How to Get Rid of Yahoo Search Redirect Error

All of us who browse the internet to search for something have been redirected to the Yahoo search results for some reason that we couldn’t figure out or didn’t give a second thought about.

Well, you might be concerned now because the redirect to the Yahoo search is caused by a hijacker in an attempt to gain control over the browser, which you use. 

This article is about what Yahoo search is, how it can affect your computer, and most importantly, how you can get rid of Yahoo search browser hijacker virus from your computer. 

What Is The Yahoo Redirect Virus?

The search.yahoo.com redirect virus or the Yahoo redirect virus is a browser hijacker that uses Yahoo’s legitimate search engine as a cover for its activities. It makes the users view their search results in the Yahoo search, even when they use different or default search engines to look up information on the internet.

These redirecting hijackers change the browser’s settings in a way that users are forced to use one search engine and hope to hit some advertisements while being redirected. 

This issue persists even if you try to set the browser settings back to default or remove this search engine from your browser. This virus usually hits Google Chrome and Safari for Mac browsers.

Not only does this provide extra monetization to the person who wrote or hired this hijacking script but also steals private information like the user’s search history and their IP addresses. 

Why Do Yahoo Redirect Requests Happen?

There are a number of reasons why you can be redirected to a yahoo search result, without you instructing the browser to take you there:

1. You may have downloaded bootleg or pirated free software that is, in fact, malware and not the actual software. 
2. If you download free software from unknown developers, you might actually be downloading the script that is the hijacker. 
3. You could have clicked by a pop-up that downloaded this hijacker onto your computer, without you knowing it, with a recently installed file. 
4. You could have agreed to the addition of a browser extension or making a browser your default while installing an application on your computer. 

Most of the reasons the Yahoo search browser hijackers/virus gets on your computer is because you could have not read the disclaimers properly and clicked on proceed. The Operating System is irrelevant to the causes of the Yahoo search redirect virus, as this can happen in your Windows 10, Mac, or Chromebook computers. 

Symptoms Of The Presence Of The Yahoo Browser Hijacker

If you have browser hijackers like the Yahoo search engine redirect virus are present on your computer, these are the symptoms you could possibly face:

1. Your browser searches will get redirected to Yahoo on browsers like Google Chrome, Safari, and Mozilla Firefox, irrespective of what your default search engine is.
2. You are taken to the Yahoo search engine results, even if you change the browser’s settings. 
3. Your browser always opens to a search engine that you are not accustomed to and the search results are always shown on the search.yahoo.com site
4. Your browser gets a lot of add-ons and toolbars. 
5. You may notice a shady link in the Target section.
6. A lot of advertisements and push notifications are displayed while you use browsers. 

Is The Yahoo Redirect Virus Harmful?

The Yahoo redirect virus is not actually a virus. It is a hijacker that makes you see things that it wants to, no matter what your choice is.

You can be taken to any site or shown ads that you do not want to. This can take you to sites with harmful content and make you download malicious files. 

These hijackers can also steal personal information like your IP address and information that is quite private to you. It is quite dangerous for an unknown entity to gain private information.

Also, taking you somewhere that you want to and feeding you files that can cause damage to your computer and user experience is not something that should be affected. 

This can also slow down your computer and hog the network you are connected to. Considering all the above factors, we can conclude that this is somewhere between harmful and information-thieving and in a way ends up affecting your digital privacy and browsing experience.

Remove Yahoo Search Redirect virus from Mac

The Yahoo redirect virus can affect your Mac too. This can cause a great deal of annoyance and affect your user experience. It can possibly slow your system down.

Like we warned before, this can steal personal information from your computer. Therefore, it is important to remove Yahoo redirects from your Mac. 

1. Remove Anonymous Applications 

You may have downloaded some applications onto your Mac. If these applications came from unknown or shady developers, this could be one of the reasons why the Yahoo search redirect was added to your Mac. The only rational way to remove this is to remove all potentially unwanted programs and features.

These are the steps to uninstall software from unknown sources from your Mac:

1.  Launch the Finder tool from your Dock.
2. Open the Applications menu and search for applications that you do not recognize or remember downloading yourself. 
3. Choose the apps that you are not familiar with, click and drag them and drop them in the trash. Or you can just right-click on them and choose Move to Trash one by one.

It is recommended that you check if the application which you do not recognize is not needed before you get rid of it. If you happen to delete some essential applications, you may have to install them again. 

2. Remove Safari and Google Chrome Extensions

There could be some browser extensions that can cause the yahoo redirect virus to be attached to the browser. Though the extensions that are available from the Chrome Web Store and the Nac App store are usually safe, it is safer to remove any extensions that you find suspicious. This is how you can remove this hijacker from the Safari and Chrome browsers. 

Removing Extensions from Safari:

1. Launch the Safari Browser on your Mac.
2. Click on the Safari icon in the menu bar and select Safari Preferences.

3. Go to the Extensions tab and look for Extensions that you do not recognize and choose Uninstall from the menu on the side.

Removing Extensions from Google Chrome:

1. Launch the Chrome app on your Mac and click on the three-dot menu on the top right corner of the menu bar. 
2. Open the More Tools drop-down menu and choose Extensions. 
3. You will see all the extensions that are installed on your Mac. Click on the Remove icon, under the extensions that you want to remove. 

3. Reset the Google Chrome Browser’s Settings

Resetting Chrome can bring the settings configuration back to the original defaults. Resetting Google Chrome will remove all the browser extensions, and also refresh the entire search engine, new tab page, and the tabs that are pinned to the homepage.

