Search.searchvzc.com

If your default homepage, new tab page, and search engine have been changed to Search.searchvzc.com, then you should know that your web browser has been infected with a browser hijacker. We have classified it as a browser hijacker due to the fact that its unreliable developers have decided to distribute it using software bundles that can inject it into a web browser secretly. For this reason alone you ought to remove it. However, there are more things about this hijacker you need to know. It is a fake search engine that redirects the entered search queries to a third-party search engine. However, the results you get can include unwelcome ads.

Search.searchvzc.com comes bundled with other software, and the installers install this hijacker secretly while installing the main software. Some installers can allow you to deselect its installation but others might not. In any case, if Search.searchvzc.com is set to install by default, then it will automatically replace your browser’s homepage and new tab page addresses and possibly the search provider. Our research has revealed that this hijacker will do the same for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Internet Explorer. The aim of the game is to force you to use Search.searchvzc.com as a regular search engine, and indeed you can.

We have found that Search.searchvzc.com was configured to redirect all search queries you enter in its search box to a modified Yahoo search engine because it does not have its own search algorithm. Search.searchvzc.com is not a real search engine but poses as one to encourage people to use it. We believe that the modified search results can feature promotional links might redirect you to websites featuring various surveys software updates and so on. Your PC might end up with adware, potentially unwanted programs, and other bad programs that can hamper your computing experience.

On top of that, this hijacker was configured to collect information about you for advertising and marketing purposes. After reading its official privacy policy, we want to inform you that, in some cases, this hijacker may ask you to provide personal information upon you contacting the developers. However, since that is highly unlikely, personal information gathering in not that important. Still, this hijacker was also set to collect anonymous information using browser cookies, web beacons, pixels and other information collection technologies. The information this hijacker can collect automatically includes your IP address, approximate geographical location, Internet Service Provider, search queries, browsing history, operating system type, and browser type.

The reason this search engine is so unreliable is that it was created by a company that calls itself Polarity Technologies. This company is dedicated to making browser hijackers and is responsible for releasing hijackers such as Search.youremailnow.com, Search.yourclassifiedscenter.com, and Search.yourinterestscenter.com. All of this company’s hijackers have been configured to do the same, and most of them look very similar. Indeed, this company clones the hijackers and hosts them on another URL.

While Search.searchvzc.com may look like a safe and reliable search engine, if you got it on your browser accidentally, then you should replace it with another search engine because this one is dedicated to showing ad-supported search results that can potentially redirect you to malicious websites. We suggest that you remove this pesky hijacker using the guide provided below.

Remove Search.searchvzc.com manually

Mozilla Firefox

1. Hold down Win+E keys.
2. Type %AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ and hit Enter.
3. Enter the randomly named folder.
4. Locate prefs.js and open it with Notepad.
5. Locate user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", "http://Search.searchvzc.com");
6. Replace http://Search.searchvzc.com with your preferred search engine address.
7. Save and Close.

Google Chrome

1. Hold down Win+E keys.
2. Type %LocalAppData%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default and hit Enter.
3. Locate Preferences, Secure Preferences and Web Data files.
4. Open them with Notepad.
5. Find and replace http://Search.searchvzc.com with your preferred search engine in all strings.
6. Save and Close.

Microsoft Internet Explorer

1. Hold down Win+R keys.
2. Type regedit in the dialog box and press OK.
3. Go to HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
4. Find Start Page.
5. Right-click it and click Modify.
6. Erase Search.searchvzc.com and enter your preferred search engine URL.
7. Click OK.
8. Go to the following sub keys at HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes\{0633EE93-D776-472f-A0FF-E1416B8B2E3A}
   • FaviconURL
   • FaviconURLFallback
   • TopResultURL
   • URL
9. Right-click each of them and click Modify.
10. Erase http://Search.searchvzc.com/favicon.ico and http://Search.searchvzc.com and enter your preferred search engine URL.
11. Click OK.
12. Click Close.