Pesquisa.ninja is not your average search engine that you can trust. It is actually a browser hijacker that you ought to remove due to its unreliable nature, and, more importantly, the means in which it is promoted and distributed. Pesquisa.ninja would only be called a search engine if it was not for the fact that it automatically changes your browser’s homepage and intends to keep it that way. Trying to change it using traditional means will prove ineffective. Getting rid of this infection requires some skill and knowledge about computers. We have prepared a removal guide that you can use below. However, we invite you to read the full article in order to get a better understanding about this infection and how to avoid similar ones further down the line.
Even as a search engine Pesquisa.ninja is somewhat useless, because it is Yahoo.com that does all of the work. The hijacker just redirects all searches to it. One major disadvantage that plagues Pesquisa.ninja as a search engine is that it has no search engine optimization measures. Therefore, you will not get the best search results. At any rate, we were not surprised to learn that this hijacker is all about making money. Undesirable search engines are often turned into browser hijackers, because people do not want to use them for various reasons. Nevertheless, it is very profitable to certain people. This hijacker’s owners generate revenue by injecting advertisements into the search results. This malicious infection actually generates approximate monthly revenue of $6,000.00, which amounts to an estimated $73,000.00 per year.
Pesquisa.ninja’s server is located in The Netherlands, but it is actually tailored for people living in Brazil. 85 % of all visitors are from Brazil. Around 9.2 % are from Angola and, surprisingly enough, 2.5 % come from Belgium. The search engine is in the Portuguese language and Yahoo.com to which it redirects is also set to Portuguese, which is good for those who do not speak English, but there are surely better alternatives than using this shady search engine that has to secretly enter your computer and modify its settings so you do not remove it.
Pesquisa.ninja is probably bundled with malicious software installers that install this hijacker without your knowledge or consent. We have a hunch that these bundles are features on not so legitimate Brazilian freeware websites that make money off bundling malware with useful software that you might want to have. Note that your computer is not immune to Pesquisa.ninja, because a download from an unfamiliar website can result in your homepage getting hijacked. To our knowledge, this hijacker is bundled with additional malware called WNet, ActSys, CashReminder, and GOSafer. Therefore, you ought to remove these programs as well.
Windows XP
Windows 8 or 8.1
Windows 7 or Vista