Search.joygame.com

Search.joygame.com is a Turkish browser hijacker that seems to spread through joygame installers. Joygame claims to be Turkey’s “greatest digital entertainment platform,” which promotes PC, mobile, and browser games. However, when you install one, you will also probably install this browser hijacker that may actually expose you to unsafe third-party web content. Since you cannot trust this unreliable search engine, there is no reason for you to keep it on your computer. Therefore, we advise you to remove Search.joygame.com before you end up on malicious websites and get scammed by cyber criminals, which may easily happen if you happen to use this tool. Please continue reading our article if you want to find out more about this browser hijacker and how it may risk your virtual security, and also, how you can protect your computer from similar attacks.

As we have already mentioned, this browser hijacker is mainly distributed through game installers that come from en.joygame.com. However, it seems that not every game installer will hijack your browsers. You need to know that even if you do not remember letting this hijacker make the home page setting changes in your browsers, it was most probably offered when you installed a joygame product. A lot of users do not realize when such offers are made and simply click the Next or Install buttons to get it over with. This is how such changes may take place “without your knowledge or permission.” But it does not really matter when it comes to browser hijackers because what really counts is the fact that they are able to make such changes in your browsers. It seems to be a new infection and that may be the reason why we have not found it in software bundles yet. However, this could easily change in the future because according to our experience, browser hijackers show up in freeware bundles sooner or later since that is a very effective method to spread them over the web.

Therefore, you need to be careful around suspicious websites, such as freeware and torrent sites. These are the most common places that host malicious bundles through potentially harmful third-party ads, including banners and pop-up ads. You are better off keeping away from such sites and not clicking on any advertisement at all. Should such a bundle land on your computer, you need to understand that deleting Search.joygame.com will not save the day. You will have to scan your computer for other potential threats as well. You can choose to do this manually via the installed programs list in Control Panel and the extension list in your browsers, but keep in mind that you cannot detect all malware infections this way. It is always best to use a professional malware scanner to do the job for you.

You can also download this browser extension through the Chrome web store from this link: chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/joygame-homepage/ojmcefcpojnkmmblchnllkaphlpdobgd. But, unfortunately, it does not guarantee that it is a reliable tool. As a matter of fact, there are hundreds of questionable and unreliable tools still hosted by the Chrome web store because it takes them time to analyze and find these harmful tools. So it is quite possible that this hijacker will be blocked in the future. We have found that so far 381.746 users have downloaded this tool from the store, which means a lot of users have been exposed to this unreliable search engine.

This browser hijacker appears to affect only Internet Explorer and Google Chrome, but it does not mean that it might not attack Mozilla Firefox in the future. This search engine is hosted on 52.3.212.43 IP address, whose location is in Ashburn, Virginia (USA). However, the joygame website is hosted on 212.68.37.6 IP address, which is located in Istambul, Turkey. Both are registered by the same company called Godaddy.com, LLC. You should not trust this search engine at all because it may display you manipulated search results through modified Google search results pages. You queries and your browsing habits may be monitored and used by this hijacker to be able to show you targeted advertisements on the results pages, not to mention sponsored links. Clicking on these could be detrimental to your computer’s health and your privacy as well. Research shows that this hijacker mostly targets Turkey (72.8%), Egypt (18.2%), and Saudi Arabia (3.6%), but it does not mean that you cannot download it anywhere in the world; the official site and the Chrome web store page can most probably be accessed all over the planet.

Finally, it is time to talk about the solution if your computer is infected with this useless browser hijacker. In order to entirely remove Search.joygame.com from your computer, you should reset your browsers and clear the registry leftovers. Please follow our instructions below to make sure that you get all the steps right. However, keep in mind that modifying the Windows Registry has its own risks. Please go for manual removal only if you consider yourself an experienced computer user. If you prefer a safer and more efficient approach, we advise you to use a professional antimalware program, such as SpyHunter, in order to eliminate all possible threats and protect your PC from malware invasions.

Remove Search.joygame.com from browsers

Google Chrome

1. Tap Alt+F and go to Settings.
2. Scroll down and click Show advanced settings.
3. Scroll down again and click Reset settings.
4. Press Reset.

Internet Explorer

1. Tap Alt+T and go to Internet Options.
2. Click on the Advanced tab and press Reset.
3. Mark the Delete personal settings checkbox.
4. Click Reset and click Close.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Tap Alt+H and go to Troubleshooting Information.
2. Click Refresh Firefox.
3. Press Refresh Firefox in the confirmation window.
4. Press Finish.

Remove registry keys and junk

1. Press Win+R and type in regedit to start up the Windows Registry editor.
2. Locate and clear the following registry keys' value data:
   • HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Policies\Google\Chrome\RestoreOnStartupURLs|HomepageLocation
   • HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome\RestoreOnStartupURLs|HomepageLocation
   • HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Policies\Google\Chrome\Recommended|HomepageLocation
   • HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome\Recommended|HomepageLocation
   • HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Policies\Google\Chrome|HomepageLocation
   • HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome|HomepageLocation
3. Close the editor.
4. Press Win+E to open the Windows File Explorer.
5. For Windows 7 or newer: Locate and delete %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\search.joygame[1].xml.
6. For Windows XP: Locate and delete %USERPROFILE%\Application Data\LocalLow\search.joygame[1].xml.
7. Restart your computer.