How do I get rid of Searchencrypt?
Q
When I launch Firefox, my preferred browser, Malwarebytes blocks a website called Searchencrypt ( www.searchencrypt.com). I understand that this is a dubious destination. There are options to close the warning box or exclude the website from the Malwarebytes scan, but I do not wish to ignore a predator. So, I click Close, but then Firefox will not launch. I have twice uninstalled and reinstalled Firefox, but the problem remains. Malwarebytes finds no problems when running a full scan.
Geoff Barley
A
Searchencrypt is a browser extension that does have legitimate uses. However, some would consider it a PUP, because it is often installed in an underhanded fashion. So, it arrives on your system by piggybacking on another program that you did intend to install. A tickbox or link might’ve offered an opt-out, but these are often disguised or hidden.
Regardless, the experience for many people is that their searches are hijacked by the service, as you’ve found. It is relatively easy to remove, via Firefox itself (just click the menu button, followed by Add-ons, then Extensions, then click Remove next to Searchencrypt).
However, in your case Malwarebytes is preventing Firefox itself from launching because it is, perhaps rather too late, labelling Searchencrypt as problematic.
Malwarebytes has probably already removed the extension, but the problem is that your Firefox home page has also been redirected. As this data and other user preferences are not erased when Firefox is uninstalled, you’ll need to do that manually. Press Windows key+r, then type %appdata%\mozilla\firefox and press Enter. Now, in the File Explorer window that appears, just click to select Profiles (see screenshot), then hit Delete (Del) followed by Yes to confirm.