Home.searchfreerecipes.com Redirect

What is home.searchfreerecipes.com?

Search Free Recipes is a deceptive application that falsely claims to help users to find various food recipes.

Initially, Search Free Recipes may seem legitimate and useful, however, this app often infiltrates systems without consent. Furthermore, it stealthily modifies web browser options and can also track users' Internet browsing activity. For these reasons, Search Free Recipes is categorized as a potentially unwanted program (PUP) and a browser hijacker.

This PUP hijacks Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox, modifying the new tab URL, default search engine, and homepage options by assigning them to home.searchfreerecipes.com (a fake Internet search engine). These changes may seem minor, however, users are unable to revert them.

Research shows that Search Free Recipes automatically reassigns the aforementioned settings when attempts are made to change them. Therefore, returning browsers to their previous states becomes impossible and users are forced to visit home.searchfreerecipes.com when they open a new browser tab or simply search via the URL bar.

Most browser-hijacking applications (and fake Internet search engines) monitor browsing activity by gathering IP addresses, URLs visited, search queries, pages viewed, mouse/keyboard activity, geo-locations, and other similar information that might contain personal details.

Developers share this collected data with third parties who generate revenue by misusing private information. Therefore, data tracking might result in serious privacy issues or even identity theft. Therefore, you are advised to uninstall the Search Free Recipes PUP immediately. Never return to the Search Free Recipes website.

Threat Summary:

Name	Search Free Recipes browser hijacker
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab
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.

There are dozens of PUPs virtually identical to Search Free Recipes including EasyEmailSuite, Shield Defense, and YourTemplateFinder. These are just some examples from many. Although these applications offer different functionality, they have identical behavior. Claims to provide 'useful features' are merely attempts to give the impression of legitimacy.

The only purpose of browser hijackers is to generate revenue for the developers. PUPs such as Search Free Recipes cause unwanted redirects (thereby promoting various websites, most of which are fake Internet search engines) and gather various information (which is later sold to third parties). Fake search engines are also used to generate revenue.

They often contain many intrusive online advertisements (the "Pay Per Click" advertising model). Furthermore, they promote various websites by generating irrelevant search results. These ads and fake search results can lead to malicious websites and activate a script that downloads/installs malware. Therefore, using any fake Internet search engine is very risky.

How did Search Free Recipes install on my computer?

Search Free Recipes has an official download website, however, these PUPs are often distributed using a deceptive marketing method called "bundling". Therefore, users often install apps such as Search Free Recipes inadvertently, without their consent. Bundling is stealth installation of PUPs with regular software/apps.

Developers hide bundled apps within the "Custom/Advanced" settings of the download/installation processes. Rushing and skipping this section often leads to inadvertent installation of rogue apps. As mentioned above, PUPs are also distributed using intrusive advertisements.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

To prevent this situation, be very cautious when downloading/installing software. Closely analyze each download/installation step using the "Custom/Advanced" settings and decline all third party applications listed for download/installation.

In addition, never click any displayed advertisements - they will either lead to dubious websites or activate malicious scripts. The key to computer safety is caution.

Website promoting Search Free Recipes browser hijacker:

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

Search Free Recipes 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 (for example, "Search Free Recipes New Tab"), select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

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

Search Free Recipes 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://home.searchfreerecipes.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 "Search Free Recipes New Tab".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the search free recipes 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 "More tools" and click "Extensions". Locate "Search Free Recipes New Tab" and other recently-installed suspicious browser 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, look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://www.home.searchfreerecipes.com) below the “Open a specific or set of pages” option. If present, click the three vertical dots icon and select “Remove”.

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 engine" section, click "Manage search engines...", in the opened list, look for "searchfreerecipes", and when located, click the three vertical dots near this URL and select "Remove from list".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the search free recipes 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 "Extensions" and remove "Search Free Recipes New Tab", and all other 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://home.searchfreerecipes.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: "searchfreerecipes.com"
Right-click on the found preferences and select "Reset" to restore default values.

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with search free recipes 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 search free recipes 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.

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