Happysearch.org

Happysearch.org might look like a fun search engine, but you will not be laughing when it gets your PC infected with malware because its search results can feature promotional links of unverified legitimacy. Therefore, there is no telling whether its promoted links are safe to click because there is a possibility that they can redirect you to malicious websites. We have classified this search engine as a browser hijacker due to the way its developers have chosen to distribute it. It can infect your PC via software installers and replace your browser’s homepage and new tab page addresses. Therefore, you ought to remove it from your PC as soon as the opportunity arises, but if you need for information on this hijacker, please read this short description.

We believe that this particular browser hijacker is distributed through malicious software bundles that inject it into your browser secretly. These installers are featured on freeware distributing websites. They usually feature several applications and can install them covertly, and this might be the case with this particular hijacker. We have received unconfirmed reports that certain software bundles inject Happysearch.org into the browser without the user’s knowledge or consent. Hence, the installers might not allow you to deselect the installation of this malicious search engine. Happysearch.org does not have an accompanying browser add-on, so it relies on the bundled installer to inject it into your browser.

We have found that this particular hijacker is compatible with the three most popular web browsers that include Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox. It is set to replace their homepage addresses and, in the case of Chrome, in particular, the new tab page. The reason for forcefully replacing them is forcing you to use this hijacker as a regular search engine. Our research has concluded that Happysearch.org features many advertisements in its search results. It has a list of promoted links on the right-hand side of the results window, as well as at the top and at the bottom. The real search results are in the middle of the promoted links. Now, why is this a bad thing, you ask? This hijacker comes from an unknown source, and so does its promotional links. Therefore, you cannot be sure of their safety.

You should also know that this search engine was designed to collect some anonymous information about you. According to its privacy policy, Happysearch.org can obtain information such as your “IP address, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), cookie information, and the webpage that a user visits.” The purpose of collecting this information is to analyze trends track movements and, according to the policy, “providing anonymous reporting to internal and external clients.” So this hijacker’s developer might even share this information with third parties. Needless to say, all of the information this hijacker collects is used to provide you with personalized search results and advertisements that generate income for its developers and their adverting partners. Without a doubt, you should look into removing this hijacker as soon as the opportunity arises.

We hope you found this article informative. Happysearch.org is a new browser hijacker, so there is not much information about. Still, it is clear as day that it comes from an unknown source and is also distributed in a deceptive manner. It was designed to replace your browser’s homepage address in order to subject you to promoted links in its search results when you use it to search the web. Therefore, you might want to remove it from your browser. You can replace the homepage address using the guide featured below.

How to get rid of this browser hijacker

Google Chrome

1. Press Windows+E keys.
2. Got to C:\Users\{User name}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default using the File Explorer’s address bar.
3. Find Preferences, Secure Preferences and Web Data files.
4. Open these file with Note pad and replace http://happysearch.org in all strings.
5. Save and Close.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Press Windows+E keys.
2. Go to C:\Users\{User name}\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{Unique Mozilla user ID} using the File Explorer’s address bar.
3. Find the file named prefs.js
4. Open this file with Notepad.
5. Replace http://happysearch.org in user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", "http://happysearch.org");
6. Save and Close.

Microsoft Internet Explorer

1. Press Windows+R keys.
2. Enter regedit in the dialog box and click OK.
3. In the Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
4. Find Start Page on the right side of the window and right-click it.
5. Select Modify and replace http://happysearch.org in the Value data line.
6. Click OK.