Search.searchfcs.com

Posted by Max Lehmann on September 2, 2016

What is Search.searchfcs.com?

We would like to make you aware of a new browser hijacker called Search.searchfcs.com that you have to remove to ensure your PC's security. It is set to modify your browser’s settings replacing the homepage and new tab page addresses. This is not done without a reason, however, because it changes these things to redirect web traffic to its address and make you view various promotional links that are presented in the search results. This fictitious search engine is all about generating advertising revenue and will improve your browsing experience not one bit. If you want to find out more about this browser hijacker, we invite you to read this whole article. test test

Where does Search.searchfcs.com come from?

This fictitious search engine is similar and in some cases identical to browser hijacker’s released by SaferBrowser. Search.yourpackagesnow.com, Search.emailfaster.co, Search.gomaps.co, and many other hijackers belong to this same hijacker family as Search.searchfcs.com. SaferBrowser has been releasing dozens of hijackers for the past six months or so. So it has created a significant amount of malicious search engines that all tie in a large web monetization scheme that generates a healthy profit. Indeed, the creators of this and other browser hijackers are in it for the money, so you can forget about Search.searchfcs.com somehow improving your browsing experience.

Like its predecessors, this new hijacker is disseminated using both legitimate and illegitimate means. The first legitimate distribution channel is its main website at Fastcareersearch.com that hosts its accompanying browser extension called Classifieds on Firefox, Fast Career Search on Chrome, and FastCareerSearch on Internet Explorer. This extension is meant to modify your browser’s settings and impose Search.searchfcs.com on it. In the event you download this extension from the website, it will inform you about all of the changes that it is going to make and allows you to deselect the installation of this fake search engine. Another legitimate distribution channel for this hijacker is the Chrome Web Store that features the same kind of extension for Chrome. However, the distribution method that got Search.searchfcs.com classified as a search engine are fake advertisements shown by adware-type software that initiates the download of the browser extension but does not allow you to deselect the implementation of the search engine.

How does Search.searchfcs.com work?

According to our malware researchers, this hijacker will replace the homepage and new tab page of Internet Explorer and Chrome and the homepage of Firefox only. The aim of the game is to force you to use this hijacker for performing online searches. One of the reasons Search.searchfcs.com is a fake search engine is that it redirects all of the entered search queries to Yahoo.com. However, we want to stress that the search results are bound to feature additional links supplied by SaferBrowser. Researchers say that these promoted links come from unknown sources, so there is no telling whether they are legitimate. Indeed, chances are that this hijacker can subject you to dangerous websites that can jeopardize your computer’s security.

We would also like to point your attention to the fact that this hijacker and its browser add-on are set to collect information about you and send it to the main server for processing. They extensively collect non-personally identifiable information, but we want to mention the most relevant types of information. The privacy policy states that the search engine and its extension can obtain information such as your Internet protocol (IP) address, geographic location, the domain name of your Internet service provider (ISP,) URLs and websites visited, search queries. This information may look insignificant, but you should not share it with shady entities regardless.

How to remove Search.searchfcs.com

If you have decided to delete this hijacker, then we suggest that you refer to the removal guide supplied below. All you have to do is remove the malicious search engine and the homepage and new tab page addresses should be changed back to their default settings. However, in some cases you might have to replace the homepage address manually. You should delete this hijacker not only because it hijacks the browser, but also because of its potentially malicious promotions.