SearchVoyage.com

Browser hijackers are one of the most common malware types out there. It is every popular because their creators can create many of them. SearchVoyage.com is part of an emerging browser hijacker family developed by the infamous SuperWeb LLC. We suggest that you remove this hijacker from your computer as soon as possible because it can jeopardize its security. In truth, this hijacker sets out to replace your browser’s default homepage, new tab page, and search provider for the purpose of forcing you to use its search engine that may feature promotional links in the search results. If you want to get more in-depth information, then we invite you to read this whole article.

As mentioned, this hijacker was published by a company called SuperWeb which is a brand of the Sambreel/Yontoo group. Previously, this company used to make adware-type applications that are as malicious as browser hijackers. So this company did not move up or down the ladder at all. To date, this company has released only a handful of browser hijackers that include TideSearch.net, Trendio Ads, and now SearchVoyage.com. We are positive that we will see more of these hijackers in the near future.

Previously, SuperWeb used to bundle its adware and feature it on freeware websites. Not much has changed since as you can also get this browser hijacker by installing some shady software bundle. Nevertheless, this company has added some new distribution channels to its arsenal. We have found that this hijacker is distributed on SearchVoyage.com — its dedicated download website (note that the URL of this hijacker is Search.searchvoyage.com.) Furthermore, it seems that you can also get it from the Chrome Web Store at (https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/search-voyage/ndilfbngdlcppiffemoiaogjaalmpcbd?utm_source=chrome-app-launcher-info-dialog.) However, the Firefox version is not featured on Mozilla’s add-on store. Even better is that this hijacker does not support Internet Explorer. This hijacker comes with its accompanying browser extension called Search Voyage that you have to delete it if you want to restore your previous browser settings.

While this hijacker cannot infect your computer from the Chrome Web Store or its dedicated website, it can get on your PC without your knowledge through software bundles and change your browser’s settings without your consent. It can change the homepage of Firefox and the new tab page of Chrome while it can replace the search provider of both of these web browsers. The reason for hijacking your browser’s settings is, of course, money. This hijacker is set to generate advertising revenue by including promotional links in its search results. However, due to the shady origins of its developer, we believe its search results to be unreliable in nature. Therefore, you should not trust them. Note that this hijacker changes the above-mentioned settings to Search.searchvoyage.com — not SearchVoyage.com. However, when you enter search queries, they get redirected to Yahoo.com, a legitimate search engine that is often used by dishonest advertisers since they can include their promotional links in the customized version of Yahoo.com.

We want to stress that you cannot trust the search results presented by this browser hijacker because the promotional links they include may be of malicious nature. We believe that its developers can use this hijacker to promote phishing and scam websites that steal personal information and try to extort money from you. Of course, all browser hijackers have privacy issues as they collect information about you and use it for advertising and marketing purposes.

As stated in SearchVoyage.com’s privacy policy, it can collect personal information about you provided that you contact the company, but the website does not give you an email address or other means to communicate with them. The collected personal information includes, but is not limited to your name, mailing address, email address, and location. Even if you state your dog’s name, they will collect it and use it if they can. It all comes down to how much personal information you willingly reveal. Non-personally identifiable information is also collected, but it is collected automatically. Non-personally identifiable information includes IP address, country code, unique identifier number, hardware, software, configuration, operating system information, browser, language, access times, and so on. The privacy policy states that this information is not disclosed publicly, but the company can share it with its affiliates. In general, all of the collected information is used to present you with more relevant content, but, as mentioned, this content may not be legitimate.

All things considered, SearchVoyage.com is undesirable because it often comes in software bundles and changes the browser settings without your approval. Also, it collects personal and non-personal information to present relevant advertisements, but in some cases, those ads may be malicious in nature. Therefore, we have included a removal guide at the end of this article that we recommend that you use.