How to Remove HIGHTSEARCH.COM Completely – Effective Removal Guide

HIGHTSEARCH.COM is classified as a browser hijacker since it utilizes pop-up messages and advertisements designed to profit at the expense of computer users. And, it also displays alerts trying to convince computer users that their Web browser or other software is out of date, so that the users may allow the setup of Potentially Unwanted Programs and unsafe content from HIGHTSEARCH.COM. However, HIGHTSEARCH.COM does no good to a computer system. We recommend you remove HIGHTSEARCH.COM immediately once it is traced in your system.

 

HIGHTSEARCH.COM is used by cyber criminals specifically to make money. It generates web traffic, collects sales leads for other dubious sites, and will display advertisements and sponsored links within your web browser. It is used as a tracking website for their affiliate programs that before traffic is delivered to advertisers, HIGHTSEARCH.COM is used as a network referral ID to identify and qualify traffic sent by traffic partners.

 

If your browsing sessions have been transferred to untrusted websites, compromised files, it is very likely that computer viruses may have managed to penetrate into your virtual machine. Please follow the HIGHTSEARCH.COM removal guide below to walk through the trouble easily.

 

HIGHTSEARCH.COM is a browser hijacker which will set the homepage and search engine for your web browser to http://HIGHTSEARCH.COM/. It may seem similar to Google. Therefore, we can believe that HIGHTSEARCH.COM is legitimate. Actually, this fake search engine is promoted using dubious software ‘installers’ that are designed to modify web browser settings without users’ consent. What is more? This dubious website continually gathers information regarding Internet browsing activity. So you’d better scan your computer carefully, and get rid of HIGHTSEARCH.COM as fast as you can.

 

Browser hijacker usually targets the most popular web browsers including Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and so on. The default search engine, new tab URL, and homepage settings are assigned to HIGHTSEARCH.COM. Most fake Internet search engines (including HIGHTSEARCH.COM) are promoted using dubious installation setups. These installers stealthily hijack web browsers and modify the options. Developers hide all details about the modification within the ‘Custom/Advanced’ settings of download, or installation processes. Therefore, users who skip this section, often allow installers to modify various settings that are irrelevant to the installed software.

 

How to Remove HIGHTSEARCH.COM Completely – Effective Removal Guide

 

Uninstall HIGHTSEARCH.COM from Control Panel

 

As it was stated before, more likely that the hijacker appeared on your system brought by other software. So, to get rid of HIGHTSEARCH.COM you need to call to memory what you have installed recently.

How to remove HIGHTSEARCH.COM from Windows XP

 

    Click the Start button and open Control Panel

    Go to Add or Remove Programs

    Find the application related to HIGHTSEARCH.COM and click Uninstall

 

How to remove HIGHTSEARCH.COM from Windows 7/Vista

 

    Click the Start button and open Control Panel

    Go to Uninstall Program

    Find the application related to HIGHTSEARCH.COM and click Uninstall

 

How to remove HIGHTSEARCH.COM from Windows 8/8.1

 

    Right-click the menu icon in left bottom corner

    Choose Control Panel

    Select the Uninstall Program line

    Uninstall the application related to HIGHTSEARCH.COM

 

How to remove HIGHTSEARCH.COM from Windows 10

 

    Press Win+X to open Windows Power menu

    Click Control Panel

    Choose Uninstall a Program

Select the application related to HIGHTSEARCH.COM and remove it

Remove HIGHTSEARCH.COM from browsers

 

Since some of hijacker threats use a disguise of a browser add-on, you will need to check the list of extensions/add-ons in your browser.

How to remove HIGHTSEARCH.COM from Google Chrome

 

    Start Google Chrome

    Click on Tools, then go to the Extensions

    Delete HIGHTSEARCH.COM or other extensions that look suspicious and you don’t remember installing them

 

How to remove HIGHTSEARCH.COM from Internet Explorer

 

    Launch Internet Explorer

    Click on the Tools/Gear icon, then select Manage Add-ons

    Delete HIGHTSEARCH.COM or other extensions that look suspicious and you don’t remember installing them

 

How to remove HIGHTSEARCH.COM from Mozilla Firefox

 

    Start Mozilla Firefox

    Click on the right-upper corner button

    Click Add-ons, then go to Extensions

    Delete HIGHTSEARCH.COM or other extensions that look suspicious and you don’t remember installing them

 

How to remove HIGHTSEARCH.COM from Microsoft Edge

 

    Start Microsoft Edge

    Click the three-dot button in the upper right corner

    Choose Extensions

    Click the gear icon near HIGHTSEARCH.COM or other extensions that look suspicious and you don’t remember installing them

    Choose Remove

 

Reset your browsers

How to reset settings in Google Chrome

 

    Click on the icon in the right-upper corner

    Choose Settings

    Click Show advanced settings

    Click the Reset Settings button

 

How to reset settings in Mozilla Firefox

 

    Click the icon in the upper right corner

    Choose Help

    Select Troubleshooting Information

    Click the Reset Firefox… button

 

How to reset settings in Internet Explorer

 

    Click on the Tools button

    Go to Internet options

    Go to the Advanced tab

    Click Reset

 

How to reset settings in Microsoft Edge

 

