Search protect icon in system tray (still there after deleting)

Question

Hello i got infected with search protect (conduit). In my firefox, IE and Chrome browser my startpage got changed to mystartsearch or something like that.
I changed the startpages and deleted installed programs by the normal windows add and remove programmes tool in the configuration screen. I ran kaspersky.
Everything was cleaned it seemed besides 2 things. When i clicked new tab in firefox the mystartsearch page started in that tab. I solved this bij intalling a firefox tab add on. Than i changed the page that had to open when opening a new tab.
Another problem is a blue e icon in my system tray that i can't get away. It is started when my computer starts up. I can't click it, nothing happens. When i move with my mouse over it, "search protect, click to configure" is shown.
I disabeld programs in my startup configuration. I searched fot this program, but i can 't find anything than seems to be related to search protect. I searched for removal assistance on the internet but i can only find A to Z procedures, which are useless. The program already seems to be deleted from my computer but the icon keeps starting up on my computer.
Can somebody help? Do i have to reinstall search protect to delete it properly? And where can i find a "harmless" version of this program? It is a bit sick to reinstall an infected programm to redelete it. I prefer other solutions, but that icon on startup is irritating me and i wonder if it is still harming my computer.

Answer 1

You already uninstalled Search Protect from the Windows Control Panel, Uninstall a Program? Could you check again for anything strange. After the list loads, I suggest clicking the "Installed on" column heading to group items by install date. This can help surface innocently named bundle items that snuck in with some software you agreed to install. Take out as much trash as possible here.
You can search for remaining issues with the '''scanning/cleaning tools''' listed in our support article: [[Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware]]. These on-demand scanners are free and take considerable time to run. If they finish quickly and especially if they require payment, you may have a serious infection. I suggest the specialized forums listed in the article in that case.
Regarding the new tab page, you shouldn't need an add-on to regain control.
(1) In a new tab, type or paste '''about:config''' in the address bar and press Enter. Click the button promising to be careful.
(2) In the search box above the list, type or paste '''newtab''' and pause while the list is filtered
(3) Double-click the '''browser.newtab.url''' preference and enter your preferred page:
* ''Page thumbnails (default)'' => about:newtab
* ''Blank tab'' => about:blank
* ''Built-in Firefox home page'' => about:home
* ''Any other page'' => full URL to the page
Press Ctrl+t to open a new tab and verify that it worked. Fixed?
Some gotchas:
''If Firefox won't let you edit this setting:'' you may still have SearchProtect on your system.
''If Firefox lets you save your change but ignores it:'' one of your other extensions may be overriding it. You can review, disable, and/or remove extensions on the add-ons page:
"3-bar" Firefox button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons > ''in the left column click'' Extensions
''If the change works during your session, but at the next startup is back to MyStart:'' you might have a user.js file in your personal Firefox settings folder (your Firefox profile folder). This article describes how to track down and remove the file: [[How to fix preferences that won't save]].
Any luck?