How to Remove Search Awesome Ads

What Is Search Awesome?

How to stop ads by SearchAwesome

SearchAwesome is a piece of software that is distributed primarily by bundling with free software that can be downloaded off the Internet: games, browsers, screensavers, etc. SearchAwesome is promoted as a useful program that allows users to see their social media friends’ likes, recommendations and comments related to searches these users make on Google, Bing, Youtube and many other popular sites. However, SearchAwesome also adds ads to users’ search results and inserts ad banners into web-pages users visit. You may follow this step-by-step removal guide to uninstall SearchAwesome software and get rid of ads by SearchAwesome.

How to Remove Search Awesome

The easiest method to stop SearchAwesome ads is to run an anti-malware program capable of detecting adware in general and SearchAwesome in particular. SpyHunter is a powerful anti-malware solution that protects you against malware, spyware, ransomware and other types of Internet threats. SpyHunter is available for Windows and macOS devices.

Download SpyHunter

Other software that may be able to get rid of SearchAwesome:

Norton (Windows, macOS, iOS, Android) The link may not work correctly if your country is currently under sanctions.

Malwarebytes (Windows)

You can also try to remove SearchAwesome by hand using the following instructions.

Remove Search Awesome From Programs and Features:

Go to Programs and Features, uninstall SearchAwesome, SrcAAAesom Browser Enhancer if you can find them there. Uninstall also any suspicious programs, programs you don’t remember installing, or programs you installed just before SearchAwesome appeared on your computer. When you are not sure if a program is safe, look for the answer on the Internet.

Windows XP:

  1. Click Start.
  2. In the Start menu select Settings => Control Panel.
  3. Find and click Add or Remove Programs.
  4. Look for Search Awesome in the list. If you find the app, highlight it.
  5. Click Remove.

Windows Vista:

  1. Click Start.
  2. In the Start menu select Control Panel.
  3. Find and click Uninstall a program.
  4. Look for Search Awesome in the list. If you find the app, highlight it.
  5. Click Uninstall.

Windows 7:

  1. Click Start.
  2. In the Start menu select Control Panel.
  3. Find and select Programs and Features or Uninstall a program.
  4. Look for Search Awesome in the list. If you find the app, highlight it.
  5. Click Uninstall.

Windows 8 / Windows 8.1:

  1. Press and hold Windows key Windows key and hit X key.
  2. Select Programs and Features from the menu.
  3. Look for Search Awesome in the list. If you find the app, highlight it.
  4. Click Uninstall.

Windows 10:

  1. Press and hold Windows key Windows key and hit X key.
  2. Select Programs and Features from the menu.
  3. Look for Search Awesome in the list. If you find the app, highlight it.
  4. Click Uninstall.

Remove Search Awesome From Browsers:

To get rid of SearchAwesome, remove SearchAwesome, SrcAAAesom Browser Enhancer and any other suspicious extensions from browsers. If the problem persists, reset browser settings.

Remove Search Awesome extension from Google Chrome:

  1. Click on three dots menu button three dots menu.
  2. Select More toolsExtensions.
  3. To remove an extension, click on a trashcan to the right of it.
  4. Click Remove in the dialog box.
  5. Note: If you cannot access the Extensions page, click on the top left corner of Chrome window and open Task Manager. End processes for any unfamiliar extensions that are running. Then go to the Extensions page and delete these extensions.
    Alternatively, go to %LocalAppData%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions (just copy that path and paste into the address bar of Windows Explorer/File Explorer). Delete all folders within (that will remove all your installed extensions) or search the Internet for the folders’ names to figure out which extension compares to which folder and delete suspicious ones.

Reset Google Chrome Settings:

Note: This will disable your extensions and themes, clear cookies and site data, as well as change content settings, start page, new tab page and search engine to default.

  1. Open a new tab.
  2. Copy and paste into the address bar: chrome://settings/resetProfileSettings
  3. Press Enter.
  4. In the dialog box click Reset.

Remove Search Awesome extension from Mozilla Firefox:

  1. Click on menu button Menu button and select Add-ons.
  2. Go to Extensions tab.
  3. To uninstall an add-on, click on Remove button next to it.
    Note: If the extension is impossible to delete, click on Menu button => Help button => Restart with Add-ons Disabled…. In the dialog boxes click Restart => Start in Safe Mode. Restart Firefox in normal mode after you are finished.
Reset Mozilla Firefox Settings:

Note: Your add-ons, themes, added search engines and download history, among other things, will get deleted.

