SearchStreamz browser hijacker (virus) - spam

What is SearchStreamz browser hijacker?

SearchStreamz is not a helpful tool for your browser

SearchStreamz is an unwanted extension or program that performs tasks in the background

Add-ons for browsers are meant to provide benefits for the user, like blocking suspicious websites, advertisements, disguising the location, or giving coupons. SearchStreamz is none of these things. The extension does not give any additional value and is useless.

What it does is, change the default homepage, new tab address and implement a different search engine. It also has some functions, which are an attempt to stay relevant because you can perform those tasks with a click of a button on any browser. That includes – a PDF file converter, calculator, currency converter, and an ability to bookmark pages.

This classifies the extension or potentially unwanted program as a browser hijacker. It can also collect various browsing data, so it is definitely not worth keeping it even if you find it somehow useful.

Browser hijacking is a widespread problem

Many other extensions look completely the same but just vary in colors and have different domains. All of the names seem to try to cater to one specific group of people. For example, the name SearchStreamz seems to imply that the app should provide an easy search for streams of whatever kind. Some of the other ones we wrote about are BestSearchPDF, BestStreamSearch, and CheckAMap.

It is not known who is behind creating a dozen of these hijackers, but one thing is clear – they do not seem to be stopping. All they do is get new domains, create a fun new logo, change up the colors a little bit, and it is ready for release. This browser hijacker family also does not have its own unique search engine. Instead, it implements an already existing one to make it functional.

Data tracking capabilities

The program redirects search queries from portal.searchstreamz.com through feed.searchstreamz.com to nearbyme.io, which is a fake search engine.^[1] An increased amount of commercial content is just one thing you will notice. There are other things it can do without your knowledge.

The Non-Personal Information which is being collected may include technical information automatically transmitted by the user's device (for example, type of browser, the type of the user's device and technical information pertaining to the user's device, language preferences, time stamps, clicks and visited pages, search logs, the operating system, utilized internet service provider and other similar information.

What they mean is, they can gather information about your browsing behavior, habits, geolocation, purchases you make, your IP address and provide it to third parties. You will not know who these entities are. If you happened to suffer some kind of consequence for this, the authors of SearchStreamz could not be held accountable.

Always read the Privacy Policy of products and services you use

This is why it is important to frequently clean your browsers' cookies and cache to delete any information websites have gathered about you. This can be made easy with a maintenance tool FortectIntego which can do this automatically. Frequently clearing cache can improve your device's performance too. Keep in mind that you should do this only after the removal is completed.

You can remove this add-on like any other one by going to your browser settings:

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 the suspicious plugins that might be related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.

MS Edge:

1. Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
2. From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
3. Click on Uninstall at the bottom.

MS Edge (Chromium)

• Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
• Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.

Mozilla Firefox

• 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 unwanted plugin and click Remove.

Safari

• Click Safari > Preferences…
• In the new window, pick Extensions.
• Select the unwanted extension and select Uninstall.

Internet Explorer:

1. Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
2. Pick Manage Add-ons.
3. You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.

Potentially unwanted applications

If it is not just a simple browser extension that has taken over, the previous removal might not have worked, and you still experience hijacking symptoms. That is because you probably installed a PUP^[2] in your system without knowing. These programs are often disguised as handy tools to make them look attractive to users. Sometimes they do not even function properly and instead perform various unwelcome tasks in the background.

It could have come as bundled software^[3] in the installer as well, but you rushed through the process and did not notice. It is important always to choose the “Advanced” or “Custom” installation methods and go step-by-step. Read the Terms of Use and Privacy policy to find out if the app will not collect sensitive information, etc. The most obvious thing to do would be to check the file list because that is where they hide. Be sure to uncheck the applications that you do not need.

You can add an extra layer of security by getting an anti-malware tool like SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes. You can perform regular scans with them and detect suspicious programs. They can also prevent such infections in the future by warning you.

It could be quite hard to determine which app is responsible for this behavior if you do not have prior experience; it could be called anything, so using security software would be a greater option for you. If you want to proceed with a manual guide, you can check the instructions for Windows and macOS below:

Instructions for Windows 10/8 machines:

1. Enter Control Panel into Windows search box and hit Enter or click on the search result.
2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.
3. From the list, find the entry of the suspicious program.
4. Right-click on the application and select Uninstall.
5. If User Account Control shows up, click Yes.
6. Wait till uninstallation process is complete and click OK.

Windows 7/XP:

1. Click on Windows Start > Control Panel located on the right pane (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
2. In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.
3. Pick the unwanted application by clicking on it once.
4. At the top, click Uninstall/Change.
5. In the confirmation prompt, pick Yes.
6. Click OK once the removal process is finished.

Mac:

1. From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
2. In the Applications folder, look for all related entries.
3. Click on the app and drag it to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash)

To fully remove an unwanted app, you need to access Application Support, LaunchAgents, and LaunchDaemons folders and delete relevant files:

1. Select Go > Go to Folder.
2. Enter /Library/Application Support and click Go or press Enter.
3. In the Application Support folder, look for any dubious entries and then delete them.
4. Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the related .plist files.