How to remove GloboSearch browser hijacker

What is GloboSearch?

GloboSearch is advertised as a tool which improves the browsing experience, however, this app promotes a fake search engine (globo-search.com) by changing certain browser settings. GloboSearch is therefore classified as a browser hijacker and also a potentially unwanted application (PUA), since users tend to download and install these apps unintentionally.

Commonly, browser hijackers modify browser settings and collect data.

GloboSearch promotes globo-search.com by assigning it as the homepage, default search engine and URL of a new tab. This address is opened when GloboSearch users open a browser, new tab or enter search queries into the URL bar.

When used to search, globo-search.com provides results generated by the Yahoo search engine (it simply redirects users to search.yahoo.com). Therefore, globo-search.com is fake and a redundant search engine.

Typically, users can remove addresses of fake search engines from browser settings only by uninstalling the browser hijacker, since they prevent users from making any changes in the aforementioned settings. Furthermore, GloboSearch might also record data.

Commonly, these apps target browsing-related information such as, for example, geolocations, entered search queries, addresses of visited pages, IP addresses, however, collected data could also include sensitive, confidential information.

Developers misuse the data by selling it to third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) who might also misuse it to generate revenue in other ways. If GloboSearch and other app of this type is installed on the browser and/or operating system, it should be uninstalled immediately.

These apps can cause problems relating to browsing safety, online privacy, identity theft and other issues.

Threat Summary:

Name	GloboSearch
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab.
Detection Names	Forcepoint ThreatSeeker (Malicious), Trustwave (Malicious), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal).
Browser Extension(s)	GloboSearch, GloboSearch Default Search.
Supposed Functionality	GloboSearch supposedly improves the web browsing experience.
Promoted URL	globo-search.com
Serving IP Address (globo-search.com)	40.74.245.188
Affected Browser Settings	Homepage, new tab URL, default search engine.
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.

There are many browser hijackers on the internet (e.g., SearchZone, Sealoid, and Spinyon). Most promote a fake search engine and collect browsing, and other, data. Commonly, these applications are advertised as useful and supposedly deliver various features, improving the browsing experience, etc. In fact, few operate as promised and simply cause problems.

How did GloboSearch install on my computer?

In many cases, users download and install PUAs inadvertently by clicking certain deceptive advertisements or when they are included into the download/installation set-ups of other, mostly free, software as 'additional offers'.

Offers to download and install PUAs can be found in settings such as "Custom" and "Advanced", however, many people download and install their software without checking and changing any of the available settings. By leaving them unchanged, they allow included PUAs to be downloaded and installed.

Deceptive ads can also cause unwanted downloads and installations by executing certain scripts, however, the ads must first be clicked to have this effect.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

Third party downloaders, installers, Peer-to-Peer networks such as eMule, torrent clients, unofficial websites and other similar channels are used to distribute unwanted or even malicious programs. Therefore, they should not be used to download or install your software.

All software and files should be downloaded from official websites and via direct links. Check all download and installation settings such as "Advanced" and "Custom", and decline offers to download or install additional, unwanted applications before finishing the process.

Advertisements appearing on dubious web pages should not be trusted or clicked - these can open various untrusted, potentially malicious web pages and, in some cases, they cause unwanted downloads and installations. Remove any suspicious extensions, add-ons and plug-ins that are installed on the browser immediately.

The same should be applied to programs of this kind that are installed on the operating system. If your computer is already infected with GloboSearch, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.

globo-search.com redirects to search.yahoo.com (GIF):

Website promoting GloboSearch browser hijacker:

Notification stating that GloboSearch can read and change various data:

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

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

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

GloboSearch 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://globo-search.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 "GloboSearch".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the globo-search.com redirect, 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 "GloboSearch" (or "GloboSearch Default 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 "GloboSearch" (or "GloboSearch Default Search"), look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://www.globo-search.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 "globo-search.com", 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 globo-search.com redirect, 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 "GloboSearch", 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 "GloboSearch", remove hxxp://globo-search.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: "extensionControlled"
Set both results to "false" by either double-clicking each entry or clicking the button.

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with globo-search.com redirect 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 globo-search.com redirect, 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 globo-search.com redirect or it's removal please share your knowledge in the comments section below.

▼ Show Discussion