Search.shareazaweb.net or Shareaza Search is another browser hijacker from Bandoo Media Inc. This is considered as another attack perpetuated by an adware. Home page settings of affected browsers will be altered to use the search.shareazaweb.net Search Engine. If you think that this is a simple home page modification, then you are wrong. You cannot just edit the settings and bring back your previous configuration. search.shareazaweb.net seems to have locked this option.
User can acquire this hijacker from downloaded files. Whether it came from popular sites or unknown servers doesn’t matter. Adware makers have deployed copies of programs where search.shareazaweb.net is wrapped into. As we already know, installation of the unwanted add-on or extension to the browser is normally unseen. Attackers are using this technique because they knew that user will block it and their program will never be given a chance to take a place on the PC.
Having search.shareazaweb.net home page redirect is bothersome. It forces you to use a program that many security software were deemed risky. If you see a presence of this adware on the computer, you must remove it as soon as possible. When you are having complexity dealing with the adware, your last resort is to use security tools to scan the computer and remove it instantly.
search.shareazaweb.net Removal Procedure
Stage 1: Scan the Computer with Sophos Virus Removal Tool
This rootkit and virus removal tool is free and easy to use. It scans, detects and removes any rootkit, malware as well as threat like search.shareazaweb.net home page hijacker. The tool is powerful enough to find malicious items that are hidden on the computer.
1. Download Sophos Virus Removal Tool from the link below. Save the file to your Desktop so that we can access the file easily.
Sophos Virus Removal Tool Download Link
2. After downloading, navigate to the file location and double-click it. This will start the installation procedure. User Account Control will prompt if you want to run the program, click Yes to continue.
3. On initial launch of the program, it will display a welcome screen as shown in the image below. Click Next to start the installation procedure.
4. Next, you need to accept the license agreement before Sophos Virus Removal Tool can be installed onto the computer. Choose ‘I accept the terms in the license agreement’. Then, click Next button.
5. On the next prompts, please click appropriate button to proceed. At the end of the installation process, it will display InstallShield Wizard Completed. Just leave the Launch Sophos Virus Removal Tool with a check mark. Then, click Finish.
6. The tool will download necessary updates so Internet connection is required at this point. Lastly, Sophos Virus Removal Tool displays the welcome screen.
7. Click on Start Scanning button to begin checking the system for presence of rootkit and virus. The tool reveals items that were found linked to search.shareazaweb.net. It also detects and removes other malicious files.
Stage 2: Scan and Delete Adware with AdwCleaner
1. Download the tool called AdwCleaner from the location stated below.
Click here to download AdwCleaner (this will open a new window)
2. Once you have completed the download, please close all running programs on the computer.
3. Locate the file and double-click on adwcleaner_Ver.exe to start running the tool. Then, click on Scan button.
4. It searches for presence of harmful programs, plug-ins, add-ons, or any data that were found malicious and linked to search.shareazaweb.net. You need to Clean all items detected by this tool.
5. Once scan is done, the tool may need to reboot your computer to finalize the cleaning process.
6. After reboot, AdwCleaner will display the log file of the recent scan.
Stage 3: Remove search.shareazaweb.net Add-on and Cleanup the Browser
After the previous scans, you may have deleted search.shareazaweb.net from the affected browser. This next step will ensure that no more module of adware will be left on the browser. This free tool scans and checks the browser for unwanted add-on and extension, and if found, Avast Browser Cleanup will give you a report and suggestion.
1. Download this free tool and save it to your desktop.
Avast Browser Cleanup Download Link (This will open in a new window)
2. Please install the program. Start the process by double-clicking on the executable file avast-browser-cleanup-sfx.exe.
3. When run, Avast Browser Cleanup performs a test on the browser. If unwanted entries were found, it will display a button ‘Remove all add-ons listed below and cleanup browser.’ You may remove all or delete one entry at a time.
4. Avast Browser Cleanup will confirm before it permanently deletes the add-on. Please click Yes to proceed with the removal of search.shareazaweb.net on the affected browser.
Stage 4: Cleanup Internet Browser’s Shortcut Link
One method that starts your home page to unwanted address like search.shareazaweb.net is by integrating the link to browser’s shortcut link. On this section, we will discuss the proper removal of unwanted entries on shortcut link.
Cleaning Internet Explorer’s Shortcut Link:
1. Locate the shortcut icon for Internet Explorer and right-click on it.
2. Select Properties from the drop-down list. This method opens the Shortcut settings for Internet Explorer.
3. Under Target field, you will need to remove extra path pointing to search.shareazaweb.net. Please refer to image below.
Cleaning Google Chrome’s Shortcut Link:
1. Locate the shortcut icon for Google Chrome and right-click on it.
2. Select Properties from the drop-down list. This method opens the Shortcut settings for Google Chrome.
3. Under Target field, you will need to remove extra path pointing to search.shareazaweb.net. Please see image below for your reference.
Cleaning Mozilla Firefox’s Shortcut Link:
1. Locate the shortcut icon for Mozilla Firefox and right-click on it.
2. Select Properties from the drop-down list. This method opens the Shortcut settings for Mozilla Firefox.
3. Under Target field, you will need to remove extra path pointing to search.shareazaweb.net. See screenshot image below.
Option: Alternative Method to Clean Up Internet Browser from search.shareazaweb.net
Cleaning your internet browser from clutter and unwanted add-on/extension is a must when dealing with search.shareazaweb.net. The procedure below discuss on resetting various browsers to its default state.
Reset Mozilla Firefox to Default
This section describes how to remove unwanted extension from Firefox that may be related to search.shareazaweb.net. This process can fix many browser issues by restoring Firefox to factory settings without affecting your essential information (bookmarks, browsing history, passwords, and Internet cookies) on the browser. If you desire to remove only specific extension, please see manual add-on removal from this link.
1. Navigate to Firefox menu at the top of the browser and access the Help area. Click on Troubleshooting Information.
2. A new tab will appear. You will notice a section on upper-right corner of the screen stating Give Firefox a tuneup. Click the Refresh Firefox button.
3. If confirmation window appears, click Refresh Firefox to continue.
4. Firefox browser will close and start the resetting process. When done, it will display a list of restored data. search.shareazaweb.net home page hijacker should be gone by now. Click Finish to open a fresh version of Firefox.
Restore Internet Explorer to Default Settings
1. Open Internet Explorer and navigate to top menu. Click Tools, and then Internet Options.
2. Select Advanced tab on Internet Options window.
3. On lower part of the window, under Reset Internet Explorer Settings area, click the Reset button. Please see image for reference.
Your data like favorites, bookmark, and history will remain it the browser. However, this process may delete add-ons by Shareaza Search and other unknown objects. If you prefer to carry out the procedure manually, please view instructions here.
