1. Remove “Do Searches” hijack (Virus Removal
Guide)
Do Searches is a browser hijacker, which is promoted via other free downloads, and once installed it will change your
browser homepage to dosearches.com and default search engine tosearch.yahoo.com.
This in itself is not considered malicious as there are many legitimate programs that change these settings as well. What is
considered malicious, though, is that it will also append the argumenthttp://dosearches.com to random Windows shortcuts
on your desktop and your Windows Start Menu.

2. The Do Searches homepage will display advertisements and sponsored links in your search results, and may collect search
terms from your search queries. The Do Searches hijack is used to boost advertising revenue, as in the use of blackhat
SEO, to inflate a site’s page ranking in search results.

3. Do Searches it’s technically not a virus, but it does exhibit plenty of malicious traits, such as rootkit capabilities to hook deep
into the operating system, browser hijacking, and in general just interfering with the user experience. The industry generally
refers to it as a “PUP,” or potentially unwanted program.
Do Searches is an ad-supported (users may see additional banner, search, pop-up, pop-under, interstitial and in-text link
advertisements) cross web browser plugin for Internet Explorer (BHO) and Firefox/Chrome (plugin) and distributed through
various monetization platforms during installation. The browser extension includes various features that will modify the
default or custom settings of the browser including the home page, search settings and in some cases will modify Internet
Explorer’s load time threshold, place a lock file within Firefox to prevent competing software from changing its settings as
well as disable the browser’s Content Security Policy in order to allow for cross site scripting of the plugin.
Do Searches homepage got on your computer after you have installed a freeware software (video recording/streaming,
download-managers or PDF creators) that had bundled into their installation this browser hijacker.
For example, when you install VPlay, you will also agree to change your browser homepage todosearches.com and default
search engine to search.yahoo.com

4. However when you uninstall VPlay from your computer, your web browser’s default settings will not be restored. This means
that you’ll have to remove Do Searches homepage from your favorite web browser manually.

5. You should always pay attention when installing software because often, a software installer includes optional installs,
such as this Do Searches browser hijacker. Be very careful what you agree to install.
Always opt for the custom installation and deselect anything that is not familiar, especially optional software that you
never wanted to download and install in the first place. It goes without saying that you should not install software that you
don’t trust.
Do Searches Homepage – Virus Removal Guide
This page is a comprehensive guide, which will remove Do Searches from your Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google
Chrome.
Please perform all the steps in the correct order. If you have any questions or doubt at any point,STOP and ask for our
assistance.
STEP 1: Remove Do Searches browser hijacker from your computer with AdwCleaner
STEP 2: Remove Do Searches from Internet Explore, Firefox and Google Chrome with Junkware Removal Tool
STEP 3:Clean up the various Windows shortcuts that have been hijacked by Do Searches virus
STEP 4: Remove Do Searches malicious files with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free
STEP 5: Double-check for the Do Searches infection with HitmanPro
STEP 1: Remove Do Searches browser hijacker with
AdwCleaner
The AdwCleaner utility will scan your computer for Do Searches malicious files that may have been installed on your
computer without your knowledge.
1. You can download AdwCleaner utility from the below link.
ADWCLEANER DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will automatically download AdwCleaner on your computer)
2. Before starting AdwCleaner, close all open programs and internet browsers, thendouble-click on the
AdwCleaner icon.
If Windows prompts you as to whether or not you wish to run AdwCleaner, please allow it to run.

6. 3. When the AdwCleaner program will open, click on the Scan button as shown below.
AdwCleaner will now start to search for Do Searches malicious files that may be installed on your computer.
4. To remove the Do Searches malicious files that were detected in the previous step, please click on
the Clean button.

