Discretesearch.com Redirect

What is discretesearch.com?

discretesearch.com is a fake Internet search engine claiming to enhance the Internet browsing experience by generating improved search results.

These claims often trick users into believing that discretesearch.com is legitimate, however, developers promote this website via deceptive software download/installation set-ups that hijack web browsers and stealthily modify various options. Furthermore, this faker search engine tracks users' Internet browsing activity by gathering various user/system information.

Set-ups target Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox. After assigning the new tab URL, homepage, and default search engine options to discretesearch.com, set-ups install a number of "helper objects" (third party applications and/or browser plug-ins) to automatically reassign options when attempts are made to change them.

Thus, it becomes impossible to return browsers to their previous states and users continually encounter unwanted redirects to discretesearch.com, significantly diminishing the web browsing experience. Another downside is information tracking.

Be aware that discretesearch.com continually records Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, search queries, websites visited, and other information relating to web browsing activity. The collected data might contain private details that developers share with cooperating third parties who misuse private data to generate revenue.

Therefore, the presence of a data tracking app on your system can lead to serious privacy issues or even identity theft. If you encounter unwanted redirects to discretesearch.com, uninstall all suspicious applications and never visit this site again.

Threat Summary:

Name	discretesearch.com browser hijacker
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab
Supposed Functionality	Improved web search results.
Affected Browser Settings	Homepage, new tab URL, default search engine
Serving IP Address	35.170.37.67
Symptoms	Manipulated Internet browser(s) settings (homepage, default Internet search engine, new tab settings). User's are forced to visit hijacker's website and search the Internet using their search engines.
Distribution methods	Deceptive pop-up ads, free software installers (bundling), fake flash player installers.
Damage	Internet browsing tracking (potential privacy issues), displaying of unwanted ads, redirects to shady websites.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Research shows that discretesearch.com has very similar characteristics to hundreds of other fake search engines. Examples include under-cover.info, dnav.com, mysecuresearch.net, and many others. Although these sites may appear different, all have identical behavior.

By offering improved search results, fake search engines attempt to give the impression of legitimacy, however, websites such as discretesearch.com provide no significant value for regular users and are designed only to generate revenue for the developers.

They cause unwanted redirects and gather private information. In addition, some generate results leading to malicious websites. Thus, using a fake Internet search engine can result in high-risk computer infections.

How did discretesearch.com install on my computer?

As mentioned above, developers promote discretesearch.com via deceptive software downloaders/installers. This marketing method is called "bundling".

All information regarding modification of browser settings is hidden within the "Custom/Advanced" options of the download/installation processes. Rushing these processes and skipping steps inadvertently grant set-ups permission to modify various browser options.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Installation of potentially unwanted programs can be prevented by taking two simple steps. Firstly, never rush when downloading and installing software. Select the "Custom" or "Advanced" settings and closely analyze each step. Secondly, opt-out of all additionally-included programs and decline offers to download/install them.

Instant automatic malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick menu:

• What is discretesearch.com?
• STEP 1. Uninstall discretesearch.com application using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove discretesearch.com redirect from Internet Explorer.
• STEP 3. Remove discretesearch.com browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove discretesearch.com homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 5. Remove discretesearch.com redirect from Safari.
• STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.

discretesearch.com browser hijacker removal:

Windows 11 users:

Right-click on the Start icon, select Apps and Features. In the opened window search for the application you want to uninstall, after locating it, click on the three vertical dots and select Uninstall.

Windows 10 users:

Right-click in the lower left corner of the screen, in the Quick Access Menu select Control Panel. In the opened window choose Programs and Features.

Windows 7 users:

Click Start (Windows Logo at the bottom left corner of your desktop), choose Control Panel. Locate Programs and click Uninstall a program.

macOS (OSX) users:

Click Finder, in the opened screen select Applications. Drag the app from the Applications folder to the Trash (located in your Dock), then right click the Trash icon and select Empty Trash.

In the uninstall programs window: look for any recently-installed suspicious applications, select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

After uninstalling the potentially unwanted programs that cause browser redirects to the discretesearch.com website, scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.

discretesearch.com browser hijacker removal from Internet browsers:

Video showing how to remove browser redirects:

Remove malicious add-ons from Internet Explorer:

Click the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Manage Add-ons". Look for any recently-installed suspicious extensions, select these entries and click "Remove".

