Search9 Removal Guide

Many users who use MAC computers claim that they have discovered Search9 (search9.askthepotato.com) set on their browsers without their knowledge, which suggests that this page is not a legitimate search tool at all. Instead, it is more likely that it is a typical browser hijacker. These are infections that promote suspicious pages and set them on users’ browsers if they manage to infiltrate their computers. Of course, they do not need to get permission from users to make these modifications. Do you see Search9 load automatically when you open your Safari, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, or another browser you use? If this is exactly why you are reading this report, it is very likely that your browser has been hijacked too. We can assure you that pages set on your browser without your knowledge are untrustworthy. Consequently, you should not keep Search9 set too. It does not mean that you could not get rid of it if you do not know much about the browser hijacker removal because this procedure should not be complicated, specialists say.

The majority of users find the appearance of Search9 on their browsers unpleasant, and we know why – it is usually set on users’ browsers without their knowledge. Specialists say that it should change homepages and default search tools on users’ browsers. If you see Search9 every time you open your web browser, it means that these changes have already been applied. We have to admit that Search9 does look trustworthy. It has all the features of a legitimate search provider. To be more specific, it contains a search box. Additionally, users can access certain websites with the single click from its start page, which is quite convenient. Unfortunately, its drawbacks outweigh its benefits, so if you find it hard to decide whether or not you should keep Search9 set, you should know that specialists do not think that it is a very good idea to let it stay when there are so many other trustworthy search providers available on the market. As you already know, it shows up on users’ browsers without permission, but it is not its only drawback. There is a huge possibility that it will return modified search results after you enter a search query. This is the main reason we do not recommend keeping and using Search9 as a default search provider. These modified search results usually do not differ much from ordinary search results, but they might cause problems to users. To be more specific, they might redirect you to untrustworthy websites if you ever click on any of them. Some users say that they will manage to avoid them, but it is not so easy to distinguish them from ordinary search results, so they sooner or later click on these modified search results. Of course, not all of them experience security-related problems.

It is very likely that the browser hijacker has infiltrated your computer if Search9 has been set on your browsers without your permission. Theoretically, users can download these infections from dubious websites themselves, but, as our specialists have observed, browser hijackers are usually spread bundled with other programs and users agree with their installation themselves because they are not careful enough. You do not need to be an expert to prevent untrustworthy software spread bundled from entering the system yourself. You simply need to be more cautious and read the provided information very attentively before clicking the Next button. Also, all users without exception should have a security application installed on their computers if they want to have a malware-free system.

You should be able to remove Search9 from all affected browsers quite easily – you simply need to reset those browsers to default. As mentioned, it should affect the most popular browsers, including Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Safari. Of course, if you have never deleted any browser hijacker yourself, you may not know where to start. In this case, feel free to use our manual removal guide – it can be found below this paragraph. You can also solve this problem alternatively too – you can use an antimalware scanner instead.

How to get rid of Search9 manually

Mozilla Firefox

1. Open Mozilla Firefox.
2. Click the menu button (top-right corner).
3. Click Help and select Troubleshooting Information.
4. Under Give Firefox a tune up, click Refresh Firefox.
5. Click Refresh Firefox again.

Google Chrome

1. Launch Google Chrome.
2. Access its menu by clicking the button in the top-right corner.
3. Select Settings.
4. At the bottom of the page, click Advanced.
5. Click Reset.
6. Click the Reset button once again in the confirmation window.

Safari

1. Open Safari.
2. Open the Safari menu.
3. Select Clear History… from the drop-down menu.
4. Choose the desired time period and click Clear History.
5. Access the Safari menu again and click Preferences…
6. Access the Advanced tab and mark the box next to Show Develop in menu bar.
7. Click the Develop tab and select Empty Caches.
8. Access Preferences… again and click Extensions.
9. Uninstall suspicious extensions.