7. AdwCleaner will now prompt you to save any open files or data as the program will need to reboot the computer.
Please do so and then click on the OK button.
STEP 2: Remove Do Searches from Internet Explore,
Firefox and Google Chrome with Junkware Removal Tool
Junkware Removal Tool is a powerful utility, which will remove Search.Do Searches from Internet Explorer, Firefox or
Google Chrome, and will double-check for any other compromised Windows shortcuts.
1. You can download the Junkware Removal Tool utility from the below link:
JUNKWARE REMOVAL TOOL DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will automatically download the Junkware Removal Tool
utility on your computer)
2. Once Junkware Removal Tool has finished downloading, please double-click on the JRT.exe icon as seen
below.

8. If Windows prompts you as to whether or not you wish to run Junkware Removal Tool, please allow it to run.
3. Junkware Removal Tool will now start, and at the Command Prompt, you’ll need to press any key to perform a
scan for the Do Searches virus.
Please be patient as this can take a while to complete (up to 10 minutes) depending on your system’s specifications.

9. 4. When the scan Junkware Removal Tool will be completed, this utility will display a log with the malicious files and
registry keys that were removed from your computer.
STEP 3: Clean up the various Windows shortcuts that
have been hijacked by Do Searches virus
1. Search for your browser shortcut (Desktop, Taskbar or Start Menu Shortcut), then right click on it and
select Properties.

11. 2. In the Shortcut tab, in the Target field, remove the http://www.Do Searches.com argument. Basically, there should
be only the path to browser executable file. Nothing more.
These are the default shortcut path that should be in your Target box, if Do Searches argument is in there, then you should
remove it.
• For Internet Explorer: “C:Program FilesInternet Exploreriexplore.exe” for Windows 32-bit or “C:Program
FilesInternet Explorer (x86)iexplore.exe” for Windows 64-bit.
• For Mozilla Firefox: “C:Program FilesMozilla Firefoxfirefox.exe” for Windows 32-bit or “C:Program Files
(x86)Mozilla Firefoxfirefox.exe” for Windows 64-bit.
• For Google Chrome: “C:Program FilesGoogleChromeApplicationchrome.exe”
STEP 4: Remove Do Searches malicious files from your
computer with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free utilizes Malwarebytes powerful technology to detect and remove all traces of malware
including worms, trojans, rootkits, rogues, dialers, spyware and more.

12. 1. You can download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free from the below link,then double click on it to install this
program.
MALWAREBYTES ANTI-MALWARE DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a download page in a new window from
where you can download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free)
2. When the installation begins, keep following the prompts in order to continue with the setup process.
Do not make any changes to default settings and when the program has finished installing, click on
the Finish button.

13. 3. On the Scanner tab, select Perform quick scan and then click on the Scan button to start scanning your
computer.
4. Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware will now start scanning your computer as shown below.

14. 5. When the Malwarebytes scan will be completed,click on Show Result.
6. You will now be presented with a screen showing you the malware infections that Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware has
detected.Please note that the infections found may be different than what is shown in the image.Make sure that

15. everything is Checked (ticked) and click on the Remove Selected button.
STEP 5: Double check for the Do Searches infection with
HitmanPro
HitmanPro is a second opinion scanner, designed to rescue your computer from malware (viruses, trojans, rootkits, etc.) that
have infected your computer despite all the security measures you have taken (such as anti virus software, firewalls, etc.).
1. You can download HitmanPro from the below link, then double click on it to start this program.
HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download HitmanPro)

16. 2. HitmanPro will start and you’ll need to follow the prompts (by clicking on the Next button) to start a system scan
with this program.
3. HitmanPro will start scanning your computer for malware, as seen in the image below.

17. 4. Once the scan is complete,you’ll see a screen which will display all the infected files that this utility has detected,
and you’ll need to click on Next to remove these malicious files.
5. Click Activate free licenseto start the free 30 days trial and remove all the malicious files from your computer.

18. Your computer should now be free of the Do Searches infection. If your current anti-virus solution let this infection through,
you may want to consider purchasing the PRO version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to protect against these types of
threats in the future.
If you are still experiencing problems while trying to remove Do Searches hijacker from your machine, please start a new
thread in our Malware Removal Assistance forum.