Search.superspeedtester.com

Search.superspeedtester.com is a new featured search website that can come up in your browsers as your home page and thus put your virtual security at risk with its questionable content. Well, of course, you need to use this search engine for it to expose you to such content but leaving it in your browsers is also not a good idea because it can collect information about you that may be shared with third parties, who might use this for customizing advertising campaigns for you. Unfortunately, the presence of this search engine in your browsers can also be a sign that there are also other malware infections lurking on your system that may have come on board with this one. We recommend that you remove Search.superspeedtester.com from your computer along with any related or older malware threats that could be hiding on your PC.

Our research clearly shows that this malware infection comes from an infamous browser hijacker family that has given birth to dozens of identical and very similar search engine pages, including Search2.searchgst.com, Search.directionsandmap.com, and Search.sp-cmf.com. You need to stay away from all these hijackers because you could easily be exposed to questionable third-party web content. When you find this infection in your browsers, it can indicate that you have clicked on the wrong content. You can easily install this hijacker, for instance, when you want to download a free program and you use a shady file-sharing site as your source. Of course, you may not even be familiar with this site and you may not be able to tell whether it is a fake or malicious page or not. So you may not realize that the targeted program is indeed a bundle that may contain a number of malware threats along with a possibly legitimate free program.

But you can also download freeware bundles packed with potentially unwanted applications as well as malicious software installers when you click on unsafe third-party ads. Such ad can pretend to be a software update warning (pop-up or banner) or promote a security program. However, instead of updating your software or installing a reliable security tool, you simply drop a package possibly loaded with malware threats. This is how many users infect their system with browser hijackers, Trojans, fake alerts, and adware programs without even noticing it. There are certain websites that promote questionable third-party content that may look like annoying advertisements but they can also be disguised as fake buttons or notifications. Such sites include online gaming, gambling, torrent, and freeware pages. You need to be extra careful when landing on such a site even when accidentally. If this ever happens to you, we suggest that you close your browser right away and run a full system malware scan using a reliable malware scanner. But, first, do not forget to delete Search.superspeedtester.com from your browsers.

This featured search website offers your Internet speed testing capability as well as speed-related third-party websites. There is a fake toolbar at the top of the page that contains a search tool, the usual quick links to a news page and the local weather widget page as well as to “Tips to Increase Speed” (broadbandchoices.co.uk/guides/speed/boost-your-internet-speed) and a “Speed Guide.” Below the main search box in the middle of the page, you can find a row or thumbnail links to popular websites (Facebook, Amazon, and Yahoo). This row can be hidden or shown if you prefer so by clicking on the respective link in its top-right corner. Below this panel, at the bottom of this search page, you can also find an Internet speed testing utility that can be hidden or displayed.

These features mostly seem innocent and finely working but you need to be careful with the news and local weather pages as they may show you unreliable third-party ads. The same is true, unfortunately, for the search results. Although your queries are forwarded to a Yahoo search results page, the ads and links on this page could be manipulated to include promoted affiliate content. Since there is no guarantee that this hijacker only partners up with trustworthy companies and websites, you could be introduced to links or ads that may come from cyber criminals. Engaging with them could lead to further malware infections or online scams on malicious websites. If you do not want to have additional threats on your system or lose money from your bank accounts, we advise you to act now and delete Search.superspeedtester.com from your PC.

This browser hijacker may only change your home page setting. Therefore, we believe that it is enough if you undo the changes in your affected browsers. We have prepared the instructions for you to assist you through all the steps. Remember that this hijacker could only be the tip of the iceberg and there could be other malware threats on your system. Failing to eliminate them all could lead to more serious system and privacy issues. This is why we recommend that you employ a powerful malware removal program (e.g., SpyHunter) to defend your PC properly against all known malicious attacks.

Remove Search.superspeedtester.com from Browsers

Mozilla Firefox

1. Tap Win+E.
2. Find the “%AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{Unique Mozilla user ID}” folder.
3. Open the prefs.js file in Notepad.
4. Replace the user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", "http://search.superspeedtester.com/") string with a URL address you want.

Google Chrome

1. Tap Win+E.
2. Find the “%LocalAppData%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default” folder.
3. Bin these files: Preferences, Secure Preferences, and Web Data
4. Empty the Recycle Bin.

Internet Explorer

1. Tap Win+Q and type regedit. Hit Enter.
2. Change “http://search.superspeedtester.com” in these registry keys:
   HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Start Page (64-bit)
   HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Start Page
   HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\Start Page
3. Change the value data in these value names in “HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes\{0633EE93-D776-472f-A0FF-E1416B8B2E3A}” registry entry:
   FaviconURL (value data: “http://search.superspeedtester.com/favicon.ico”)
   FaviconURLFallback (value data: “http://search.superspeedtester.com/favicon.ico”)
   TopResultURL (value data: “http://search.superspeedtester.com”)
   URL (value data: “http://search.superspeedtester.com”)
4. Exit the registry editor.