Search.hcouponsimplified.com is a browser hijacker that corrupts Google Chrome and other popular web browsers

Search.hcouponsimplified.com is an URL address that redirects to an unfamiliar search site dubbed as Coupon Simplified. Initially, this search might seem useful due to a supply of quick access links (Amazon, Gmail, Yahoo, YouTube, and Latest Coupons). Nevertheless, it has already been included in the international listing of potentially unwanted programs (PUPs)[1] and browser hijackers due to unauthorized access to Windows and Mac based systems and questionable activities initiated on them.
| Summary | |
| Name | Search.hcouponsimplified.com |
| Developer | Polarity Technologies Ltd |
| Type | Browser hijacker |
| Distribution | Freeware bundling |
| Symptomps | Search engine, start page, and new tab replaced by Search.hcouponsimplified.com. Search results filled with links to third-party websites. Intrusive and misleading ads |
| Danger level | Low. Does not harm OS. Affects web browser only |
| Reasons not to use | Might be related to illegal or malicious websites |
| Immunization | 1. Automatic using FortectIntego or similar security tool 2. Manual. Removal tutorial provided below |
Its developer, Polarity Technologies Ltd, represents the tool as a powerful search engine that provides filtered Yahoo based search results. However, the company is entangled into affiliate marketing with unspecified third parties. Consequently, the Search.hcouponsimplified.com virus can initiate a multitude of potentially dangerous activities on a target system.
The direct download is not available. Search.hcouponsimplified.com hijacks Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and other web browsers with the help of freeware. If the user inadvertently agrees to install it, the following changes are initiated:
It installs an unwanted extension on a default web browser.
- The start page, search provider, and new tab URL are substituted with Search.hcouponsimplified.com and Coupon Simplified.
- Various browser helper objects (BHO) can be installed to restore the Search.hcouponsimplified.com URL if the user attempts to remove it.
- Search results may contain links to irrelevant websites, such as third-party online shopping websites,[2] software download sites, coupon platforms, etc.
- Price comparison charts, ads offering expensive products, software updates, online surveys, and similar types of pop-up and banner ads are expected to show among search results.
- Tracking cookies and web beacons powered by Polarity Technologies will be installed so that the company could find out your browsing preferences.
Note that most of the changes that this dubious search provider initiates are not malicious. Nevertheless, Search.hcouponsimplified.com removal is what we recommend. This misleading application can disrupt your web browsing by displaying irrelevant content and can expose you to potentially dangerous websites.
Search.hcouponsimplified.com virus is set to display ads and links to the websites of its partners, but the content is neither checked nor monitored. Therefore, you can never know if Search.hcouponsimplified.com redirects you to a legitimate domain.

By the way, the usage of tracking cookies can lead to privacy violation since Search.hcouponsimplified.com malware can track IP address, your name, email address, approximate geographical location, and other quite sensitive information. Excerpt from Search.hcouponsimplified.com Privacy Policy:
[…]we may collect personally-identifiable information through the use of our Services upon your contacting us so that we may respond to your questions or comments, such as your name, email or mailing address, or other information you include when contacting us.
To remove Search.hcouponsimplified.com from Firefox, Edge, Chrome or another web browser, you should, first of all, delete PUPs from the system. You can do that by running a scan with FortectIntego or following manual removal tutorial submitted at the bottom of this article.
Restrain from installing infamous free apps
As long as “bundling” is legitimate, malware developers will keep distributing adware programs and browser hijackers via software packages. Thus, we would strongly do not recommend installing free apps recklessly.
The lesvirus.fr[3] team stresses the fact that any freeware can be bundled with unwanted extensions or add-ons. Even programs downloaded from official websites can contain hidden attachments, not to mention questionable third-party download sources.
To defragment software bundles, you should install free apps using Advanced or Custom installation method. Skip Quick or Basic installation and invest a couple of spare minutes in exchange for malware free PC.
Monitor every installation step and delete additional components that are marked by default. After initiating the installation process, it's a useful practice to run a full system scan with a professional anti-malware tool.
A guide on how to get rid of Search.hcouponsimplified.com virus
The removal of browser hijackers and similar browser-based cyber infections consist of two parts – the removal of PUPs from the system and restoration of web browser's settings. While in most of the cases, Search.hcouponsimplified.com removal is not complicated, it may sometimes be challenging to identify related programs. Therefore, we highly recommend you to remove Search.hcouponsimplified.com using a reliable anti-malware tool.
In case you have never deleted unwanted apps from your PC, you can find both automatic and manual Search.hcouponsimplified.com removal tutorial down below.
Uninstall from Windows
Uninstall from Windows 10/8:
- Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.

Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:
- Click on Windows Start > Control Panel (Windows XP users should click on Add/Remove Programs).
- In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.

Remove the unwanted program:
- In the Programs and Features window, look for any recently installed suspicious entries, select them, and click Uninstall.
- If User Account Control appears, click Yes to confirm, then complete the removal.

Delete from macOS
Remove the unwanted application:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).

Delete leftover files and folders:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
- Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.

- Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.
Reset Internet Explorer
Remove dangerous add-ons:
- Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
- Pick Manage Add-ons.
- You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.

Change your homepage if it was altered:
- Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
- Select Internet Options.
- In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
- Click Apply and then select OK.

Delete temporary files:
- Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
- Under Browsing history, click Delete...
- Select relevant fields and press Delete.

Reset Internet Explorer:
- Click on Gear icon > Internet options and select Advanced tab.
- Select Reset.
- In the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset.

Remove from Microsoft Edge
Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:
- Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
- From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
- Click Remove.

Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Select Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files. (apart from passwords, although you might want to include Media licenses as well, if applicable) and click on Clear.

Restore new tab and homepage settings:
- Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
- Then find On startup section.
- Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.
Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:
- Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
- Select Details tab.
- Now scroll down and locate every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right-click on each of them and select End Task to stop MS Edge from running.

Instructions for Chromium-based Edge
Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):
- Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
- Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.

Clear cache and site data:
- Click on Menu and go to Settings.
- Select Privacy, search and services.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Under Time range, pick All time.
- Select Clear now.

Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- On the left side, pick Reset settings.
- Select Restore settings to their default values.
- Confirm with Reset.
- This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
- Select Add-ons.
- In here, select the unwanted extension and click Remove.

Reset the homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Settings.
- Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.
Clear cookies and site data:
- Click Menu and pick Settings.
- Go to Privacy & Security section.
- Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
- Click on Clear Data...
- Select Cookies and Site Data and Temporary cached files and pages, then click Clear.

Reset Mozilla Firefox
If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
- Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.

- Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox...
- Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.

Remove from Google Chrome
Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:
- Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
- In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all suspicious extensions related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.

Clear cache and web data from Chrome:
- Click on Menu and pick Settings.
- Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
- Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
- Click Clear data.

Change your homepage:
- Click menu and choose Settings.
- Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
- Click on Open a specific or set of pages and click on three dots to find the Remove option.
Reset Google Chrome:
If the previous methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the unwanted components:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
- Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
- Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
- Confirm with Reset settings.

Delete from Safari
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
- Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.

Clear history and website data:
- Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
- Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.

Reset Safari:
- Click Safari in the menu and select Preferences > Advanced.
- Enable Show Develop menu in menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop and select Empty Caches.

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