Mylucky123.com

Mylucky123.com only looks like a regular search engine, but, in fact, it is a browser hijacker set to enter your computer via malicious distribution methods and replace your browser’s default homepage address. For this reason, you ought to remove it from your computer entirely, but there is more to it than meets the eye. Mylucky123.com is used for promoting websites, and it is set to do that by including their links in the search results. Apart from that, it will also collect information about you and use it to show you links related to your browsing preferences. As you can see, this fake search engine is bad news, so if you want to know more about it, then please continue reading.

From the outset, we want to point your attention to the fact that this seemingly legitimate search engine was set up by an unknown company. Indeed, this search engine’s EULA, Privacy Policy, and other legal documents make no mention of the company that owns it which is an indication that this hijacker comes from a shady background. Also, it does not appear to have clones, so we suspect that it was created by an up and coming developer and we will see more of its hijackers in the near future. Now let us take a look at how this hijacker is distributed.

While gathering information about it, we found that it is currently being promoted by ad-supported software. We do not know the name of this adware, but it seems that there might be more than one application promoting it. These applications are said to show intrusive pop-up advertisements that initiate the download of this hijacker. However, a website does not install on its own. Therefore, we have no doubt that there is a browser extension or toolbar that comes with it, but we have yet to find and test its sample. Here is a quote from http://mylucky123.com/about.html that reads “In order to make mylucky123 your default search engine in your browser you can the information on our Toolbar & Plugins page.” as you can see, there has to be a browser plug-in, but it does not a dedicated distribution method. In any case, Mylucky123.com’s browser plug-in is set to enter your computer secretly and set it as the default homepage of Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome, without your knowledge or consent.

Some browser hijackers hijack the homepage, new tab page and search provider settings, but this particular browser hijacker hijacks the homepage only. The aim of this is to force you to use it as a regular search engine. Its developers even tired to imitate Google’s color scheme to make this hijacker look related to it or for whatever other reason. Not only that, but it actually redirects the entered search queries to Google.com. However, the search results are altered and set to include links to promoted websites, and the modified search results are indistinguishable from the regular links, so the search results are outright misleading. We think that this hijacker can be used to promote malicious websites and phishing sites, fake online shopping websites, and other content that can jeopardize your computer’s security and your personal privacy. Speaking of which, let us tell you what information Mylucky123.com is set to collect about you.

A quick look at its Privacy Policy makes it clear that it collects information that includes IP addresses and browsing history, though this information is anonymous. However, if you contact the developers and reveal personal information about yourself, such as your name and email, then this information will also be collected and stored. We have no doubt that this information will be used for marketing and advertising purposes, so you should not allow them to collect it.

In closing, it is evident that Mylucky123.com is not a legitimate search engine. In fact, it is far from it because it is disseminated using illicit methods and set to promote content of questionable legitimacy. Furthermore, it can collect information about you and use it to tailor the ads, make them more appealing and generate more advertising revenue as a result. So if you want to get rid of it, we kindly invite you to refer to the removal guide presented below.

How to remove this browser hijacker

Microsoft Internet Explorer

1. Hold down Windows+R keys.
2. Enter regedit in the box and click OK.
3. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
4. Find Start Page and right-click it.
5. Click Modify and replace http://mylucky123.com

Mozilla Firefox

1. Hold down Windows+E keys.
2. Enter C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{ID} and hit Enter.
3. Find prefs.js and open it with Notepad.
4. Find the user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", "http://mylucky123.com"); string.
5. Replace http://mylucky123.com

Google Chrome

1. Hold down Windows+E keys.
2. Enter C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default and hit Enter.
3. Find and open the Preferences, Secure Preferences and Web Data files.
4. Replace http://mylucky123.com in all strings where it is present.
5. Alternatively, delete the Preferences, Secure Preferences and Web Data files.