Search.searchsmg.com

Posted by Max Lehmann on September 16, 2016

What is Search.searchsmg.com?

If you are a big online gaming fan, you might be happy to find Search.searchsmg.com in your browsers, but we must warn you that this search engine page can actually pose a threat to your system security. Due to the browser settings changing capabilities of this new tab page browser extension called Super Mega Gaming, our malware researchers at anti-spyware-101.com have classified it as a browser hijacker. This is obviously not the worst nightmare of a threat that could hit your computer. In fact, it is also possible that you installed it knowingly. Nevertheless, we are here to tell you about the potential risks you may have to face if you keep using this tool. Unfortunately, innocent as it may look, this browser extension can expose you to potentially harmful web content and harm your computer indirectly. If you do not want to let more infections onto your machine or end up in the center of an online scam, you should not hesitate to remove Search.searchsmg.com. For the details and solutions, please continue reading our report. test test test

Where does Search.searchsmg.com come from?

This browser hijacker may be a newcomer on the palette but it is definitely not “sliced bread” among its peers. As a matter of fact, it is practically identical to a number of infections, including Search.sh-cmf.com, Search.searchyff.com, and Search.searchtnr.com, which seem to belong to the same family. This hijacker appears to be most popular in the USA, Canada, and the UK. It is possible to officially install it, for example, if you visit its promotional web page at supermegagaming.com or the Chrome web store at chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/super-mega-gaming/kclomdljajbkpjeedeecmpjieojknfmc. From the latter page you learn that 55 thousand users have already installed this tool. This popularity is quite strange, though, because when you check the reviews, you realize that a lot of users commented only one single question that goes: “How do I get rid of it?” or something very similar. This does not sound like we are dealing with a useful and reliable extension. In fact, it should make you think right away that removing Search.searchsmg.com from your system would be the best idea if you can find it on board.

Of course, this is not the only way how this annoying malware can appear in your browsers. It is also possible to install it by clicking on corrupt third-party advertisements. Such unreliable ads may be displayed to you while you are browsing the web if your computer has been infected with adware applications or browser hijackers. These threats can both show you third-party content that cannot be trusted. Another option is that you click on a third-party ad while visiting a questionable file-sharing (torrent or freeware) or gaming website. However, in this case you may as well download a full bundle of malware threats. As you can see, if you find this browser hijacker on board, there is a good chance that your computer is infected with a number of other threats, too. This is why we suggest that you take action now and delete Search.searchsmg.com as well as run a full-system malware scan to identify all other infections as well.

How does Search.searchsmg.com work?

This browser hijacker tries to pose as a useful tool by targeting the online gamers offering them quick links to free gaming websites, such as terraarcade.com and bigfishgames.com. But you cannot fully trust these third-party sites since they host several third-party ads that could be risky to click on. For example, you may be introduced to commercials even while loading a game, which could be tricky and you might click on them only to find yourself possibly on a malicious website. But apart from these risks, we need to mention the main threat source, which is the search engine itself. There are two search boxes on this page: One on the fake toolbar where the quick links are and one in the middle of the page as the main search box. You should know that this hijacker uses redirection just like most of its peers. This infection first sends your query to query.searchsmg.com and then forwards it to search.yahoo.com. Yes, you will find yourself on a totally legitimate-looking Yahoo results page. Unfortunately, this page will probably contain potentially unreliable contents, such as third-party ads and sponsored links. If you click on any content that may come from unreliable sources like cyber criminals, you could be redirected to a malicious website. Landing on a page that has only one goal and that is to scam you out of your money or infect your computer with more severe threats could mean the end of an era of virtual security for you. This is why we believe that you should delete Search.searchsmg.com as soon as possible.

How can I remove Search.searchsmg.com?

If you installed this browser hijacker through questionable sources, it is possible that you will find an uninstaller in Control Panel. However, this uninstaller may not fully remove Search.searchsmg.com. We have found that it leaves the extensions in Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome untouched. Therefore, you need to take matters into your own hands if you want to manually take action. We have included a guide below to help you with the necessary steps. If you want to defend your computer from similar attacks, you should avoid questionable websites that host potentially risky third-party ads, including gaming, dating, pornographic, torrent, and freeware sites. Also, keep all your drivers and programs regularly updated to make sure that cyber criminals cannot exploit the security holes of outdated versions.

Remove Search.searchsmg.com from Windows

Windows XP

Access the Start menu and open Control Panel.
Click Add or Remove Programs.
Select the uninstaller and press Remove.

Windows Vista/Windows 7

Press the Windows button in the bottom-left corner and access Control Panel.
Pick Uninstall a program.
Select the uninstaller and press Uninstall.

Windows 8/Windows 8.1/Windows 10