Remove Key-Find.com: Why Cannot Remove It and How?

Key-Find.com Definition

It is not quite fair to call Key-Find.com a virus for its creators as they created it simply to help promote other products as well as to earn commissions to fund development. The search engine aims at intercepting traffic which will assist in exposing products to as many PC users as possible for an aggressive online promotion. Following the example of search.babylon.com and search.conduit.com, Key-Find.com does almost the same thing:

1. It hijacks homepage, search engine, new tab.
2. The search results it offers are not that as relevant as what offers by Google and other reputable search engines.
3. It brings in additional web applications such as toolbar and adware.
4. The replacement by Key-Find.com does drag down the speed in displaying web page.
5. Key-Find.com cannot be removed from browser settings easily with conventional ways and it is capable of dodging anti-virus programs.

FAQ: if it’s not a virus, then how key-find.com sticks to a computer and keep redirecting?

Those arbitrary and the undesirable behaviors should make PC users consider it as a virus. However, it is not. That’s the reason why security utilities will not flag the browser hijacker when it is doing something bad.

Then how Key-Find.com manages to stay on a computer without being removed easily and redirect PC users as it wishes? Before answering the question, I would like to post a question – what you think makes Google as default homepage and redirect people to certain sites? There are several technologies helping to do so. They are BHO, ActiveX, Applet and Script technology. They preload a web application into system configuration and help to offer favorable search results according to the collected browsing history. By doing so, a customed and better surfing experience can be achieved. Therefore, they are considered to be legal.

While these technologies can be utilized maliciously. Key-Find.com is an example. With its codes being loaded into system configuration, ActiveX will be able to control the running of web executables and manipulate DNS.

Key-Find.com Should Remove as It Is Potentially Dangerous

Though key-find.com is not a virus, it is recommended to remove as soon as possible for the below listed reasons:

1. What key-find.com takes people to are mostly advertising web pages for money generation; such page contains large numbers of pictures (to load numbers of pix at one time causes plenty of CPU and thus browser crash could happen) and most of them are not carefully examined. In the event that a web site created by hackers with exactly the same interface and content manages to muddle through and become one of the sites cooperating with key-find.com, it would lead to money loss and identity theft.
2. Backdoor (offering direct control authority) is usually planted into programs during the development for the convenience of detection and debugging in the future. The backdoor program is not itself dangerous. With key-find.com keeps taking people to some random websites, especially advertising ones, the probability of backdoor being cracked and exploited soars high. As a consequence, hacker manages to obtain admin rights, bypass all safeguards and remotely control key-find.com to take a quest to a normal site to a spam one with duplicate content, coaxing users to put in information such as bank card password and personal details.

As anti-virus programs are not able to take down Key-Find.com automatically, manual way is highly recommended. Should there be any question or help request, please do feel free to get quick answer and fix by contacting the recommended PC Technology Support Center.

Remove Key-Find.com from Mac OS X and Windows

1. Remove the extensions created on the day when Key-Find.com was firstly detected.

Internet Explorer 
Tools > Manage add-ons > ‘Toolbars and Extensions’ > remove Key-Find.com's extension > ‘Search Providers’ > remove Key-Find.com’s extension.

Mozilla Firefox 
Tools > Options > ‘Extension’ > remove Key-Find.com’s extension > ‘Plugins’ panel > remove Key-Find.com’s extension.

Google Chrome 
Spanner icon > "Tools" > ‘Extensions’ > remove Key-Find.com’s extension.

Opera
Opera menu > Extensions > Manage Extensions > remove Key-Find.com’s extension.

Safari
Safari Menu > Preferences > extensions tab > remove Key-Find.com’s extension.

2. Restore the homepage from Key-Find.com.

Internet Explorer 
‘Search Providers’ > select desirable search engine > press “Set as Default” button.

Mozilla Firefox 
Options > General tab > "homepage" > type your desirable URL.

Google Chrome 
Spanner icon > "Settings" > Search section > click dropdown menu to select desired search engine.

Opera
Opera menu > Settings > Preference > General tab > "Home Page" > set your desirable homepage.

Safari
Safari Menu > Preferences > General tab > Default Search Engine > set desirable search engine.


3. End Key-Find.com’s running processes and related ones.

Windows
Access Task Manager > View >　select columns > tick "PID" and "Path name" > go to open up System Information > end the process with path name directing to key-find.com's path.

Mac OS X
Applications > Utilities > Activity Monitor > click open the suspected processes > "Open ports and files" > end the process with path name directing to key-find.com's path.

Tip: end explorer.exe especially. Copy a healthy explorer.exe from another computer and paste it into the affected one. Then access Task Manager to create new task, browse to the explorer.exe pasted onto the machine and call it.


4. remove items generated by xeesearch.com in Database.

Windows

• Access Database with “regedit” typed in Run box (enabled by Win+R key combination).
• Access the below given entries to find and remove keys related to key-find.com:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\[the browser that has key-find.com]
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Microsoft\[the browser that has key-find.com]
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\AppID\Extension.DLL
HKCU\Software\key-find.com
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{random number}

Mac OS X 

• Navigate to the below places to remove key-find.com.

/Users/YourUserName/Library/Preferences
/Safari/ Preferences/extensions/
/Safari/Help/Installed Plug/Ins & list
/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/
~/Library (in home folder)/Internet Plug-Ins/.

Statement

Key-Find.com should not be taken mistakenly to be associated with VilmaTech Online Support. This article aims to offer self-help instruction. It should be widely informed that there’s no universal solution to one single computer issue/ infection/ malware due to various OS, versions and structure. Some might not find vicious item in certain directory.  Besides, failure can emerge if Key-Find.com is not removed completely and additional items that worm through the vulnerability into the same machine randomly.

Reference:

Remove Isearch.babylon.com and Restore Homepage - Tech Support

Browser Crash Reasons and Solutions – Global PC Support Center

What Is Explorer.exe and What Causes Explorer.exe Error?  - Explicit Answer and Solution

Applet - Wiki

ActiveX - Wiki

BHO - Wiki