Do you know what Searchemyn.com is?
Searchemyn.com is a questionable new search engine that may show up in your Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Google Chrome browsers without your noticing it because it looks very much like Google. The reason is not that the authors copied or stole the design with a little twist but it is indeed a customized Google search engine. Nevertheless, it does not mean that you can trust its results. Unfortunately, this infection has been categorized as a browser hijacker by our researchers, which means that this search engine is not at all without risks. In fact, you could be exposed to potentially unreliable third-party contents if you use this search engine. If you do not want more serious system security-related issues to emerge on your computer, we advise you to remove Searchemyn.com right away. This threat may enter your system along with other malicious programs, which could mean that your PC is under attack right now on several fronts. Please read our full report to learn about the risks and what you can do to protect your computer.
Our researchers have found that you can infect your browsers with this browser hijacker after you click on unreliable third-party contents, such as banners, pop-up ads, and links. There are two main channels through which you can be introduced to such commercials. First, it is possible that you land on a suspicious website when you are looking for free software downloading, online gambling, or gaming opportunities. Schemers have created lots of fake and malicious websites to trick unsuspecting users. This means that these pages display several third-party ads, which most often do not even look like commercial advertisements. Instead, they could appear to be part of the host page or a browser or system warning of some kind, such as a software update recommendation. If you click on these fake ads, you can easily get redirected to malicious sites on new tabs but you may as well download a bundle of malware threats on top of it all.
Searchemyn.com screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions
Second, it is possible that your computer is already swarming with adware and browser hijacker infections, which again can generate unsafe advertisements and links that may appear legitimate to you. However, the moment you click on them could doom your system and your privacy as well. It should be clear that if you delete Searchemyn.com alone, your computer may still remain under attack by other potential threats. Therefore, we also recommend that you scan your system with a trustworthy malware scanner tool so that you see the bigger picture.
This browser hijacker is not different from its peers. Although it belongs to those types that only offer you a simple search box and nothing else, the main mechanism behind it is the same: To generate money for its creators by promoting third parties. It would not even be a big issue since legitimate free program developers do this as well. However, in the case of Searchemyn.com there is no guarantee with regard to the reliability of its affiliates. What’s more, there are no legal documents on this search page, which makes is rather questionable. When you run a web search, your keywords are redirected to a customized Google search results page where you can see a relatively large sponsored links section and ads. Unfortunately, this hijacker may alter these results and insert its own third-party ads and links. The problem is that you will not be able to tell which content is reliable and which one may come from potential cyber criminals.
When you click on an ad or a link whose embedded link takes you to websites operated by criminals, you could easily be tricked into sharing your personal and your banking details. This could obviously result in a bank account drained or the misuse of your personal details as in “online fraud.” If these possible scenarios are scary enough for you, we suggest that you act now and remove Searchemyn.com from your browsers.
We can offer you two options to do so. First, you can simply reset your browsers, which sets all your settings back to default. This could mean losing your preferences and extensions as well. If this is not acceptable for you, maybe you want to use our manual instructions as a second option. Please follow our guide below if your system is not yet protected with a professional security tool. Actually, this is a third option, i.e., to defend your PC with an automated tool, such as an anti-malware program. This is what we recommend if you want perfect protection.
Remove Searchemyn.com from browsers
Google Chrome
- Press Alt+F and select Settings.
- Scroll down and click Show advanced settings.
- Scroll down and click Reset settings.
- In the confirmation window, press Reset.
Mozilla Firefox
- Press Alt+H and choose Troubleshooting Information.
- Click Refresh Firefox.
- In the confirmation window, click Refresh Firefox.
- Click Finish.
Internet Explorer
- Press Alt+T and select Internet Options.
- Choose the Advanced tab and click Reset.
- Select the Delete personal settings checkbox and click Reset.
- Press Close.
Manual Removal
Google Chrome
- Press Win+E.
- Find the “C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default” folder.
- Delete Preferences, Secure Preferences, and Web Data files.
Mozilla Firefox
- Press Win+E.
- Find the “C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\” folder.
- Open the {Unique Mozilla user ID} folder.
- Run the prefs.js file in a text editor, such as Notepad.
- Find user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", "http://searchemyn.com/") and replace “searchemyn.com” with your preference.
Internet Explorer
- Press Win+Q and enter regedit. Press the Enter key.
- Replace the value data “http://Searchemyn.com” in HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Start Page (64-bit!), HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Start Page, and HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Start Page registry keys.
- Exit the editor.
In non-techie terms:
Searchemyn.com is an annoying and potentially harmful addition to your browsers. This risky search engine can appear in your browsers when a browser hijacker manages to sneak onto your computer. Since this infection looks almost identical to Google as it is a customized Google page indeed, it can be very misleading for you to find it in your browsers. It is quite likely that you do not even realize that there is a new home page, new tab page, and your default search engine has changed, too. The problem is that you cannot fully trust the search results this browser hijacker may put on your screen even if you think that you are on a reliable Google results page. Since this malware infection can bring further infections onto your computer if you engage with the contents it provides for you, we suggest that you remove Searchemyn.com from your computer as soon as possible if you also do not want to end up on malicious websites. For the best protection of your system, you should use a proper anti-malware application if you do not want to hunt down every single threat.