Super Adivces to Remove Search.protectedio.com - Remove Redirect Virus from Your PC

Search.protectedio.com Information

Search.protectedio.com is classified as a browser hijacker, which is used by hackers to generate website traffic and it can interfere with Internet user’s regular activity online. The redirect virus was designed to promote its website- Search.protectedio.com which disguises to be a legitimate website that provides search engine similar to that of Yahoo, Google or Bing. Most people will treat it as a legitimate site but the fact is that it is a browser threat which is used by malicious hackers so as to make money. Browser hijacker often modifies the pages of search result by putting its sponsored sites to the top and hiding the legitimate websites to the back. This stealthy redirect virus also spreads its components on the attachments or links in Email. In short, when the infected resources are clicked or opened, this threat will take chance to install on the targeted computer automatically without any consent.

Friendly Reminder：Please try a professional redirect virus removal tool to remove this redirect virus once you can't remove it through the manual removal guide below.

Once the Search.protectedio.com virus finishes its installation on the target computers, it begins to take actions to cause chaos in default system settings by replicating its codes and registries. First of all, the apparent symptoms will be displayed on browsers like Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. That is, the default settings as homepage or start page will be replaced by other unwanted sites which are based on malicious domains developed by Search.protectedio.com. The browser hijacker often reset the default homepage to its own site or its sponsored ones and it adds additional contents to your search results to confuse you from telling the legal sites from the illegal ones. After got infected with this browser hijacker virus, Internet users cannot visit their favorite sites and they are showed tons of unwanted advertisements.

Search.protectedio.com redirect virus is categorically a malicious computer threat that should be removed from the affected computer timely. If users don’t timely remove this threat, several unnecessary add-ons, plug-ins or toolbars may be added by the malware to people’s browsers, aiming to assist in monitoring and recording user’s browsing activities and cookies. How dangerous it is that this infection may record use’s browser history and cookies on the computer to help remote hackers steal money from victims. On the one hand, large consumption of system resources will be performed by this infection which may lead to system crash or blue screen. It’s fatal to computers if they are infected by this hijacker virus since it adds lots of dangerous material like adware, toolbar or advertisement applications to the web browsers. It’s no doubt that Search.protectedio.com is a dangerous threat to computer system and should be removed from the machine as early as possible.

Why Can This Virus Bypass Antivirus Program？

The browser hijacker is aggressive and should not be kept on the PC, or the infected computer may suffer from many unexpected problems. Many computer users prefer to erase the Search.protectedio.com hijack virus with their installed anti-malware programs. To get rid of this redirect completely we have to uninstall all applications that have relationship with it on the infected computer. The redirect virus possess changeable characteristics, so that security removal tools are not able to erase it easily. The changeable files name of this virus make it hard to be found, that is why most antivirus programs are not able to find it out. It is not recommended to handle the problem all by oneself especially when he knows little about computer systems.

Please note that manual removal is a tough job because the redirect virus can deeply hide itself inside the infected system, which make it difficult for internet users to find them out. You may fail to find it anywhere on your PC with naked eyes if those files are set to invisible. Otherwise, your browser will be still hijacked by the website even if you have removed some malicious files.

Guides to Manually Remove Search.protectedio.com——Remove Redirect Virus Step by Step

1. Stop running processes related to this redirect virus
a: When the Windows Task manager appears, switch to Processes tab.
b: Find out and select the processes related to the virus by name random.exe, and click on the “End process” button.
2. Remove the redirect virus from Internet Explorer:
a: Start IE, go to Tools and select Internet Options.
b: Find General section, remove the unwanted address as a home page.
c: Then go to Search section, find Settings button and choose Manage Add-ons
d: Erase the redirect and after the action, close Manage Add-ons
3. Remove the redirect virus from Mozilla Firefox:
a: Open Mozilla Firefox browser, click on tools and go to Options.
b: Switch to General tab, remove the unwanted address as a startup site.
c: Then, go to: Firefox -> Add-ons -> Add-ons Manager -> Remove.
d: In the Search list, select Manage Search Engines and erase this redirect and choose OK
4. Remove the redirect virus from Google Chrome:
a: Open Google Chrome and navigate to Settings tab and Set pages.
b: Erase Search.protectedio.com which was seta as the startup site and choose OK
c: Find Manage search engines and here, erase this redirect.
d: Press on OK, and restart Google Chrome.
5. Delete all registry files created by this redirect
a. While the Registry Editor is opened, search for the registry key “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\ Search.protectedio.com.” Right-click this registry key and select “Delete.”
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “[RANDOM].exe”
b. Navigate to directory %PROGRAM_FILES%\ Search.protectedio.com \ and delete the infected files manually.
%AppData%Local[random].exe
C:\Documents and Settings\LocalService\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\*.exe
C:\Documents and Settings\LocalService\Local Settings\*.*

Conclusion

It is necessary for internet users to remove Search.protectedio.com redirect virus from the affected computer in time. If you could not removed this redirect virus timely, it will not only cause chaos on browsers but also violate your privacy. When the browser is always redirected to Search.protectedio.com, most people’s first thought is to run their antivirus programs to have a scan, but the scan results may disappoint them. The browser hijacker is created with changeable features which enable it to hide deeply in the computer. In the case, we recommend users to conduct a manual removal to clear the redirect virus thoroughly.

However, manual removal requires to handle kernel system DLL files and registry files manually, so victim’s should have enough computer knowledge and skills to make sure a complete and safe removal. You can choose to ask for professional advice from PC experts and let them assist you to solve this trouble. In addition, it's intelligent for you to to use a professional malware removal tool to keep away from all the computer infections.