Search.searchgstt.com Removal Guide

Search.searchgstt.com is yet another release by Polarity Technologies, a fake company that is known to develop browser hijackers. This new search engine is also a hijacker because the company uses the same old methods to distribute it. It comes bundled with third-party software and is installed automatically by default. Its objective is to replace your browser’s homepage. If you use it to search the web, then you will get ad-supported search results that are unreliable. Therefore, we recommend that you remove this hijacker from your browser before you encounter malicious content through its links. To find out more about this malicious search engine, read this description.

As mentioned, Search.searchgstt.com was created by an infamous browser hijacker developer known as Polarity Technologies. This company has released dozens upon dozens of browser hijackers by now, and it seems that there is no end in sight. For example, this developer released Search.directionsandmap.com, Search.yourclassifiedscenter.com, Search.yourinterestscenter.com, and many others. All of them are very similar but carry a different theme. In the case of Search.searchgstt.com, this theme is testing Internet speed. Search.searchgstt.com is disseminated in much the same way as its predecessors. We have found that that its developers have made arrangements to have this hijacker bundled with third-party software. What this means is that bundled installers feature several applications, one of them being the main and the others are additions that are installed selectively or by default. We think that this hijacker can be installed automatically while installing other software.

If that is indeed the case, then Search.searchgstt.com will replace your browser’s default homepage address, and it will do that if you use Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox. That aim of the game is to make you use this hijacker as a regular search engine. If you use it, then rest assured that Search.searchgstt.com will present you with modified search results that contain promotional links. These promotions should be harmless for the most part. However, we want to inform you that some of the promoted links can contain malicious software such as spyware, adware, fake anti-virus programs, and so on that can compromise your computer’s security. Note that this hijacker will redirect all search queries to Yahoo which is a common search engine used by browser hijacker developers.

Also worthy of a note is the fact that Search.searchgstt.com is set to collect some information about you. The creators can obtain personal information about you if you contact if you contact them and reveal your personal details. If you do not do that, then this hijacker will obtain non-personally identifiable information only. Research has shown that this hijacker has been set to collect anonymous information automatically. This information includes your IP address, Internet Service Provider, browser type, OS type, search terms entered, and browsing history. The creators can use this information to customize the search results and also the promotional links to increase the chances of clicks that generate advertising revenue.

Evidently, Search.searchgstt.com is not what it seems at first glance. We conclude that this alleged search engine is also a browser hijacker that will not improve your search experience, but hamper it with its promoted links. The creators care about making money, so they are apt to promote everything as long as it generates revenue. If you care about your online security and privacy, then you ought to remove Search.searchgstt.com from your browser. You can use the guide presented below to do that.

Removal Guide

Google Chrome

1. Press Alt+F.
2. Find the On Startup list and select Set pages.
3. Erase http://search.searchgstt.com/
4. Enter a new URL.
5. Click OK.

Microsoft Internet Explorer

1. Press Alt+T.
2. Select Internet Options.
3. Go to the General tab.
4. Change the homepage address.
5. Click Apply and click OK.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Press Alt+T.
2. Select Options.
3. Go to the General tab.
4. Change the homepage address.