SearchLock Removal Guide


Although the content of this post is still relevant, we have made an updated version to provide you with the most accurate information. Please click here to get to the most recent and improved content. We recommend using the procedure in the new post, as it will provide the most reliable outcome.

SearchLock is an adware program that can be installed on the PC through third-party program. This kind of software was made to protect your online search and the web browser as well. However, using this product can cause several advertisements like pop-up ads, banners, in-text link to appear as you surf the web. Additionally, adware such as this can put your privacy at risk and can lead to identity theft if not taken care right away.

Once SearchLock is executed on the PC, it drops files and registry entries on the system. Browser extension is likewise installed to allow the ads to show-up. Normally, SearchLock will appear when user begins to surf online. It claims to suggests websites that are related to your current search terms. With its ability to monitor your browsing activities, this adware can display ads that can be attractive to you. It issues coupons that are relevant to your search queries.

Screenshot of SearchLock

With the extension running, even your security program can never stop SearchLock from issuing advertisements. As long as the PC is connected to the Internet, the adware remains on fetching more ads from its own server. The only way to stop SearchLock ads is to delete entirely this potentially unwanted program. Running a virus scan and scanning the computer with genuine anti-malware tools can be helpful in solving issues like this one.

SearchLock Removal Procedure

In this section, we will provide effective guidelines to get rid of the threat from an infected computer. To automatically remove malware, you may download the recommended scanner. For comprehensive instructions, please execute the manual step-by-step procedures.

 

Instant Removal : Scan the computer with antivirus program

Combo Cleaner is a trusted computer security and optimization tool equipped with a powerful virus and malware detection engine. This program can get rid of SearchLock browser hijacker and similar threats, whether it has infected PC, Mac, Android, or iOS.

1. Download the application from the following page:

2. Save the file to your preferred location.

3. Double-click the downloaded file CCSetup.exe and install with the default settings.

4. At the end of the setup process, click Finish to run Combo Cleaner.

5. The tool will update the database file; please wait for this process to complete.

6. To begin checking for threats like SearchLock, click on the Start Scan button. Wait for this scan to finish.

Screenshot of Combo Cleaner PC

7. At the end of the scan process, click on Remove all threats to delete SearchLock, including all harmful objects from the computer.

To fully optimize the features of antivirus and privacy scanners, users may have to upgrade to the premium version.

Please continue with the succeeding removal procedures if you are comfortable manually getting rid of the browser hijacker and malicious items linked to it.

Manual Removal : Steps to get rid of SearchLock

The steps below will guide you to manually remove SearchLock without having to purchase a recommended virus scanner. We have tested the procedures; hence, the attackers may make modifications overtime. As a result, terms, names, and images in the guide may differ from what users are seeing recently.

The procedure may require you to close the browser or restart the computer; therefore, we are suggesting to Bookmark or Print this page. You must be logged in to Windows with an Administrator account to be able to execute some of the tasks. Check here to know if you are currently using an account with Admin rights. 

Step 1 : Uninstall SearchLock from Windows

1. On your keyboard, press Windows Key + R. Type the appwiz.cpl command and click OK.

Screenshot of Run Command

2. The Program and Features window will open. Arrange the list in a chronological manner, with recently installed applications on top. To do this, click on the 'Installed On' column.

3. Select SearchLock or a recently installed suspicious entry from the list.

4. Click on Uninstall to remove it from the Windows system. You can close the Program and Features window once this procedure is done.

Step 2 : Delete SearchLock Browser Extension

Most adware and unwanted programs use an application called a "browser extension" to be able to take over the settings of internet applications. Therefore, we highly recommend checking and removing the extension that is closely related to SearchLock. If it is not present, look for and delete any suspicious browser extension.

Google Chrome

For Google Chrome Browser

1. Open the Google Chrome browser.

2. Input the strings below in the address bar and press Enter on the keyboard:

chrome://extensions

Screenshot of Chrome Extensions in PC

3. Look for SearchLock or a relevant entry and remove it from Google Chrome.

Microsoft Edge

For Microsoft Edge Browser

1. On your keyboard, press Windows Key + R. Type the appwiz.cpl command and click OK.

Screenshot of Run Command

2. The Program and Features window will open. Arrange the list in a chronological manner, with recently installed applications on top. To do this, click on the 'Installed On' column.

