What is Search.gsearch.io?
Search.gsearch.io is one of the many browser hijackers that modify your search results and then try to expose you to commercial content. For the most part, such behavior is more annoying than dangerous, but computer security experts can provide you with a long list of things you should be wary of when you encounter browser hijackers. Therefore, the best decision in this situation would be removing Search.gsearch.io from your system through and through. While you are at it, you should also look for other potentially unwanted programs that might have entered your system together with this browser hijacker.
Where does Search.gsearch.io come from?
It is rather hard to say how has created Search.gsearch.io and how exactly this browser hijacker spreads across the web. However, seeing how this application is a rather generic browser hijacker, we can already more or less draw a pattern of events that have lead to the hijacker’s installation on your computer.
For starters, you must have downloaded a freeware application from a file-sharing site. We mentioned this many times before, but you need to be extremely careful when you download programs from third-party websites. Just because they host installers for free, it does not mean there is nothing dangerous about it. Of course, such websites do not intend to infect you with malware, but they also do not review the installers they host. If you end up with a third-party installer that bundles various applications together, Search.gsearch.io might be just one of the many unwanted programs that enter your computer.
So how would it be possible to avoid them? The best way to stay away from unwanted applications is to download programs from their official homepages. Sometimes even official installers may bundle other freeware games or features, but it is very easy to decline to install these additional features if you go through the installation carefully. In fact, the same goes for third-party installers, too. Checking the installation wizard step by step should help you deselect the unwanted programs. So it is not just about the antispyware program that you have installed on your computer. It is about your web browsing habits, too.
What does Search.gsearch.io do?
Just like any other browser hijacker out there, Search.gsearch.io will change your default homepage. At first, you may not even notice this change because the browser hijacker’s homepage looks like a sleek search engine. It also has other buttons like “Home Portal,” “Google Search,” and “Bing Search,” but the question is why it would provide such buttons when it takes over your entire search function.
Aside from changing your homepage, the browser hijacker can always employ tracking cookies to collect information on the website you visit and the things you search for when you are online. All that information is used later on for online marketing purposes. For instance, if you search for something via Search.gsearch.io, the browser hijacker will most probably display modified search results that will cater to your likes and preferences.
That is rather dangerous because you can never know where these outgoing links can lead you. Search.gsearch.io is not responsible for the security of the third-party content it promotes. And the same applies to almost all browser hijackers and adware applications. The thing is that they may not try to expose to corrupted content, but they have no power over that content. As a result, if malevolent third parties decide to exploit Search.gsearch.io for their own purposes, the browser hijacker might as well become a vehicle for malware distribution.
In the worst-case scenario, it is also possible to get infected with malware. As you can see, there are many security issues associated with Search.gsearch.io, and if you do not get rid of it immediately, it might result in something nasty.
How do I remove Search.gsearch.io?
It is very easy to remove this browser hijacker from your computer. You just need to delete the modifications performed by the program. As mentioned, we have prepared the manual removal instructions below, but if you feel that it is too much of a task for you, you can always scan your PC with the SpyHunter free scanner. A full system scan will give you a better idea which programs need to be removed from your system. What’s more, you will be able to do it automatically.
Manual Search.gsearch.io Removal
Internet Explorer
- Press Win+R and type regedit. Click OK.
- Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main.
- On the right pane, right-click the Start Page value.
- Select Modify and change your homepage address. Click OK.
Firefox
- Press Win+R and type %AppData%. Click OK.
- Navigate to Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\[User ID].
- Use Notepad to open the prefs.js files.
- Delete this string: user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", "http://search.gsearch.io");
Chrome
- Press Win+R and enter %LocalAppData%. Press OK.
- Open Google\Chrome\User Data\Default.
- Delete the Preferences, Secure Preferences, and Web Data files.
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