What is Bountysearch?
Bountysearch is an extension users find in the list of add-ons on Google Chrome. They do not know what it does and what to expect from it because its description consists of only one sentence “Earn Bounties by helping people search.” Its official website does not work, so we could not check it to find more about this browser extension. On top of that, there is the same sentence we have found in the description window of Bountysearch on Google Chrome available in https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/bountysearch/babmifppchjidjbndjalckdoekbeeonn?hl=en-US (Chrome Web store). Although not much information about this Google Chrome browser extension is provided to users, our specialists have still managed to find out more about it. The first finding has shown that this piece of software is a typical potentially unwanted program. Even though it is not a real malicious application, it performs activities typical for potentially unwanted software and might still cause problems. Because of this, it is recommended to get rid of this browser extension as soon as possible. We will tell you more about this extension first, and then you will find more information about its removal provided in the last paragraph.
What does Bountysearch do?
It is unclear what Bountysearch promises to do on users’ computers, but there is no doubt that it will not act beneficially. Luckily, unlike other untrustworthy browser extensions, it does not replace users’ preferred pages with new ones on affected browsers, but it does not mean that it does not make any changes on users’ computers. Research carried out by specialists at anti-spyware-101.com has shown that all users’ searches start being redirected through Yahoo! after the installation of Bountysearch. Also, modified search results might be placed next to normal search results along the way and displayed to them. To be frank, it is not such an innocent activity. Users might be redirected straight to untrustworthy pages with malicious software if they click on modified search results. These third-party websites might contain malicious software on them and even try to extract personally-identifiable details from users. To be frank, Bountysearch might gather information about users too, which is another disadvantage it has. Unfortunately, we could not found exactly what details about users and their browsing activities it is interested in, but we suspect that both types of information, i.e. non-personally identifiable and information that can personally identify users can be recorded. Non-personally identifiable information is recorded by many suspicious programs, so it is nothing new; however, decent programs NEVER actively collect personal information and then disclose it to third parties.
Where does Bountysearch come from?
An official website of Bountysearch is no longer working, as mentioned above, so users can only download it willingly from the Chrome Web store (https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/bountysearch/babmifppchjidjbndjalckdoekbeeonn?hl=en-US). Of course, our specialists do not believe this 100%. They say that this piece of software might be distributed using alternative distribution methods too. To find out whether or not it is true, they have carried out research. It has shown that Bountysearch might really travel in bundled malicious installers. Additionally, it might enter computers easier thanks to malware actively working on the system. Specifically speaking, active malware might open websites with warnings claiming that important software is missing, and it is a must to install it as soon as possible. If users click on the Download button to get missing software, they download the undesirable Google Chrome extension from the web. Do not let another malicious application to fool you into downloading it. If you do not trust yourself, you can enable a security application on your PC to ensure its maximum protection. Without a doubt, you need to be cautious yourself too, e.g. always carefully install new software and download it only from reputable pages.
How to delete Bountysearch
Bountysearch is not a serious malicious application, so you could remove it fully quite easily. All you need to do is to remove this extension from one browser – Google Chrome. This might seem to be a challenging task if you have never removed an extension in your life, but we can assure you that it will be almost a piece of cake to get rid of it with the help of our removal guide. There is a method to get rid of it more quickly and easily too – Bountysearch can be erased in an automatic way as well. Make the final decision yourself.
Bountysearch removal guide
Google Chrome
- Open your browser.
- Press Alt+F to open the browser menu.
- Click More tools.
- Open Extensions.
- Click on the undesirable extension and click on the Recycle bin icon.
- Click Remove.
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