How to remove Searchmusicstream browser hijacker

If Searchmusicstream.com is set as your homepage, your computer is infected with a browser hijacker. It’s not a particularly serious infection, and it mainly tries to redirect users to sponsored websites.

 

Whenever your browser’s settings are changed without your permission, it’s usually a sign of a browser hijacker infection. In this case, if your homepage has been changed to Searchmusicstream.com, your computer is infected with Search Music Stream hijacker. In addition to this, your default search engine would also be changed to searchlee.com. These changes are done in order to make redirecting you to sponsored websites easier. Your new search engine should not be trusted because it will insert sponsored content into search results. Those search results will lead to questionable sites, which at worst case scenario could expose you to malicious sites and scams.

Browser hijackers aren’t particularly dangerous because they don’t directly harm the computer. However, because you could be exposed to potentially dangerous content, allowing a hijacker to stay installed would be a mistake. Not to mention that there is no reason to keep it installed anyway, seeing as it installed without your explicit permission and does nothing but hinder your regular browsing. So the sooner you delete Searchmusicstream.com, the better.

If a hijacker installed onto your computer, it’s likely that you are not aware of how to install free programs correctly. Infections like browser hijackers come attached to free software as extra offers, and they can install alongside unless you manually stop them.

How do browser hijackers install

The hijacker was available on the Chrome web store, promoted as an extension that will allow users to stream music. However, it’s unlikely that users would download it intentionally.

What’s more likely is that the hijacker was attached to a free program you installed. Whatever comes attached to a program can install alongside automatically without requiring additional permission from users. This method of installation is known as software bundling, and it’s popular among unwanted program developers.

Infections like adware, browser hijackers and potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) are usually what comes attached to free software. Those offers are not only set to install alongside automatically but they’re also purposely hidden to stop users from deselecting them. If you want to make them visible, you need to opt for Advanced (Custom) settings during freeware installation. Unlike when using Default, in Advanced settings you will have the option to review whatever has been added and deselect what you do not want. We recommend that you deselect all added offers, as software bundling is a sneaky installation method and program that use it should not be permitted to install onto your computer.

Why you should delete Searchmusicstream browser hijacker

While this makes hijackers very annoying, the fact that they change browser’s settings is also why they’re such noticeable infections, which allows users to quickly get rid of them. This particular hijacker will set Searchmusicstream.com as the homepage, and searchlee.com as the search engine. These changes can affect all popular browsers, including Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. You may have already noticed that you are unable to undo these setting changes while the hijacker is installed, so do not waste your time until you remove Searchmusicstream.com.

The Searchmusicstream.com site that’s set as your homepage is a pretty standard browser hijacker website. It has shortcuts to a PDF converter, a cryptocurrency and currency converters, a calculator, as well as a search engine. If you do a search via the search box on the site or your browser address bar, you will be shown search results by searchlee.com. Searchlee.com is a questionable search engine so its results are not to be trusted. While most of the sponsored results will be harmless, it’s possible to be redirected to a site that’s hiding malware or promoting scams.

It should also be mentioned that browser hijackers track users and collect information. Searchmusicstream will record what sites you visit, what you search for, your IP address, etc. This information can also be shared with unknown third-parties.

Searchmusicstream.com removal

The easiest way to remove Searchmusicstream.com browser hijacker would be to use an anti-virus programs like WiperSoft. The program would locate the hijacker, remove it and undo all setting changes. However, since it’s not a particularly serious infection, you can uninstall Searchmusicstream.com manually as well. You will be free to change your browser’s settings as you want once the hijacker is gone.