Do you know what Search-megunda.com is?
You should not ignore the entrance of Search-megunda.com, even if you have agreed to the homepage modifications of this hijacker yourself. According to our malware researchers, this hijacker comes from the family that that has gained attention in the last few months. Other hijackers that belong to this group include Mefuli-search2016.com, Max-search2016.com, and Daiksearch2016.com. Obviously, it did not make any sense for the creator (or creators) of these suspicious search tools to add the numbers representing the years that they were released. The new threat has broken this chain, but it is just as useless as its predecessors. In fact, most of these hijackers are already down because of the negative feedback that they have received. In case they infected your browsers before that, you need to delete them. Also, there is always a possibility that a site that has been taken down will be back up again. In any case, we recommend removing Search-megunda.com, and you can learn more about this in our report.
Search-megunda.com screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions
Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Google Chrome web browsers can be infected by the suspicious Search-megunda.com hijacker. These browsers are the most popular among users all over the world, and it is not surprising that they are the targets of most hijackers. Of course, this infection cannot enter your operating system out of the blue. Instead, it needs to find a security backdoor to slither in, and it usually introduces itself upon installation to evoke fewer suspicions. Although Search-megunda.com does not have an official installer, it can be spread by third-party software distributors carrying multiple programs bundled together. You are likely to face an unreliable installer when you land on unreliable file-sharing websites, but they could also be promoted via ads injected by malicious adware. Needless to say, if a hijacker is spread via a software bundle, other threats might slither in along with it as well. If you do not know if you need to delete any other threats, install a reliable malware scanner to inspect your PC.
Even if Search-megunda.com is the only threat you need to delete, do not postpone the removal. This hijacker has an interface of a regular search tool, but it does not work properly. In fact, it is most likely that no results will be found when you enter keywords into the search dialog box. You are unlikely to find useful search results even if you click the suggested keywords that are placed under different categories. For example, the keywords under the Computers category include “Software,” “Hardware,” and “Computer Games.” As you might have noticed, the website does not provide links to “legal” statements (e.g., license agreement or privacy policy), which makes Search-megunda.com completely unpredictable. Because of that, we believe that you should not postpone the removal of this hijacker.
Can you modify undesirable homepage settings on your browser? If you can, you already know how to delete Search-megunda.com from your browsers. The instructions below reveal how to successfully get rid of this hijacker manually. Notably, if other malicious infections are active, it is best to employ anti-malware software to clean your operating system and ensure its protection in the future.
Remove Search-megunda.com from browsers
Internet Explorer
- Tap Win+R keys at the same time to launch the RUN dialog box.
- Type regedit.exe into the dialog box and click OK to access the Registry Editor menu.
- Move to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main.
- Double-click the value named Start Page to open it.
- Overwrite the hijacker’s URL with the preferred URL and then click OK.
Google Chrome
- Tap Win+E keys at the same time to launch the Windows Explorer window.
- Enter %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\ or %UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\ (depending on the Windows version) in the bar at the top.
- Open the Default folder (if multiple profiles exist, open your {unique profile name} folder).
- Delete these files: Preferences, Secure Preferences, and Web Data.
Mozilla Firefox
- Tap Win+E keys at the same time to launch the Windows Explorer window.
- Enter %AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ into the bar at the top.
- Open the {unique profile name} folder.
- Right-click the file named prefs.js and select to open it with the preferred text reader.
- Find the string user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", "http://search-megunda.com");.
- Overwrite the hijacker’s URL with the preferred URL and then save the file before closing it.
In non-techie terms:
Search-megunda.com replaces the homepage on the browser it targets. If the infiltration is successful, you are greeted with the same suspicious search engine every time you launch the browser. According to our research, this provider is unreliable because it is not transparent about its activity and potential. On top of that, it appears that this hijacker is completely incapable of producing search results, which is what should help you realize that it deserves immediate removal. Luckily, you can delete Search-megunda.com by modifying the homepage URL, and this is the process that is represented via the removal guide above. If you are able to erase the hijacker and other threats found on your PC yourself, you might be tempted to go back as you were. Are you not worried about your virtual security? We suggest you strengthen your system’s protection before you start operating your PC in a usual manner.