The Search.searchpcst2.com is a new PUP (potentially unwanted program) from the big family of browser hijackers. It affects web-browsers and changes its settings such as new tab, search provider by default and home page. It is currently very active spreading on the Net. Many users have problems with cleaning a computer from Search.searchpcst2.com and restoring the Internet Explorer, Chrome, Edge and Mozilla Firefox settings.
http://search.searchpcst2.com/
Being affected with Search.searchpcst2.com hijacker you will be forced to use its own search provider. It could seem not to be dangerous, but you still should be very careful, since it may show unwanted and malicious advertisements developed to force you into buying some questionable apps or products, provide search results which may reroute your web browser to some deceptive, misleading or harmful pages. We suggest that you use only the reliable search engine like Google, Yahoo or Bing.
The Search.searchpcst2.com browser hijacker has the ability to gather privacy data. This user data, in the future, can be transferred third party companies. What creates the risk of theft of confidential information about you.
Although, Search.searchpcst2.com hijacker is not a virus, but it does bad things, and it modifies some settings of installed web-browsers. Moreover, an ‘ad-supported’ software (also known as adware) can be additionally installed on to your computer with this hijacker, that will show a lot of ads, or even massive full page advertisements that blocks surfing the Internet. Often such these advertisements may recommend to install other unknown and undesired apps or visit malicious web-sites.
We strongly suggest that you perform the few simple steps below which will assist you to delete Search.searchpcst2.com homepage using the standard features of Windows and some proven free software.
Remove Search.searchpcst2.com (removal guide)
We suggest opting for automatic Search.searchpcst2.com removal in order to remove all browser hijacker related entries easily. This method requires scanning the machine with reputable antimalware, e.g. Zemana Anti-Malware, MalwareBytes AntiMalware or Hitman Pro. However, if you prefer manual removal steps, you can follow the guide below in this blog post. Read it once, after doing so, please print this page as you may need to exit your web-browser or restart your computer.
To remove Search.searchpcst2.com, execute the steps below:
- Manual Search.searchpcst2.com removal
- How to remove Search.searchpcst2.com homepage with free applications
- Stop Search.searchpcst2.com redirect and other unwanted web-pages
- Method of Search.searchpcst2.com hijacker infection intrusion into your personal computer
- To sum up
Manual Search.searchpcst2.com removal
The following instructions is a step-by-step guide, which will help you manually delete Search.searchpcst2.com from the Microsoft Internet Explorer, MS Edge, Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.
Removing the Search.searchpcst2.com, check the list of installed programs first
We advise that you begin the computer cleaning procedure by checking the list of installed applications and delete all unknown or questionable applications. This is a very important step, as mentioned above, very often the harmful applications such as ‘ad supported’ software and browser hijackers may be bundled with free applications. Uninstall the unwanted programs can get rid of the intrusive advertisements or web-browser redirect.
- If you are using Windows 8, 8.1 or 10 then click Windows button, next click Search. Type “Control panel”and press Enter.
- If you are using Windows XP, Vista, 7, then press “Start” button and click “Control Panel”.
- It will display the Windows Control Panel.
- Further, click “Uninstall a program” under Programs category.
- It will open a list of all software installed on the PC.
- Scroll through the all list, and delete questionable and unknown apps. To quickly find the latest installed software, we recommend sort programs by date.
See more details in the video guide below.
Remove Search.searchpcst2.com from Mozilla Firefox by resetting web browser settings
If the Firefox web browser default search engine, new tab and startpage are changed to Search.searchpcst2.com and you want to restore the settings back to their original settings, then you should follow the instructions below. When using the reset feature, your personal information like passwords, bookmarks, browsing history and web form auto-fill data will be saved.
Run the Firefox and click the menu button (it looks like three stacked lines) at the top right of the browser screen. Next, click the question-mark icon at the bottom of the drop-down menu. It will open the slide-out menu.
Select the “Troubleshooting information”. If you are unable to access the Help menu, then type “about:support” in your address bar and press Enter. It bring up the “Troubleshooting Information” page as displayed on the image below.