  1. Click on menu button Menu button.
  2. Click on help button Help button and select Troubleshooting Information.
  3. Click Refresh Firefox… in the top-right corner.
  4. In the dialog box click Refresh Firefox.

Remove Search Awesome add-on from Internet Explorer:

  1. Click Tools button Tools button in the top-right corner.
  2. Select Manage add-ons.
  3. In the drop-down menu under Show: select All add-ons.
  4. To delete an add-on, double-click it, in the new window click Remove.
Reset Internet Explorer Settings:

Note: This will remove most of your saved browser data, including extensions, passwords and the majority of browser settings.

  1. Click Tools button Tools button in the top-right corner.
  2. Select Internet options.
  3. Go to Advanced tab.
  4. Click Reset… button.
  5. Put checkmark in Delete personal settings checkbox.
  6. Click Reset.

Remove Search Awesome extension from Opera:

  1. Press Ctrl +Shift + E keys to open extensions manager.
  2. To remove the extension, click on the x button next to it.
  3. Click OK when asked to confirm.
Reset Opera Settings:

Note: This will delete all saved data including bookmarks and passwords and return the browser to freshly installed state.

  1. Exit Opera browser.
  2. Open File Explorer.
  3. Go to C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Opera\Opera, where username is the name of your Windows account.
  4. Find and delete Operapref.ini file.

Check Proxy Settings:

Google Chrome

  1. Click on menu button Menu button in the top-right corner.
  2. Click Settings.
  3. Scroll to the bottom and click Advanced.
  4. Scroll to the bottom. Under System section click Open proxy settings.
  5. Under Local area network (LAN) settings section click LAN settings.
  6. Remove the checkmark from Use a proxy server for your LAN checkbox.
  7. Click OK.

Mozilla Firefox

  1. Click on menu button Menu button in the top-right corner.
  2. Click Options.
  3. Select Advanced tab.
  4. Go to Network sub-tab.
  5. Under Connections section click Settings.
  6. Select No proxy.
  7. Click OK.

Internet Explorer

  1. Click on Tools button Tools button in the top-right corner.
  2. Select Internet options.
  3. Go to Connections tab.
  4. Under Local area network (LAN) settings section click LAN settings.
  5. Remove the checkmark from Use a proxy server for your LAN checkbox.
  6. Click OK.

Opera

  1. Click on the top-left corner.
  2. Select Settings => Preferences.
  3. Go to Advanced tab.
  4. Click Proxy Servers….
  5. Select Use automatic proxy configuration.
  6. Click OK.

How to Protect Your PC From Search Awesome and Other Adware:

  • Get a powerful anti-malware software, capable of detecting and eliminating PUPs. Having several on-demand scanners would be a good idea too.
  • Keep Windows firewall enabled or get a third-party one.
  • Keep your OS, browsers and security utilities updated. Malware creators find new browser and OS vulnerabilities to exploit all the time. Software writers, in turn, release patches and updates to get rid of the known vulnerabilities and lesser the chance of malware penetration. Antivirus program’s signature databases get updated every day and even more often to include new virus signatures.
  • Adjust your browsers’ settings to block pop-ups and to load plug-ins only when clicked.
  • Download and use Adblock, Adblock Plus, uBlock or one of the similar trustworthy extensions for blocking third-party advertisements on web-sites.
  • Don’t just click on any link you see while browsing the web. That applies particularly to links in comments, on forums, or in instant messengers. Pretty often these are spam links. Sometimes they are used for increasing the traffic to websites, but often enough they will land you on pages that will try to execute a malicious code and infect your computer. Links from your friends are suspect too: the person who shares a cute video might not know that the page contains threatening script.
  • Don’t download software from unverified web-sites. You can easily download a trojan (malware that pretends to be a useful application); or some unwanted programs could get installed along with the app.
  • When installing freeware or shareware, be sensible and don’t rush through the process. Choose Custom or Advanced installation mode, look for checkboxes that ask for your permission to install third-party apps and uncheck them, read End User License Agreement to make sure nothing else is going to get installed. You can make exceptions for the apps you know and trust, of course. If declining from installing unwanted programs is not possible, we advise you to cancel the installation completely.

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