Change your homepage:

Click the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Internet Options", in the opened window, remove hxxp://discretesearch.com and enter your preferred domain, which will open each time you launch Internet Explorer. You can also enter about: blank to open a blank page when you start Internet Explorer.

Change your default search engine:

Click the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Manage Add-ons". In the opened window, select "Search Providers", set "Google", "Bing", or any other preferred search engine as your default and then remove "discretesearch".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the discretesearch.com browser hijacker, reset your Internet Explorer settings to default.

Windows XP users: Click Start, click Run, in the opened window type inetcpl.cpl In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 users: Click the Windows logo, in the start search box type inetcpl.cpl and click enter. In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows 8 users: Open Internet Explorer and click the gear icon. Select Internet Options.

In the opened window, select the Advanced tab.

Click the Reset button.

Confirm that you wish to reset Internet Explorer settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "Tools" and click "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious add-ons, select these entries and click the trash can icon.

Change your homepage:

Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "Settings". In the "On startup" section, click "set pages", hover your mouse over Search the Web and click the x symbol. Now, you can add your preferred website as your homepage.

Change your default search engine:

To change your default search engine in Google Chrome: Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "Settings", in the "Search" section, click "Manage Search Engines...", remove "DiscreteSearch" and add or select your preferred domain.

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the discretesearch.com browser hijacker, reset your Google Chrome browser settings. Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome) and select Settings. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen. Click the Advanced… link.

After scrolling to the bottom of the screen, click the Reset (Restore settings to their original defaults) button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Google Chrome settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Remove malicious plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox:

Click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), select "Add-ons". Click on "Extensions" and remove all recently-installed browser plug-ins.

Change your homepage:

To reset your homepage, click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), then select "Options", in the opened window, remove hxxp://discretesearch.com and enter your preferred domain, which will open each time you start Mozilla Firefox.

Change your default search engine:

In the URL address bar, type about:config and press Enter.
Click "I'll be careful, I promise!".
In the search filter at the top, type: "discretesearch"
Right-click on the found preferences and select "Reset" to restore default values.

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with discretesearch.com browser hijacker removal can reset their Mozilla Firefox settings.

Open Mozilla Firefox, at the top right corner of the main window, click the Firefox menu, in the opened menu, click Help.

Select Troubleshooting Information.

In the opened window, click the Refresh Firefox button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Mozilla Firefox settings to default by clicking the Refresh Firefox button.

Remove malicious extensions from Safari:

Make sure your Safari browser is active and click Safari menu, then select Preferences...

In the preferences window select the Extensions tab. Look for any recently installed suspicious extensions and uninstall them.

In the preferences window select General tab and make sure that your homepage is set to a preferred URL, if its altered by a browser hijacker - change it.

In the preferences window select Search tab and make sure that your preferred Internet search engine is selected.

Optional method:

Make sure your Safari browser is active and click on Safari menu. From the drop down menu select Clear History and Website Data...

In the opened window select all history and click the Clear History button.

Remove malicious extensions from Microsoft Edge:

Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Extensions". Locate any recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons, and remove them.

Change your homepage and new tab settings:

Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Settings". In the "On startup" section look for the name of the browser hijacker and click "Disable".

Change your default Internet search engine:

To change your default search engine in Microsoft Edge: Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Privacy and services", scroll to bottom of the page and select "Address bar". In the "Search engines used in address bar" section look for the name of the unwanted Internet search engine, when located click the "Disable" button near it. Alternatively you can click on "Manage search engines", in the opened menu look for unwanted Internet search engine. Click on the puzzle icon near it and select "Disable".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the discretesearch.com browser hijacker, reset your Microsoft Edge browser settings. Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge) and select Settings.

In the opened settings menu select Reset settings.

Select Restore settings to their default values. In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Microsoft Edge settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

• If this did not help, follow these alternative instructions explaining how to reset the Microsoft Edge browser.

Summary:

A browser hijacker is a type of adware infection that modifies Internet browser settings by assigning the homepage and default Internet search engine settings to some other (unwanted) website URL. Commonly, this type of adware infiltrates operating systems through free software downloads. If your download is managed by a download client, ensure that you decline offers to install advertised toolbars or applications that seek to change your homepage and default Internet search engine settings.

Post a comment:
If you have additional information on discretesearch.com browser hijacker or it's removal please share your knowledge in the comments section below.

▼ Show Discussion