Screenshot of Program and Featires

3. Select SearchLock or a recently installed suspicious entry from the list.

4. Click on Uninstall to remove it from the Windows system.

If SearchLock is still present on the browser and unwanted homepage and pop-ups persist, another option is to remove the hijacker from the browser settings.

5. Open the Microsoft Edge program.

6. Input the following string in the address bar and press Enter on the keyboard:

edge://extensions/

Screenshot of MS Edge Address Bar

7. Look for and Remove or Disable entries for SearchLock from the Installed Extensions area.

Screenshot of Edge Extension Removal

8. You may now close the window and restart the Microsoft Edge browser.

Mozilla Firefox

For Mozilla Firefox Browser

1. Open the Mozilla Firefox browser.

2. Type or copy and paste the strings below in the address bar and press Enter on the keyboard:

about:addons

Screenshot of Firefox Extension

3. Click on Extensions from the sidebar menu.

4. Look for an entry that pertains to SearchLock and Disable or Remove it from the browser using the options button.

Opera

For Opera Browser

1. Open the Opera internet browser program.

2. In the address bar, type or copy and paste the text below. Press Enter on your keyboard.

opera://extensions

Screenshot of Extensions in Opera Browser

3. Find the malicious extension and then, click on Remove button to delete it from the Opera browser.

Step 3 : Scan with AdwCleaner and Reset Chrome Policies

In addition to the procedure, we suggest scanning the computer with AdwCleaner tool. Possibly, there are some traces of SearchLock on the browser that were not deleted during the preceding steps. This tool will scan the computer and check for presence of malicious applications.

1. Follow the link below to download the tool called AdwCleaner.

2. When the download has completed, please close all running programs on the computer, especially browsers affected by SearchLock.

3. Browse the location of the downloaded file and double-click on adwcleaner.exe to start running the tool.

4. If Windows displays a prompt saying, "Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?" click Yes to proceed.

5. On the AdwCleaner dashboard, click on Settings.

Screenshot of AdwCleaner Policies

6. While in the Settings window, please turn On the Reset Chrome Policies, Reset IE Policies, and Reset Winsock.

7. Go back to the Dashboard and click the Scan Now button.

Screenshot of AdwCleaner Scanner

8. AdwCleaner searches the computer for malicious programs, extensions, plug-ins, adware, and any items that may be associated with SearchLock.

9. Clean or Remove all suspicious and harmful items identified after the thorough scan.

10. AdwCleaner will then prompt an option to run another repair, which will reset Winsock and other settings. Please click the Run Basic Repair button.

Screenshot of Basic Repair

11. A message will appear stating that "All processes will be closed..." Please click Continue.

Image of Basic Repair Message

12. After the cleanup procedure, rebooting the computer is required to finalize the removal of SearchLock as well as other detected threats.

Step 4 : Run the Final Scan Using Sophos Home Antivirus.

To remove SearchLock automatically, scanning the computer with this powerful virus and malware removal tool is recommended. This scanner does not just uncover known threats like viruses or malware; it is also effective in discovering browser hijacker like SearchLock.

1. Please click on the link below to download the program.

2. After downloading, locate the file SophosInstall.exe in the Downloads folder.

3. Install by double-clicking on the file.

4. If it prompts "Do you want to allow this app to make changes on your device?" please click Yes.

5. Next, it will display the Terms and Conditions page. Click the Install button to begin.

Screenshot of Terms by Sophos Home

6. Run the installation with the default settings. Please note that an internet connection is required in order to download important updates.

7. After finishing the installation, you must login to the dashboard. If you already have a Sophos account, please login. Otherwise, please enter your details and click on the Create Account button.

8. Once you are in the Sophos Home console, click the Scan button to start checking the computer for SearchLock components.

