Click on screenshot to zoom
Danger level 7
Type: Browser Hijackers
Common infection symptoms:
  • Hijacks homepage
  • Changes default search engine

Search.searchipdf.com

If you think that you can browse the web efficiently using Search.searchipdf.com, you are wrong. This search tool does not exactly work as a search tool at all, and its main function is to redirect you to Yahoo Search. No, this suspicious tool is not set up to advertise this popular and well-known search engine. Instead, the engine is exploited to deliver you search results. You are more likely to trust the results represented via a familiar search engine, and that is what the bogus search tool can use to deliver links of its own. We are talking about sponsored links here, and they could promote all kinds of allegedly beneficial deals, services, and products. Although not all ads on the web are considered malicious, the dangerous ones are always concealed, and you have to be very careful about how you interact with them. Instead of interacting with suspicious ads and browsing the web in a precarious manner, you should remove Search.searchipdf.com, and that is what we discuss in this report.

Search.searchipdf.com should come bundled with the PDF Convert extension, but that is not a given. This search tool – which, by the way, we classify as a browser hijacker – is very similar to SaferBrowser hijackers, such as Search.yourclassifiedscenter.com or Search.searchlttrn.com, but it was created by a different company, Polarity Technologies Ltd. According to our research, this is the same company that is responsible for Search.searchlrom.com, a recently discovered browser hijacker that must be removed as well. At the moment, the company does not represent Search.searchipdf.com in an official manner, by which we mean that the extension – if it exists – does not have an official installer. Because an official installer does not exist, it is most probable that third-party installers are employed to spread the hijacker. The problem here is that malicious software distributors could use this semi-attractive tool to slip in more malicious threats. What if your operating system is now infected with Trojans, ransomware infections, adware, tracking cookies, and all kinds of other dangerous threats that require removal? Click the Download link to find a free malware scanner that will list all threats that must be deleted.

Although it is a real possibility that Search.searchipdf.com will come bundled with malware, this is not the real reason for deleting it. The reasons should become clear if you use this allegedly beneficial search tool. First of all, the easy-access links to cloudconvert.com, reference.com, translate.google.com, and thesaurus.com represented at the top are authentic and harmless, so you do not need to worry about that. What you need to focus on are the search tool and the tracking cookies. As mentioned before, Search.searchipdf.com redirects to Yahoo Search where advertisements could be added along with regular search results. Polarity Technologies Ltd. could be responsible for injecting ads, and they could be represented by malicious parties, which is why interacting with them is not recommended. Needless to say, if you cannot use a search tool to browse the web safely, there is no point in using it at all. When it comes to tracking cookies, they are silent, but they can be intrusive, and they could even leak personally-identifiable information, which is a very good reason to delete the hijacker ASAP.

It does not matter which browser was corrupted by Search.searchipdf.com because the guide below shows how to remove this hijacker from the main targets: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Internet Explorer. You could get rid of the hijacker by modifying the homepage URL as well, but if you learn how to get rid of it using this method, you will have the skill and experience to deal with all other browser hijackers. Obviously, we hope that you do not face another hijacker again, which is something you can take care of by implementing reliable security software. Even better, you can have malware erased and your PC protected at the same time by installing anti-malware software. If you simply follow the guide below and then erase all of the remaining threats, your operating system will remain vulnerable. Needless to say, malware targets vulnerable systems, and so it is only a matter of time before you might face another monster if you do not take care of your system’s protection.

Search.searchipdf.com Removal

Mozilla Firefox:

  1. Simultaneously tap Win+E keys to open Windows Explorer.
  2. Type %AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ into the bar at the top and tap Enter.
  3. Open the profile folder (with random characters in the name).
  4. Now, open the prefs.js file.
  5. Find the string user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", "http://Search.searchipdf.com"); and replace the hijacker’s URL.
  6. Save the file and launch the browser to see if the hijacker was eliminated.

Google Chrome:

  1. Simultaneously tap Win+E keys to open Windows Explorer.
  2. Type %LocalAppData%\Google\Chrome\User Data\ into the bar at the top and tap Enter.
  3. Open the profile folder (unique name in the name) or open the Default folder.
  4. You need to replace the hijacker’s URL in these files (open them with Notepad):
    • Preferences
    • Secure Preferences
    • Web Data

N.B. The directory for Windows XP users is %UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\.

Internet Explorer:

  1. Simultaneously tap Win+R keys to open RUN.
  2. Type regedit.exe and click OK to access Registry Editor.
  3. Navigate to HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main.
  4. Open the Start Page value.
  5. Replace the hijacker’s URL and click OK.
  6. Navigate to HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes\{0633EE93-D776-472f-A0FF-E1416B8B2E3A} .
  7. Repeat step 5 in these values:
    • FaviconURL
    • FaviconURLFallback
    • TopResultURL
    • URL
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