What is Search.searchmpct.com?
If your browser’s homepage has been replaced with Search.searchmpct.com, then we want to inform you that your PC has been infected with a browser hijacker. Removing it is highly recommended because if you use Search.searchmpct.com as a regular search engine, then it will show you modified, ad-supported search results of questionable reliability. Furthermore, it will collect information about you to show region-specific ads. In short, this hijacker is all about generating advertising income.
What does Search.searchmpct.com do?
Our cyber security experts have concluded that Search.searchmpct.com is currently being distributed via malicious software installers that inject it into your browser and replace the default homepage address. This hijacker can function as a regular search engine, but it redirects all entered search queries to a custom Yahoo search engine that can feature modified search results with promotional links. We are concerned that the links can subject you to questionable content that can include scam sites and websites that feature malicious software. It is worth mentioning that this particular browser hijacker was configured to promote Coudconvert.com on its main page. This site offers PDF and DOC file conversion services and, to our knowledge, this site is safe.
To present you with relevant advertisements, this browser hijacker has been configured to collect information about you. According to our malware analysts, this particular browser hijacker can obtain information such as your approximate geographical location, Internet Protocol (IP) address, Internet Service Provider (ISP) domain name, browsing history, search queries, browser type, and operating system type. This information is of anonymous nature and is used exclusively for marketing and advertising purposes. However, since the ads it presents can be unreliable, you should not allow this hijacker to keep tabs on you.
Where does Search.searchmpct.com come from?
Research has shown that this hijacker was created by a known browser hijacker developer known as Polarity Technologies, a company that is allegedly based in Limassol, Cyprus. This company is highly unreliable because most of its search engines are browser hijackers. Some of them come with a dedicated browser extension, but most do not. Some of its other more recent releases include Search.searchyea.com, Search.searchsterjosoft.com, and Search.couponsimplified.com. All of these so called search engines are similar to Search.searchmpct.com and can promote the same malicious content.
Researchers say that Search.searchmpct.com is distributed via malicious bundled software installers that were configured to inject this hijacker into your web browser without your knowledge or approval. You may encounter such installers if you frequent shady software hosting websites. Our malware analysts say that this hijacker very popular in India, so we assume that it should be featured on sites that host freeware downloads.
How do I remove Search.searchmpct.com?
We hope that you found this article useful. As you can see, Search.searchmpct.com is nothing more than a browser hijacker whose objective is to replace your browser’s homepage and force you to use it for searching the web. Unfortunately, its search results are bound to feature shady promotional links that can jeopardize your PC security. Therefore, We recommend that you remove this hijacker ASAP.
Replace the homepage manually
Microsoft Internet Explorer
- Hold down Win+R.
- Enter regedit in the box and click OK.
- Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
- Find Start Page on the right side of the window and double-click it.
- Change the Value Data from http://search.searchmpct.com to your desired homepage address.
- Click OK.
- Close.
Google Chrome
- Hold down Win+E and enter C:\Users\{User name}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default in the address box.
- Hit Enter.
- Delete Preferences, Secure Preferences and Web Data files.
Mozilla Firefox
- Hold down Win+E and enter C:\Users\{User name}\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{Unique Mozilla user ID} in the address box.
- Hit Enter.
- Find prefs.js and open it with Notepad.
- Replace http://search.searchmpct.com in the user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", "http://search.searchmpct.com"); with your preferred address.
- Close and save changes.
tested removal of Search.searchmpct.com*
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