How to prevent your browser from opening searchgeniusapp.com

What is searchgeniusapp.com?

searchgeniusapp.com is the address of a fake search engine designed to provide accurate results, fast searches, and improve browsing in other ways. As with most search engines of this type, however, this site is promoted through a browser hijacker (in this case, called Genius Search).

These apps promote fake search engines by changing browser settings and collecting information relating to users' browsing habits. Typically, users download and install apps such as Genius Search inadvertently and are therefore categorized as potentially unwanted applications (PUAs).

After installation, browser hijackers change settings such as homepage, default search engine, and new tab URL. Genius Search assigns them to searchgeniusapp.com. Typically, these apps target browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Internet Explorer.

None of the appointed settings can be undone or changed as long as the browser hijacker is installed (these apps simply reassign them). The only way to avoid having to visit searchgeniusapp.com when opening a browser, new tab or entering a search query into the URL bar, is to uninstall Genius Search.

Like most search engines, searchgeniusapp.com provides no unique search results. It simply redirects users to google.com, bing.com, or search.yahoo.com (it is possible to choose which of these legitimate search engines will provide results). In any case, searchgeniusapp.com is redundant and there is no point in visiting or using the site.

Furthermore, browser hijackers such as Genius Search are often designed to gather information such as IP addresses, entered search queries, URLs of opened websites, geolocations, and so on. Some browser hijackers might also record personal data. Developers of PUAs share the information with other parties (potentially, cyber criminals) who misuse it to generate revenue.

Threat Summary:

Name	Genius Search browser hijacker
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab.
Browser Extension(s)	Genius Search
Supposed Functionality	This app supposedly provides a 'useful' search engine.
Affected Browser Settings	Homepage, new tab URL, default search engine.
Detection Names (searchgeniusapp.com)	Dr.Web (Malicious), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Serving IP Address (searchgeniusapp.com)	104.18.63.132
Symptoms	Manipulated Internet browser settings (homepage, default internet search engine, new tab settings). Users are forced to visit the 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 browser tracking (potential privacy issues), display of unwanted ads, redirects to dubious 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.

Other examples of browser hijackers that operate like Genius Search are Inbox Manager, TV Now, and Radio Now App. Generally, apps of this type change browser settings to promote a fake search engine and gather information. They are used to generate revenue for the developers and often deliver no real value for regular users.

Furthermore, people who use or have these apps installed risk problems with browsing safety, privacy, or they might even become victims of identity theft. We recommend that you uninstall all browser hijackers immediately.

How did Genius Search install on my computer?

In some cases, browser hijackers and other PUAs can be downloaded from supposedly 'official websites', however, people often download and/or install them inadvertently. This happens when they click deceptive ads that execute scripts designed to download/install software or when developers use a deceptive marketing method called "bundling".

This can trick people into downloading or installing unwanted apps with regular software. They achieve this by hiding information about additionally-included app in "Custom", "Advanced" settings of download or installation set-ups. Furthermore, many users download and install programs without checking settings available in the set-ups.

When they leave them unchecked and unchanged, they often grant permission for PUAs to be downloaded and installed.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Download software and files from official sources (websites) and using direct download links. Avoid downloading using third party downloaders or installers, Peer-to-Peer networks (torrent clients, eMule, and so on), dubious websites, or other similar sources/tools.

If a setup contains settings such as "Custom", "Advanced", do not leave them unchecked. Dismiss offers to download or install additional software before completing the process. Clicking intrusive ads (typically, those displayed on dubious sites) can cause redirects to rogue websites.

In some cases, clicking ads can allow them to start download or even installation of various PUAs. If you experience unwanted redirects or the browser displays ads, check for unwanted apps (extensions, add-ons. plug-ins) installed on the browser and remove them.

The same applies to programs of this type installed on the operating system. If your computer is already infected with Genius Search, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.

Appearance of searchgeniusapp.com redirecting users to search.yahoo.com (GIF):

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

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

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

Genius Search 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://searchgeniusapp.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 "Genius Search".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the genius search 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 "Genius Search" 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, disable "Genius Search", look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://www.searchgeniusapp.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 "searchgeniusapp.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 genius search 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 "Genius Search", 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 "Genius Search",  remove hxxp://searchgeniusapp.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: "searchgeniusapp.com"
Right-click on the found preferences and select "Reset" to restore default values.

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with genius search 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 genius search 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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