Toolbars&Hijackers

Weknow.start.me is unsafe search engine, related to Weknow company, that is notorious for its Weknow.ac hijacker. Hijacker can modify search engine and homepage settings in Safari, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox on Mac. This one is built on another platform (start.me) and redirects user's queries to find.coinup.org. After some investigation, it turns out, that coinup.org is a platform, that allows search providers earn money on using user's computer power by mining cryptocurrency. So, after Weknow.start.me installs in browsers, it may use special JavaScripts or install certain browser extensions (like CoinUp add-on) to mine crypto-coins.

Mysearch.com by APN, LLC is dangerous browser hijacker for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari, that modifies settings of search engine and homepage. APN (Ask Partner Network) is related to once popular search engine Ask.com, that was distributed via unwanted toolbars installations. Mysearch.com looks like legitimate search website with search box, shortcuts with quick links to social networks and shopping sites and is said to be "enhanced by Google". After closer research, it turns out, that users queries are redirected to search.mysearch.com, that is filled with third-party ads in search results and is quite different from Google SERPs.

Search.tapufind.com is precarious search engine for Safari, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. It appears in browsers after installing Tapufind New Tab extension and replaces default settings of homepage, search engine and newtab. This add-on was developed in Israel. Search.tapufind.com redirects users search queries to search.yahoo.com, and gets commission from ad revenue in this search engine. Tapufind takes control of browser settings and doesn't allow users to modify them. Changing settings won't help, as they will be reverted back to Search.tapufind.com. Hijacker tracks and collects information about user's online behaviour, such as search and visits history, that can be used for advertising purposes.

Search.hogwarin.com is another typical representative of search hijackers for Mac, that installs in Safari, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. It infects browsers using Hogwarin extensions, that controls and modifies browser settings, such as homepage, default search engine and new tab. Settings cannot be changed by users, unless this malicious add-on is removed. As well as other hijackers of this type, Search.hogwarin.com redirects user's queries to search.yahoo.com. Special removal tool for Hogwarin called Uninstall.dmg is offered on their website. It will presumably remove extension and reset the settings. However, we do not recommend downloading additional software from developers of adware and hijackers.

QIP.ru is potentially unwanted third-party russian search engine and news website, powered by Yandex.ru. It infects user's computers along with QIP Surf browser, built on Chromium platform. It installs without user's permission and replaces default browser. QIP.ru is also spread separately in Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer and replaces default search and homepage in this browsers.

Bing.com is legitimate search engine, that belongs to Microsoft Corporation, provides great search results and can be used as homepage and default search engine in Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Opera, Edge and Internet Explorer. It is the third biggest search engine in USA. However, its domain name, design and search results are exploited by indecent search partners, that use it for their own selfish purposes. Such affiliates create multiple browser extensions and domains, like SearchModule, Search Protection, Bing.Vc, BingProtect to take control over browser search engine and homepage settings and redirect users to Bing.com. Malefactors earn on advertising comission from original Bing.com search, but use unethical methods to infiltrate computers. In this article we will mostly describe the cases of malware infection that causes redirects to Bing.com and methods to remove them.

Spyder-finder.com is unsafe search engine, that, with help of browser extension Spyder Finder, seizes control over browser settings in Safari and Google Chrome on MacOS. Hijacker originates from Israel. It replaces homepage and default search engine settings, redirects searches to https://www.webcrawler.com. This is well-known advertising third-party search engine associated with numerous hijackers. Homepage of Spyder-finder.com resembles famous search engines, has quick access shortcuts for famous shopping sites and link to a landing page of potentially unwanted CleanMyMac application.

Searchpage.com and SearchPage Tab is are, respectively, dubiuos search engine and browser add-on, that modifies search engine and homepage settings in Safari, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and other browsers. It is also responsible for display of ads, pop-ups and notifications from Searchpage.com. This hijacker was developed by Iron Mountain Technology Limited, with headquaters situated in Hong Kong, as it is stated on their website. The site has a purely advertising purposes, having no value to the end user. Search requests typed in search box on the main page are redirected to search.yahoo.com.