from your search queries.

Searchou.com got on your computer after you have installed another free software or add-on that had bundled into their installer this browser hijacker.
For example, when you install Privitize VPN, you will also agree to change your default browser home page to google.com/webhp, and default search engine to Search the Web (Privitize).
However, when you uninstall Privitize VPN from your computer, your web browser’s default settings will not be restored. This means that you’ll have to remove

Searchou.com from your favorite web browser manually. You should always pay attention when installing software because often, a software installer includes optional installs, such as this Searchou.com. 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.

Searchou.com Brwoser Hijack – Virus Removal Instructions

STEP 1 : Uninstall Searchou programs from your computer

Searchou.com is developed by Industriya, and is installed on users computer with other free software.
In our case Searchou has installed three programs (Privitize VPN, MagniPic, and toolbar for IE and Chrome), which we will need to uninstall.

1. To uninstall Searchou programs 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. Seach and uninstall Privitize VPN, MagniPic, and toolbar for IE and Chrome from your computer.
   

Please note that on some computers these programs might have a different name, search for any program developed by Industriya and uninstall it from your computer. Because Searchou.com is installed with other additional programs, we recommend that you search and uninstall any other unwanted or unknown programs from your computer.

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STEP 2 : Remove the Searchou.com residual damage from your browser

Searchou.com has installed two browser extensions, and has changed your home page and default search engine to google.com/webhp.

Remove Searchou.com 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. 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.

Remove Searchou.com 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

Remove Searchou.com from Google Chrome

1. Remove Searchou.com extensions from Google Chrome.
2. Click the Chrome menu   button on the browser toolbar, select Tools and then click on Extensions.
   
   In the Extensions tab, remove (by clicking on the Recycle Bin) the Privitize.com and MagniPic extensions from Google Chrome.
   
   NOTE: Searchou may have added additional extensions which you will need to remove. We recommend that you remove any unwanted or unknown extensions from Google Chrome.
3. Set Google Chrome default search engine from Search The Web (Privitize) (searchou.com) to Google.
   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 Search The Web (Privitize) in the Search Engines list, and click the X button that appears at the end of the row.
   
4. Change Google Chrome homepage from Searchou.com to its default.
   Searchou.com 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.
   

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STEP 4: Remove Searchou.com 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.

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STEP 5: 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.
   

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STEP 6: 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.
   

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If you are still experiencing problems while trying to remove PortaldoSites.com home page and search.PortaldoSites.com from your machine, please start a new thread in our Malware Removal Assistance forum.