What is GoIncognitoSearch?
GoIncognitoSearch is an extension compatible with Google Chrome. This extension might have been introduced via the Chrome Web Store at some point – or it will be introduced in the future – but our Anti-Spyware-101.com researchers could not find a working installer at the time of analysis. What does that mean? It seems that this potentially unwanted program (PUP) is not introduced in an official manner. That said, it could still be introduced in “unofficial” ways. For example, the installer of the extension could be packaged along with third-party programs. You could find it on suspicious websites. So, have you installed this suspicious extension? Regardless of how that happened, we recommend that you delete it from Google Chrome as soon as possible. It is easy to remove GoIncognitoSearch, but we strongly recommend that you read the entire report before you get rid of it.
How does GoIncognitoSearch work?
We are surprised that GoIncognitoSearch does not have an official installer on the Chrome Web Store, because most of its clones are represented via the platform. These clones include such suspicious extensions as GlobalPDFConverterSearch, GlobalSearchConverter, or ClickMovieSearch. You might think that they offer unique services, but they are practically identical. Aside from a few non-important differences, these extensions introduce the same unreliable search tool and allow their creators to track the same kind of user data in the same kinds of ways. So, if you have installed any of the PUP’s clones, you can learn as much about them by reading this report as about GoIncognitoSearch itself. The first thing to note is that this PUP does not introduce Chrome users to portal.goincognitosearch.com. This page has an integrated file converter, a currency converter, and even a calculator. It also presents a search tool. The PUP appears to be focused on the search tool alone.
Once the suspicious add-on is installed, feed.goincognitosearch.com takes over as the default search provider. That means that you use this search tool every time you enter keywords into the browser’s address bar. In reality, this is no search tool at all. Instead, it is a redirector that was created to redirect your searches to search.yahoo.com. Since Yahoo Search is a well-known and widely used engine, the users of the PUP might assume that the service is trustworthy. That is not the case, unfortunately. The thing is that GoIncognitoSearch modifies the results that are presented, and you end up being exposed to all kinds of third-party links along with normal search results. Navigating through these can be difficult. Well, is it dangerous to interact with third-party links? That could be very dangerous if the parties turned out to be malicious, and we cannot deny that that could be the case. The Privacy Policy of the PUP does not share much information about these parties. All we know is that they can track information and that the creator of the extension can share users’ personally identifiable information with them too.
How to remove GoIncognitoSearch
So, GoIncognitoSearch hijacks your browser, reads your browsing history, collects potentially sensitive data and shares it with unknown parties. In return, it offers nothing useful. It certainly does not offer a tool that would allow incognito browsing. If you want to browse the web more anonymously, you can use the incognito mode that is integrated within your browser. To open an incognito window, all you have to do is tap Ctrl+Shift+N keys together. Obviously, you should figure out how to delete GoIncognitoSearch first. This PUP can be eliminated manually, and we have created a guide (see below) to help you with that. If this PUP is not the only threat within your operating system, it is also a good idea to implement anti-malware software. It will automatically identify and delete malicious threats. Hopefully, after this experience, you will be more careful about new, unfamiliar extensions.
Removal Instructions
- Open the Google Chrome browser.
- Tap ALT+F keys simultaneously to open the Chrome menu.
- Click More tools and then select Extensions.
- Remove the extensions that you no longer wish to use.
- Tap ALT+F keys and click More tools again.
- This time, select Clear browsing data and then click Advanced.
- Pick a time range, mark the boxes, and click Clear data.
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