Searchz.co

Posted by Max Lehmann on November 29, 2016

What is Searchz.co?

Although, not yet very popular, Searchz.co may show up in your browsers after you let a browser hijacker enter your system. Our malware researchers at Anti-Spyware-101.com say that this search engine may look all very neat and professional, it may still present to you potentially unreliable web content through third-party advertising and links on the search results page. If this is not enough for you to want to remove Searchz.co from your computer, let us tell you that the presence of this threat in your browsers could easily mean that other malware infections also entered your computer along with this hijacker. This can already seriously risk your privacy and your system security. If you want to restore order on your PC, we recommend that you delete Searchz.co and all other programs that could pose a threat to you. Please read on to find out more about this infection and how you can defend your PC from similar invasions. test

Where does Searchz.co come from?

It is possible in certain cases that browser hijackers have an official promotional page posing as a useful tool or extension to your browsers, but this is not true for this infection. Our researchers have found that this browser hijacker follows suit and is distributed mainly in free software packages, i.e., bundles. This method of software distribution used to serve a good purpose and helped developers to have an opportunity to generate some income through free tools and ad-supported programs so that they can carry on developing their free programs. It is an unfortunate turn in the story that schemers realized the potential in this method and started to use it to spread multiple malware threats, such as browser hijackers, adware programs and potentially unwanted applications, packed together in a bundle.

These malicious installers are mostly promoted via questionable websites, such as torrent, shareware, porn, and online gambling pages. These are usually swarming with third-party ads, including flashing banners, annoying pop-ups, and hidden ones as well. On these sites it is also difficult to know which button or content is reliable at all. You should know that some ads could pose as buttons or links on a page to confuse you. Sometimes the drop of a bundle or redirection to other malicious pages can be triggered simply by your clicking into a search field on the page or trying to enter a keyword. In any case, you need to stay away from such sites altogether if you want to keep your computer clean. But, if you have been infected with this browser hijacker, we recommend that you find a reliable online malware scanner to detect all possible malware threats on board. Before doing that, though, you can start cleaning your system by deleting Searchz.co from your browsers.

How does Searchz.co work?

This browser hijacker does look a bit more sophisticated than its peers in general. But it does not make it all the safer to use. About a dozen different categories are offered by this search page once you enter your keywords and press Enter. These categories include Web, News, Documents, Shopping, and Maps. This feature obviously makes your search easier, we cannot claim otherwise. However, you need to understand the potential danger this search engine may hold for you. It is possible, for example, that this hijacker spies on you and gathers data in order to set up a profile on you so that customized content could be sent to your screen. This means that this infection might show you manipulated results, i.e., there could be customized third-party advertisements and sponsored links among the normal results, which could confuse you. It may not be easy to distinguish between a legitimate ad or link and a malicious one. Therefore, we do not advise you to use this search engine since you might be exposed to unreliable content. One wrong click would be enough for you to end up on a malicious website and get scammed by criminals. This could mean losing your money and your precious personal details as well. If you do not want to experience such scenarios, we suggest that you delete Searchz.co.

How do I delete Searchz.co?

Our researchers have found that the best for you to do is reset your infected browsers. If you are not familiar with this process, please use our instructions below. You can accomplish this even if you are not an experienced computer user; the whole process should take only a few minutes. However, this will not necessarily clean your computer. Since there could be other malware threats on your system, we suggest that you do not postpone addressing this issue. Although, you could try to detect all of these potential infections, you may miss a few and that could cause further system security issues. Therefore, we believe that the best solution is to employ a reliable anti-malware program, such as SpyHunter. This security tool can find all known malware infections automatically and eliminate them. But even if you decide to give your PC the proper protection it deserves, it is also advisable to update all your software and drivers (Flash and Java) regularly so that cyber criminals cannot exploit certain outdated vulnerabilities to gain access to your computer.