Do you know what Search.searchtg.com is?
Search.searchtg.com is surely not an application we would recommend our readers for searching the Internet. It was classified as a browser hijacker and like the category’s name suggests it may hijack user’s browser by making itself user’s default search engine, homepage, or new tab page. However, it is not all since our researchers noticed the search engine might have been designed to show modified search results. It means it's displayed results could have suspicious content that normally would not show up while using original versions of reputable search tools, such as Google or Yahoo. Naturally, because of these circumstances, our researchers recommend switching Search.searchtg.com with a more reliable website. The removal guide placed below is to assist you with the application’s deletion; therefore, you should have a look at it if you decide to eliminate the threat manually.
Search.searchtg.com is one of the Polarity Technologies Ltd browser hijackers, such as Search.searchlff.com, Search.searchtnl.com, Search.searchlttradionow.com, and many others. We could say these search engines are clones of one another, so we encounter newly created versions rather often. While testing these applications, our researchers noticed that they are often distributed with bundled installers.
Also, in some cases, these threats hijack user’s browser after adding a similarly titled browser extension advertised on suspicious pop-up advertisements. Thus, we always advise our readers to be more cautious with software promoted on pop-up ads or received via unreliable file-sharing web pages. Of course, it might be difficult to identify each threat on your own, but a legitimate antimalware tool could help you with this task, because as long as it is fully updated and not disabled the tool should warn you about dangerous software that may by trying to enter the system.
Search.searchtg.com screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions
The browser hijacker can reach you only through your browser and when there is Internet connectivity. It does not install itself or create any new files on the computer. Nonetheless, it might affect data created by the affected browser: prefs.js (Mozilla Firefox), Start Page (Internet Explorer), and Preferences, Secure Preferences, or Web Data (Google Chrome). For now, it does not seem Search.searchtg.com could be compatible with any other browser than the three mentioned browsing applications.
Furthermore, during our tests, the application displayed results with a modified Yahoo search engine. Our researchers say there is a possibility the threat could gather information about the user’s browsing habits and given some time it might start displaying targeted ads based on the collected data. You should know that such advertisements may come from third-party advertising networks and other advertisers who work with Search.searchtg.com creators and they take no responsibility for third-party content. What we are trying to say is that there is a chance some of the ads could be unreliable or even malicious, for example, they might lead to scam web pages, websites containing malware, and so on. Consequently, we advise removing the search engine at once if you do not wish to endanger the system accidentally.
More experienced users could get rid of the browser hijacker manually by fixing its modified files. If you have a look at the provided removal guide, it will explain to you what you should do. As for users who find the instructions located below the paragraph too difficult, we would advise installing a reputable antimalware tool. With its scanning tool, you can identify and fix modified data automatically. Plus, if you perform a full system scan you could locate other threats that might be on the computer and the antimalware tool would deal with them for you.
Delete Search.searchtg.com
Internet Explorer
- Press Windows Key+R.
- Insert Regedit and select Enter.
- Navigate to the specific location: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
- Find a value name called Start Page.
- Right-click it and press Modify.
- Replace http://Search.searchtg.com with a reliable link and click OK.
- Leave the Registry Editor.
Mozilla Firefox
- Press Windows Key+E.
- Find the specific path: C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{Unique Mozilla user ID}
- Locate a file called Prefs.js.
- Open it as a Notepad document.
- Find the provided code line: user_pref(“browser.startup.homepage”, “http://Search.searchtg.com”).
- Replace http://Search.searchtg.com with a trustworthy link.
- Press Ctrl+S.
- Close the document.
Google Chrome
- Press Windows Key+E.
- Look for this particular path :C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default
- Find files titled Preferences, Secure Preferences, and Web Data.
- Right-click the each file separately and select Delete.
- Close the File Explorer.
In non-techie terms:
Search.searchtg.com is a search tool that may use a modified Yahoo search engine. Thus, there is a possibility it could inject the gathered results with third-party advertisements originating from unknown web pages. If you see such content while browsing with the browser hijacker, you should try not to interact with it as the ads could be clickable and they might redirect to potentially malicious websites. In fact, we believe the safest option is not to take any chances and eliminate this questionable search engine before anything goes wrong. To guide you through the deletion process we placed a removal guide just a bit below this paragraph. Users can also erase the browser hijacker with a legitimate antimalware tool of their choice.