WSearch has nothing to do with Windows or Searching. Rather than being a helpful tool, it’s a cleverly disguised malicious program. In other words, it’s just like any other annoying malware.

What is WSearch?

I have certainly said it before but I just can’t say it enough: the best way to keep your PC safe is to avoid malware in the first place. Of course, I know (from experience) that it isn’t always possible to avoid those nasty culprits. Instead we’ll focus on what to do when one sneaks past your defenses and lodges itself in the depths of your PC.

Malware Name: WSearch
Icons: None; Occasionally a random search/tool bar may appear in your web browser.

Symptoms Include: Unfamiliar search boxes, sluggish computer, sudden crashes; There also may be incidents of a takeover when you attempt to perform a search on the Internet. May also force you to view various advertisements by random popups.

NOTE: May also redirect you to a website named wsearch{dot}net.
This malware may seem annoying but harmless, but don’t be fooled. The longer you ignore the problem, the worse it will get. Not to mention, you don’t want to allow programs that do not belong on your computer to have free reign of your private information!

Recommended Treatment:
WARNING! Follow these step-by-step instructions only if you are an advanced computer user. Attempting to remove a virus if you don’t know what you’re doing can make the situation even worse! You may not want to spend the money, but it will be well worth it – as opposed to completely and irreversibly destroying your hard drive.

Normally, your priority would be to shut down that bogus AV program. Unfortunately with this bug, that might be nearly impossible. You can try to remove it by using the traditional routes, but don’t expect much. If you are unable to remove it, you can use legitimate AV software to root it out.

Once you’ve run as thorough and comprehensive a scan as possible, view the files that are being removed to ensure that you’ve gotten rid of all traces of the bug. You may have to delete certain registry keys – but your AV program should make you aware of that if it’s necessary.

Known locations of infection: Primarily social networking sites, some lesser known online retailers, random dating sites.
Be careful with this little annoyance – it seems simple, but all malware is dangerous.