This blog post is made in order to help you get rid of the Searchmine.net adware program which can display pop-ups, banners and other advertisements on your computer that lead to third-party sites.
Searchmine.net is advertised as a legitimate Windows sapp which has been created to seemingly improve the user experience. However, the application also has a dark side to it, since many users have reported it to display different types of advertisements and collect information via cookies plus other tracking technologies on your computer system. The program is also classified as a risky software by most security programs, primarily because the third-party websites it may cause advertisements of on your PC may present different risks to your computer. In order to learn more about Searchmine.net and how to remove it from your PC, we recommend that you read the following article.
| Threat Name | Searchmine.net PUP |
| Category | Adware/PUP/Browser Hijacker. |
| Main Activity | Searchmine.net slithers onto your computer and heavily modifies your web browser settings to cause advertisements and collect data. |
| Signs of Presence | Multiple third-party advertisements as well as a slow computer. |
| Spread | Via malicious e-mail spam and set of infection tools. |
| Detection+Removal | DOWNLOAD REMOVAL TOOL FOR Searchmine.net PUP |
What Types of Adware are There?
Usually most hackers who are behind suspicious adware programs, like Searchmine.net PUP Adware aim to make it as difficult as possible to remove their program. But they often give away it’s name by stating it in the pop-ups displayed, for example “Ads by Searchmine.net PUP” on one of the sides of the pop-up or banner or if you drag your mouse over the advertisement.
Another way by which you may detect if you are about to have adware on your computer is to catch it while being installed. Adware programs like _ are usually being spread via third-party programs. The third-party software’s installers can be with included programs that are advertised as free bonus software or other seemingly useful code. However, the Searchmine.net PUP Adware can present a potential harm to your computer and this is why experts often recommend to remove programs like it immediately.
How Does Searchmine.net PUP Work
Searchmine.net PUP was created by developers who also are a brand of the some of the most famous PUA(Potentially Unwanted Application) maker groups. The ad-supported character of this software makes it to often be categorized by users as adware, which is not far from the truth. However, because the application is not malicious and is also classified as a low-level type of threat many antivirus programs tend to skip it.If it is active on your computer, some of the signs to notice it are:
- Seeing “Ads by Searchmine.net PUP” or “A Searchmine.net PUP Ad” or any similarly caption advertisements showing as pop-ups, banners, etc.
- Noticing phishing web pages or browser redirects to third-party search engines, besides the original one used by default on your web browser.
- Sluggish performance of your computer.
In addition to this general activity of Searchmine.net PUP, the add-supported program may also perform multiple different types of advertisements that link to various third-party websites. And this is not good, because those programs may collect certain specific information from your computer using:
- Pixels.
- Flash cookies.
- Tags.
- Web cookies.
- Others.
Such technology can be used to obtain your:
- IP address.
- Search history.
- Mouse clicking history.
- Tracking of your search history.
- Browser history.
This data may then be used to display targeted advertisements or for other purposes that have nothing to do with your interest. Some third-party websites which may be linked either via Searchmine.net PUP or it’s advertised entities, may redirect you to a malicious web link that may prompt you to download a fake installer or a malicious web link. Such malicious objects can even infect your computer with different malware:
- Ransomware.
- Worms.
- Trojans.
- DDoS software./span>
- BitCoin miners.
- Banking malware.
- Keyloggers.
What Does Searchmine.net PUP Adware Do on My Computer?
Adware or ad-supported software is a category of programs which are created to show different types of advertised content on your computer system. This content includes displaying pop-ups, redirecting tabs from your web browser to web pages that are unfamiliar and may cause your PC harm.
Other side effects of having adware programs such as Searchmine.net PUP on your computer is that the software begins to collect your data without your approval. Usually most adware programs do not notify that they collect data and these software are often deemed to be malicious.
How Bad Does Searchmine.net PUP Adware Affect You?
Besides it’s primary goal – do show you various types of adverts and collect your information, _ adware does not aim to show you that it’s there. There may usually be several signs that the program is installed on your computer and these signs may be the:
- Name of the program on the displayed advertisements.
- Searchmine.net PUP installed as a suspicious browser extension, that pretends to be legitimate.
- If it is situated on your Windows Programs and Features.
Since detection of the Searchmine.net PUP Adware program can be a tricky process, because most of the files it creates are concealed in different Windows locations, removal of it may be a tricky process. You can try to locate it’s suspicious web browser extensions on your Chrome, Firefox, Explorer or other browser and you can try to uninstall it from the Programs and Features menu in Windows. However, this does not guarantee that the program won’t be back after this, like it usually happens with such software. This is the main reason why an adware-specific removal program should be used to scan for and delete all of the objects related to Searchmine.net PUP Adware from your computer system.
Preparation before removal of Searchmine.net PUP:
1.Make sure to backup your files.
2.Make sure to have this instructions page always open so that you can follow the steps.
3.Be patient as the removal may take some time.
Step 1: Reboot your computer in Safe Mode:
Step 2: Cut out Searchmine.net PUP in Task Manager
Step 3: Eliminate Searchmine.net PUP‘s Malicious Registries.
For most Windows variants:
Step 4: Scan for all virus files, related to Searchmine.net PUP and secure your system.
If you are in Safe Mode, boot back into normal mode and follow the steps below
It is advisable to run a free scan before committing to the full version. You should make sure that the malware is detected by SpyHunter first.
