How to remove Searchgol

What is Searchgol?

Searchgol is a questionable website that allows users to look for information on Web. This might become your primary search engine following the intervention of browser hijacker. It’s responsible for the appearance of a lot of third-party ads and constant redirects to ad sites. During the work, it also collects, processes and sends your personal information to third-parties. We urge you remove Searchgol to ensure the safety of computer and your privacy.

How to remove Searchgol from your computer?

The best and easiest way to remove Searchgol from your computer is to use special anti-malware program that has this threat in its database. The program is fully automated, all you need to do is to download and install it. Once you’ve installed anti-malware application, it will scan your system and remove all the threats.

It scans your computer and detects various threats like Searchgol, then removes it with all of the related malicious files, folders and registry keys. After deep scanning of your system, it will easily find and delete Searchgol. Use this removal tool to get rid of Searchgol for FREE.
Download Norton

Norton 360 Antimalware – this program will help you to get rid of Searchgol. It can find malicious program that is corrupting your system and clean up junk files after removal.
Download MalwareBytes

CleanMyMac – fully removes all instances of Searchgol from Mac and Safari. After deep scanning of your system, it will easily find and delete Searchgol. Use this removal tool to get rid of Searchgol for FREE.
Download CleanMyMac

Combo Cleaner – can find malicious program that is corrupting your system and clean up junk files after removal.
Download CleanMyMac

How to remove Searchgol manually

Step 1: Remove Searchgol from Control Panel

In order to get rid of Searchgol, first thing you need to do is to uninstall malicious program from your computer. When removing Searchgol, try to find suspicious recently installed programs and delete them too, as it’s pretty common that any malware comes with some other unwanted programs.

Windows XP:

1. Select Start.
2. Control Panel.
3. Then choose Add or Remove Programs.
4. Search for Searchgol.
5. Click Uninstall.

Windows 7/Windows Vista:

1. Select Start.
2. Then Control Panel.
3. Choose Uninstall a Program.
4. Find Searchgol and choose Uninstall.

Windows 8/Windows 8.1:

1. Open the Menu.
2. Select Search.
3. After that choose Apps.
4. Next Control Panel.
5. Then as in Windows 7, click Uninstall a Program under Programs.
6. Find Searchgol, select it and choose Uninstall.

Windows 10:

1. Click on the Start button (or press the Windows key) to open the Start menu, then select Settings at the top.
2. Choose App & features on the left menu.
3. On the right side, find Searchgol and select it, then click on the Uninstall button.
4. Click on Uninstall to confirm.

Mac OSX:

1. Launch Finder
2. Select Applications in the Finder sidebar.
3. If you see Uninstall Searchgol or Searchgol Uninstaller, double-click it and follow instructions
4. Drag unwanted application from the Applications folder to the Trash (located on the right side of the Dock)

Note: If you can’t find required program, sort programs by date in Control panel and search for suspicious recently installed programs. If you still can’t locate any suspicious program or not sure what some application is for, we advise you to use SpyHunter free scanner in order to track down what malicious program is infecting your system.

Searchgol won’t uninstall

There are a lot of options in any Windows version for removing applications. Still, not all the programs can be completely deleted using these options. Adware, Badware and Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs) are too stubborn to be removed, more than that, there are created this way, created to be hard to get rid of them. That’s why sometimes you can’t uninstall them using standard Windows options. You’ll probably get this message: “You do not have sufficient access to uninstall Searchgol. Please, contact your system administrator.” In this case, it may be easier to use the automated removal tool or you may try to perform previous step in Safe Mode.

Step 2: Remove Searchgol from browsers

At first, you need to remove Searchgol from Windows Group Policy by performing following instructions:

1. Launch Command Prompt as Administrator
2. In Windows 10/8 or Windows 7 click Start and type: “cmd” in the search box.
   Right-click on the found result and select Run as Administrator.
3. Type:
   rd /S /Q “%WinDir%\System32\GroupPolicyUsers” in command prompt and press Enter button.
4. Type:
   rd /S /Q “%WinDir%\System32\GroupPolicy” and press Enter button
5. Type:
   gpupdate /force
   Press Enter button.

Once you’ve cleaned up Group Policies, remove Searchgol from your web browser. You need to search for recently-installed suspicious add-ons and extensions.

Google Chrome:

1. Open Google Chrome
2. Push Alt + F.
3. Choose Tools.
4. Select Extensions.
5. Search for Searchgol.
6. Select the trash can icon to remove it.

Safari:

1. Click Preferences from Safari menu
2. Select Extensions.
3. Find Searchgol or other extensions that look suspicious.
4. Click Uninstall button to remove it.

Mozilla Firefox:

1. Open Firefox.
2. Push Shift + Ctrl + A.
3. Select Searchgol.
4. Choose Disable or Remove option.

Internet Explorer:

1. Open IE.
2. Push Alt + T.
3. Choose Manage Add-ons option.
4. Click Toolbars and Extensions.
5. Next select Disable Searchgol.
6. Choose More information link in the left-bottom corner.
7. Click Remove button.
8. If this button is grayed out – perform alternative steps.

Step 3: Removing malicious link from your browser shortcuts

Sometimes even removing of malicious program from your computer and web browser can’t help. If you are still facing unknown webpage when you open your web browser, then you might have your browser shortcut changed. It’s pretty common trick that performs most of browser hijackers. They change your browser shortcut so that every time you open it you’ll see not your homepage, but some advertisement webpage. But this issue is quite simple to fix. The instruction stated below matches most of the browsers.

1. Right-click on your browser shortcut, choose Properties.
2. If you see a link to some website after .exe in the Target field, read on.
3. Usually you are not able to delete a link from Target field, that’s why you need to click on the Open File Location button in this window.
4. Once you’ve opened file location, select chrome.exe/firefox.exe/iexplore.exe.
5. Right-click on this file and choose Sent to option, then Desktop (create shortcut).
6. New shortcut will have no additional redirection links.
7. Delete old infected shortcut. If you got one in your taskbar, delete it from there too.
8. Now you have new and clear shortcut without redirection to unknown websites.

Step 4: Resetting your browser search and homepage settings

To be sure that there is nothing left behind, we recommend you to reset your browser. It will restore your browser settings to default.

Reset browser settings in Google Chrome:

1. Click the Chrome menu (3 bar button) in the top right corner.
2. Choose Settings.
3. Click Show advanced settings.
4. Go to Reset browser settings section.
5. Click Reset browser settings.
6. In the dialog that appears, click Reset.

Reset browser settings in Mozilla Firefox:

1. Open Mozilla Firefox.
2. Go to Help.
3. Go to Troubleshooting information.
4. Click Reset Firefox… button.

Reset browser settings in Internet Explorer:

1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. Click on the cogwheel in the right upper corner.
3. Click Internet options.
4. Got to Advanced tab.
5. Click Reset button.
6. Put a tick near Delete personal settings checkbox.
7. Click Reset button.

How to block malicious pop-ups in browsers

Adguard is a perfect application that will get rid your system of annoying ads, online tracking and will provide reliable protection from malware. The main advantage of Adguard is that you can easily block any types of ads whether legitimate they or not within your browser. Use it for FREE.

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