Search.searchfdm.com Removal Guide

Do you know what Search.searchfdm.com is?

Search.searchfdm.com is a browser hijacker linked to the Free Driver Maps add-on. This extension used to be promoted at freedrivermaps.com; however, this website is currently down. The installer on the Chrome web store, on the other hand, works, and you can acquire the suspicious extension from this source. According to the official information, the tool is meant to provide you with free maps that allegedly can alleviate travel planning. Needless to say, Free Driver Maps sounds like a great assistant. The funny thing is that this extension provides you with more than just maps. This extension is represented via a New Tab page that opens what appears to be an unfamiliar search provider. Our research team warns that this search provider could also replace your regular homepage. Due to this, we classify the extension as a browser hijacker, and our recommendation for you is to delete it. If you want to learn more before you can decide whether or not to remove Search.searchfdm.com, read this report.Search.searchfdm.com Removal GuideSearch.searchfdm.com screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions

If you have downloaded the Free Driver Maps extension, have you found it to be useful? If you install it from the Chrome web store, the New Tab page will represent the hijacker, as well as easy-access links routing to Gmail, Facebook, YouTube, Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, Bing Maps, and HERE We Go Maps. However, there is another version of the Search.searchfdm.com hijacker. This one represents the same useless search provider, but the easy-access links (Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, Bing Maps, and HERE We Go Maps) are attached to the bar at the top. Whichever version you encounter, we can assure you that this tool is useless. Just like Search.searchcounn.com, Search.searchdirma.com, and other hijackers created by Polarity Technologies Ltd., this hijacker was developed to showcase a useless search tool that redirects to Yahoo Search. This is the main reason to delete Search.searchfdm.com from your browsers. Although Yahoo Search is a reputable search provider, the hijacker uses it to trick you into interacting with the results shown, and they could be modified to showcase advertisements.

Do you realize that you have granted the permission for the creator of Search.searchfdm.com to record personally identifiable information? This is something you are informed about via the Privacy Policy, but, of course, not many users take their time to review legal information. This is unfortunate because this is exactly what can warn many users against installing unreliable software. In general, you have to be very cautious when you install software. You have to review legal statements, as well as pick a reliable download source. It is likely that most victims of Search.searchfdm.com will face this hijacker as they execute a software bundle that might be filled with other infections. Are you sure that your operating system is clean? If you are not sure, we suggest installing a malware scanner to inspect your PC right away. If malicious infections are found, you must eliminate them as soon as possible.

Considering that the hijacker is most likely linked to the Free Diver Maps add-on, you should have Search.searchfdm.com deleted as soon as you remove this add-on. If that does not work, you might have to modify homepage settings, and you can do that using the guide below. If things do not go according to plan, use the comments section to post your questions below, and we will try to help you as best as we can.

Remove Search.searchfdm.com

Internet Explorer

  1. Launch RUN (tap Win+R keys) and enter regedit.exe to launch Registry Editor.
  2. In the panel on the left move to HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main.
  3. Open the Start Page value and overwrite the hijacker’s URL. Click OK.
  4. Move to HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes\{0633EE93-D776-472f-A0FF-E1416B8B2E3A}.
  5. Modify these values: FaviconURL, FaviconURLFallback, TopResultURL, URL.

Mozilla Firefox

  1. Launch Explorer (tap Win+E keys) and enter %AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ into the bar at the top.
  2. Open the file called prefs.js (right-click it and choose the open it with the preferred text reader).
  3. In the user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", "http://Search.searchfdm.com "); string overwrite the hijacker’s URL and then save the file.

Google Chrome

  1. Launch Explorer (tap Win+E keys) and enter %LocalAppData%\Google\Chrome\User Data\ (Windows XP users enter %UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\) into the bar at the top.
  2. Open the Default folder or the folder with your unique Chrome profile name.
  3. Open the file named Preferences (right-click it and choose the open it with the preferred text reader).
  4. Find the hijacker’s URL and replace it with the desired URL. Save the file before closing it.
  5. Modify the files named Secure Preferences and Web Data.

In non-techie terms:

Search.searchfdm.com is a browser hijacker, and, even if it has not corrupted your browsers illegally, there is no reason why you should trust it. Although it redirects to Yahoo Search, it can modify the search results that are shown to you, and that could be dangerous. Can you ignore this hijacker? While you can use a different search engine to browse the web, you must keep in mind that this threat might record personal information, and so we suggest deleting it right away. You can use the guide above to erase the undesirable homepage, but we suggest eliminating the extension first, as this might be enough to get rid of the hijacker. Afterward, please perform a full system scan to make sure that other threats are not active. If malware is detected, do whatever it takes to have it eliminated immediately.