Prevent search.searcherzip.com from hijacking your browser

What is search.searcherzip.com?

Practically identical to search.genieosearch.com, search.pardessov.com, search.globalsearch.pw and others, search.searcherzip.com is a fake search engine. It is endorsed as an optimizer for download/install processes (however it does not actually have any such features).

This website is promoted by browser hijacking downloaders/installers. Browser hijackers operate by changing browser settings and tracking user data.

Commonly, browser hijackers are designed to target browsers boasting the greatest popularity (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari). Such rogue set-ups work by changing browsers' homepages, new tab/window URLs and default search engines.

These alterations ensure that every new browser tab/window and every search done via the URL tab - would redirect to search.searcherzip.com. As it is a fake search engine it does not actually provide any search results, but merely redirects to a legitimate one - search.yahoo.com.

Additionally, browser hijackers are capable of making autonomous downloads/installs of additional content: PUAs (potentially unwanted applications) and browser extensions/plug-ins. The changes made to browsers may seem easy to undo, however that is not the case.

The additions that are installed, limit access to browser settings or simply reset any changes made. Also, this website and its supplements gather browsing and personal data. Browsing activity (URLs visited, pages viewed, search queries typed and etc.) contains traces of personal information (IP address, geolocation and real-life user identity details).

This vulnerable data is then passed onto third parties (possibly, cyber criminals), seeking to misemploy it for financial gain. Therefore, content with data tracking abilities can lead to serious privacy issues, even end with identity theft.

Should users experience redirects to search.searcherzip.com, they are strongly advised to inspect their system and remove all dubious applications and/or browser extensions/plug-ins.

Threat Summary:

Name	search.searcherzip.com browser hijacker
Threat Type	Mac malware, Mac virus
Symptoms	Your Mac became slower than normal, you see unwanted pop-up ads, you get redirected to shady websites.
Distribution methods	Deceptive pop-up ads, free software installers (bundling), fake flash player installers, torrent file downloads.
Damage	Internet browsing tracking (potential privacy issues), displaying of unwanted ads, redirects to shady websites, loss of private information.
Malware Removal (Mac)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your Mac with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner for Mac To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. Limited seven days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Fake search engines are innumerous, many of which are practically analogous to one another. They often appear legitimate and highly functional; offering improved search results and other "beneficial" features. However, all these advertised features are mostly nonfunctional; making search.searcherzip.com and its kind useless.

It must be understood that the only purpose of these sites, and in fact all PUAs, is to generate revenue for their developers. They do so by causing redirects to various unreliable websites and by tracking sensitive data.

How did search.searcherzip.com install on my computer?

As we've already mentioned, search.searcherzip.com is often proliferated using dubious browser-hijacking downloaders/installers. The deceitful marketing tactic of packing ordinary software with undesirable additions (e.g. PUAs, browser extensions/plug-ins, etc.) is called "bundling".

When installing software, by ignoring terms and possible options, skipping steps and using pre-set settings - users can easily miss the presence of unwanted supplements and/or how they operate (e.g. modify browsers, track data and so on).

To summarize, user inattentiveness, haste and inexperience with downloading/installation processes are the main reasons behind hijacked browsers.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

To avoid PUA infiltrations users should use only official and verified sources for all software downloads (ideally, via direct download links). It is ill-advised to use peer-to-peer sharing networks (e.g. BitTorrent, Gnutella, eMule, etc.) and other third party downloaders.

Untrustworthy download sources are more likely to bundle their programs with unwanted applications. Users are highly recommended to read installation terms and explore possible options, in order to verify that they are getting exactly what they desire and that the installed content will behave without endangering the safety of their device and/or person.

Using "Custom/Advanced" install settings and opting-out/declining additional apps/features - is also strongly advised. If tempted to consent to the supplementary offers, users should research the additions before allowing them onto their systems.

PUAs can also invade devices through intrusive advertisements, which when clicked, can execute scripts to make unauthorized downloads/installs of said undesirable apps. As invasive adverts tend to appear absolutely ordinary and innocuous, they can easily trick users into clicking on them.

However, a telltale sign of an intrusive advertisement can be the websites they redirect to (e.g. pornography, adult-dating, gambling and similar), as they are more obvious in their unreliability.

Should users encounter such ads/redirects, they are recommended to check their device and remove all suspicious applications and/or browser extensions/plug-ins. If your computer is already infected with browser hijackers, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for macOS to automatically eliminate them.

Website promoting Search.searcherzip.com:

Instant automatic Mac malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of Mac malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner for Mac By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. Limited seven days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick menu:

• What is Search.searcherzip.com?
• STEP 1. Remove Search.searcherzip.com related files and folders from OSX.
• STEP 2. Remove Search.searcherzip.com redirect from Safari.
• STEP 3. Remove Search.searcherzip.com browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove Search.searcherzip.com homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.

