Crawler.com Redirect

What is crawler.com?

The Crawler.com meta search engine is used to search the Internet. This website appears legitimate, however, Internet users recently report that the site hijacked their Internet browsers (Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox) by modifying the homepage and default search engine settings.

This situation may occur when Internet users download free software powered by the Crawler download manager. Computer users who do not pay close enough attention when installing freeware can inadvertently install various potentially unwanted applications, which subsequently cause browser redirects, unwanted ads, or privacy issues.

Note that while there is an option to opt-out of installation of advertised browser plugins (in this case, the Crawler toolbar), commonly, Internet users are not attentive, and thus, often confused as to the original cause of browser redirects to crawler.com (or other websites).

Whilst this website appears legitimate, the Internet search engine provided is crowded with sponsored results - clicking on these can result in installation of additional adware or even malware. If your Internet browsers redirect you to crawler.com, eliminate the Crawler toolbar and restore your browser settings.

The Crawler toolbar is similar to other potentially unwanted applications, which infiltrate browsers through free software downloads and modify the homepage and default search engine settings. Examples include Do-search.com, Amazon Smart Search toolbar, amongst many others.

To avoid installation of this adware, Internet users should be attentive when downloading free software. Always closely check each download step and decline installation of any advertised browser plugins. The safest download source of free software is usually direct from developers' websites.

Screenshot of the Crawler download manager offering installation of the Crawler toolbar:

If your Internet browser homepage and default search engine have been changed to crawler.com, use the Crawler toolbar removal instructions provided.

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Quick menu:

• What is crawler.com?
• STEP 1. Uninstall Crawler Toolbar and Crawler Toolbar helper applications using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove Crawler homepage from Internet Explorer.
• STEP 3. Remove Crawler toolbar from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove Crawler homepage redirect from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 5. Remove Crawler.com redirect from Safari.
• STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.

Crawler.com 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 "Crawler Toolbar", select this entry and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

At the time of research Crawler toolbar installed together with SiteRanker adware, users should remove this application.

After uninstalling potentially unwanted programs (which cause browser redirects to the Crawler.com website), scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components.

To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software. Remove all entries that this program detects to ensure your computer is clean from any possible spyware and malware infections.

Crawler.com homepage and default search engine removal from Internet browsers:

Video showing how to remove potentially unwanted browser add-ons:

Remove malicious add-ons from Internet Explorer:

Click on the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Manage Add-ons." Look for "Crawler Toolbar" and "Crawler Toolbar Helper" select these entries and click "Remove".

Also remove "SiteRank.dll" - this extension is related to SiteRank, a potentially unwanted application.

Change your homepage:

Click on the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Internet Options," in the opened window remove hxxp://www.crawler.com and enter your preferred domain that will open every 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 on 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 "Crawler Search."

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the crawler toolbar, 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:

Change your homepage:

Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "Settings". In "On startup" section click "set pages," hover your mouse over hxxp://www.crawler.com and click the x symbol. Now, you can add your preferred website as your homepage.

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the crawler toolbar, 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 plugins from Mozilla Firefox:

Click on the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), select "Add-ons". Click on "Extensions" and remove "SiteRanker".

Change your homepage:

To reset your homepage,click on the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), click "Tools", then select "Options", in the opened window remove hxxp://www.crawler.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: "crawler"
Right-click on the found preferences and select "Reset" to restore default values.

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with crawler toolbar 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 crawler toolbar, 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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