Remove Bing Search redirect (Virus Removal Guide)

Bing Search is a decent search engine, however there are plenty of browser hijackers (“SearchModule”, “Search Protection”, “Bing.Vc” or “BingProtect”.) which redirect the users search queries to bing.com.
These browser hijacker will hijack your installed web browser homepage and search engines so that it will display the Bing Search home page and search engine instead of your normally configured ones. When installed this type of malware will modify your web browser configuration so that the home page becomes bing.com.
Bing Search Virus
The browser hijacker are commonly bundled with other free programs that you download off of the Internet. Unfortunately, some free downloads do not adequately disclose that other software will also be installed and you may find that you have installed Bing Search without your knowledge.
For example, when you install NowUSeeIt Player, you will also agree to change your browser homepage and default search engine to Bing Search.
However when you uninstall NowUSeeIt Player from your computer, your web browser’s default settings will not be restored. This means that you’ll have to remove Bing Search homepage from your favorite web browser manually.
You should always pay attention when installing software because often, a software installer includes optional installs, such as this Bing Search browser hijacker. Be very careful what you agree to install.
Always opt for the custom installation and deselect anything that is not familiar, especially optional software that you never wanted to download and install in the first place. It goes without saying that you should not install software that you don’t trust.

How to remove Bing Search redirect (Virus Removal Guide)

This page is a comprehensive guide, which will remove Bing Search browser hijacker from your computer and any other adware program that may have been installed during the setup process.
Please perform all the steps in the correct order. If you have any questions or doubt at any point, STOPand ask for our assistance.
STEP 1: Uninstall malicious program from Windows
STEP 2: Remove Bing Search redirect with AdwCleaner
STEP 3: Remove Bing Search browser hijackers with Junkware Removal Tool
STEP 4: Remove Bing Search redirect with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
STEP 5: Double-check for the Bing Search redirect with HitmanPro
(Optional) STEP 6: Clean up the various Windows shortcuts that have been hijacked by browser hijackers
(Optional) STEP 7: Remove Bing Search from Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge
If you are using an Apple Mac OS X operating system, please follow this Remove virus from Apple Mac OS X (Pop-up Ads and Adware) guide to remove Bing Search browser hijacker

STEP 1 : Uninstall malicious programs from Windows

In this first step, we will try to identify and remove any malicious program that might be installed on your computer.
  1. Go to the uninstall menu.
    1. To uninstall a program on Windows 10 or Windows 8, right-click on the Windows Start button and choose “Control Panel” from the pop-up menu.
      Control Panel in Windows 10
    2. When the “Control Panel” window opens click on the “Uninstall a program” option under “Programs” category.
      Uninstall A Program on Windows 10
  2. When the “Programs and Features” screen is displayed, scroll through the list of currently installed programs and uninstall any suspicious program from your computer.
    Known browser hijackers: “SearchModule”, “Search Protection”, “Bing.Vc” or “BingProtect”.
    The malicious program may have a different name on your computer. To view the most recently installed programs, you can click on the “Installed On” column to sort your program by the installation date. Scroll through the list, and uninstall any unwanted or unknown programs.
    If you are having issues while trying to uninstall the Istartpageing.com program, you can useRevo Uninstaller to completely remove this unwanted program from your machine.
    Uninstall malicious programs
    If you cannot find any unwanted or unknown programs on your machine, then you can proceed with the next step.

STEP 2: Remove Bing Search redirect with AdwCleaner

The AdwCleaner utility will scan your computer and web browser for the Bing Search malicious files, browser extensions and registry keys, that may have been installed on your computer without your knowledge.
  1. You can download AdwCleaner from the below link.
    ADWCLEANER DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download “AdwCleaner”)
  2. Before starting AdwCleaner, close your web browser, then double-click on the AdwCleaner icon.
    Start AdwCleaner
    Picture of User Account Control If Windows prompts you as to whether or not you wish to run AdwCleaner, please allow it to run.
  3. When the AdwCleaner program will open, click on the “Scan” button as shown below.
    AdwCleaner Scan button
    AdwCleaner will now start to search for adware and other malicious files that may be installed on your computer.
  4. To remove the malicious files that were detected in the previous step, please click on the “Cleaning” button.
    Remove adware with AdwCleaner
  5. AdwCleaner will prompt you to save any open files or documents, as the program will need to reboot the computer to complete the cleaning process. Please do so, and then click on the “OK” button.
    AdwCleaner removing adware
    When your computer reboots and you are logged in, AdwCleaner will automatically open a log file that contains the files, registry keys, and programs that were removed from your computer.

STEP 3: Remove Bing Search browser hijackers with Junkware Removal Tool

Junkware Removal Tool is a powerful utility from Malwarebytes which will remove browser hijackers from Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Firefox and Google Chrome.
  1. You can download Junkware Removal Tool from the below link:
    JUNKWARE REMOVAL TOOL DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will automatically download the Junkware Removal Tool utility on your computer)
  2. When Junkware Removal Tool has finished downloading, please double-click on the JRT icon as seen below.
    Run a scan with Junkware Removal Tool
    Picture of User Account Control If Windows prompts you as to whether or not you wish to run Junkware Removal Tool, please allow it to run.
  3. Junkware Removal Tool will now start (as seen in the below image), and at the Command Prompt, you’ll need to press any key to perform a system scan.
    Junkware Removal Tool start scan
    The program will now start to search for known adware, PUPs, and junkware programs that may be installed on your computer. This process may take upwards to 10 minutes while it creates a registry backup and checks your startups, installed modules, processes, services, files, folders, and the Windows Registry.
    Junkware Removal Tool scan
  4. When the Junkware Removal Tool cleaning process will be completed, this utility will display a log with the malicious files and registry keys that were removed from your computer.
    Junkware Removal Tool Report

