InfoSearchBox.com Removal Guide

InfoSearchBox.com might come off like an ordinary search engine, but the truth is that it is nothing but a browser hijacker whose sole purpose is to replace your browser’s homepage with the intention of subjecting you to shady promotional links that may compromise your computer’s security. So you should consider removing it from your browser as soon as the opportunity arises. Also, this hijacker may have the ability to gather information about you, but we cannot state this for a fact because there is little to no information about it currently available.

From the outset, we want to inform you that this hijacker’s search feature did not work at the time of the research, so most of the information about it is based on VebaSearch.com as it is a nearly identical clone of this new hijacker. There is no reason to dismiss the fact that this hijacker does what it does in an effort to generate advertising revenue. It is set to secretly infect your computer using software bundles and replace the homepage address of web browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome.

We argue that the reason for hijacking your browser is to redirect web traffic and force you to view promotional links. Now, InfoSearchBox.com does not work, so we cannot see what its search results look like in real life. However, its clone VebaSearch.com is still active, and it uses Google Custom Search. The custom search part means that the results can be modified as we have no doubt that InfoSearchBox.com are also modified to accommodate additional promotional links that may come from unknown sources.

It is entirely possible that InfoSearchBox.com’s developers and owners can make arrangements with anyone willing to purchase their advertising services, so we assume that, in some cases, this hijacker can be used to promote scam websites that collect personal information such as logins, passwords, and so on or fake online shopping websites or even sites that serve as hosting servers for malware downloads. So this hijacker can go in any direction, but the bottom line is that it is bound to subject you to malicious content of some degree.

Furthermore, we have found that it set to collect information about you which includes username, IP address, operating system information, user permissions, browser type and version, and other non-personally identifiable information. It is collected automatically, and you can only stop this hijacker from obtaining this information by replacing it with a legitimate search engine.

Now let us discuss how this hijacker is distributed. We think that, much like its clone, InfoSearchBox.com is disseminated using software bundling. Bundled applications use a universal installer to install several applications at once. They are also commonly used by malware developers for secretly installing adware and browser hijackers. Some installers allow the user to deselect the installation of adware, however, some do not. It appears that this is the case with InfoSearchBox.com, so you can get it unintentionally by installing a software bundle. Now, such software bundles can be featured only on questionable software distributing websites, so take note of the software hosting sites you visit as some shady ones can get your browser hijacked.

We have classified InfoSearchBox.com as a browser hijacker due to its malicious distribution method that does not allow you to deselect its installation. However, additional research has shown that it is identical to VebaSearch.com which is known to feature shady promotional links in its search results and collect information about the users of the infected computer to customize and personalize the advertising campaign to generate more advertising revenue. If you want your old search engine back, then please follow the removal guide below.

How to change the homepage URL

Google Chrome

1. Hold down Windows+E keys.
2. In the File Explorer’s address bar, enter C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default and press Enter.
3. Find and delete Preferences, Secure Preferences and Web Data.
4. Empty the Recycle Bin.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Hold down Windows+E keys.
2. In the File Explorer’s address bar, enter C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles and hit Enter.
3. Go to {Unique Mozilla ID} folder.
4. Locate prefs.js and open it with Notepad.
5. Find and replace http://infosearchbox.com in the user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", " http://infosearchbox.com"); string.

Microsoft Internet Explorer

1. Hold down Windows+R keys.
2. Type regedit in the dialog box and hit Enter.
3. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
4. Find the Start Page registry string.
5. Right-click it and click Modify.
6. In the Value data line, enter a new homepage address.