What is Search.hdirectionsandmap.com?
Search.hdirectionsandmap.com is a website similar to Search.yourpackages.com, Search.mapscenter.com, and Search.yourclassifiedscenter.com – dubious search tools analyzed by specialists some time ago. What unites them all is the fact that they have been developed by the company Polarity Technologies Ltd and they are very similar to each other. Unfortunately, none of these search tools can be called trustworthy although their interfaces suggest that they are ordinary search tools. Instead, specialists better know them as browser hijackers due to the fact that they set themselves on users’ browsers without getting their permission. In the case of Search.hdirectionsandmap.com, it can show up on any browser, including Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox, so you could remove it fully only by undoing the changes applied to all these browsers. Not all the users understand why such a legitimate-looking search tool has to be removed from their browsers, especially if they have set it as a homepage/search tool on their browsers voluntarily, so the following paragraphs of this article will provide more information about it.
What does Search.hdirectionsandmap.com do?
As mentioned in the first paragraph, Search.hdirectionsandmap.com is called a browser hijacker by specialists not without reason. It is considered malware because it can modify browsers’ settings without the users’ knowledge. In most cases, it sets itself as a new homepage, but do not be surprised if you ever discover it in the place of your default search tool too. We have to admit that this search tool does not differ much from other legitimate search providers if we take into account only its appearance, but we still cannot confirm that using it every day as a default search provider is safe. Although it does not look harmful, it has one drawback that makes it an untrustworthy search tool immediately – it might display shady sponsored links. They will not be separated from the remaining decent search results displayed by Yahoo!, so it is only a question of time when you will click on them. We do not say that they will put your PC in danger the second you click on them, but you might be redirected to a page with suspicious software against your will one day. Of course, you will not even know that the website you have landed on is harmful, so you might allow untrustworthy software to enter your computer by simply browsing a page opened for you. You will not find a single modified search result on a search results page opened by a legitimate search provider, so Search.hdirectionsandmap.com cannot be called trustworthy on any account.
These modified search results that might appear on the search results page opened by Search.hdirectionsandmap.com is not its only drawback. According to our experts specializing in the analysis of malware, this browser hijacker is not going to respect your privacy either, so be ready for the emergence of privacy-related issues if you let it stay and use it on a daily basis. Luckily, as it is stated in its Privacy Policy document, only search queries containing personally identifiable information will be recorded, so there is no doubt that it could not access the so-called sensitive information, e.g. your credit card details.
Where does Search.hdirectionsandmap.com come from?
We are sure for one thing – you have not set it on your web browsers. It is more likely that it has arrived on your computer bundled with software from such websites as filewin.com, malavida.es, and descargar.es, which are popular file-sharing pages. You could have prevented this from happening by unchecking a certain checkbox, but we are not surprised that you did not do that because the majority of users out there do not read the information provided for them in setup wizards. You must be more careful in the future, enable security software on your PC, or both.
How to remove Search.hdirectionsandmap.com
The easiest Search.hdirectionsandmap.com removal method is resetting browsers to their default settings. Once you do this, you will no longer see it in the place of your homepage and default search tool and, consequently, you could set any page you like. If you need some help with the deletion of this dubious search tool, let our step-by-step removal instructions help you. Of course, you can also delete this infection with an automated scanner, so choose the removal method depending on your level of expertise in malware removal.
Delete Search.hdirectionsandmap.com
Internet Explorer
- Start Internet Explorer.
- Press Alt+T and click Internet Options.
- Click Advanced.
- Click Reset.
- Select Delete personal settings.
- Click Reset.
Mozilla Firefox
- Open Mozilla Firefox and tap Alt+H.
- Click Troubleshooting information.
- Click on the Refresh Firefox button.
- Click one more time Refresh Firefox in the confirmation window.
Google Chrome
- Open your browser and click the top-right corner button to open its menu.
- Select Settings.
- Go down and click Advanced.
- At the bottom under Reset, click on the Reset settings to their original defaults option.
- In the dialog box, click Reset.
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