Birdfinds.com

Birdfinds.com might look like a unique search engine, but the fact is that this search engine does not offer a useful or reliable service because it is a browser hijacker. Hence, its sole purpose is to replace your browser’s homepage address and make you use it to search the Internet. This hijacker can feature commercial advertisements in its search results, but the problem is that the promoted links can come from unreliable sources. Therefore, the ads can jeopardize your computer’s security and, therefore, you should remove it from your PC as soon as you can. However, if you want to learn more about this malicious search engine, then please continue reading.

Birdfinds.com is a minimalistic search engine that looks rather appealing so many people might think that it is a good alternative to their boring search engines. We believe that this hijacker should replace the homepage address of your browser if you use Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Internet Explorer. The secretive developers of this search engine want you to use it as your go-to search engine. The fact of the matter is that Birdfinds.com features promotional links that promote content from third parties. They pay the owners of this search engine to promote said links. As a result, Birdfinds.com generates clicks and, thus, ad revenue. The problem is that the search results become deceptive because they are tailored to push the promoted links as opposed to providing you with relevant results. Furthermore, there is no telling whether the promoted links are legitimate. There have been cases when browser hijackers promoted malicious links to malware-ridden websites, scam websites, and phishing sites. Therefore, if you want to keep your PC secure, you should not use this malicious search engine altogether.

Another rather important aspect we want to cover is Birdfinds.com’s ability to collect information about you and use it for promotional purposes such as assigning promotional links that are more likely to click. Our research has shown that this search engine was set to collect information such as your IP address, Internet Service Provider (ISP,) search history, entered search terms, approximate location, browser type, operating system type, and so on. Now let us move on to where this hijacker comes from and how it is distributed.

Birdfinds.com has been created by a privately owned company based in Asia. However, none of its legal documents disclose the company name. Nevertheless, the “About” section plainly says that “Bird finds are firmly positioned as global leaders in search engine marketing and web traffic generation.” Hence, there is no doubt the developer of this hijacker is in the web monetization business.

As far as its distribution methods are concerned, there is no concrete information on how its developers distribute it. Our research has shown that it probably does not have an accompanying browser extension. Therefore, it is likely that its creators have made arrangements to have Birdfinds.com bundled with malicious software installers that feature several applications and inject this hijacker into your browser secretly. You may encounter such bundled installers if you go to questionable freeware websites dedicated to hosting free software downloads.

In closing, Birdfinds.com is just a typical browser hijacker dedicated to replacing your browser’s default homepage address with its own address. Its developers use it to generate clicks and make money by featuring promoted links in the search results, but you should not trust the results as they can feature misleading links. Therefore, we recommend that you remove this hijacker as soon as the opportunity arises.

Replace the homepage address

Google Chrome

1. Simultaneously press Alt+F keys.
2. Select Settings.
3. Click Set pages and enter a new address.
4. Click OK.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Simultaneously press Alt+T and click Options.
2. Select General.
3. In the Home Page box, enter a new address box.

Microsoft Internet Explorer

1. Simultaneously press Alt+T keys.
2. Select Internet Options.
3. Enter a new URL in the home page address line.
4. Click OK.