SearchMaid is a web browser hijacker that may change your Internet Explorer home page and redirect your searches through SearchMaid.com. SearchMaid may install as a toolbar that may launch popups and come bundled with possible malware. SearchMaid can be difficult to remove as it may secretly launch every time you start up your computer.

Do You Have SearchMaid?

When you’re infected with badware — whether it’s SearchMaid, spyware, adware, a Trojan, or a virus — there are a few key symptoms. Have you noticed…

• Slow computer performance: It just takes one parasite like SearchMaid to slow your computer dramatically. If your PC takes longer than usual to reboot, or if your Internet connection is unusually slow, you may be infected with SearchMaid.
• New desktop shortcuts or switched homepage: Badware like SearchMaid may change your Internet settings to redirect your homepage to another site. Badware can even add desktop shortcuts to your PC.
• Annoying popups: Badware can bombard your computer with popup ads, even when you’re not online. Through these popups, you may be tricked into downloading more spyware.

How to Remove SearchMaid Manually

Before we get started, you should backup your system and your registry, so it’ll be easy to restore your computer if anything goes wrong.

To remove SearchMaid manually, you need to delete SearchMaid files. Not sure how to delete SearchMaid files? Click here, and I’ll show you. Otherwise, go ahead and…

Remove SearchMaid processes:

Delete SearchMaid files:

Stop SearchMaid DLLs:

Unregister SearchMaid registry keys:

Note: In any SearchMaid files I mention above, “%UserProfile%” is a variable referring to your current user’s profile folder. If you’re using Windows NT/2000/XP, by default this is “C:\Documents and Settings\[CURRENT USER]” (e.g., “C:\Documents and Settings\JoeSmith”). If you have any questions about manual SearchMaid removal, go ahead and leave a comment.

How Do You Remove SearchMaid Files?

Need help figuring out how to delete SearchMaid files? While there’s some risk involved, and you should only manually remove SearchMaid files if you’re comfortable editing your system, you’ll find it’s fairly easy to delete SearchMaid files in Windows.

How to delete SearchMaid files in Windows XP and Vista:

1. Click your Windows Start menu, and then click “Search.”
2. A speech bubble will pop up asking you, “What do you want to search for?” Click “All files and folders.”
3. Type a SearchMaid file in the search box, and select “Local Hard Drives.”
4. Click “Search.” Once the file is found, delete it.

How to stop SearchMaid processes:

1. Click the Start menu, select Run.
2. Type taskmgr.exe into the the Run command box, and click “OK.” You can also launch the Task Manager by pressing keys CTRL + Shift + ESC.
3. Click Processes tab, and find SearchMaid processes.
4. Once you’ve found the SearchMaid processes, right-click them and select “End Process” to kill SearchMaid.

How to remove SearchMaid registry keys:

Because your registry is such a key piece of your Windows system, you should always backup your registry before you edit it. Editing your registry can be intimidating if you’re not a computer expert, and when you change or a delete a critical registry key or value, there’s a chance you may need to reinstall your entire system. Make sure your backup your registry before editing it.

1. Select your Windows menu “Start,” and click “Run.” An “Open” field will appear. Type “regedit” and click “OK” to open up your Registry Editor.
2. Registry Editor will open as a window with two panes. The left side Registry Editor’s window lets you select various registry keys, and the right side displays the registry values of the registry key you select.
3. To find a registry key, such as any SearchMaid registry keys, select “Edit,” then select “Find,” and in the search bar type any of SearchMaid’s registry keys.
4. As soon as SearchMaid registry key appears, you can delete the SearchMaid registry key by right-clicking it and selecting “Modify,” then clicking “Delete.”

How to delete SearchMaid DLL files:

1. First locate SearchMaid DLL files you want to delete. Open your Windows Start menu, then click “Run.” Type “cmd” in Run, and click “OK.”
2. To change your current directory, type “cd” in the command box, press your “Space” key, and enter the full directory where the SearchMaid DLL file is located. If you’re not sure if the SearchMaid DLL file is located in a particular directory, enter “dir” in the command box to display a directory’s contents. To go one directory back, enter “cd ..” in the command box and press “Enter.”
3. When you’ve located the SearchMaid DLL file you want to remove, type “regsvr32 /u SampleDLLName.dll” (e.g., “regsvr32 /u jl27script.dll”) and press your “Enter” key.

That’s it. If you want to restore any SearchMaid DLL file you removed, type “regsvr32 DLLJustDeleted.dll” (e.g., “regsvr32 jl27script.dll”) into your command box, and press your “Enter” key.

Did SearchMaid change your homepage?

1. Click Windows Start menu > Control Panel > Internet Options.
2. Under Home Page, select the General > Use Default.
3. Type in the URL you want as your home page (e.g., “http://www.homepage.com”).
4. Select Apply > OK.
5. You’ll want to open a fresh web page and make sure that your new default home page pops up.

SearchMaid Removal Tip

Is your computer acting funny after deleting any SearchMaid files? I recommend using a program like File Recover from PC Tools. File Recover saves deleted files that otherwise can’t be recovered by Windows operating sytem.

Want to save time finding SearchMaid files? Download Spyware Doctor, let it find the SearchMaid files for you, and then manually delete SearchMaid files.

How Did You Get SearchMaid?

Wondering how SearchMaid ended up on your PC? If you’re infected with SearchMaid or other badware, perhaps you were using…

• Freeware or shareware: Did you download and install shareware or freeware? These low-cost or free software applications may come bundled with spyware, adware, or programs like SearchMaid. Sometimes adware is attached to the free software to “pay” developers for the cost of creating the software, and more often spyware is secretly attached to free software to harm your computer and steal your personal and financial information.
• Peer-to-peer software: Do you use a peer-to-peer (P2P) program or other application with a shared network? When you use these applications, you put your system at risk for unknowingly downloading an infected file, including applications like SearchMaid.
• Questionable websites: Did you visit a website that’s of questionable nature? When you visit malicious sites that are fishy and phishy, badware may be automatically downloaded and installed onto your computer, sometimes including applications like SearchMaid. I recommend you use Firefox web browser, if you don’t already.

Understanding SearchMaid

If you’re infected with SearchMaid, you should know what you’re fighting. I’ll explain some definitions related to SearchMaid.

SearchMaid May Be a Browser Hijacker

Browser hijackers can change your web browser settings. Browser hijackers may change your home page to or redirect your searches through a pay-per-click site to make money, and browser hijackers may also monitor your web activities. Often, resetting your web browser to its default settings will not remove or stop the browser hijacker from working.

SearchMaid is also known as: SearchMaid Spy Ware, Browser Hijacker.SearchMaid.Toolbar, SearchMaid/VirtualMaid, Adware.SearchMaid