STEP 4: Remove Bing Search redirect with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free uses industry-leading technology to detect and remove all traces of malware, including worms, Trojans, rootkits, rogues, dialers, spyware, and more.
It is important to note that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware works well and should run alongside antivirus software without conflicts.
  1. You can download download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware from the below link.
    MALWAREBYTES ANTI-MALWARE DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download “Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free”)
  2. Once downloaded, close all programs, then double-click on the icon on your desktop named “mbam-setup” to start the installation of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.
    Start Malwarebytes Anti-Malware setup
    Picture of User Account Control You may be presented with a User Account Control dialog asking you if you want to run this file. If this happens, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.
  3. When the installation begins, you will see the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Setup Wizard which will guide you through the installation process.
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Installer
    To install Malwarebytes Anti-Malware on your machine, keep following the prompts by clicking the “Next” button.
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware final screen
  4. Once installed, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will automatically start and you will see a message stating that you should update the program, and that a scan has never been run on your system. To start a system scan you can click on the “Scan Now” button.
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Scan Now
  5. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now start scanning your computer for malware. When Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is scanning it will look like the image below.
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Scanning for Malware
  6. When the scan has completed, you will be presented with a screen showing the malware infections that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware has detected. To remove the malicious programs that Malwarebytes Anti-malware has found, click on the “Rem
    ove Selected
    ” button.
    Remove the malware that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware has detected
    Please note that the infections found may be different than what is shown in the image.
  7. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now quarantine all the malicious files and registry keys that it has found. When removing the files, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware may require a reboot in order to remove some of them. If it displays a message stating that it needs to reboot your computer, please allow it to do so.
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware asking to restart PC
    After your computer will restart, you should open Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and perform another “Threat Scan” scan to verify that there are no remaining threats

STEP 5: Double-check for the Bing Search redirect infection with HitmanPro

HitmanPro is a second opinion scanner, designed to rescue your computer from malware (viruses, trojans, rootkits, etc.) that have infected your computer despite all the security measures you have taken (such as anti-virus software, firewalls, etc.). HitmanPro is designed to work alongside existing security programs without any conflicts. It scans the computer quickly (less than 5 minutes) and does not slow down the computer.
  1. You can download HitmanPro from the below link:
    HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download “HitmanPro”)
  2. Double-click on the file named “HitmanPro.exe” (for 32-bit versions of Windows) or “HitmanPro_x64.exe” (for 64-bit versions of Windows). When the program starts you will be presented with the start screen as shown below.
    HitmanPro Installer
    Click on the “Next” button, to install HitmanPro on your computer.
    itmanPro while installing on PC
  3. HitmanPro will now begin to scan your computer for malicious files.
    HitmanPro scanning
  4. When it has finished it will display a list of all the malware that the program found as shown in the image below. Click on the “Next” button, to remove malware.
    HitmanPro detected malware
  5. Click on the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial, and remove all the malicious files from your computer.
    Remove malware with HitmanPro

(Optional) STEP 6: Clean up the various Windows shortcuts that have been hijacked by browser hijackers

This infection has hijacked your browser shortcuts, so in this step we will need to manually clean them by removing the http://www.Bing Search/ argument.
  1. Search for your browser shortcut (Desktop, Taskbar or Start Menu Shortcut), then right click on it and select Properties.
    [Image: Firefox Shortcut properties]
    To view the Properties menu for the browser shortcuts pinned to your Task Bar, right-click on the browser shortcut from the Taskbar, then right-click again on the browser icon as see in the below image. Alternatively, you can just Unpin the browser shortcut from your task bar, then you can add it back after you have removed the “http://Bing Search/” argument from the original browser shortcut.
    [Image: taskbar shortcut hijacker]
  2. In the Shortcut tab, in the Target field, remove the http://www.Bing Search/ argument. Basically, there should be only the path to browser executable file. Nothing more.
    These are the default shortcut path that should be in your Target box, if the Bing Search argument is there, then you should remove it.
    Default Target valueC:Program FilesInternet Exploreriexplore.exe
    Trustedsurf.com Internet Explorer hijack

(Optional) STEP 7: Remove Bing Search from Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge

If you are still experiencing issues with the Bing Search browser hijacker in Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome, we will need to reset your browser to its default settings. This step needs to be performed only if your issues have not been solved by the previous steps.

You can reset Internet Explorer settings to return them to the state they were in when Internet Explorer was first installed on your PC.

  1. Open Internet Explorer, click on the “gear icon” IE Icon Gear in the upper right part of your browser, then click again on Internet Options.
    [Image: Internet Options in Internet Explorer]
  2. In the “Internet Options” dialog box, click on the “Advanced” tab, then click on the “Reset” button.
    [Image: Reset Internet Explorer]
  3. In the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” section, select the “Delete personal settings” check box, then click on “Reset” button.
    [Image: Reset Internet Explorer to its default settings]
  4. When Internet Explorer has completed its task, click on the “Close” button in the confirmation dialogue box. You w
    ill now  need to close your browser, and then you can open Internet Explorer again.
    [Image Reset Internet Explorer settings]
Your computer should now be free of the Bing Search browser hijacker.
If you are still experiencing problems while trying to remove Bing Search redirect from your machine, please do one of the following:

About Sujan Chakraborty

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