NiceSearches.com

Posted by Max Lehmann on April 5, 2016

What is NiceSearches.com?

NiceSearches.com was created by a privately owned company in Asia that “specialise in online advertising, web traffic generation, online search syndication and Search Engine Marketing <...>.” Therefore, it is not a surprise that this search engine can modify your search results and add various sponsored links that might redirect you to unreliable third-party websites. The site promotes lots of third-party content, but it does not review the provided links and cannot guarantee that they are trustworthy. For starters, the web pages could advertise questionable software, such as adware or potentially unwanted programs (PUPs). If you want to learn more of the risks that come with the application, you should continue reading the article. test

What does NiceSearches.com do?

Our specialists at Anti-spyware-101.com categorized NiceSearches.com as a browser hijacker because it changes homepage and search engine without user’s permission. At the moment, it affects the Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome browsers. The browser hijacker uses the google.com search engine, and its appearance is rather similar, too.

The primary concern for this site is the modified results that might be shown to you while using this search engine. Even though the applications creators promise that “nicesearches does not collect any personal information about you (such as your name or email address) except when you specifically and knowingly provide that information.” It cannot guarantee that the provided links will not lead you to websites that could be gathering your private data. Apparently, the site's creators have too many third-party partners, and they cannot review all the content they provide. Therefore, we would advise you to avoid the ads that belong to unfamiliar companies or even better to remove this browser hijacker from your browser.

Where does NiceSearches.com come from?

Most likely, the search engine spreads with PUPs, e.g. Ghokswa Browser, Picexa. You might wonder how a program like this appeared on your computer, especially if you do not recall installing it. A PUP could be bundled with freeware that users download from file-sharing web pages. When you launch a bundled installer, you should see suggested software before or after the main application’s terms. If you fail to notice these suggestions you might install PUPs, other browser hijackers or adware applications without noticing it. Some PUPs can connect to the Internet and download software without user’s permission, so it is possible that NiceSearches.com appeared on your computer the same way.

How to remove NiceSearches.com

For the users who do not have much experience in removing browser hijacker or software in general, we would advise you to download a reliable antimalware tool and delete the unwanted application with it. Although, if you choose to eliminate the browser hijacker manually, do not forget to remove the main program’s folder in the %AppData% directory. Then, depending on the affected browser, users should either modify the listed Windows Registry entries or erase particular files from given locations. More detailed instructions are available below the text. If you have questions about the browser hijacker, feel free to leave us a message here or write to us via social media.

Remove NiceSearches.com from browsers

Internet Explorer

Press Win+R, to launch the RUN.
Type regedit and press Enter.
Go to: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
Locate listed value names: Search Page, Default_Search_URL, and Start Page on the right side of Registry’s window.
Right-click Search Page, Default_Search_URL, Start Page one by one and select Modify option.
Type e.g. google.com in the Value Data line and click OK.
Find the following path: HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
Locate Value Name Start Page on the right side.
Right-Click it and select Modify option.
Insert link of a website that you trust and select OK.

Mozilla Firefox

Go to: C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{Unique Mozilla user ID}
Find file named as Prefs.js and open it with Notepad.
Find this line: user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", "http://nicesearches.com/")
Right-click it and select Delete.

Google Chrome

Navigate to: C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default
Find given files: Preferences, Secure Preferences, Web Data.
Right-click them separately and choose Delete.