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How do I GET RID OF searchitknow? I HATE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • 3 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 24 views
  • Last reply by RieRie123

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I thought I had a default search engine (GOOGLE) but every time I log out and return searchitknow is back!

I thought I had a default search engine (GOOGLE) but every time I log out and return searchitknow is back!

All Replies (3)

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Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions (Firefox menu button/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem.

  • Switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox menu button/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance
  • Do NOT click the Reset button on the Safe Mode start window

You can use the SearchReset extension to reset some preferences to the default values.

Note that the SearchReset extension only runs once and then uninstalls automatically, so it won't show on the "Firefox > Add-ons" page (about:addons).


Do a malware check with several malware scanning programs on the Windows computer.

Please scan with all programs because each program detects different malware. All these programs have free versions.

Make sure that you update each program to get the latest version of their databases before doing a scan.

You can also do a check for a rootkit infection with TDSSKiller.

See also:

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I think I see part of the problem in the data you shared (next to your post, Question Details, More System Details):

SearchMoreKnow extension

Could you start by cleaning out suspicious programs and add-ons? Here's my suggested procedure for tracking down and cleaning up bad add-ons, hijackers, and ad injectors. I know it seems long, but it's not that bad.

(1) Open the Windows Control Panel, Uninstall a Program. After the list loads, click the "Installed on" column heading to group the infections, I mean, additions, by date. This can help in smoking out undisclosed bundle items that snuck in with some software you agreed to install. Take out as much trash as possible here.

(2) Open Firefox's Add-ons page using either:

  • Ctrl+Shift+a
  • "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons
  • in the Windows "Run" dialog, type or paste
    firefox.exe "about:addons"

In the left column, click Plugins. Set nonessential and unrecognized plugins to "Never Activate".

In the left column, click Extensions. Then, if in doubt, disable (or Remove, if possible) unrecognized and unwanted extensions. Bear in mind that none of these came with Firefox, they are all optional.

Often a link will appear above at least one disabled extension to restart Firefox. You can complete your work on the tab and click one of the links as the last step.

Any improvement?

(3) Fixing Settings

(A) Start page - you can use the Options page to restore your preferred home page if necessary. See: Startup, home page, tabs, and download settings.

(B) Search engine - if the search bar, address bar, and other built-in bars use the wrong search engine, please see this article: Change your default search settings in Firefox.

(C) Other?? Let us know if anything else needs fixed.

(4) To check for other issues, you can supplement your regular security software with the scanning/cleaning tools listed in our support article: Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware. These on-demand scanners are free and take considerable time to run. If they finish quickly and especially if they require payment, you may have a serious infection. I suggest the specialized forums listed in the article in that case.

Success?


Occasionally malware will modify your desktop/taskbar shortcuts to drive the browser to a particular URL. This bypasses your regular home page, so even if the Home button works in Firefox, and even if a new window (Ctrl+n) shows your home page, the shortcut continues to drive you to the unwanted page.

To check for that:

  • Desktop shortcut: right-click the icon, choose Properties
  • Pinned taskbar icon: right-click the icon, right-click Mozilla Firefox, choose Properties

Windows normally will select the Shortcut tab. If not, go ahead and click the Shortcut tab.

The Target line should not have anything after this part:

  • 64-bit Windows, standard 32-bit Firefox: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe"
  • 64-bit Windows, test 64-bit Firefox: "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe"
  • 32-bit Windows: "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe"

If any URLs are listed after that, clear them out and save your change. To test, you can either:

  • Desktop shortcut: double-click the icon to launch a new window
  • Pinned taskbar icon: right-click the icon, click Mozilla Firefox to launch a new window

If you only get your home page, it worked. You probably need to do the same for your other browsers.

If problems still continue: I'll have more suggestions, but those are the typical things.

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Thank you! I'll give that a try.

Modified by RieRie123