mixSportTV Search Plus Browser Hijacker

What is searchalgo.com?

Developers promote the mixSportTV Search Plus application as software that allows users to search more efficiently and keep up-to-date with various sports TV channels. This app may seem legitimate, but it is categorized as potentially unwanted application (PUA) and a browser hijacker.

Many users install these apps unintentionally. The software goes on to collect data relating to browsing activity and modifies browser settings. Furthermore, mixSportTV Search Plus promotes the searchalgo.com fake search engine.

mixSportTV Search Plus targets popular browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Internet Explorer. When installed, it changes the affected browser settings (such as default search engine, homepage, and new tab URL) to apps.searchalgo.com.

It is impossible to undo these changes while the mixSportTV Search Plus is installed, since it reassigns settings as soon as attempts are made to revert them. Therefore, users (with browsers hijacked by this application) are forced to visit apps.searchalgo.com when they open their browsers (or new browser tabs).

Furthermore, when a search query is entered, searchalgo.com redirects users to search.yahoo.com, a legitimate search engine from Yahoo. Search engines that display results generated by other search engines are useless. The mixSportTV Search Plus app is installed with mixSportTV Start.

These two applications (and searchalgo.com) gather data, such as IP addresses, search engines, URLs of visited websites, and other browsing-related information. Some of the data is likely to contain personal information that is shared with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) who misuse it to generate revenue.

Thus, having PUAs installed can lead to privacy problems, browsing safety issues, or even identity theft. We recommend that you uninstall mixSportTV Search Plus and mixSportTV Start immediately.

Threat Summary:

Name	mixSportTV Search Plus potentially unwanted application
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.

The internet is full of browser hijackers similar to mixSportTV including, for example, iGames Search, MovieCharm, and Your Easy Emails.

Developers promote them as useful apps offering various features, however, these are merely attempts to trick users into downloading browser-hijacking (or other unwanted) apps. Typically, these unwanted apps are designed only to generate revenue for their developers and provide none of the functionality promised.

How did mixSportTV Search Plus install on my computer?

mixSportTV Search Plus can be found in Google Web Store, however, most users install apps of this type unintentionally - they are tricked into installing them when developers use "bundling" (a deceptive marketing method employed to trick people into installing unwanted apps together with other software).

This is often achieved by hiding PUAs in "Custom", "Advanced" and other similar settings of the installation set-ups. Therefore, developers avoid disclosing information about the presence of the apps in set-ups. Furthermore, many users skip installation steps and leave settings unchanged.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Do not use third party software downloaders/installers or other similar sources to download software. Download software using official and trustworthy websites/sources only. Do not skip installation steps, and check "Custom", "Advanced" and other settings.

Deselect offers to install unwanted apps and only then finish installation. Avoid clicking intrusive ads, especially when visiting suspicious websites. Some redirect to potentially malicious/untrustworthy websites (gambling, pornography, adult dating, and so on).

If you encounter these redirects, check the list of installed extensions, plug-ins, and add-ons on your browser, and programs on your computer.

Uninstall/eliminate all unknown or unwanted entries immediately. If your computer is already infected with mixSportTV Search Plus, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.

Screenshot of mixSportTV Search Plus browser-hijacking extension:

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

mixSportTV Search Plus 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, "mixSportTV Search Plus"), select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

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

mixSportTV Search Plus 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://searchalgo.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".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the mixsporttv search plus potentially unwanted application, 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 "mixSportTV Search Plus", "mixSportTV Start" and other recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons, and remove them.

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 "MixSportTV Search Plus" and "mixSportTV Start" disable browser hijacker URL (hxxp://www.searchalgo.com) below the “Open a specific or set of pages” option. If present, click on 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 "searchalgo.com", 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 mixsporttv search plus potentially unwanted application, 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 "mixSportTV Search Plus", "mixSportTV Start", as well as 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, disable both "MixSportTV Search Plus" and "mixSportTV Start", remove hxxp://searchalgo.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: "searchalgo"
Right-click on the found preferences and select "Reset" to restore default values.

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with mixsporttv search plus potentially unwanted application 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 mixsporttv search plus potentially unwanted application, 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 mixsporttv search plus potentially unwanted application or it's removal please share your knowledge in the comments section below.

▼ Show Discussion