What is Bravesearch.net? And how does it work?

Bravesearch.net is a questionable browser extension promoted as a search engine that supposedly does not track its users. It may seem like an ideal search engine especially for users who value privacy knowing that a lot of browser extensions end up tracking users’ browsing activities. However, if you install this dubious search engine, it will modify the settings of your browsers. It usually affects browsers like Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Safari and more. Once it changes the default settings of the browser, you will have a new search provider, homepage, and new tab page. Note that these changes are done without your consent which is why Bravesearch.net is considered to be a browser hijacker and a potentially unwanted program.
Since the changes are done without you knowing, you will have no choice but to use the shady services of this browser hijacker. According to researchers, Bravesearch.net is configured to only generate web search results – in the search results page, the section for videos, images, and news only shows a “Nothing found”. Clearly, this search engine is of no use since it can’t even give you decent search results. In fact, the majority of the content displayed in the search results page are from the affiliated sites of Bravesearch.net. It’s not surprising as Bravesearch.net like other browser hijackers use the pay-per-click technique to gain revenue. And even though it claims it doesn’t track users’ activities online, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t use cookies – it does.
“Please note that BraveSearch does not control, does not review and has no responsibility for the privacy policies of its service providers or co-operation partners.”
How does Bravesearch.net spread over the web?
Bravesearch.net spread with the help of a technique called bundling. This isn’t new as browser hijacker developers have been using this method to spread their shady programs. This is why you have to be careful when installing any software bundle as you could end up installing browser hijackers like Bravesearch.net.
Erase Bravesearch.net from your computer using the removal guide laid out below.
Step 1: The first thing you need to do to delete Bravesearch.net is to open the Control Panel. To do so, tap the Windows key + R, then type in appwiz.cpl and then click OK or press Enter.

Step 2: Look for any suspicious program that is affiliated with Bravesearch.net and then Uninstall it.

Step 3: Close all the browsers infected with Bravesearch.net. If you’re having a hard time closing them, you can close them using the Task Manager just tap on Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
Step 4: After you open the Task Manager, go to the Processes tab and look for the infected browser’s process and end it.
Step 5: Edit your Hosts File

• Tap the Win + R keys to open then type in %WinDir% and then click OK.
• Go to System32/drivers/etc.
• Open the host’s file using Notepad.
• Delete all the entries containing Bravesearch.net.
• After that, save the changes you’ve made and close the file.

Step 6: Reset all your browsers to default to their default state.
Google Chrome

1. Launch Google Chrome, press Alt + F, move to More tools, and click Extensions.
2. Look for Bravesearch.net or any other unwanted add-ons, click the Recycle Bin button, and choose Remove.
3. Restart Google Chrome, then tap Alt + F, and select Settings.
4. Navigate to the On Startup section at the bottom.
5. Select “Open a specific page or set of pages”.
6. Click the More actions button next to the hijacker and click Remove.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Open the browser and tap Ctrl + Shift + A to access the Add-ons Manager.
2. In the Extensions menu Remove the unwanted extension.
3. Restart the browser and tap keys Alt + T.
4. Select Options and then move to the General menu.
5. Overwrite the URL in the Home Page section and then restart the browser.

Internet Explorer

1. Launch Internet Explorer.
2. Tap Alt + T and select Internet options.
3. Click the General tab and then overwrite the URL under the homepage section.
4. Click OK to save the changes.

Step 7: Hold down Windows + E keys simultaneously to open File Explorer.
Step 8: Navigate to the following directories and look for suspicious files associated to browser hijacker such as the software bundle it came with and delete it/them.

• %USERPROFILE%\Downloads
• %USERPROFILE%\Desktop
• %TEMP%

Step 9: Close the File Explorer.
Step 10: Empty the contents of Recycle Bin.
Follow the advanced instructions below to ensure the removal of Bravesearch.net as well as all the file residues it left behind using a trusted program named [product-name].
Perform a full system scan using [product-code]. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Turn on your computer. If it’s already on, you have to reboot
2. After that, the BIOS screen will be displayed, but if Windows pops up instead, reboot your computer and try again. Once you’re on the BIOS screen, repeat pressing F8, by doing so the Advanced Option shows up.

3. To navigate the Advanced Option use the arrow keys and select Safe Mode with Networking then hit
4. Windows will now load the SafeMode with Networking.
5. Press and hold both R key and Windows key.

6. If done correctly, the Windows Run Box will show up.
7. Type in the URL address, [product-url] in the Run dialog box and then tap Enter or click OK.
8. After that, it will download the program. Wait for the download to finish and then open the launcher to install the program.
9. Once the installation process is completed, run [product-code] to perform a full system scan.

10. After the scan is completed click the “Fix, Clean & Optimize Now”button.