Search.searchwatchos.com Removal Guide

Our specialists report Search.searchwatchos.com could be promoted as a tool for streaming various videos or TV shows online. If such a description is enough, some users most likely download the application without realizing it is a browser hijacker. Sadly, in reality, the tool does not look as useful as it might appear to be. Instead of providing features that would allow streaming videos, the threat places a couple of links to sites where users can watch TV content. What’s more, the browser hijacker could also make your browser load Search.searchwatchos.com every time you open it. This search engine can inject results with potentially malicious content, so we would not recommend searching the Internet with it. If you seek to understand more about the search engine, we urge you to keep reading the article. However, if you want to erase it at once, you could simply slide below the article and use the available instructions.

According to our specialists, Search.searchwatchos.com is mostly popular in the United States where it might be distributed through bundled setup files. The worst part is that the software it might be spread with could be unreliable too, so if you came across this browser hijacker, checking the system is most advisable. Probably, the fastest way to check the whole computer is to employ a reliable removal tool. The scanning process might take a few minutes, but it does not require your attention as the tool can detect potentially harmful or malicious programs automatically. Later all you have to do is click the deletion button; of course, if you want to learn more about the threats that could be on the system, you can read the report first. As for the future, we recommend staying away from suspicious file-sharing web pages since the setup files they offer can be bundled with various threats.

Furthermore, it is also important to mention that currently, the application should be compatible with Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox. Thus, the hijacker should be unable to affect browsers like Microsoft Edge, or other. Right after it enters the system, Search.searchwatchos.com may replace your start page, new tab page, or both of these settings. As a result, the hijacked browser should load only the search engine. Since the research revealed that the application might inject results with advertisements, the threat’s need to make your browser load only Search.searchwatchos.com can be easily explained. There is a chance its creators receive advertising revenue for each user’s click, so while you use the search engine, they might earn money.

The bad news is that the hijacker’s displayed ads might come from potentially malicious web pages. It means some of them could redirect you to sites containing Trojans, worms, ransomware, or other malware. Plus, some of the third-party sites could violate your privacy or suggest you install other suspicious applications. Under such circumstances, we think it would be safer to get rid of Search.searchwatchos.com. If you think the same, we urge to wait no more and eliminate it. For inexperienced users, it might be easier to employ a legitimate removal tool, but if you feel you can manage to erase the application manually, we offer the deletion steps placed below this article.

Eliminate Search.searchwatchos.com

Internet Explorer

1. Press Windows key+R.
2. Type Regedit and select OK.
3. Locate a value name known as Start Page in this directory: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
4. Right-click Start Page and press Modify.
5. Instead of http://search.searchwatchos.com insert another link and click OK.
6. Look for the given path: HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes\{0633EE93-D776-472f-A0FF-E1416B8B2E3A}
7. Find files named as FaviconURL, FaviconURLFallback, TopResultURL, and URL.
8. Right-click them one by one and click Modify.
9. Erase their value data, insert reliable links, and press OK.
10. Exit the Registry Editor.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Press Windows key+E.
2. Search for a file known as Prefs.js. in the following location: C:\Users\{user}\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{Unique Mozilla user ID}
3. Open this file with Notepad.
4. Look for this specific line: user_pref(“browser.startup.homepage”, “http://search.searchwatchos.com”).
5. Remove http://search.searchwatchos.com and type a link you prefer.
6. Save these changes.
7. Close the file.

Google Chrome

1. Press Windows key+E.
2. Find data tiles as Preferences, Secure Preferences, and Web Data in this location: C:\Users\{user}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default
3. Right-click the given files one by one and choose Delete.
4. Close the Explorer.