Searchiksa.com Removal Guide

Searchiksa.com is a search tool that might use Google Custom Search engine to display unreliable third-party advertising. Plus, it can also hijack your browser by changing your preferred homepage. As a consequence, the application falls under the category of browser hijackers. Besides the unwanted changes of mentioned settings, the program could also provide users with modified search results. The main downside of these ads is that they may redirect the user to unfamiliar web pages and some of the websites might be created for malicious intentions. For instance, one of the third-party sites could distribute malware or potentially harmful applications like Searchiksa.com. If you want to avoid such content and keep the system protected it would be advisable to remove the browser hijacker. It can be deleted manually if you use the instructions placed below.

As most of other similar hijackers, Searchiksa.com might settle on the browser while visiting suspicious web pages. Our specialists found out that the threat may be distributed with the help of malicious pop-ups. They might advertise the search engine or other software that the program could be bundled with. After clicking such ads, the user could be redirected to web pages that provide installers with the browser hijacker. Such ads should not be ignored as they might signal about adware or potentially unwanted programs on the computer. Therefore, with the appearance of this application, it might be the time to install a trustworthy antimalware tool and do a full system scan.

Searchiksa.com does not actually install itself on the system as it affects the browser by modifying some of its data. Apparently, it can affect Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Internet Explorer. At the time the application was tested, our specialists noticed that it could change only default homepage. Thus, the browser should load Searchiksa.com every time you launch it.

Even without knowing that the search engine is a browser hijacker, it should seem rather suspicious. Mainly, because it does not provide the Privacy Policy and End User License Agreement documents. Their statements are important for each user as they help to understand what information the site could gather, use, or share with other interested parties. Without these documents, you cannot know if the application will not collect or share your private data. Another thing that raises the suspicion is the third-party ads. Since this is a custom Google Search engine, the software should have the means to alter the results. Therefore, the ads might appear in the modified results. The worst part is that some of them could redirect you to sites with malicious programs, e.g. Trojans, viruses, worms, etc.

Given that the application might be risky to use, we would advise you to get rid of it as soon as possible. If you do not know how to deal with this browser hijacker, we can suggest a couple of ways to erase it. Firstly, there is a way to eliminate it manually, and you can do it yourself by following the instructions below. Secondly, the threat can be detected with a reliable antimalware tool. Users just have to install it on the computer and perform a system scan. In fact, the second option is more recommended in this situation as the tool could help you erase other possible threats too.

Remove Searchiksa.com

Internet Explorer

1. Launch the RUN while pressing Win+R.
2. Type Regedit, and click OK to open the Windows Registry.
3. Locate the following directory HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
4. Find a value name that is titled as Start Page, right-click it and choose Modify.
5. Replace current value data with a web page you like and select OK.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Open the Explorer and navigate to this location C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{Unique Mozilla user ID}
2. Look for a file called prefs.js.
3. Open it with Notepad, then find and delete this particular line user_pref(“browser.startup.homepage”, “http://searchiksa.com”).
4. Save and close the document.

Google Chrome

1. Access the Explorer and search for the following location C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default
2. Find files called Preferences, Secure Preferences, and Web Data.
3. Right-click each of the listed files separately and select Delete.