Do you know what Searchbuw.ru is?
Searchbuw.ru was probably created for no other reason than to gather advertising revenue for its creators. The application works as a browser hijacker, and currently, it can affect Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox. If any of the listed browsers get hijacked by Searchbuw.ru, the software should start redirecting the user to web pages belonging to the software‘s third-party partners. The bad news is that such websites might be potentially harmful as they could suggest you participate in questionable surveys or further redirect you to other questionable sites. In other words, the hijacker’s presence could make the system vulnerable. Not to mention the constant redirection and annoying ads might disturb your browsing. These are the main reasons why we recommend the applications deletion and to help you with this task our researchers prepared a removal guide placed below the main text.
According to our specialists, Searchbuw.ru might come with bundled setup files of other suspicious programs. Thus, if you recall installing freeware you downloaded from some file-sharing website, we advise you to check if the application you originally wanted to receive is trustworthy and also see if there are no other threats that could have settled in just like the browser hijacker. If you want to check the system without putting a lot of effort, you should acquire a legitimate antimalware tool. It could scan the whole computer and identify suspicious software or files automatically.
After Searchbuw.ru enters the system, it should create a folder titled Browsers in the %Appdata% directory. The folder is created so the application could place specific data in it, for example, exe.xoferif.bat. If users open this file they might see code that should not make any sense, bus as our researchers identified, it hides a hidden task. For example, if the hijacked browser is Google Chrome then the contents of exe.xoferif.bat could hide the following line: start““c:\PROGRA~1\google\chrome\APPLIC~1\chrome.exe” http://Searchbuw.ru.”
Searchbuw.ru screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions
As you realize, it commands the affected browser to load the search engine once it is started. To make this work, the application should alter the browser’s Target line by making it point to the mentioned executable file’s location. To be more precise, if previously the Target line contained "C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe," it should be switched with this line C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\Browsers\exe.xoferif.bat. As a consequence, the hijacked browser begins loading Searchbuw.ru instead of the user’s usual homepage. Then this search engine might redirect you to thirafsleb-ta.ru/?token=if5fa web page, which may further redirect to other sites.
It is important to know that the Internet pages this browser hijacker might keep redirecting you to could be potentially harmful. For instance, the third-party websites could try to steal sensitive or personal data by asking to participate in fake surveys, lotteries, and so on. Some of the sites could show other annoying ads, like coupons, pop-ups, etc. No matter how tempting these ads may look like, we would advise you to stay away from them as they could advertise malicious content or suggest you install similar programs, such as adware, different browser hijackers, and more.
Since the application has no useful features and it might disturb user's browsing or even display potentially harmful content, it would be best to get rid of it immediately. One way to eliminate Searchbuw.ru is to erase its data manually as it is shown in the removal guide located below this text. The other way would be to install a reputable antimalware tool and use its features to detect and erase the browser hijacker automatically. Of course, if you choose to employ such software you could clean your system from other possible threats as well. Plus, the tool might be of use to you in the future too since it could guard the system against threats as long as you regularly update it and keep it on the PC.
Eliminate Searchbuw.ru
- Open the Explorer (Windows Key+E).
- Insert this directory %APPDATA% and press Enter.
- Locate a folder called Browsers, right-click it and press Delete.
- Check the listed directories and search for the hijacked browser’s shortcuts:
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs
%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
%USERPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
%USERPROFILE%\Desktop - The found shortcuts should have modified Target Lines, so right-click them all separately and press Delete.
- Once the shortcuts are erased, created new ones on Desktop or other directories listed above.
- Find an empty space on a chosen directory (e.g. Desktop) and click the right mouse button.
- Press New and select Shortcut.
- Click Browse and find the browser’s location.
- Select Next and click Finish to create a new shortcut.
In non-techie terms:
Searchbuw.ru might not harm your computer on its own, but it could encourage you to interact with malicious content that may cause some trouble. If you keep the search engine on the browser, it will keep showing you potentially harmful advertising content or redirect you to unreliable web pages, so it might make it harder for you to find the content that is actually needed. Therefore, we advise users not to waste any time with this questionable application and remove it as soon as they notice it on the system. It can be deleted both manually and automatically so even inexperienced users should be able to erase it. Firstly you could take a look at the removal guide placed above; if you think you can handle the task follow the provided steps. However, if it appears to be too complicated, users can install a reputable antimalware tool instead.