Protected Search

This page is a removal guide designed to help you remove Protected Search, viruses, malware, adware, and other threats from your browser and computer.

What is Protected Search?

The Protected Search extension is an add-on for Google Chrome and other popular web browsers that is self-described as a tool that provides you with “the best way to search the web;” however, this claim is entirely false since this extension is designed to obtain user information by intercepting what they search for online.

The purpose of the Protected Search browser extension is to intercept what you search for online. For example, when you search the web using the browser’s address bar you will first be redirected to protected-search.com (feed.protected-search.com) and then immediately redirected again to yahoo.com before you may even have a chance to notice. This is done in order to drop tracking files on your computer and gather information about what you’re searching for.

In addition, the Protected Search browser extension for Google Chrome is usually promoted by malicious advertising networks that will also bolster advertisements for viruses, malware, adware, spyware, and other malicious threats. This is a big problem because if you find the Protected Search extension installed on your browser it could mean that your computer is infected with malware

How to remove Protected Search (Virus Removal Guide)

The Protected Search browser extension can be manually removed through internet browser settings. However, removing the browser extension within the settings will not remove malware, adware, spyware, viruses, and other threats from an infected computer. To remove malware from an infected computer, we recommend scanning the computer with a reputable security program such as Malwarebytes Premium or Malwarebytes Free. Follow the free removal guide on this page to remove the Protected Search extension and use reputable antivirus software to remove malware from your computer.

How to remove the Protected Search extension

How to remove malware and viruses

How to remove tracking files and repair Windows registry

How to remove the Protected Search extension

Google Chrome

1. Open the menu and go to More tools > Extensions

2. Click the Remove button

Mozilla Firefox

1. Open the menu and go to Add-ons

2. Click the Remove button

How to remove malware and viruses

1. Download and install Malwarebytes.

2. Once Malwarebytes is installed, click the Scan Now button to begin scanning the computer.

3. When the scan is complete, click the Quarantine Selected button to remove all threats detected by Malwarebytes.

4. Reboot the computer.

5. Once the computer is rebooted, download and install HitmanPro or HitmanPro.Alert to perform a second-opinion scan and remove the remaining malware (if applicable). To download the executable file, fill out the information on their website (name and email address) and click submit.

6. Once HitmanPro is installed, click the Next button to begin scanning the computer.

7. When the scan is complete, click the Next button to remove all threats detected by HitmanPro.

How to remove tracking files and repair Windows registry

1. Download and install CCleaner Free or CCleaner Professional.

2. Once CCleaner is installed, go to the Easy Clean tab.

3. Click the Analyze button to find trackers and junk files that CCleaner can remove.

4. When the analysis is complete, click the Clean All button.

5. Next, go to the Registry tab and click the Scan for Issues button.

6. When the scan is complete, click the Fix selected Issues… button.

7. As a precaution, click Yes to back up the registry before making changes to it and save the Reg File (.reg) file to your computer.

8. Click the Fix All Selected Issues button and then click Close once all problems have been removed.