Do you know what Search.searchgrm.com is?
Search.searchgrm.com is promoted as a search engine dedicated to allowing you to listen to online radio on your computer, but this function is just a gimmick since it does not work. Our analysts have categorized it as a browser hijacker and suggest removing it since its true purpose is to hijack your web browser’s homepage/new tab page to display promotional links in its search results. On top of that, it can also collect rather sensitive information about you. In short, this infection is used to generate advertising revenue and the collect information makes this process more efficient. Nevertheless, we believe that it may get your computer infected with more malware. Thus, we recommend that you read this description and get rid of it.
Allegedly, this hijacker was made by a company that calls itself Get Radio Music SOFTWARE based in Portland, Oregon, USA. However, we cannot confirm or deny that this is true. All that matters is that there is no information about this company anywhere on the web, so we think that it is fictitious. Nevertheless, we want to inform you that this secretive company has released dozens of browser hijackers in the past. For example, Search.youremailnow.com, Search.yourclassifiedscenter.com, and Search.yourinterestscenter.com. And, we have no doubt that this developer will release new browser hijackers in the near future because it is a must to continue making money. Clone hijackers are a must since frequently updated antimalware quickly locate and delete them.
Search.searchgrm.com screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions
Our malware researchers have concluded that Search.searchgrm.com is distributed using, at least, two methods. The first one is rather deceptive. They say that this hijacker is promoted via pop-up adverting generated by adware-type programs that you could have accidentally installed along with freeware. They say that in some cases it is promoted using adware such as InteliTerm, TermTrident, and SwiftSearch. The second method brings up more questions. Our researchers have found that this hijacker can be downloaded from the Chrome Web Store. Note that in all cases Search.searchgrm.com comes with a browser extension or dedicated program. In the case of Chrome in comes as a browser extension named Get Radio Music, for Firefox it is called Radio 0.0.3 (name may vary,) and as a program named Get Radio Music for Internet Explorer.
After installing the application compatible with your web browser it will hijack its homepage or new tab page address without your approval, and in some cases, you may not be able to modify the address until the accompanying application has been uninstalled. Apart from managing the hijacking process, those applications serve no purpose, although they might play a role in collecting information.
As previously mentioned, Search.searchgrm.com’s main job is to generate adverting revenue. This income is generated by injecting promotional links into its search results since it factions like a search engine, but one that redirects all of the search queries to Yahoo.com. Our researchers say that in an unpleasant turn of events your computer might become infected with other malware, such as Flexible Family, BuiltMoneyMaker, and so on. Hence, the more infections your computer has, the more unstable and slower it is.
Now let us talk privacy. According to its privacy policy, this hijacker may “collect personally-identifiable information through the use of our Services upon your contacting us so that we may respond to your questions or comments, such as your name, email or mailing address, or other information you include when contacting us.” Also, Search.searchgrm.com can obtain information, such as URLS that you visit, search activity (search queries.) And, worst of all, this information is shared with third-party applications that use Search.searchgrm.com to function or, according to the privacy policy “offer you more customized information, advertising, and services.” We suspect that you do not need this hijacker’s ads and other services, so we recommend that you get rid of it as soon as possible.
Our malware researchers have concluded that Search.searchgrm.com can be removed in its entirety by uninstalling its accompanying browser extension and/or program. Thus, the homepage/new tab page should be reset to the configuration before the infection. However, this might not always be the case. Therefore, our researchers have included additional steps for fixing the homepage/new tab page settings. So feel free to use our tested removal guide below.
Remove the browser extension
Google Chrome
- Launch the browser and press Alt+F.
- Click More tools and open Extensions.
- Locate Get Radio Music and click Remove.
Mozilla Firefox
- Launch the browser.
- Press Ctrl+Shift+A.
- Select Extensions.
- Find Radio 0.0.3 and click remove.
Uninstall this browser hijacker from Internet Explorer via Control Panel
Windows XP
- Open the Start menu and click Control Panel.
- Open Add or Remove Programs.
- Find the malware.
- Click Remove.
Windows 7/Windows Vista
- Click Start located at the bottom left side of the screen.
- Select Control Panel and click Uninstall a program.
- Find the unwanted application and click Uninstall.
Windows 10/8.1/8
- Right-click on Start menu/Start screen and select Programs and Features.
- Find Get Radio Music and right-click on it.
- Click the Uninstall button.
Fix the homepage/new tab page settings manually (optional)
Mozilla Firefox
- Press Windows+E keys and enter C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{Unique ID} in the address box.
- Locate prefs.js, open it with Notepad and remove the user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", "http://search.searchgrm.com/"); string.
- Close and save changes.
Google Chrome
- Press the Windows+E keys.
- Enter C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default in the address box of the resulting Explorer window.
- Locate and delete Preferences, Secure Preferences and Web Data files.
Microsoft Internet Explorer
- Simultaneously press the Windows+R keys.
- type regedit in the resulting box and click OK.
- Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
- Find Start Page on the right side of the window and double-click it.
- Replace the Value Data from http://search.searchgrm.com/ to your preferred homepage.
In non-techie terms:
Our malware researchers at Spyware-techie.com have concluded that Search.searchgrm.com is a browser hijacker whose purpose is to hijack your web browser’s homepage. It was configured as a search engine, so it can be used for searching the web, but it is apt to include promotional links of unverifiable legitimacy. Thus, we recommend that you remove this hijacker to avoid exposure to potentially malicious content and get your old homepage back.