What is Gensearch.co? And how does it function?

Gensearch.co is a browser extension that functions as a search engine that supposedly gives users enhanced search results. It may look like the typical search engine that allows you to search anything in the web, however, it isn’t what you think it is as security experts classify this browser extension as a browser hijacker that could hijack the settings of an affected computer.
Despite its claims to give you enhanced search results, it actually delivers modified ones not to improve your browsing experience but to give room to the sponsored content from its affiliated sites. In fact, when you use this dubious search engine to search for anything on the internet, you will mostly see advertisements instead of related search results. Thus, the only thing that Gensearch.co improves is not the browsing experience of users but the pockets of its developers.
In addition, Gensearch.co is also known to monitor the activities of its users online in order to gather information. The information gathered includes browsing history, search queries, websites you often visit, and many more. The information might be used to deliver you with more personalized content and increase its profit.
How is Gensearch.co disseminated over the web?
Gensearch.co is disseminated the same way all other browser hijackers are – via software bundles. Software bundling remains to be the most used distributed method when it comes to disseminating unwanted programs like Gensearch.co. So if you tend to use software bundles every time you install a program, you need to be careful as you could end up installing every single program in the bundle. When installing this kind of software package, you have to choose the Custom or Advanced setup so that you’ll have the option to get rid of the extra programs that were added to the package.
Use the removal guide given below to remove Gensearch.co from your computer along with its components.
Step 1: The first thing you have to do to get rid of Gensearch.co from your computer is to close all the affected browsers manually. If you find it hard to do so, you can close them using the Task Manager just tap on Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
Step 2: Once you’ve pulled up the Task Manager, go to the Processes tab and look for the affected browser’s process and end it.
Step 3: Reset all your browsers to default to their default state.
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.
5. Now switch to the Advanced tab and click the Reset button.
6. Then check the box for “Delete personal settings” and then click Reset again.

Google Chrome

1. Launch Google Chrome, press Alt + F, move to More tools, and click Extensions.
2. Look for Gensearch.co 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. Click on Advanced.
6. After that, click the Reset button to reset Google Chrome.

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.
6. Tap Alt + H to access Help.
7. Next, select “Troubleshooting information” and click “Refresh Firefox” at the top of the page.
8. Now click “Refresh Firefox” again to confirm the reset.

Step 4: Open Control Panel by pressing the Windows key + R, then type in appwiz.cpl and then click OK or press Enter.

Step 5: Look for Gensearch.co among the list of installed programs and any other suspicious program could be affiliated to it and then Uninstall it.

Step 6: Hold down Windows + E keys simultaneously to open File Explorer.
Step 7: Navigate to the following directories and look for suspicious files related to Gensearch.co and delete it/them.

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

Step 8: Close the File Explorer.
Step 9: Empty the Recycle Bin.
Removing Gensearch.co won’t be enough so you have to follow the advanced removal guide prepared below.
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.