Search.fo-cmf.com

Posted by Max Lehmann on July 12, 2016

What is Search.fo-cmf.com?

If you are looking for a trustworthy search engine, you should definitely not set Search.fo-cmf.com. Yes, at first glance, it might seem that Search.fo-cmf.com is a good candidate for the default search engine; however, you should never judge the trustworthiness of the software from its appearance, especially when we talk about search providers. Despite the fact that Search.fo-cmf.com looks like a reliable search engine, the truth is that it has been put under the category of browser hijackers for the way it acts. We promise that you will know more about this computer infection after reading this report. Also, you will get instructions that will help you to remove it. We hope that you will decide to get rid of Search.fo-cmf.com once you find out how it is really going to work, and thus will use the instructions prepared for you by the specialists working at anti-spyware-101.com. test

What does Search.fo-cmf.com do?

Search.fo-cmf.com does not differ from other reliable search engines the way it looks; however, it has been noticed that it acts in a different way. Specialists say that this search engine, unlike other reliable search tools, provides users with the modified search results. You will notice these ads yourself if you pay closer attention to the search results’ page. These sponsored links and advertisements do not look harmful at all; however, they are known to be able to redirect users to unreliable third-party websites. It is basically impossible to say whether the website is trustworthy or not at first sight, so users usually do not hurry to leave those websites they are taken to. We do not say that all the websites are dangerous; however, as our experience shows, browser hijackers redirect users to bad websites sooner or later. Of course, it does not mean that you will allow malware to enter your computer immediately; however, you might really cause harm to your system.

According to researchers working at anti-spyware-101.com, users who decide not to delete Search.fo-cmf.com from their browsers also risk experiencing privacy-related problems because this search engine is going to gather information about users, and it informs users about that in the Privacy Policy. If you read it, you will immediately notice that Search.fo-cmf.com “may collect personally-identifiable information.” Fortunately, it is going to focus on non-personal details more. You grant it the permission to do that by using Search.fo-cmf.com and keeping its extensions installed. It is clearly said in the Privacy Policy that it is going to collect the following information:

URLs
Search data
Search queries that might contain personally-identifiable information
The type of your operating system
Geographic location
The domain name of your Internet service provider
IP address

Details this browser hijacker records might tell some facts about users, so this information cannot be called unimportant. Therefore, you should keep it to yourself and do not allow threats, including Search.fo-cmf.com, to record it because it might end up in the hands of cyber criminals.

Where does Search.fo-cmf.com browser hijacker come from?

Users do not set Search.fo-cmf.com themselves; however, it is still quite popular these days, so we believe that it usually travels bundled with other applications and sneaks onto computers without permission. Other popular browser hijackers are spread the same these days, so you have to be very careful if you do not want to encounter another similar threat again. Actually, there are only two things you can do. First, you can surf the web more carefully in the future. Secondly, you can and should install a reliable security tool on the system.

How to remove Search.fo-cmf.com

Search.fo-cmf.com should disappear after you find and remove its extensions from all the browsers. Also, you can reset browsers to their default settings in order to get rid of this browser hijacker. Last but not least, less experienced computer users can scan their systems with automatic tools, e.g. SpyHunter if they want to erase this infection quicker and easier. An automatic tool will also find and remove all other infections that have been hiding on the computer. Of course, you will have to do that yourself if you decide to remove Search.fo-cmf.com manually.