Delete YesSearches.com Redirect (Browser Hijacker/PUP)

What is YesSearches.com Redirect? And how does it function?

YesSearches.com Redirect is a browser extension that seemingly functions as a search engine. It features a plain-looking interface which supposedly allows users to search the web. It also contains quick links to several websites. However, don’t let its simple interface fool you for it’s actually a browser hijacker and a PUP.
Once this browser hijacker is up and running in your computer, it won’t waste any time in changing the default settings of your browser – from the default homepage, search provider, new tab page, down to the addition of new and unknown toolbars and add-ons. After these changes, your usual browsing won’t ever be the same again as you will frequently experience redirects to the affiliated sites of YesSearches.com Redirect. Apart from redirects, you will also be seeing dozens of sponsored content such as in-text links, pop-ups and banners, some of which could get in your nerves as they are intrusive. Thus, with the continued usage of this browser hijacker, you will no longer find your browsing experience pleasant but worse.
Additionally, this browser hijacker also obtains information about your browsing by keeping an eye on all your online activities. The harvested information may include the following:

All your visited URLs and websites
Your browser’s home page
All search queries
Even search queries on the visited web pages
Browser type
Operating system type
Internet protocol (IP) address
Geographic location
The domain name of current Internet service provider (ISP)
Diagnostic information which describes how their Services are operating on the system

How is YesSearches.com Redirect distributed over the web?
Like other unwanted programs, YesSearches.com Redirect is distributed the web using several techniques. For one, it could be added as one of the optional add-ons in software bundles like freeware and shareware that are distributed in free sharing sites or peer-to-peer networks. So if you are one of the users who often sought this kind of software package to score free software, you need to be careful as you could end up installing unwanted programs like YesSearches.com Redirect. The next time you install any shareware or freeware, make sure that you use the Custom or Advanced setup instead of the usual quick setup.
Delete YesSearches.com Redirect from your browser and computer by using the removal guide provided below.
Step 1: First, you need to flush the DNS cache of your computer. To do so, right click on the Start button and click on Command Prompt (administrator). From there, type the “ipconfig /flushdns” command and hit Enter to flush the DNS.
Step 2: After that, restart your computer and then open all the browsers infected by YesSearches.com Redirect. Reset all the affected browsers to default to their default state.
Google Chrome

Open Google Chrome, then tap the Alt + F keys.
After that, click on Settings.
Next, scroll down until you see the Advanced option, once you see it, click on it.
After clicking the Advanced option, go to the “Restore and clean up option and click on the “Restore settings to their original defaults” option to reset Google Chrome.
Now restart Google Chrome.

Mozilla Firefox

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

Internet Explorer

Launch Internet Explorer.
Next, click the wrench icon for Settings.
Then click Internet Options.
After that, go to the Advanced tab.
From there, click the Reset button. This will reset Internet Explorer’s settings to their default condition.
Now click OK to save the changes made.
Restart your computer.

Step 3: Next, tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “appwiz.cpl” in the field and press Enter to open the Programs and Features in Control Panel.
Step 4: From the list of programs installed, look for any programs that could be related to YesSearches.com Redirect or any suspicious program you don’t remember installing under the list of installed programs and once you’ve found it, uninstall 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 hosts file using Notepad.
Delete all the entries that contain YesSearches.com.
After that, save the changes you’ve made and close the file.

Step 6: Hold down Windows + E keys simultaneously to open File Explorer.
Step 7: Navigate to the following directories and look for suspicious files associated to the browser hijacker such as the software bundle it came with and delete it/them.

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

Step 8: Close the File Explorer.
Step 9: Empty the contents of Recycle Bin.
Refer to the advanced instructions given below to ensure the removal of this browser hijacker from your computer as well as all the file residues it left behind.
Perform a full system scan using [product-code]. To do so, follow these steps:

Turn on your computer. If it’s already on, you have to reboot it.
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.

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

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