How to remove the s3arch.page browser hijacker

What is s3arch.page?

s3arch.page is a fake search engine promoted via the Suls APP browser hijacker (the site might be promoted by other hijackers as well).

Software within this category operates by modifying browser setting to promote fake search engines. In this case, the s3arch.page search engine. Additionally, this browser hijacker monitors users' browsing activity. Due to the dubious techniques used to proliferate s3arch.page, it is also classified as a Potentially Unwanted Application (PUA).

Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and other popular browsers are common targets of browser hijackers. Following successful infiltration, they reassign the homepage, default search engine and new tab/window URLs to the addresses of bogus search engines.

Due to this, each search query typed into the URL bar and each new browser tab/window opened redirects to the promoted address (in this case, s3arch.page). Fake search engines have no real value as they are typically unable to provide unique results - they simply redirect to (or cause redirection chains ending with) Google, Yahoo, Bing and other legitimate sites.

Even when fake search tools can generate some form of results, they tend to be inaccurate and/or promote untrusted or malicious websites. As well as causing unwanted redirects, browser hijackers can restrict/deny access to the browser settings and undo any permitted changes made.

Therefore, the browser hijacker must be eliminated to recover the affected browser. As mentioned, s3arch.page has data tracking capabilities. It can monitor users' browsing habits (URLs visited, pages viewed, search queries typed, etc.) and collect sensitive information (IP addresses, geolocations and other details).

The gathered data is likely to contain personally identifiable information. Furthermore, this information is often monetized by sharing with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals), seeking to likewise misuse it for profit.

In summary, the presence of data-tracking software on systems can lead to financial loss, serious privacy issues and even identity theft. To ensure device integrity and user safety, remove all suspicious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins immediately upon detection.

Threat Summary:

Name	s3arch.page
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab.
Browser Extension(s)	Suls APP
Promoted URL	s3arch.page
Serving IP Address (s3arch.page)	104.28.0.237
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.

Get Online Recipes, Secured Search and My Horoscope Tab are some examples of other browser hijackers. They may seem legitimate and useful, often tempting users into download/installation with offers of "useful" features, however, the functionality promised usually does not work.

This applies to most PUAs. The only purpose of these unwanted applications is to generate revenue for the developers. They are useless and can cause a wide variety of issues. PUAs modify browsers, force-open dubious and malicious sites, run intrusive ad campaigns and collect private data.

How did s3arch.page install on my computer?

As mentioned above, s3arch.page is promoted using a browser-hijacking application named Suls APP. This rogue browser extension is promoted via various deceptive websites, which deliver deceptive messages encouraging people to update the browser, install missing Flash Players, etc.

Many internet users are often careless and are tricked by such messages. Therefore, browser hijackers such as Suls APP can infiltrate web browsers and modify their settings.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

You are strongly advised to research all products before download/installation. Use only official and trustworthy download sources. Untrusted channels, such as unofficial and free file-hosting websites, Peer-to-Peer sharing networks and other third party downloaders can offer deceptive and bundled 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, functions and other additions. Intrusive ads typically seem legitimate and harmless, however, they often redirect to dubious sites (e.g. gambling, pornography, adult-dating and others).

If you encounter these advertisements/redirects, inspect the system and immediately remove all suspect applications and browser extensions/plug-ins. If your computer is already infected with s3arch.page, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.

s3arch.page (Suls APP) browser hijacker asking for various permissions:

Website promoting Suls APP browser hijacker:

Another website promoting Suls APP browser hijacker:

Screenshot of yet another Google Chrome extension Osalo APP promoting s3arch.page website:

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 s3arch.page?
• STEP 1. Uninstall unwanted applications using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove s3arch.page redirect from Internet Explorer.
• STEP 3. Remove s3arch.page browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove s3arch.page homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 5. Remove s3arch.page redirect from Safari.
• STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.

s3arch.page redirect 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, select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

After uninstalling the potentially unwanted applications that cause browser redirects to the s3arch.page website, scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.

s3arch.page redirect 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://s3arch.page 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 "s3arch.page".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the s3arch.page 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 all recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons (e.g., "Suls APP") 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.s3arch.page) 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 "s3arch.page", 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 s3arch.page 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 all 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://s3arch.page 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 s3arch.page 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 s3arch.page 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.

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