Search.searchcads.com Removal Guide

Search.searchcads.com is a fake search engine that comes with a browser extension for popular web browsers such as Google Chrome. Indeed, this search engine is nothing more than a browser hijacker, and we recommend that you remove it from your PC. We have found that this hijacker is distributed via dishonest and outright deceitful methods that impose it on your browser without your knowledge or consent. As a result, you get a highly unreliable search engine that presents modified search results that contain links to various doubtful third-party websites. Also, it can collect information about you to improve the promotional campaign and generate more income. We are of the opinion that Search.searchcads.com can jeopardize your PC’s security, and you should get rid of it.

This particular browser hijacker has been labeled with the “powered by SaferBrowser” label which means that it is part of a family of browser hijackers and is certain to have clones. Indeed, we are well aware of many other browser hijackers that have been labeled by SaferBrowser, and they include but are not limited to Search.yourrecipescenter.com, Search.yourspeedtestcenter.com, Search.yourmovietimenow.com, and Search.searchwag.com. SaferBrowser is dedicated to setting up browser-hijacking search engines that come with browser extensions to generate income from online advertising, and this secretive malware developer is committed to making money — not providing a unique and useful search platform.

Now let us discuss how this malicious search engine is currently being disseminated. While gathering information about this infection we found that its developers have set up two distribution channels. The first one involves a dedicated website that hosts the browser extensions that come with Search.searchcads.com. This website is called Findclassifiedads.co and it hosts browser extensions for the three most popular web browsers that include Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Internet Explorer. The second channel involves bundling the same extensions with malicious installers that secretly inject them during the installation of other software, freeware in particular because these elusive installers are always featured on questionable websites that host software downloads.

When you download the extension from the dedicated website, the web browser asks whether you want to set Search.searchcads.com as the homepage and new tab page. However, you might not be given this opportunity when installing software bundles, and that is how this unwelcome hijacker can enter your PC. Depending on the web browser for which you have downloaded the extension, this hijacker will modify different settings. For example, it will hijack the homepage of Firefox and Internet Explorer but not Chrome, and it should hijack Chrome’s new tab page only. These changes will significantly affect your browsing experience because Search.searchcads.com will process all of your search queries. You may notice that it redirects them to Yahoo.com. However, we want to inform you that the search results are modified to include additional promotional links, and some of them may redirect to websites that feature malware downloads.

Nevertheless, officially this hijacker offers a useless feature that involves presenting you with links to websites that contain classified advertisements. Search.searchcads.com’s main page features links to Warsaw.craigslist.pl, Classifiedads.com, Ebayclassifieds.com, and Superads.com. Some of them are rather suspicious and Superads.com in particular displays additional commercial advertisements such as pop-up advertisements that promote online betting websites. Surely this content is not to be viewed by all Internet surfers, especially minors. However, we want to stress that the ads may promote more than just betting sites but something much more sinister.

Lastly, we want to touch upon the issue of privacy because like all browser hijackers, this one is also prone to collecting information about you. The collected information includes but is not limited to Search and browsing history, operating system type, browser type, IP address, geographic location, Internet Service Provider, and so on. As a direct result of information collecting, Search.searchcads.com will display region-specific advertisements that may be tailored in accordance with your browsing habits so that this hijacker’s developers could make more money.

In conclusion, Search.searchcads.com offers nothing that could improve your browsing experience, just piles of advertisements that you may or may not be interested in. However, we firmly believe that this hijacker can promote malicious content and because of that you should move in swiftly and delete it from your computer as soon as possible. Note that you have to uninstall it via Control Panel if you use Internet Explorer and remove the browser extension if you use Chrome or Firefox.

Uninstall via Control Panel

Windows 10

1. Right-click on the Start menu.
2. Click Control Panel and go to Uninstall a program.
3. Identify the application and double-click on it.
4. Uninstall.

Windows 8 and 8.1

1. Right-click on the Start screen.
2. Open the Control Panel.
3. Go to Uninstall a program.
4. Identify the unwanted program.
5. Right-click on it and click the Uninstall button.

Windows 7 and Windows Vista

1. Open Start menu and open Control Panel.
2. Click Uninstall a program.
3. Identify the software and right-click on it.
4. Click the Uninstall button.

Windows XP

1. Click Start and open Control Panel.
2. Go to Add or Remove Programs.
3. Identify the program and select Remove.

Remove from the browser

Mozilla Firefox

1. Launch the web browser.
2. Press Ctrl+Shift+A and open Extensions.
3. Click Remove the plug-in.

Google Chrome

1. Launch the web browser.
2. Press Alt+F and open More tools.
3. Select Extensions.
4. Click Remove the extension.