Screenshot of Sophos Home

9. Scanning may take a while; please wait for this process to finish.

10. After scanning the computer, Sophos Home will start cleaning or deleting files infected with SearchLock.

11. You may now close Sophos Home. The computer is now free from SearchLock, as well as associated malware and viruses.

The above procedures should have totally eliminated SearchLock browser hijacker. However, if you find that there are still remnants of the malware, please proceed to the next steps below.

Step 5 : Fixing the Homepage and Search Engine

Google Chrome

For Google Chrome Browser

1. Open the Google Chrome browser. Type or copy and paste the following on the address bar. Then, press Enter on the keyboard:

chrome://settings

Screenshot of Chrome Settings Page

2. Go to the left sidebar and click On Startup.

3. Select "Open a specific page or set of pages" in the right panel.

Chrome On Startup Screenshot

4. Locate the unwanted Homepage URL, click on More Actions icon (3-dot), and select Remove or Edit.

5. If you choose Edit, enter the desired web address as your home page, replacing SearchLock. Click Save.

6. To set the default search engine, go to the left sidebar, and this time, select Search Engine.

Screenshot of Search Settings

7. Click on the Manage search engines and site search button in the right panel.

8. Find the unwanted Search Engine in the list. Click on More Actions icon, and then click Delete.

9. Go back to the left side bar and click Search Engine.

Default Search Engine Screenshot

10. In the right panel, choose a valid entry from the "Search engine used in the address bar."

You can now restart the Google Chrome browser to see if the unwanted homepage and search engine related to SearchLock are gone.

Microsoft Edge

For Microsoft Edge Browser

1. Open the Microsoft Edge browser on your computer.

2. In the address bar, type or copy and paste the string below, then press Enter on the keyboard:

edge://settings/startHomeNTP

MS Edge Start Page Screenshot

3. Go to the "When Edge Starts" area. Under the "Open these pages" section, click More Actions (3-dot).

4. Select Edit to open the Edit Page window.

5. Input your desired address to replace the homepage settings of SearchLock.

Screenshot of Home URL

6. Click the Save button. You may now restart Microsoft Edge browser.

Mozilla Firefox

For Mozilla Firefox Browser

1. Open the Mozilla Firefox browser on your computer.

2. Type or copy and paste the following on the address bar, then press Enter on the keyboard:

about:preferences

3. Click Home in the sidebar area.

Firefox Preferences Screenshot

4. Under "Homepage and new windows", you may choose Firefox Home (Default) or Custom URLs.

5. If you chose Custom URLs, input the desired URL to replace SearchLock settings.

6. To configure the default search engine, select Search in the left sidebar to display the settings.

Screenshot of Firefox Default Search

7. Under the "Default Search Engine" list, please select a legitimate one (i.e., Google).

8. Scroll down to "Search Shortcuts" and select an unwanted search engine.

Remove Search from Firefox Image

9. Click on the Remove button to delete the unwanted search engine. You may now restart the Mozilla Firefox browser.

Opera

For Opera Browser

1. In the address bar of Opera browser, type or copy and paste the text below. Press Enter on your keyboard.

opera://settings/searchEngines

2. Scroll down to the "Search Engine" section and find your desired name (i.e. Google Search)

Screenshot of Default Search

3. Click on the ellipses icon (3-dot) and select Make Default.

4. In the same section, click the ellipses icon of the unwanted search engine and select Delete to remove the malicious search engine from the Opera browser.

Screenshot of Removing Search Engine

5. Go back to the Basic section and scroll down to the "On Startup" section.

Screenshot of Opera Homepage Settings

6. Find the unwanted homepage address, click its ellipses icon (3-dot), and choose between Remove or Edit.

7. If you choose Edit, enter the desired web address as your homepage, replacing SearchLock. Click Save.

System Compatibility Notice

Logo of Windows

We ensured that our method to get rid of SearchLock is compatible with the majority of Microsoft operating systems (Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows 8, Windows 10, and Windows 11). To prevent complicated steps, the commands used in the instructions are common, useful, and tested. If you encounter any compatibility problems when following this tutorial, please message us or leave your comment below, and we will reply and make the required modifications.

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