FIXED: Google searches redirecting to search.insightfinderhub.com / Cloudflare Error 1016

I had this problem for years where searching on Google would sometimes redirect me to:

search.insightfinderhub.com

and then I’d get a Cloudflare Error 1016 – Origin DNS error.

I tried a ton of things first: checking Chrome extensions, Chrome policies, DNS settings, proxy settings, the HOSTS file, registry entries, Windows Defender Offline scan, AdwCleaner, and even using a different internet connection/hotspot. The redirect also happened in Edge, Guest mode, and InPrivate, so it wasn’t just a Chrome extension.

What finally fixed it was doing a Windows clean boot:

Press Windows + R

Type msconfig and press Enter

Go to the Services tab

Check Hide all Microsoft services — this part is important

Disable the remaining non-Microsoft services

Click Apply / OK

Restart the computer

After restarting, Google searches started working normally again and stopped redirecting to search.insightfinderhub.com.

I restarted the PC again afterward just to make sure, and the fix stayed working.

So in my case, some third-party Windows service running in the background was apparently hijacking or redirecting my searches. If you have this exact search.insightfinderhub.com problem and all the normal browser fixes do nothing, try a clean boot.