Click the “Refresh Firefox” button at the top right of the Troubleshooting Information page. Select “Refresh Firefox” in the confirmation dialog box. The Firefox will start a task to fix your problems that caused by the hijacker that developed to redirect your browser to the Search.searchpcst2.com site. After, it’s done, click the “Finish” button.
Remove Search.searchpcst2.com redirect from Google Chrome
Run the Reset web-browser tool of the Google Chrome to reset all its settings like new tab, search engine by default and start page to original defaults. This is a very useful utility to use, in the case of web browser hijacks like Search.searchpcst2.com.
- First start the Google Chrome and press Menu button (small button in the form of three dots).
- It will display the Chrome main menu. Select More Tools, then click Extensions.
- You’ll see the list of installed plugins. If the list has the extension labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following tutorial: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
- Now open the Google Chrome menu once again, click the “Settings” menu.
- You will see the Chrome’s settings page. Scroll down and click “Advanced” link.
- Scroll down again and click the “Reset” button.
- The Chrome will open the reset profile settings page as shown on the image above.
- Next click the “Reset” button.
- Once this task is done, your web browser’s search engine, homepage and newtab page will be restored to their original defaults.
- To learn more, read the post How to reset Chrome settings to default.
Remove Search.searchpcst2.com search from IE
First, open the Internet Explorer, click 
) button. Next, press “Internet Options” as displayed in the figure below.
In the “Internet Options” screen select the Advanced tab. Next, click Reset button. The Microsoft Internet Explorer will open the Reset Internet Explorer settings dialog box. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box and press Reset button.
You will now need to restart your machine for the changes to take effect. It will delete browser hijacker which alters internet browser settings to replace your startpage, newtab and default search provider with Search.searchpcst2.com page, disable malicious and ad-supported web-browser’s extensions and restore the Internet Explorer’s settings like new tab, search engine by default and home page to default state.
How to remove Search.searchpcst2.com homepage with free applications
If your system is still infected with the Search.searchpcst2.com hijacker infection, then the best solution of detection and removal is to run an anti-malware scan on the computer. Download free malicious software removal tools below and run a full system scan. It will allow you delete all components of the browser hijacker infection from hardisk and Windows registry.
How to automatically get rid of Search.searchpcst2.com with Zemana Free
We suggest using the Zemana Free that are completely clean your computer of the hijacker. The utility is an advanced malicious software removal application created by (c) Zemana lab. It’s able to help you get rid of PUPs, hijackers, ad supported software, malware, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your PC system for free.
Visit the following page to download the latest version of Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) for Microsoft Windows. Save it on your MS Windows desktop.
164840 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
After the downloading process is done, close all applications and windows on your PC system. Double-click the set up file named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as displayed on the screen below, click the “Yes” button.
It will open the “Setup wizard” that will help you install Zemana Free on your personal computer. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
Once setup is finished successfully, Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) will automatically start and you can see its main screen as on the image below.
Now click the “Scan” button . Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) tool will begin scanning the whole computer to find out hijacker infection responsible for Search.searchpcst2.com home page. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your computer. When a threat is found, the count of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the scanning is done.
As the scanning ends, Zemana will show a list of all threats found by the scan. Once you’ve selected what you wish to get rid of from your computer click “Next” button. The Zemana Free will remove Search.searchpcst2.com hijacker and other browser’s malicious extensions and add items to the Quarantine. When the clean up is finished, you may be prompted to reboot the system.
Use HitmanPro to delete Search.searchpcst2.com home page
The Hitman Pro utility is free and easy to use. It can scan and remove hijacker infection that reroutes your web-browser to annoying Search.searchpcst2.com website, malicious software, potentially unwanted programs and adware from computer (MS Windows 10, 8, 7, XP) and thereby return browsers default settings (start page, new tab page and search provider). Hitman Pro is powerful enough to look for and delete malicious registry entries and files that are hidden on the PC system.
Visit the page linked below to download the latest version of HitmanPro for Windows. Save it directly to your Microsoft Windows Desktop.
When the downloading process is done, open the file location and double-click the HitmanPro icon. It will start the HitmanPro utility. If the User Account Control dialog box will ask you want to run the application, press Yes button to continue.
