Search Genie

Search Genie is a potentially unwanted program that works as a Chrome browser extension. It is not an immediate computer security threat, and it is more annoying than dangerous. Nevertheless, it would be for the best if you removed Search Genie from your browser right away. Potentially unwanted programs often come uninvited, and they could inadvertently expose users to potentially corrupted content. Therefore, one should not tolerate them. What’s more, there is a good chance that Search Genie is just one of the many undesirable applications currently added to your browser, so do yourself a favor and run a full security scan.

Quite a few users would consider Search Genie an intrusive application, especially if they had no plans of adding it to their browsers. Why, then, are we saying that it is merely a potentially unwanted app? Well, that is because it doesn’t sneak up on you. Unlike genuine computer infections, it doesn’t hide its presence, and it doesn’t try to trick you into installing it. In fact, it even has an official website, and you can find it on the Chrome Web Store. So there is nothing illegal about it, and that’s why we can’t say it’s a computer infection.

So why does it seem like it gets installed on the computer without permission? Well, it all boils down to the way this application is distributed around. You might stumble across searchfirt.com, which is the official website for the application. Maybe you could download Search Genie from there. Or maybe you decide to add the extension to your browser through the Chrome Web Store. If that is the case, then there is nothing suspicious about Search Genie. But then again, our research says that there are also other ways this application could reach your browser. And it all depends on what websites you tend to frequent.

Search Genie may also enter your system through a redirect. A redirect is this pop-up window that you encounter when you access some website, click somewhere on it, and automatically another tab opens in your browser. You probably try to avoid these websites most of the time because these redirects are terribly annoying. But sometimes they might offer to add Search Genie (or anything like that) to your browser, and unless you click “add” the new tab doesn’t close. Of course, you do not need to do what these redirects tell you. You can always close your browser using the Alt+F4 command, but some users may feel intimidated and succumb to these orders.

Now, what happens when Search Genie is added to your browser? If the extension comes with full functionally, it may function a little bit like a browser hijacker. For instance, we know that Search Genie changes the default search engine to feed.searchfrit.com, and all of your search queries get redirected to modified Yahoo! Search engine results. This also proves that the extension cannot provide you with an original search engine, as it employs one that is already popular.

It is also very likely that Search Genie could collect data on your web browsing habits or log the search queries that you enter into the search bar. While this information is usually collected to provide you with custom services, we can never know how exactly Search Genie shares this information with affiliated third parties. If this information is used to generate custom commercial content, there is always a chance that the application may accidentally redirect you to a dangerous website (provided you click the commercial link). Not that it is part of Search Genie’s agenda, but such apps are often exploited by cybercriminals.

So, the bottom line is that you should remove Search Genie from your browser if you didn’t want to install the app in the first place. While it is very easy to remove the extension, you should also scan your system with a security tool. Since these apps tend to travel in packs, you have to check whether there are more potential threats on-board. If more unwanted programs are found, please remove them all with a licensed antispyware tool. Also, do not hesitate to invest in your cybersecurity if you feel that more can be done to protect your system and your data.

How to Remove Search Genie

1. Open the Chrome browser.
2. Press Alt+F and click More tools.
3. Select Extensions.
4. Remove Search Genie from the list.
5. Restart your browser.