What is Search.searchsterjosoft.com?
You might think that Search.searchsterjosoft.com is a safe and reliable search engine, but that is untrue because research has shown that it can contain shady promotional links in its search results and, therefore, should be removed. You can get it on your computer accidentally because it is distributed using freeware bundles. If you get it onto your PC, then it will replace your browser’s homepage and attempt to make you use it as your primary search engine. For more detailed information about this search engine, we invite you to read this whole article.
What does Search.searchsterjosoft.com do?
Malware analysts at Anti-spyware-101.com have tested this search engine and came to the conclusion that it is nearly identical to Search.searchlen.com, Search.yourinterestscenter.com, Search.yourmapscenter.com, and several other search engines that have been classified as browser hijackers. They come from a developer called Polarity Technologies Ltd, a malware distributed based in Cyprus that came to be known for its malicious search engines that replace the user’s homepage address secretly.
It is compatible with Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Internet Explorer. It is set to replace their homepage addresses and, in the case of Chrome, the new tab page as well. Polarity Technologies created Search.searchsterjosoft.com to show commercial advertisements in the search results. The problem is that they promoted links are shown as regular search results and can trick you into clicking them. It is no secret that this company is in the web monetization business, so its owners are interested in generating as much advertising revenue as possible. We want to note that Search.searchsterjosoft.com redirects all search queries to a modified Yahoo search engine that provides you with the search results.
Before we move on to this search engine’s distribution methods, we want elaborate on what information Search.searchsterjosoft.com can obtain. According to its privacy policy, this search engine is capable of collecting anonymous information such as your browser type, operating system type, Internet Protocol address, geographical location, Internet Service Provider domain name, visited URLs, search queries, and other information. Polarity Technologies uses this information to present you with more relevant search results because it personalizes them based on the region and personal browsing preferences. Now, let us move on to this search engine’s distribution.
Where does Search.searchsterjosoft.com come from?
Our cyber security experts have concluded that this malicious search engine is disseminated using malicious software installers that may also contain adware and potentially unwanted programs. You can encounter such malicious installers on many shady websites that distribute pirated material. Researchers say that those software installers are promoted via pop-up advertisements that can be loaded when you click a link, but they might also be shown at random by an adware-type application. However, Search.searchsterjosoft.com is not a browser hijacker because the installers allow you to uncheck its installation. Hence, it is not distributed in a malicious manner because you can deselect its installation.
How to remove Search.searchsterjosoft.com
As you can see, Search.searchsterjosoft.com is one unreliable search engine that is prone to showing ads in its search results because it was designed by a known browser hijacker developer that makes money from online advertising. If you got this search engine accidentally, then we recommend that you remove it because it will not improve your browsing experience in any way. Therefore, we suggest that you remove this search engine using the guide featured below or an antimalware application such as SpyHunter that will make light work of it.
Replace the homepage/new tab page manually
Microsoft Internet Explorer
- Press Windows key+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.searchsterjosoft.com to your desired homepage address.
Google Chrome
- Press Windows key+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
- Press Windows key+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.searchsterjosoft.com in the user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", "http://search.searchsterjosoft.com"); with your preferred address.
- Close and save changes.
tested removal of Search.searchsterjosoft.com*
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