Remove Search.lexside.com Hijacker from Chrome/Firefox/IE

Suddenly Search.lexside.com took over your homepage and you cannot remove it.

Search.lexside.com is one of the many browser hijackers that you might come across while surfing the Web. We’ve provided for you several easy to follow tips to help you avoid such cyber infections in the future as well as a comprehensive removal guide below this article. Our advice for you is to learn about as much as possible about the parasite before you proceed to removing it because you need to know what exactly you’re up against. Hackers are incredibly well-informed when it comes to PC infections. Are you? If the answer to that question is no, then keep on reading. The infamous search.lexside.com parasite is a classic representative of the hijacker family and it really has no new tricks to perform. This thing sneaks in without your permission (or knowledge), it modifies all your browsers without your permission (or knowledge) and it starts messing with your PC settings even further in its attempts to install malware without your permission (or knowledge). Do you see the pattern here? Once the hijacker gets successfully installed, your preferences are no longer relevant. The search.lexside.com virus is very aggressive, stubborn and rather hard to deal with so you can be more than certain it will take complete control over your entire Internet experience till the moment it gets uninstalled. And it is in your best interest to uninstall it quickly.

remove search.lexside.com

How did I get infected with?

This might be the most commonly asked question every time someone gets infected with malware. In this case the reason why search.lexside.com is currently wreaking havoc on your device is because you installed it yourself. However unpleasant and unfair this may sound, cyber crooks aren’t exactly famous for their honesty, are they? Therefore, it should come as no surprise that hackers use mainly underhanded techniques to spread their malicious creations. The most popular infiltration method at the moment is called  “freeware bundling” and it’s just as simple is as sounds. All that crooks need to do is attach the virus to a package of free programs and their part is complete. You do the rest. The most likely scenario is that you don’t make the extra effort to check in advance what software exactly comes bundled so you end up installing the entire bundle including the parasite. Remember, even though thousands of people fall victims to this cheap trickery every year, it’s incredibly easy to prevent it. You should opt for the advanced/custom option in the Setup Wizard instead of the basic one and you’ll be completely in control of the installation process. That way you can deselect anything unfamiliar and unwanted before it manages to sneak in behind your back.

Why is this dangerous?

To begin with, search.lexside.com is light years away from being the trustworthy search engine that it’s supposed to be. Its official website looks rather decent at first sight but a closer look at the Privacy Policy (which is precisely where the hijacker’s developers do not want you to look) speaks otherwise. Apart from changing your browser homepage and default search engine, the search.lexside.com parasite also does so in complete silence. As we previously mentioned, your opinion on the changes is not required. Since the moment the parasite infects Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer, you will be constantly redirected to the specific web pages that the parasite’s developers want you to see. Crooks gain money out of redirecting you and you should know that generating web traffic to (mostly) third-part pages doesn’t correspond with your online safety. Obviously, you will also not be able to find anything that you search for online but if you trust any of the links on your PC screen you could effectively infect your own computer much further. Just to make your life a bit more miserable, search.lexside.com generates commercials trying to scam you and it also displays bogus software updates trying to trick you into installing malware. To top it all, the hijacker monitors your entire browsing-related information so hackers get access to usernames, passwords, search queries, bookmarks, etc. and they will not hesitate to use them later on. Long story short, the only way to regain control over your PC and to make sure the device is virus-free again, is to react quickly and delete the parasite. If you decide to do so manually, please follow the detailed removal instructions down below.

How to Remove search.lexside.com virus

If you perform exactly the steps below you should be able to remove the search.lexside.com infection. Please, follow the procedures in the exact order. Please, consider to print this guide or have another computer at your disposal. You will NOT need any USB sticks or CDs.

The search.lexside.com adware is specifically designed to make money. It generates web traffic, collects sales leads for other dubious sites, and will display advertisements and sponsored links within your web browser.

STEP 1: Uninstall search.lexside.com from Add\Remove Programs

STEP 2: Clean search.lexside.com from Chrome Firefox or Internet Explorer

STEP 3: Permanently Remove search.lexside.com leftovers from the System

STEP 1 : Uninstall search.lexside.com from your computer

Simultaneously press the Windows Logo Button and then “R” to open the Run Command Window

run command

 

Type “regedit

regedit

 

navigate to HKCU\software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main

Modify the string with a value data and set it to google.com for example.

STEP 2 : Remove search.lexside.com homepage from Chrome, Firefox and IE

  • Open Google Chrome

  • In the Main Menu, select Tools then Extensions
  • Remove the search.lexside.com by clicking on the little recycle bin
  • Reset Google Chrome by Deleting the current user to make sure nothing is left behind

disable search.lexside.com from chrome

  • Open Mozilla Firefox

  • Press simultaneously Ctrl+Shift+A
  • Disable the unwanted Extension
  • Go to Help
  • Then Troubleshoot information
  • Click on Reset Firefox

remove search.lexside.com from firefox

  • Open Internet Explorer

  • On the Upper Right Corner Click on the Gear Icon
  • Click on Internet options
  • go to Toolbars and Extensions and disable the unknown extensions
  • Select the Advanced tab and click on Reset

remove search.lexside.com from ie

  • Restart Internet Explorer

How to Permanently Remove search.lexside.com Virus (automatic) Removal Guide

To make sure manual removal is successful, we recommend to use a free scanner of any professional antimalware program to identify possible registry leftovers or temporary files.

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