Do you know what Safesurfs.net is?
Safesurfs.net provides quick-access links to Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, eBay, Aliexpress, Amazon, Gearbest, and Banggood, but that is all that this search provider is good for. As you might have noticed, this search provider does not disclose any information about itself, which makes it highly suspicious. If you cannot fall back on legitimate information, you simply cannot trust software and/or services. If you are introduced to a Privacy Policy or some other legal statement when acquiring this search tool, make sure you take the chance to familiarize yourself with it. Of course, it is unlikely that you will be introduced to any information. This search provider works as a browser hijacker, and it can take over your browsers without your permission. Instead of replacing the homepage or the default search provider, this infection modifies the browser’s Target, and this is its greatest strength. Continue reading to learn how to remove Safesurfs.net from your browsers.
According to our research, Safesurfs.net is most vastly spread in India, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Iran. Clearly, this infection is targeting countries that are likely to have lower security barriers. The server (50.115.127.222) associated with this browser hijacker is also associated with many other hijackers, including your-home-page.net, safebrowsing.biz, safesurfs.com, or esurf.biz. Unfortunately, it is possible that the same party is controlling all of these hijackers, which means that they can cast a wide net all across the world. When it comes to Safesurfs.net, our research team claims that it hijacks the browsers’ Target. By doing so, this hijacker represents itself even if you modify homepage and default search provider settings. This is the strength of this infection because not all users are aware of the Target, what it is, or where to look for it. Obviously, you cannot solve a problem that you do not fully understand, and this is what the developer of this hijacker relies upon. After all, they do not want you to delete Safesurfs.net.
Safesurfs.net screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions
There is no doubt that Safesurfs.net serves as an advertising tool. Although the links this hijacker shows via its own home page are harmless, it is likely that this is a tool to earn money. This is not something we worry about. It is much more worrisome that this hijacker can advertise third-party services via the search results page. On top of that, it hides itself behind the reputable Yahoo Search. The hijacker redirects you to this search engine to make the results shown to you more appealing and trustworthy. Unfortunately, these results could be modified to showcase the ads of hijacker’s partners. Well, what’s so wrong about that? The problem is that many malicious parties turn to advertising as a means of malware distribution and scamming, and because we are not provided with the information about these partners, we have to consider the possibility of malicious parties being involved as well.
Have we convinced you that you should delete Safesurfs.net from your browsers? If we have, the only question left to answer is how to do it successfully. As you now know, this infection affects the Target, and it is not some feature that you need experience to handle. On the contrary, we are sure that everyone will be able to successfully get rid of the hijacker using the simple removal instructions below. If you eliminate the hijacker’s URL as shown in these instructions, the hijacker will be gone for good. Of course, these instructions cannot guarantee that your operating system will automatically become free from malware. If malware has invaded your PC, it might be a good idea to invest in an automated malware remover.
Remove Safesurfs.net from browsers
- Identify the infected browser’s shortcut, right-click it, and select Properties.
- Click the Shortcut tab and move to the Target section.
- Remove the hijacker’s URL (e.g., http://safesurfs.net/?ssid=1444318045&a=1008179) and click OK.
- Move to the next infected browser’s shortcut and repeat steps 1-3...
In non-techie terms:
Safesurfs.net has the interface of a regular search provider, but, in reality, it is just a browser hijacker that can also be classified as an advertising-supported program. This infection hijacks the browsers in a very unique way, and users usually have no idea how to get rid of it. This leads them to using this hijacker like a regular search provider, and a regular search provider it is not. It redirects to Yahoo Search engine, where the results are modified to include sponsored links, and interacting with them is dangerous because you do not know who represents them and what kind of purposes they serve. We advise using anti-malware software to clean malware and protect the PC, but you can also delete Safesurfs.net using the guide above.