Welcome, reader, to our LuckySearch123 removal guide. The following instructions will aid you in removing the unwanted software from your PC.
Have you ended up contracting some mysterious program that has turned your browser into a total mess? You’re likely looking at a browser hijacker infection with one of the latest versions of this software type – LuckySearch123. Programs of this type integrate with your Chrome, Firefox or other of the popular browsers and by doing so introduce certain changes to its appearance: the homepage may be changed, along with the default search engine and your searches may be redirected to various irrelevant sites. If any of this sounds familiar, then you’re on the right page. We have prepared a removal guide to help you completely uninstall this software from your machine, as removing it the way you’re used to normally removing things from your PC isn’t going to work. Before rushing off to the guide, though, do read through this article in order to learn all the necessary details about browser hijackers.
Is LuckySearch123 dangerous?
As a typical browser hijacker, LuckySearch123 does not represent a direct threat to you or your system. It’s an annoyance and intrusive program at most. You might come across accusations of spying, stealing data and other virus behavior hurled at browser hijackers online, but those are rather exaggerated and stem from the software’s irritating and invasive actions rather than from actual facts. Let’s be clear on one thing: LuckySearch123 is not a virus or any kind of malware. Malware like Trojans and ransomware are pieces of programming designed to inflict terrible harm on your computer and the information stored on it, so it would be very wrong to put all these programs in the same category. So, with that out of the way, let’s talk more about what LuckySearch123 can do, as opposed to what it can’t.
Browser hijackers were created with the sole purpose of generating revenue for their developers by the means of distributing large amounts of ads on the end user’s screen. As a result of this ad-distributing, the user is expected to click on at least some number of these popups, banners, box messages, etc. and thus earn money for the developers. This is based on the Pay Per Click scheme, which is in fact a very popular and commonly used business strategy. The trickiness begins when we start to unravel the ad-generating process and start to see just what tactics the developers resort to in order to squeeze out as much profit from the ads as humanly possible.
First of all, the developers aren’t interested in showing you, the user, just any ads. They want to increase the chances of you clicking the ads, therefore they want to make sure that you’re going to like them. This is done by gathering some knowledge as to what kind of things you’re interested in and that happens with the hijacker looking into your recent online search queries and browsing history. This information is then processed and the ads – modified so as to suit your estimated preferences, based on that gathered data. So it’s no wonder that you might be noticing certain box messages and popups displaying hot deals on that particular model of watch you were looking up just the other day. This is the exact type of activity that often enrages users and frightens them into believing they’ve come into contact with malware. And obviously it’s pretty unnerving to have a program on your computer, which you most likely have no idea how it came to be there in the first place, being able to monitor your browsing patterns. That really is just half a step away from actual spying and it can certainly be considered a privacy invasion.
How to stay safe
Once you’ve safely removed LuckySearch123 with the help of our guide or the professional removal tool we have, you should start contemplating ways to ensure that you don’t get infected again. After all, it’s way easier than having to go through the whole uninstallation process again. For one, avoid spam emails, shady web locations and be a bit more critical towards your download sources. Program bundles are the number one distribution method for browser hijackers and the simplest way to disarm a bundle is by opting for the custom or advanced settings in the installation setup of any newly downloaded software. This will allow you to see the contents of a given bundle and determine which programs will be installed and which won’t.
How to Remove LuckySearch123
I – Uninstallation
- Use the Winkey+R keyboard combination, write Control Panel in the search field and hit enter.
- Go to Uninstall a program under Programs.
- Seek the unwanted software, select it and then click on Uninstall
- If you are unable to spot LuckySearch123, search for any unrecognized programs that you do not remember installing on your PC – the unwanted software might disguise itself by going under a different name.
II – Safe mode and revealing hidden files
III – Cleaning all your browsers
- Go to your browser’s icon, right-click on it and select Properties.
- Go to the Shortcut tab and in the Target make sure to delete anything written after “.exe”.
- Now, open your browser and follow the instructions below depending on whether you are using Chrome, Mozilla or IE.
- Chrome users:
- Go to your browser’s main menu located in the top-right corner of the screen and select Settings.
- Scroll down, click on Show Advanced Settings and then select Clear browsing data. Just to be sure, tick everything and clear the data.
- Now, in the left pane, go to Extensions and look through all extensions that are integrated within your browser. If you notice any suspicious add-on, disable it and then remove it.
- Firefox users:
- Similarly to Chrome, go to the main menu and select Add-ons and then Extensions.
- Remove any suspicious browser extensions that you may have even if they do not have the name LuckySearch123 on them.
- IE users:
- Go to Tools and select Manage add-ons.
- Click on all add-on types from the left pane and check if there is anything suspicious in the right panel. In case you find anything shade, make sure to remove it.
IV – Removing Shady processes
- Go to your start menu, type Task Manager in the search field and from the results open View running processes with Task Manager.
- Thoroughly look through all processes. The name LuckySearch123 might not be there, but if you notice any shady looking process that consumes high amounts of memory it might be ran by the unwanted program.
- If you spot the process ran by LuckySearch123, right-click on it, open its file location and delete everything in there. Then go back to the Task Manager and end the process.
V – DNS check
- In the start menu search box write View Network Connections and open the first result.
- Right-click on the network connection you are using and go to Properties.
- Select Internet Protocol Version (TCP/IPv4) and click on Properties.
- If Obtain DNS server addresses automatically is not checked, check it.
- Go to Advanced and select the DNS If there is anything in the DNS server addresses field, remove it and click OK.
- Click OK on the rest of the opened windows.
