It is very often that we cannot draw a clear line between a browser hijacker and a browser extension. It is our problem with Search.sidecubes.com as well. At first sight it might be really easy to label this application as browser hijacker, because it changes your default homepage and search engine, but the modification actually takes place with your permission, so the question remains whether Search.sidecubes.com is a true computer infection or not. Nevertheless, if you do not want to have this application on the system, it is necessary to remove Search.sidecubes.com.

Search.sidecubes.com actually comes with SideCubes sidebar that can be downloaded and installed from sidecubes.com. The official website looks professional enough, and during the installation you can actually choose whether you want your browser settings changed or not. The only default option is the SideCubes Toolbar installation, whereas some users may automatically mark Search.sidecubes.com browser modification options as well. Check out the sample below for SideCubes installation wizard:

Therefore, if you are attentive enough duringSearch.sidecubes.com installation, you may avoid your browser settings being changed. However, there is also a high chance that Search.sidecubes.com gets distributed via third party websites, and in such a case the automatic browser settings modification might be set to default. If that happens, Search.sidecubes.com affects all main browsers, including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer.

What is more, with your browser settings affected, Search.sidecubes.com can connect to the Internet without permission and collect data about your web browsing habits. It is also known to slow down your Internet connection, and our research team reports that with Search.sidecubes.com installed browser may freeze for a few seconds or even minutes.

As far as the origins for this application are concerned, Search.sidecubes.com is known to be a variation of Snap.do Smartbar. Snap.do Smartbar is a well-known browser extension that is related to a number of potentially unwanted and even dangerous software applications. It means that with Search.sidecubes.com on your computer, sooner or later you might get exposed to potential threats as well.

Therefore, the sooner you remove Search.sidecubes.com the better. According to some reports, manual removal via Control Panel does not restore the browser settings to default, although in our case Search.sidecubes.com disappeared from Internet Explorer completely. In case Search.sidecubes.com is still set as your default homepage after manual application removal, please follow the instructions below to restore your browser settings via browser options.

After manual removal you ought to run a full system scan with a powerful antimalware tool as well, because you need to protect your PC from potential harm. For all its worth, there might be a potentially unwanted program installed on your PC already.

Manual SideCubes Removal

Windows 8

1. Move mouse cursor to the bottom right corner of the screen.
2. Click Settings on Charm bar and go to Control Panel.
3. Select Uninstall a program and remove SideCubes.

Windows Vista & Windows 7

1. Open Start menu and select Control Panel.
2. Go to Uninstall a program and remove SideCubes.

Windows XP

1. Click Start menu and navigate to Control Panel.
2. Select Add or remove programs and uninstall SideCubes.

Remove Search.sidecubes.com from browser

Internet Explorer

1. Press Alt+T and go to Internet options.
2. Click Use default under General tab and press OK.
3. Press Alt+T again and click Manage add-ons.
4. Select Search providers on the left pane.
5. Set a new default search engine and remove Search.sidecubes.com.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Click the search engine icon on the left of Firefox search box.
2. Select Manage search engines on drop-down menu.
3. Remove Search.sidecubes.com from the list and click OK.
4. Press Alt+T and go to Options.
5. Click Restore to Default button under General tab and press OK.

Google Chrome

1. Press Alt+F and go to Settings.
2. Select Open a specific page or set of pages under On Startup.
3. Click Set pages.
4. Change your homepage address and press OK.
5. Select Manage search engines under Search.
6. Set a new default search engine, delete Search.sidecubes.com and click Done.