How to remove gosearch.me (Virus Removal Guide)

Gosearch.me (also searched for as gosearch.me virus) is a questionable website associated with potentially unwanted program (PUP), browser hijackers, and third-party websites such as zwiiky.com and dounty.com. These websites utilize unwanted programs and browser helper objects to hijack your existing internet browser settings such as the homepage and default search engine. In turn this will cause affected internet browsers to redirect to http://gosearch.me. An issue with gosearch.me is that they utilize a variety of techniques such as Group Policy files and programs that monitor when you make changes to your home page or search engine, which makes it very difficult to change these settings back without using specialized instructions or internet security software and tools.

If your internet browser is redirecting to gosearch.me it may be the least of your problems. The gosearch.me hijacker typically bundles with other unwanted programs, adware, and even malware. This means that you might experience other issues including a loss in computer functionality, computer crashes, third-party advertisements, and more. Third-party threats may also put your privacy at risk as many of them rely on accessing and collecting user browsing data including all the data on the websites you visit, stuff you search for online, browser bookmarks, and browser history.

Once potential gosearch.me malware or programs that promote the search engine are introduced to a computer internet users will fall victim to continuous browser redirects to Gosearch.me and other webpages when a new browser window or tab is opened. Internet browsers will also start-up on the webpage.

There are a variety of potentially unwanted programs used to cause browser redirects to Gosearch.me. This means it may be necessary to uninstall multiple programs and remove multiple browser add-ons and extensions. Programs used to promote the Gosearch.me website are also known to bundle with malware and malicious files. This is why it is recommended to scan your computer for malware that may be difficult to manually locate.

Gosearch.me is primarily contracted with freeware and dubious media files. The program can automatically download and change browser settings or be presented as a custom offer which users can accept or decline.

How to remove Gosearch.me

• Step 1: Uninstall potentially unwanted programs
• Step 2: Remove browser add-on and extensions
• Step 3: Remove Gosearch.me search engine
• Step 4: Remove Gosearch.me homepage
• Step 5: Scan your computer for malware
• Step 6: Clean up

Step 1: Uninstall potentially unwanted programs

1.Navigate to the Control Panel on Windows Start Menu.

2. Click Uninstall a program (or Add and remove a program).

3. A list of programs installed on your computer will appear. Search for suspicious and unwanted programs in the list of installed programs. Once a program you want to remove is located, double click to begin the uninstall process (or select the program and click Uninstall).

Step 2: Remove browser add-ons and extensions

Google Chrome

1. Click on the Customize icon (3 bar icon) next to the address bar and navigate to More tools > Extensions.

2. Search for the extension and remove it by clicking the trashcan icon next to it.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Type Ctrl+Shift+A.

2. On the Extensions and Plugin search for the add-on, select it, and remove it.

Step 3: Remove Gosearch.me search engine

• In Mozilla Firefox, click the small search magnify glass near the search box (not url/search field) and click “Manage Search Engines…”. Remove Gosearch.me search engine from the list of search providers by highlighting the selections and clicking remove.

• In Microsoft Internet Explorer navigate to Tools > Manage Add Ons > Search Providers and remove Gosearch.me search engine from the list.

• In Google Chrome, click the customize icon (wrench or 3 bars) and navigate to Settings > Manage search engines… click the X next to Gosearch.me  search engine to remove it.

Step 4: Remove Gosearch.me homepage

• In Mozilla Firefox navigate to Tools > Options or click Firefox in the top left corner and click Options > Options. Under the General tab remove Gosearch.me from the “Home Page:” field and replace it with your preferred home page URL.

• In Microsoft Internet Explorer navigate to Tools >Internet Options. Remove Gosearch.me from the Home Page field and replace it with your preferred URL.

• In Google Chrome click the customize icon (wrench or 3 bars) and navigate to Settings.Click “Set pages” under the On startup option. Remove Gosearch.me and replace it with your preferred homepage URL.

Step 5: Scan your computer for malware

1. Download and Install the free or full version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. The full version enables real-time protection to block malware and unwanted programs from infecting your computer, while the free version is just a free scan and removal tool.

2. Once Malwarebytes is installed, open the Anti-Malware program and click the Scan Now button or visit the “Scan” tab to manually run a scan. Malwarebytes may automatically begin to update and scan your computer at this point.

3. When the malware scan is complete, click the Quarantine All button to isolate and remove the detected files. You may be asked to reboot your computer to completely remove detected files.

Step 6: Clean up and repair settings

1. Download and Install the free or full version of CCleaner by Piriform.

2. Open CCleaner after it is installed and navigate to Cleaner > Windows/Applications and click the Analyze button. Afterwards, click the Run Cleaner button.

3. Next, navigate to Tools > Startup and search for suspicious entries through each tab starting from Windows, Internet Explorer, etc., all the way to Context Menu and click Disable and Delete once anything you do not recognize is found. This will help you locate and remove unwanted browser attachments and repair other settings.