Since 2 days ago I got something called 'Safe Search' and can't find it among add-ons or anywhere to remove it. How can I do so?
There are also ads popping up, and when I start up firefox my homepage is 'safe search' instead of what I have it set to.
All Replies (7)
Hi, safe search is found in the System settings.
- https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/3429619?hl=en
This should help :)
Hi, if you need further help please try working through Remove SafeSearch toolbar by Malware Tips.
Note that not all removal programs will detect all malware, so you may need to run several or all of them.
After removal you may need to reset your home page and search, which you can do by running the add-on SearchReset.
If your question is resolved by this or another answer, please take a minute to let us know. Thank you.
Hi, it isn't a toolbar, but I found for an instant when I load Firefox, in the search bar this shows up:
file:///C:/ProgramData/Airtostrongs/snp.sc
I have gone ahead and in Windows safe mode deleted the Program Data files of this, but it still boots up with this on the Search bar. Will your solution above still apply to this?
EDIT: Since deleting the airtostrong files, the ads aren't showing up anymore, but the startup issue reamins, and wasn't solved using yout method described above.
Modified
Hi, if your homepage still cannot be reset using the above linked tool, it seems that some part of the malware is still present, so try running the removal tools as above - I would start with AdwCleaner. Also don't forget to check your browser shortcut as in Step 2.
Ok, So I did all of those things, as well as found some new information. In my program files i found two files named Airtostrong and Airtostrongs.
One of those refuses to be deleted. None of the malware cleaners find this ad an malware.
The second thing is, if I open firefox through my pinned icon on windows, it wants to open this file in directory: file:///C:/ProgramData/Airtostrongs/snp.sc
But if I open firefox through my .exe file in my program files, then it open my home page as it is supposed to.
I deleted all my firefox shortcuts, but as soon as I pin it and open it through as my windows pinned program, it wants to open that file again. Also, I deleted all the Airtostrong files once in Safe mode, but they came back.
Hi, you may need to run several malware removal programs.
You can also try Revo Uninstaller.
Hi, I managed to uninstall the files, thanks to AdwCleaner and a combination of running services.msc
The issue I was having was supposed to have been solved like this http://www.virusresearch.org/remove-airtostrong-exe-virus/
In the end I have removed this stuff and all the Ads that were showing up are not anymore, I wonder if the adware will come back.
The thing that I can't solve even after putting half of my day to it is the opening firefox from the taskbar, so I will keep this question unresolved (for now).
Thanks for all the help.