Search Expanse

Posted by Lisa Blanc on May 17, 2016

What is Search Expanse?

Although promoted as a useful search tool, Search Expanse is not something you should install onto your web browsers or your computer. According to Anti-Spyware-101.com researchers, this suspicious program can be installed onto the computer and browsers; however, the official installer at searchexpanse.com only presents an extension for Google Chrome. This suggests that unpredictable and potentially dangerous versions of this program exist. The extension we have analyzed is classified as an advertising-supported program because it is capable of showing ads. Although it is unlikely that other versions will function in a different way than that, we still recommend erasing them from your operating system. If it is not clear why you need to delete Search Expanse from your browsers/PC, you should continue reading. We have recently analyzed this threat in our internal lab, and we can identify all security risks associated with this threat. test test test

How does Search Expanse work?

Search Expanse can be downloaded from its official website and the Chrome web store, both of which are considered authentic sources. However, we have found that this advertising-supported program can also be downloaded along with third-party programs carried by unrelated installers. We have seen one particular version spreading via software bundles that is installed as a Windows application, which means that it has an uninstaller in the Control Panel. We have found that uninstalling this version of the adware is not enough, and users have to erase extensions as well. At the moment, Search Expanse is not followed by a browser hijacker, nt.searchexpanse.com; however, it is likely to be released with one of its versions. We presume this because of other SuperWeb applications, such as Search Adventure or Tide Search, that were seen bundled with their own hijackers (Nt.searchadventure.net and Nt.tidesearch.net respectively). At the time of research, the Chrome extension downloaded from the official website hijacked homepage, search provider, and New Tab tools with a page (New Tab) representing a search box and a few tools (weather, date, and time). Although nothing looks out of ordinary here, the search tool is very questionable. Instead of providing you with search results, it redirects to search.yahoo.com. This engine is exploited by many browser hijackers, adware, and other programs to trick users into interacting with potentially unreliable links.

Advertising-supported programs generally inject ads. Although we have not seen Search Expanse showing pop-ups, interstitial ads, banners, or other kinds of advertising, ads might be shown along with the search results. Because Yahoo Search is used to deliver you search results, you might trust every single link shown, but that is a mistake. Ads could be injected by the creator (possibly Afford Time who has signed the files), and it is likely to earn money for every click made. Unfortunately, there is a risk that the advertisers working with this creator are malicious, and the ads they show might be used to scam you. It is known that this adware can read the data on the sites you visit, which suggests that it could collect this data and possibly share it with associated advertisers. Your personal data is not safe either if you use this adware because it can record it. Are you convinced that you should delete this adware?

How to delete Search Expanse

Search Expanse deserves removal, and we suggest eliminating this advertising-supported program using anti-malware software. If you use this software, you will not need to worry about additional threats or the protection of your operating system either, which is why we advise this option. Of course, you can try deleting this adware manually. Hopefully, it will be enough to erase the extensions and uninstall unwanted apps to get your PC clean, but you should not trust the guide below completely. Just to be sure, install a malware scanner that will inform you if any malicious threats remain active. Should you find malware that you are unable to delete manually, please do not waste your time and install an automated malware remover as soon as possible. Your virtual security is extremely vulnerable with malware on your PC, and you do not want to become the next victim of cyber criminals.

Removal Instructions

Google Chrome:

Open the browser and tap Alt+F.
In the menu on the right select More tools and then Extensions.
Identify the unwanted add-on, click the recycle icon, and select Remove.

Mozilla Firefox: