How to stop redirects to world-search.net

What is world-search.net?

world-search.net is the address of a bogus search engine. Fake web searching tools are usually promoted by rogue software classified as browser hijackers. Music World Search is a browser hijacker known to promote world-search.net. Furthermore, most bogus search engines and browser hijacker record browsing activity.

Browser hijackers are seldom installed intentionally and are, therefore, also classified as Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUAs).

Browser hijackers primarily target Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and other popular browsers. This software reassigns the homepage, default search engine and new tab/window URLs to the addresses of fake search engines.

Therefore, with a browser hijacker installed (such as Music World Search), each new browser tab/widow opened and each search made through the URL bar redirects to world-search.net or other bogus search engines. These dubious search engines are rarely capable of generating unique results.

Those that can, often provide inaccurate results or promote untrusted, malicious websites. In the case of world-search.net, it simply redirects to Yahoo (search.yahoo.com), a legitimate search engine. Additionally, browser hijackers prevent users from accessing the browser settings or revert any permitted changes made.

To recover a hijacked browser, the hijacking software must be eliminated. As mentioned, most browser hijackers can track data. They can monitor users' browsing habits (URLs visited, pages viewed, search queries typed, etc.) and collect personal information (IP addresses, geolocations and other details).

Designers of browser hijackers/fake search engines frequently monetize the data by sharing it with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) seeking to misuse it for financial gain. To summarize, the presence of data-tracking software on systems can lead to financial loss, serious privacy issues and even identity theft.

To protect device health and user safety, remove all suspicious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins immediately upon detection.

Threat Summary:

Name	world-search.net browser hijacker
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab.
Browser Extension(s)	Music World Search
Supposed Functionality	Improved web searches, easy access to a wide variety of music.
Affected Browser Settings	Homepage, new tab URL, default search engine.
Serving IP Address	104.28.21.68
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.

select-search.com, vitosc.xyz, and biosc.xyz are some other fake search engines. While they may seem no different to genuine web searching tools, they are usually unable to provide unique results and simply monitor browsing activity.

Browser hijackers may also seem legitimate and often tempt people into download/installation with various "useful" features, which tend to be nonoperational. Fantasic Movies, History Hide, Translations Instant and Search Sherpa are some examples of browser hijackers.

In fact, a normal appearance and promises of "useful" functions are common to most PUAs. These unwanted applications have just one purpose: to generate profit at users' expense. Rather than delivering any real value, PUAs cause redirects, hijack browsers, run intrusive advertisement campaigns and track private data.

How did Music World Search install on my computer?

Some PUAs (including Music World Search) have "official" promotional web pages from which they can be downloaded, however, these apps are also proliferated via the download/installation set-ups of other programs. This deceptive marketing tactic of packing regular products with unwanted or malicious software is termed "bundling".

By rushing through download/installation processes (e.g. skipping steps and sections, etc.), many users risk missing the opt-out options, thereby inadvertently allowing the bundled content onto their devices. Intrusive ads can infiltrate these applications into systems as well. When clicked, they can execute scripts to stealthily download/install PUAs.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

You are advised to research all software prior to download/installation or purchase. Use only official and verified download channels. Unofficial and free file-hosting websites, Peer-to-Peer sharing networks (BitTorrent, eMule, Gnutella, etc.) and other third party downloaders are untrusted and can offer likewise suspect content.

When downloading/installing, it is important to read the terms, explore all available options, use the "Custom/Advanced" settings and opt-out of supplementary apps, tools, features and other additions. Intrusive advertisements may seem normal and harmless, however, they redirect to highly dubious sites (e.g. gambling, pornography adult-dating and so on).

If you encounter ads/redirects of this kind, inspect the system and immediately remove all suspicious applications and browser extensions. If your computer is already infected with Music World Search, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.

Music World Search browser hijacker asking for permissions:

Website promoting Music World Search browser hijacker:

Appearance of world-search.net (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 world-search.net?
• STEP 1. Uninstall Music World Search application using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove world-search.net redirect from Internet Explorer.
• STEP 3. Remove Music World Search browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove world-search.net homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 5. Remove world-search.net redirect from Safari.
• STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.

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

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

Music World 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://world-search.net 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 world-search.net 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 "Music World 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, look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://www.world-search.net) 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 "world-search.net", 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 world-search.net 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 "Music World 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 remove hxxp://world-search.net 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 world-search.net 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 world-search.net 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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