Video showing how to get rid of unwanted redirects to search.searcherzip.com using Combo Cleaner:

Search.searcherzip.com redirect removal:

Remove Search.searcherzip.com related potentially unwanted applications from your "Applications" folder:

Click the Finder icon. In the Finder window, select "Applications". In the applications folder, look for "MPlayerX","NicePlayer", or other suspicious applications and drag them to the Trash. After removing the potentially unwanted application(s) that cause online ads, scan your Mac for any remaining unwanted components.

Remove browser hijacker-related files and folders

Click the Finder icon from the menu bar. Choose Go, and click Go to Folder...

Check for browser hijacker generated files in the /Library/LaunchAgents/ folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: /Library/LaunchAgents/

In the "LaunchAgents" folder, look for any recently-added suspicious files and move them to the Trash. Examples of files generated by browser hijackers - "installmac.AppRemoval.plist", "myppes.download.plist", "mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist", "kuklorest.update.plist", etc. Browser hijacker commonly installs several files with the exact same string.

Check for browser hijacker generated files in the ~/Library/Application Support/ folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: ~/Library/Application Support/

In the "Application Support" folder, look for any recently-added suspicious folders. For example, "MplayerX" or "NicePlayer", and move these folders to the Trash.

Check for browser hijacker generated files in the ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ folder:

In the Go to Folder... bar, type: ~/Library/LaunchAgents/

In the "LaunchAgents" folder, look for any recently-added suspicious files and move them to the Trash. Examples of files generated by browser hijackers - "installmac.AppRemoval.plist", "myppes.download.plist", "mykotlerino.ltvbit.plist", "kuklorest.update.plist", etc. Browser hijacker commonly installs several files with the exact same string.

Check for browser hijacker generated files in the /Library/LaunchDaemons/ folder:

In the "Go to Folder..." bar, type: /Library/LaunchDaemons/

In the "LaunchDaemons" folder, look for recently-added suspicious files. For example "com.aoudad.net-preferences.plist", "com.myppes.net-preferences.plist", "com.kuklorest.net-preferences.plist", "com.avickUpd.plist", etc., and move them to the Trash.

Scan your Mac with Combo Cleaner:

If you have followed all the steps correctly, your Mac should be clean of infections. To ensure your system is not infected, run a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus. Download it HERE. After downloading the file, double click combocleaner.dmg installer. In the opened window, drag and drop the Combo Cleaner icon on top of the Applications icon. Now open your launchpad and click on the Combo Cleaner icon. Wait until Combo Cleaner updates its virus definition database and click the "Start Combo Scan" button.

Combo Cleaner will scan your Mac for malware infections. If the antivirus scan displays "no threats found" - this means that you can continue with the removal guide; otherwise, it's recommended to remove any found infections before continuing.

After removing files and folders generated by the browser hijackers, continue to remove rogue extensions from your Internet browsers.

Remove browser hijackers from Internet browsers

Remove Safari browser hijackers:

Open the Safari browser, from the menu bar, select "Safari" and click "Preferences...".

In the preferences window, select "Extensions" and look for any recently-installed suspicious extensions. When located, click the "Uninstall" button next to it/them. Note that you can safely uninstall all extensions from your Safari browser - none are crucial for regular browser operation.

Change your homepage:

In the "Preferences" window, select the "General" tab. To set your homepage, type the preferred website URL (for example: www.google.com) in the Homepage field. You can also click the "Set to Current Page" button if you wish to set your homepage to the website you are currently visiting.

Change your default search engine:

In the "Preferences" window, select the "Search" tab. Here you will find a drop-down menu labeled "Search engine:" Simply select your preferred search engine from the drop-down list.

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Safari.

Remove Google Chrome browser hijackers:

Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "More Tools" and click "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious extensions, select these entries and click "Remove".

Change your homepage

Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome) and select "Settings". In the "On startup" section, disable the malicious extension (if present), look for a browser hijacker URL below the "Open a specific or set of pages" option. If present, click on the three vertical dots icon and select "Remove".

Change your default search engine:

To change your default search engine in Google Chrome: Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "Settings", in the "Search engine" section, click "Manage search engines...", in the opened list look for a browser hijacker URL, when located click the three vertical dots near this URL and select "Delete".

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Google Chrome.

Remove malicious extensions from Mozilla Firefox:

Click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window) and select "Add-ons and themes". Click "Extensions", in the opened window locate all recently-installed suspicious extensions, click on the three dots and then click "Remove".

Change your homepage

To reset your homepage, click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), then select "Settings", in the opened window disable malicious extension (if present), remove the browser hijacker URL and enter your preferred domain, which will open each time you start Mozilla Firefox.

Change your default search engine:

In the URL address bar, type "about:config" and press Enter. Click "Accept the Risk and Continue".

In the search filter at the top, type: "extensionControlled". Set both results to "false" by either double-clicking each entry or clicking the button.

• If you continue to have problems with browser redirects and unwanted advertisements - Reset Mozilla Firefox.

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