    Start Microsoft Edge

    Click the three-dot button in the upper right corner

    Choose Settings

    Under the Clear browsing data category select Choose what to clear

    Select everything and click Clear

 

Delete files and registry entries added by HIGHTSEARCH.COM

 

Sometimes removal via Control Panel is not enough since the built-in application can leave some files that shortly will restore the hijacker. So, you need to find all of the following items and delete them

Remove HIGHTSEARCH.COM files and folders:

C:\Program Files (x86)\[random]\

C:\Program Files (x86)\[random]\DeElevator.dllh7o

C:\Program Files (x86)\[random]\reakaph.xhtm5h7o

C:\Program Files (x86)\[random]\

C:\Program Files (x86)\[random]\[random]mpp.dll

C:\Program Files (x86)\[random]\

C:\Program Files (x86)\[random]\JtsLncs.xhtm5

C:\Program Files (x86)\[random]\JtsLnctes.exe

C:\Windows\System32\Tasks\[random] Launcher

Remove HIGHTSEARCH.COM registry entries:

HKCU\Software\[random]

HKCU\Software\Mozilla\Firefox\{EB52F1AB-3C2B-424F-9794-833C687025CF}\hp http://www.HIGHTSEARCH.COM/?z=[id]&from=epf1&uid=[computer_id]&type=hp&mode=ffsengext

HKCU\Software\Mozilla\Firefox\{EB52F1AB-3C2B-424F-9794-833C687025CF}\tab http://www.HIGHTSEARCH.COM/?z=[id]&from=epf1&uid=[computer_id]&type=hp&mode=ffsengext

HKCU\Software\Mozilla\Firefox\{EB52F1AB-3C2B-424F-9794-833C687025CF}\sp http://www.HIGHTSEARCH.COM/search/?q={searchTerms}&z=[id]&from=epf1&uid=[computer_id]&type=sp

HKCU\Software\Mozilla\Firefox\{EB52F1AB-3C2B-424F-9794-833C687025CF}\surl http://www.HIGHTSEARCH.COM/search/?&z=[id]&from=epf1&uid=[computer_id]&type=sp&q=

HKCU\Software\Mozilla\Firefox\{EB52F1AB-3C2B-424F-9794-833C687025CF}\uid [random]

HKCU\Software\Mozilla\Firefox\{EB52F1AB-3C2B-424F-9794-833C687025CF}\s HtTp://d2jeaw7c5nmwo6.cloudfront.net/kww7yc2r?uid=%s&update0=version,%s&update1=sys,%s&update4=ref,%s&update5=mode,%s&update6=sys0,%s&update7=sys1,%s&update8=sys2,%s&update9=sys3,%s&update10=sys4,%s

HKCU\Software\Mozilla\Firefox\{EB52F1AB-3C2B-424F-9794-833C687025CF}\spname trotux

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{6710C780-E20E-4C49-A87D-321850ED3D7C}

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\EnableShellExecuteHooks 1

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\TaskCache\Tasks\{A7BD9EC3-FCFC-4AD6-8AB6-8D6C89FCD7D8}

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\TaskCache\Tree\[random] Launcher

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\help http://www.HIGHTSEARCH.COM/?z=[id]&from=epf1&uid=[computer_id]&type=hp

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Mozilla\Firefox\{EB52F1AB-3C2B-424F-9794-833C687025CF}

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Mozilla\Firefox\{EB52F1AB-3C2B-424F-9794-833C687025CF}\hp http://www.HIGHTSEARCH.COM/?z=[id]&from=epf1&uid=[computer_id]&type=hp&mode=ffsengext

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Mozilla\Firefox\{EB52F1AB-3C2B-424F-9794-833C687025CF}\tab http://www.HIGHTSEARCH.COM/?z=[id]&from=epf1&uid=[computer_id]&type=hp&mode=ffsengext

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Mozilla\Firefox\{EB52F1AB-3C2B-424F-9794-833C687025CF}\sp http://www.HIGHTSEARCH.COM/search/?q={searchTerms}&z=[id]&from=epf1&uid=[computer_id]&type=sp

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Mozilla\Firefox\{EB52F1AB-3C2B-424F-9794-833C687025CF}\surl http://www.HIGHTSEARCH.COM/search/?&z=[id]&from=epf1&uid=[computer_id]&type=sp&q=

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Mozilla\Firefox\{EB52F1AB-3C2B-424F-9794-833C687025CF}\uid [random]

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Mozilla\Firefox\{EB52F1AB-3C2B-424F-9794-833C687025CF}\s HtTp://d2jeaw7c5nmwo6.cloudfront.net/kww7yc2r?uid=%s&update0=version,%s&update1=sys,%s&update4=ref,%s&update5=mode,%s&update6=sys0,%s&update7=sys1,%s&update8=sys2,%s&update9=sys3,%s&update10=sys4,%s

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Mozilla\Firefox\{EB52F1AB-3C2B-424F-9794-833C687025CF}\spname trotux

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{CDF7DA52-A297-4646-89F9-CE1DAC96612B}

HKLM\SOFTWARE\{8C4CE252-7DB2-4F8E-8E76-BAD0E5826A83}

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\JtsLncs