I wrote this article to help you remove Search.search-el.com. This Search.search-el.com removal guide works for Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer.

Search.search-el.com is a website related to a browser hijacker infection. Its presence on your browser is a bad sign. A sign that your browser has been hijacked. This malware is known to replace the homepage and preferred search engine with the Search.search-el.com page. The new tab pages may show the same site as well.

Probably the most annoying thing about the hijackers is their ability to generate numerous intrusive ads in forms like pop-ups, in-text, banners, blinking alert messages, etc. The thing about these adverts is that they will be specifically customized, so they are most likely to get clicked on by users. How is that possible? Thanks to the hijacker’s power to monitor and obtain the victim’s browsing history, habits and search queries. Each click the user makes on them is valuable since it would create PPC (Pay-Per-Click) revenue.

Most commonly, hijackers are known to hide behind spam emails and attachments, fake update requests, software bundles, infected links and ads, torrents, etc. In order to stay clear of a potential malware infection, we advise our readers to pay close attention to what they click on while browsing the internet. Not every advertisement you see might be legitimate. Some pop-ups may lead to potentially dangerous third-party websites and infect your computer with a virus.

When downloading content from the internet, it is best to opt for a Custom or Advanced type of installation. This will ensure that the user will have the power to deselect any program or application that looks suspicious or was not properly disclosed. We strongly recommend opting out of any additional software, since they often turn out to be malware in disguise.

Browser hijackers might not pose a threat from the Trojan Horse level, but they are not harmless. Many of the ads that the hijacker creates are known to be fake and might reroute you to shady sources that may seek to open backdoors for hackers. Having a browser hijacker on your browser puts your security and privacy in jeopardy. Information such as but not limited to passwords, IP addresses, bank account credentials, credit card numbers, Login ID might easily fall into the hands of cyber criminals, if you don’t move fast and remove this parasite from your browser.

The longer you let Search.search-el.com roam free, the more ads will get created, which will eventually lead to the overloading of your browser. You will start experiencing frequent crashes and constant lagging, due to the browser’s inability to handle all of the advertisements thrown at it. If you want to return to a normal browsing experience, we suggest you waste no time and proceed with the immediate removal of this annoying browser hijacker.

Search.search-el.com Removal

Before starting the real removal process, you must reboot in Safe Mode. If you know how to do this, skip the instructions below and proceed to Step 2. If you do not know how to do it, here is how to reboot in Safe mode:

For Windows 98, XP, Millenium and 7:
Reboot your computer. When the first screen of information appears, start repeatedly pressing F8 key. Then choose Safe Mode With Networking from the options.

For Windows 8/8.1
Click the Start button, next click Control Panel —> System and Security —> Administrative Tools —> System Configuration.‌

Check the Safe Boot option and click OK. Click Restart when asked.
For Windows 10
Open the Start menu and click or tap on the Power button.

While keeping the Shift key pressed, click or tap on Restart.

Please, follow the steps precisely to remove Search.search-el.com from the browser:

Remove From Mozilla Firefox:

Open Firefox, click on top-right corner , click Add-ons, hit Extensions next.

Look for suspicious or unknown extensions, remove them all.

Remove From Chrome:

Open Chrome, click chrome menu icon at the top-right corner —>More Tools —> Extensions. There, identify the malware and select chrome-trash-icon(Remove).

Remove From Internet Explorer:
Open IE, then click IE gear icon on the top-right corner —> Manage Add-ons.

Find the malicious add-on. Remove it by pressing Disable.

Right click on the browser’s shortcut, then click Properties. Remove everything after the .exe” in the Target box.

Open Control Panel by holding the Win Key and R together. Write appwiz.cpl in the field, then click OK.

Here, find any program you had no intention to install and uninstall it.

Run the Task Manager by right clicking on the Taskbar and choosing Start Task Manager.

Look carefully at the file names and descriptions of the running processes. If you find any suspicious one, search on Google for its name, or contact me directly to identify it. If you find a malware process, right-click on it and choose End task.

Open MS Config by holding the Win Key and R together. Type msconfig and hit Enter.

Go to the Startup tab and Uncheck entries that have “Unknown” as Manufacturer.

Still cannot remove Search.search-el.com from your browser? Please, leave a comment below, describing what steps you performed. I will answer promptly.