But this will clear all the information that is stored by chrome, like cookies and cache memory. But bookmarks stored passwords and history will not be deleted.

1. Open your Chrome browser and click on the three-dot menu on the top-right part of the Chrome window.
2. Go to Settings and click on the Advanced tab. 
3. Find the Restore Settings to their original defaults section, expand it and select the Restore Settings to their original defaults option. 
4. Confirm the Reset by clicking on the Reset settings button.

4. Run a Google Chrome Malware Scan

The Chrome browser has a scanner that comes with it, during installation. This is used to get rid of any downloads that are considered a threat to the computer, by the browser scanner. 

These are the steps to run the malware removal scanner in the Chrome browser:

1. Launch the Chrome browser and open the Settings.
2. Go to the Advanced settings.
3. Locate the Reset and Clean up section and select Clean up computer. 

4. In the window that opens, start the Chrome Malware Scan and click on the Find button for the scan to begin. 

5. After a while, you will be able to see and delete the suspicious files in your Chrome Downloads list.

How To Get Rid Of Yahoo Search For The Good In Windows 10

Google Chrome Browser:

These are the various steps to remove the browser hijacker yahoo search from Chrome browser:

1. Remove Yahoo search through Windows Settings

1. Launch Google Chrome and click on the three vertical dots menu on the upper right part of the screen. 
2. Select Settings and then, choose Search Engine from the left panel. 

3. From the Search engine used in the address bar drop-down list, click on the search engine you want to be used by the browser. 

4. Then, click on Manage Search Engines.

5. You will notice three dots to the right of every search engine that you have. Click on it and select the Remove from List option. 

2. Launch Safe Mode on your PC

The Safe mode on your computer is a method of troubleshooting the entire Operating System to locate problems that come from various sources. When the safe mode is activated, only the most important programs run on your computer.

If you do not face the problems that you face in the Normal mode, in the safe mode. It is easy to narrow down on the problem and fix it, this way. 

There are a number of ways to launch Safe mode. Check out this article and follow the instructions in it to boot up Windows 10 in Safe Mode.

3. Remove Chrome Extensions

1. Open Chrome and open the three-dots menu on the upper right part of the window. 
2. From the menu, select More Tools and from the drop-down menu, choose Extensions.

3. Click on the Remove button under the Chrome extensions that you want to delete from your web browser. 

Confirm that you want to delete it from the notification that appears next to the address bar.

4. Reset Google Chrome Browser Settings

1. Go to the browser settings in the three-dots menu in the Chrome browser. 

2. In the Chrome Settings, scroll down and click on the Advanced settings.

3. In the Reset and Cleanup section, select the Restore Settings to their original defaults option. 

4. Choose Reset Settings in the dialog box that appears, asking you to reset the browser settings.

5. Uninstall A Program That Is Shady

Software from unknown sources can cause browser hijackers to access your browser through search engines. You can remove these to fix this problem. 

1. Open the Task Manager by pressing the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys or right-click on the taskbar and choose Task Manager.

2. Look for applications that you do not know or suspect of being malware or other harmful entities. Right-click on the application that you suspect and choose Open File Location.

3. If you see an Uninstall executable, run it and remove all traces of this software from your computer. 
4. Alternatively, you can go to the Uninstall a program feature in the Control Panel and choose to uninstall the malicious program from your computer. 

6. Delete Temporary Files

1. Open the Run tool (Windows key + R).
2. Enter temp in the Open field and click on the Ok button or press enter.

3. You will be taken to C:\Windows\Temp. This folder contains the temporary files. 

4. Select all of them and delete them. 

5. Then, empty the recycle bin to get rid of all the temporary files.

7. Perform A Full System Scan

A complete system can help you remove Yahoo search virus from your system. All you need is a trusted anti-malware program that scans your computer for harmful files and engages in the malware removal process.

You should be able to locate the files that are threats to your system and also cause the browser hijacker to access your computer. 

These are the methods that can help you remove the Yahoo search from Chrome on your Windows 10 computer. 

Mozilla Firefox:

Though Firefox has a pop-up blocker, it can still get the Yahoo redirect virus irrespective of what the default search engine is. 

These are the steps to remove the Yahoo redirect virus from Firefox:

1. Open the Firefox browser and select the hamburger menu on the top-right corner. 

2. Click on the Help option.

3. Choose More Troubleshooting Information.

4. In the Troubleshooting Information window select Refresh Firefox. 

5. Confirm it when prompted, close the browser and open it again. 

Microsoft Edge:

1. Alter the Edge Startup Page

• Open the Edge browser and open the Settings through the three-dots icon.
• Under the On Startup section, choose A specific page or pages. 

• Enter the site which you want to be launched when the browser is opened. 

• Select Save when you are done.

2. Disable Push Notifications

• Open Edge settings and click on Settings.

• Select Advanced Setting and locate the Website Permissions category.
• Choose Manage Permissions.
• Delete all the websites that you find suspicious. 

3. Clear browsing data

• Open Settings. 
• Select Privacy, search, and Services from the left pane. 

3. Scroll down and select Choose what to clear in the Clear browsing data section.

4. Select all the categories that you want to clear from your browser and click on Clear Data.

These are the ways to remove the Yahoo redirect virus from the Microsoft Edge browser if you experience it. 

This article was about the Yahoo Redirect virus, which you have to watch out for while you are browsing on the internet. Browse Safe!

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