Do you know what Search.heasyspeedtest.co is?
Search.heasyspeedtest.co could appear on the Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome browsers. The application may affect the listed browsers by replacing their default search engine, homepage, or new tab page. This particular behavior was the reason why computer security specialists decided to categorize the threat as a browser hijacker. Besides its annoying ability to replace user’s preferences, the search engine could also show irritating third-party advertisements that might put your system at risk or endanger your privacy. Because of this, we advise our readers to eliminate Search.heasyspeedtest.co with no hesitation with a removable guide available below or a trustworthy antimalware tool. Provided, you still have any doubts and would like to read more about the hijacker before erasing it, we encourage you to read the article first.
The tool could settle in after launching a bundled installer, adding an untrustworthy extension to your browser, or clicking suspicious pop-up ads. The browser hijacker does not install itself after it enters the system, although it may alter specific files belonging to your browsing application. For instance, if you were using Google Chrome as the default browser, the threat could locate files called Preferences, Secure Preferences, or Web Data in the %LocalAppData%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default directory and modify them by placing its link in the code lines that determine your default homepage, search engine, or new tab page. Obviously the files and directories would be different, but Search.heasyspeedtest.co should act similarly to hijack Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.
Soon after it changes user’s preferences, his default search engine may start redirecting to Search.heasyspeedtest.co every time it is launched, when a new tab is opened, and so on. The search engine comes with a toolbar providing local weather forecast, news, and some links to popular web pages. In the middle of the site, you can see a search box and a couple of more links to other websites below it. Finally, at the end of the web page, there are links to the software’s Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, and End User License Agreement documents. If you read them, you would learn that the threat is created by a company called Polarity Technologies Ltd. To our specialists it is known as a creator of numerous other browser hijackers, so we doubt anyone could describe it as reliable.
Search.heasyspeedtest.co screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions
The documents we just mentioned also have statements claiming the search engine might show users third-party advertising content, but its creators do not take any responsibility for such content. Because of this, there might be a possibility some of the displayed advertisements could even originate from malicious web pages, e.g. websites offering similar browser hijackers, sites distributing ransomware, Trojans, and other malware, websites showing fake lottery winnings or asking to participate in fictitious surveys, and so on. Naturally, our researchers recommend using more reputable search engines to surf the Internet.
If you are having a hard time while trying to get rid of the application, we can offer our removal guide placed below the text. Just choose the steps based on the browser you use, and they will show you how to find files that might have been modified by this browser hijacker and how to restore them. The task could appear to be complicated, especially for less experienced users, but there is another option we could suggest. Search.heasyspeedtest.co can be deleted with a reliable antimalware tool just the same. In fact, using such a tool might be even better since with it users could clean the system from other possible threats too and keep it safe from suspicious applications or malware the user may yet encounter later.
Remove Search.heasyspeedtest.co
Internet Explorer
- Press Windows Key+R.
- Insert Regedit and select Enter.
- Find the given location: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
- Find a value name called Start Page.
- Right-click it and press Modify.
- Replace http://Search.heasyspeedtest.co with a reliable link and click OK.
- Leave the Registry Editor.
Mozilla Firefox
- Press Windows Key+E.
- Find the provided path: C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{Unique Mozilla user ID}
- Locate a file called Prefs.js.
- Open it as a Notepad document.
- Search for the mentioned code line: user_pref(“browser.startup.homepage”, “http://Search.heasyspeedtest.co”).
- Replace http://Search.heasyspeedtest.co with a trustworthy link.
- Press Ctrl+S.
- Close the document.
Google Chrome
- Press Windows Key+E.
- Look for this path :C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default
- Locate files titled Preferences, Secure Preferences, and Web Data.
- Right-click each file separately and select Delete.
- Close the File Explorer.
In non-techie terms:
Search.heasyspeedtest.co should not be considered as a reliable search engine since the application comes from untrustworthy developers and it seems there is a possibility it could show suspicious advertising content. Not to mention, the threat may change your preferred homepage site, search provider, or new tab page with itself. If you do not like these changes and do not wish to take any chances by surfing the Internet with such an untrustworthy tool we encourage you to get rid of this browser hijacker as soon as possible. If eliminating it manually seems too complicated even with the step by step removal guide located above, you should use a reputable antimalware tool and erase the suspicious application with automatic features instead.