What is SmartStreamSearch?
SmartStreamSearch is not so smart. In fact, it is pretty dumb, considering how useless it is. Does it offer streaming? It does not. Does it offer a streaming-related search? It does not. Does it offer any kind of search service? That is debatable, but our team at Anti-Spyware-101.com has found that the extension redirects to a third-party search engine rather than produce its own search results, and that means that it does not actually offer a search service. In fact, this extension does not offer anything, and that is one reason why it is known as a PUP – potentially unwanted program. Another reason is that this extension performs certain actions silently, and these actions are questionable. For one, the PUP can collect PII (personally identifiable information). Also, it can share that PII with undisclosed parties. Are you ready to delete SmartStreamSearch? We are sure that you are.
How does SmartStreamSearch work?
What does SmartStreamSearch have to do with OnlineSportsSearch or NetGameSearch? In fact, we could name tons of other extensions here as well, and all of them are clones of one another. It is hard to say which is the first PUP that all others were designed after, but it is clear that all of them are useless. Some internet users might find the matching “portal” pages (for example, portal.smartstreamsearch.com) useful because they offer a free converter, but they are not introduced by the PUPs themselves, and the connection between the pages and the extensions is still under review. So, where does the extension come from? Unsurprisingly, it is promoted via the Chrome Web Store, just like its clones, and so you might have downloaded it from chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/smartstreamsearch/eplgeocjolljcekonmlblfdoeakklejl. Otherwise, you could have been redirected to a dedicated download page on get.smartstreamsearch.com, or the installer of the PUP could have been introduced via a third-party downloader. In any case, we suggest removing the PUP for the same reasons.
Was your default search provider on Google Chrome switched to feed.smartstreamsearch.com/?q=? It must have been if you downloaded SmartStreamSearch. So, what is wrong with this “search” tool? Well, it does not search. Instead, it redirects to Yahoo Search, but you are not introduced to a service you might have expected. While search.yahoo.com can produce useful search results, when the PUP is involved, these results are modified, and they can promote the links to all kinds of third-party websites. We cannot know whether or not you would be exposed to links that route to malware sites, but only because we know nothing about the parties that might be using the services of SmartStreamSearch. Who are they? What are their intentions? Could they attempt to scam you or expose you to malware? Pretty much the only thing we know about the third parties is that they can use their own data tracking tools and that they can access the PII collected by the PUP.
How to delete SmartStreamSearch
Do we recommend removing SmartStreamSearch? We sure do, and the reasons for that are thoroughly explained above. The only thing left to figure out is how you are going to eliminate this potentially unwanted program. While you can ask help from more experienced friends or even hire a specialist, the PUP is not the kind of threat that you wouldn’t be able to handle yourself. Of course, if other threats exist on your system (whether they existed already or were downloaded along with the PUP), it might be easiest to employ an anti-malware program. One that would automatically delete SmartStreamSearch and everything else malicious. We also recommend this option to those who need their systems protected. That, pretty much, is everyone. Alternatively, if you know that the PUP is the only active threat, and if you are ready to deal with it on your own, follow the instructions below.
Removal Instructions
- Launch Google Chrome.
- Enter chrome://extensions into the address bar to open the Extensions menu.
- Click the Remove button pinned to the unwanted extension.
- Enter chrome://settings/clearBrowserData into the address bar to open the Clear browsing data menu.
- Move to the Advanced menu.
- Select the right time range and the chosen boxes and click Clear data.
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