Next, click “Next” to perform a system scan for the hijacker that cause Search.searchpcst2.com page to appear. This procedure can take quite a while, so please be patient. During the scan Hitman Pro will scan for threats exist on your machine.
As the scanning ends, you will be displayed the list of all found items on your computer as displayed on the image below.
Once you’ve selected what you want to get rid of from your personal computer press “Next” button. It will display a prompt, press the “Activate free license” button. The HitmanPro will delete browser hijacker infection which cause a redirect to Search.searchpcst2.com page and add items to the Quarantine. When that process is finished, the tool may ask you to reboot your personal computer.
How to remove Search.searchpcst2.com with Malwarebytes
You can delete Search.searchpcst2.com home page automatically with a help of Malwarebytes Free. We recommend this free malware removal tool because it can easily remove browser hijackers, adware, PUPs and toolbars with all their components such as files, folders and registry entries.
MalwareBytes Anti-Malware can be downloaded from the following link. Save it to your Desktop.
327098 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
When downloading is finished, close all software and windows on your computer. Double-click the setup file called mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up as shown in the following example, click the “Yes” button.
It will open the “Setup wizard” which will help you set up MalwareBytes on your computer. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
Once installation is finished successfully, press Finish button. MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) will automatically start and you can see its main screen as displayed on the image below.
Now press the “Scan Now” button to perform a system scan with this tool for the browser hijacker responsible for redirecting user searches to Search.searchpcst2.com. This process can take quite a while, so please be patient. While the MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) is checking, you can see count of objects it has identified either as being malware.
When finished, MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) will create a list of unwanted and adware. Review the results once the tool has finished the system scan. If you think an entry should not be quarantined, then uncheck it. Otherwise, simply click “Quarantine Selected” button. The MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) will start to get rid of browser hijacker responsible for changing your web browser settings to Search.searchpcst2.com. When the cleaning process is done, you may be prompted to reboot the PC.
We advise you look at the following video, which completely explains the process of using the MalwareBytes Free to remove ad-supported software, hijacker infection and other malware.
Stop Search.searchpcst2.com redirect and other unwanted web-pages
It’s important to run ad-blocking programs such as AdGuard to protect your PC from harmful web-sites. Most security experts says that it’s okay to block advertisements. You should do so just to stay safe! And, of course, the AdGuard can to block Search.searchpcst2.com and other annoying sites.
Installing the AdGuard is simple. First you will need to download AdGuard by clicking on the link below. Save it on your Desktop.
26853 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
When the download is finished, double-click the downloaded file to start it. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen as shown below.
Follow the prompts. AdGuard will then be installed and an icon will be placed on your desktop. A window will show up asking you to confirm that you want to see a quick guide as shown in the following example.
Click “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick guidance which will help you get to know AdGuard better.
Each time, when you start your computer, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop pop up advertisements, Search.searchpcst2.com redirect, as well as other malicious or misleading web-sites. For an overview of all the features of the application, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the AdGuard icon, that can be found on your desktop.
Method of Search.searchpcst2.com hijacker infection intrusion into your personal computer
Many of the freeware out there install undesired web browser toolbars, adware and PUPs like the hijacker infection that redirects your web browser to unwanted Search.searchpcst2.com web site along with them without your knowledge. One has to be attentive while installing free programs in order to avoid accidentally installing bundled programs. It’s important that you pay attention to the EULA (End User License Agreements) and choose the Custom, Manual or Advanced installation option as it will typically disclose what bundled programs will also be installed.
To sum up
Now your machine should be clean of the browser hijacker responsible for Search.searchpcst2.com homepage. We suggest that you keep Zemana Anti-Malware (to periodically scan your computer for new hijackers and other malware) and AdGuard (to help you block annoying advertisements and malicious web-pages). Moreover, to prevent any browser hijacker infection, please stay clear of unknown and third party apps, make sure that your antivirus program, turn on the option to find out PUPs.
If you need more help with Search.searchpcst2.com redirect related issues, go to our Spyware/Malware removal forum.
