Member Avatar for brian jones

somehow my google home page has changed, where i use to type in my question had 2 boxes at the bottom with search the web or search australia only and this is very handy for me, and i would like to get it back

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Short, practical cleanup plan for the persistent "Searchsave" homepage hijack that described. The observations from , and point in the right direction (it behaves like a homepage hijacker). The checklist below fills the gaps with targeted steps and places to inspect when the homepage keeps reverting.

  • Reboot to Safe Mode with Networking (F8 at boot) so the hijacker is less likely to be running.
  • Run a process-killer (RKill) first, then full scans with a current anti-malware (Malwarebytes) and an adware cleaner (AdwCleaner). Update definitions before scanning.
  • Inspect and remove persistent startup entries with Autoruns (Sysinternals) or msconfig. Search for anything named "SearchSave" and disable it.
  • Check these registry locations for homepage or run entries and export a backup before editing:
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Start Page
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Start Page
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
      On 64-bit systems also check the Wow6432Node branches.
  • Verify browser shortcut targets (right-click shortcut → Properties → Target). Remove any appended URL or extra parameters that force a homepage.
  • Check the hosts file at C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts for redirects and Scheduled Tasks for anything that reapplies settings.
  • In Internet Explorer, review Manage Add-ons and the LAN/Proxy settings for unknown entries. Disable unknown BHOs/toolbars.
  • After removal, reboot, set the desired homepage, then create a system restore point. If the homepage still reverts, repeat Autoruns and scheduled-tasks checks—some components reinstall themselves until every artifact is removed.

Cautions: always export registry keys before changing them and prefer uninstallers (or a vetted uninstaller tool) over manually deleting program folders. If the machine remains infected or unfamiliar entries persist, consider offline scans or professional removal.

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Member Avatar for OlyComputers

I'm assuming you're using google.com.au?

I've never looked at that regional page before, so they might have changed the layout. right under the search field are two radio boxes to click for web or australia.

If your browser somehow got changed to google.com not google.com.au go to internet options and change the homepage to http://google.com.au

Member Avatar for brian jones

thankyou for the answer and yes i have tried that via control panel internet options and no matter what i put in as default home page, google or yahoo, or msn. it straight away reverts back to searchsave. Searchsave must have put something in there that i cant find, i have put searchsave in search on the start menu and it comes up blank, so i dont no what to do

Member Avatar for Laser

Try this:

In the Internet Options control panel, go to the Advanced tab and then click on Reset to return IE to its original state and disabling toolbars and add-ons.

Check that Searchsave is no longer your homepage and then go back into the Internet Options and change your homepage back to Google.

Member Avatar for OlyComputers

It sounds like you have some malware if your homepage is being changed to a site you're not familiar with.

Member Avatar for Thinka

I agree with Oly. I would say along with Laser's suggestion to disable toolbars and add-ons, go to Add/Remove Programs and try to find this "Searchsave" (or the program it came with) and remove it.

Also as an extra measure go into your root directory (e.g. usually C: on Windows) and find the folder in which the program was installed and delete that too. On XP this would be C:\Program Files\Searchsave, for instance.

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