Search.searcheasyra.com

You might recognize Search.searcheasyra.com as a legitimate and reliable search provider, but our research team classifies it as a browser hijacker. This potential threat is directly linked to the Easy Radio Access extension that was created by Polarity Technologies Ltd, who is also the developer of the hijacker. It is very likely that if the hijacker takes over your browsers – and it does that by replacing the homepage URL – you have installed the extension. If the extension is not involved, another piece of software might be responsible for introducing you to the hijacker. Is it possible that it will be promoted on its own? That is pretty unlikely, but if that happens, it is most likely to happen when you interact with a software bundle. The Easy Radio Access extension is likely to be represented via a software bundle as well. Overall, it is quite possible that you need to delete third-party software if you discover the hijacker. Luckily, the removal of Search.searcheasyra.com is easy, and it should not create big problems for you.

The suspicious Easy Radio Access is officially presented at easyradioaccess.com/Radio?, as well as the Chrome web store at chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/easy-radio-access/mghbldejemondmmdhefjnjijlpjgmjnl. As we discussed already, it is far more likely that you will find it attached to some software bundle introduced to you via an unreliable file-sharing site or a pop-up offer. This extension might seem attractive at first because it promises to provide you access to “hundreds of radio stations.” Is it capable of doing that? Of course, it is not. When you install this extension, it automatically changes your homepage to Search.searcheasyra.com, and that is pretty much its only function. Whether you install the hijacker on its own or using the add-on, you will be provided with the same links to iheart.com, youtube.com, soundcloud.com, spotify.com, pandora.com, espn.com, and facebook.com. Though you can listen to music on some of these sites, they certainly do not represent “hundreds of radio stations.” Polarity Technologies Ltd is responsible for a ton of different extensions and hijackers – including Search.watchanysports.com and Search.couponsimplified.com – that promote legitimate links but are useless. Of course, this is not the main reason for deleting them.

As you might have discovered already, Search.searcheasyra.com does not offer great search services. The search box in the middle actually represents Yahoo Search, and although this search provider is considered to be authentic and reliable, you cannot trust the search results shown to you. Why? The reason is pretty simple: The hijacker can add potentially unreliable sponsored links to the regular Yahoo search results. Although this search provider is reliable, the hijacker could modify the results, and that is what you need to think about. Another reason to delete Search.searcheasyra.com from your browsers has to do with tracking cookies. As you probably know, tracking cookies are everywhere, and they are not automatically malicious. However, some of them have more privileges than others, and, unfortunately, it appears that the hijacker can use cookies to track information that might include personally-identifiable, private information. Do you trust the creator of this hijacker and the parties who are associated with it? If you do not, you should delete the hijacker ASAP.

It is a good idea to delete Search.searcheasyra.com from your browsers, and you know why if you have read this report. The good news is that you can remove Search.searcheasyra.com from any browser manually. The guides below show how to modify homepage URLs, but we recommend erasing the Easy Radio Access add-on first (uninstall if you have installed it for Internet Explorer). Hopefully, the hijacker will be disabled at the same time. If you need help with the manual removal, you can always contact us via the comments section below. Of course, if you are facing problems – for example, if other threats are active as well – you also should consider using automated malware removal software. We advise implementing a legitimate anti-malware tool that can automatically detect and delete malware, as well as ensure that your vulnerable operating system is reliably protected against malicious infections in the future.

Search.searcheasyra.com Removal

Internet Explorer:

1. Launch RUN by tapping Win+R keys on the keyboard.
2. Enter regedit.exe to launch Registry Editor.
3. Move to HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main.
4. Right-click the value called Start Page and select Delete.
5. Overwrite the hijacker’s URL and click OK.

Mozilla Firefox:

1. Launch Explorer by tapping Win+E keys on the keyboard.
2. Enter %AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ into the bar at the top.
3. Open the folder that represents your Firefox profile.
4. Open the file called prefs.js (you can use Notepad to open it).
5. Overwrite the hijacker’s URL in the text and then save the file.

Google Chrome:

1. Launch Explorer by tapping Win+E keys on the keyboard.
2. Enter %LocalAppData%\Google\Chrome\User Data\ into the bar at the top.
3. Open the file called Preferences.
4. Overwrite the hijacker’s URL in the text and then save the file.
5. Open the file called Secure Preferences and repeat step 4.
6. Open the file called Web Data and repeat step 4.

N.B. The path to the User Data folder for Windows XP users is %UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\.