Searchpause.com

Searchpause.com is a browser hijacker that was made to look rather similar to the popular search engine known as Google. Hopefully, users who receive the application see the difference since the program might be potentially dangerous to use. Because of its particular working manner, the tool could display unreliable advertisements from third parties. Since such ads may advertise or lead to web pages that were created for malicious purposes, e.g. to spread malware or promote threats alike, interacting with this content might be harmful to the computer. Naturally, our researchers advise the browser hijacker’s removal. Considering that it can be easily replaced with the same google.com or any other reliable search engine, it is not worth to keep it on the system and risk its security. Thus, we encourage you to read more about the application and delete it with the instructions placed at the end of the page.

Of course, this is not the first time we encounter a browser hijacker that uses Google Custom Search engine and based on our experience with such applications; we think Searchpause.com should be distributed bundled with other software. Users often download installers bundled with unreliable programs from doubtful file-sharing web pages. Some of them accept any terms without reading them just to speed up the process. As a result, users agree to install and add not only unnecessary software but also potentially harmful programs just like this browser hijacker. If you do not want this to happen to you, it would be best to get setup files from reliable sources (e.g. official publisher’s web page) and read all the terms and conditions carefully.

Searchpause.com can affect such browsers as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Internet Explorer. It modifies homepage preference so that your browser would open the search engine. It mainly provides a search box to type the keywords and no other tools. There might also be third-party advertisements right below the search box. What should seem odd is the lack of Privacy Policy and End User License Agreement documents. They should determine how the application could work on the system, update itself, gather information related to your browsing habits, collect your private data, etc. Without these statements you cannot be sure if the program will not cause you trouble or act in an unwanted way.

It was mentioned earlier that Searchpause.com could show users advertisements from unreliable sources. As it seems, some of the ads might be displayed below the search box, and the other ones may appear among the search results. For example, users could notice suspicious pop-ups, sponsored links, and other kinds of advertising. Most likely, all of this content should be clickable, and after interacting with it, you may be redirected to its primary source. Visiting the sites such ads come from might be dangerous as they could contain malicious data, for example, Trojans, ransomware, viruses, and so on. Some of the sites might also distribute adware, potentially unwanted programs, different browser hijackers, and other threats. It is impossible to say what could be the chances of you encountering such content, but you should be aware of such possibilities.

If you want to have a reliable search engine as your homepage, you could replace Searchpause.com with google.com or another reliable website. The tool might be potentially dangerous, and since it is easily replaceable, there is no need to take any chances. If you think the same, we advise you to delete the browser hijacker as soon as possible. For this reason, we are adding removal instructions at the end of the article. They were prepared by our specialists who tested the application and found a way to get rid of it manually. Simply slide below the text and choose a group of steps according to the affected browser. However, if it looks too complicated, do not hesitate to use an antimalware software. Install a reliable antimalware tool and do a full system scan. It will detect Searchpause.com automatically, and you should be able to eliminate it together with other possible threats.

Eliminate Searchpause.com

Internet Explorer

1. Launch the Registry Editor (press Win+R type regedit and select OK).
2. Go to this particular location: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
3. Locate a value name titled as Start Page, right-click it and press Modify.
4. Erase http://Searchpause.com, insert another URL address, and then click OK.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Open the Explorer (Win+E), then go to the listed directory: C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{Unique Mozilla user ID}
2. Locate a file named as Prefs.js and right-click to open it with Notepad.
3. Find the following line and delete it: user_pref(“browser.startup.homepage”, “http://Searchpause.com”).
4. Save the document and close it.

Google Chrome

1. Launch the Explorer and navigate to the following location: C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default
2. Look for files called as Preferences, Secure Preferences, and Web Data.
3. Right-click each of it separately and press Delete.