Do you know what Search.testmyspeeds.co is?
According to our cybersecurity specialists, Search.testmyspeeds.co is just another browser hijacker from the infamous Polarity Technologies Ltd. As such, this search engine is distributed dishonestly and can replace your browser’s homepage address without your knowledge or consent, so you might want to remove it. Researchers say that the developers use freeware bundles to get this hijacker onto your PC secretly. Unfortunately, it redirects all entered search terms to a customized Yahoo search engine that features promotional links that can potentially redirect you to shady websites. On top of that, it can collect some information about you to be used for personalizing the ad campaign. For more detailed information, please refer to the text below.
Search.testmyspeeds.co uses third-party bundled freeware installers to get onto your browser. Those installers have been configured to inject Search.testmyspeeds.co into your browser if you use Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Internet Explorer. It replaces the homepage address of the said browsers as well as the new tab page of Chrome in particular in an effort to make use it for conducting your daily searches. As mentioned, this search engine can show ads in its search results, and the whole point of this fake search engine is to make you see and potentially click the promoted links to generate ad revenue for Polarity Technologies. Unfortunately, the promoted links can come from unknown adware servers, so some of them can redirect you to unreliable and potentially malicious websites. Therefore, you should not use this search engine.
On top of that, researchers say that this search engine has been configured to collect some non-personally identifiable information about you automatically. According to its privacy policy, this hijacker can obtain information such as your Internet Protocol (IP) address, Internet Service Provider (ISP) domain name, browsing history, entered search terms, approximate location, browser type, operating system type and version. It collects this information using information collection technologies such as browser cookies and web beacons. All of this information is collected for geotargeting purposes in order to generate more ad revenue. Rest assured that this information will not help improve your search experience.
Search.testmyspeeds.co screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions
As mentioned in the introduction, Search.testmyspeeds.co was created by Polarity Technologies, a company that is at the forefront of browser hijacker development. Researchers say that its hijackers can come with and without an accompanying browser extension and that its hijackers are distributed via bundled software installers. Researchers say that you can encounter Polarity Technologies’ hijackers if you download software from websites such as Filewon.com, Filewin.com, Malavida.es, and Descargar.es. The software installers featured on these sites can be configured to inject Search.testmyspeeds.co into your browser without your knowledge or consent, hence why it is called a browser hijacker. If you want to keep your PC safe, then you ought to remove this hijacker as soon as the opportunity arises.
In conclusion, Search.testmyspeeds.co is an unreliable search engine set to replace your browser’s homepage address without your knowledge or consent. The ads it shows in its search results can be malicious, so you should not use it for searching the web. Therefore, we recommend that you take action against it before anything bad happens. We invite you to make use of the removal guide presented below and suggest scanning your PC with an antimalware program to ensure that your PC’s security has not been compromised.
How to change the homepage address
Microsoft Internet Explorer
- Open the browser.
- Press Alt+T and click Internet Options.
- Erase http://search.testmyspeeds.co/ and enter a new URL.
- Click OK.
Google Chrome
- Open the browser.
- Press Alt+F keys.
- Select Settings.
- Click Set pages.
- Erase Search.testmyspeeds.co.
- Enter a new URL
- Click OK.
Mozilla Firefox
- Open the browser.
- Press Alt+T.
- Click Options and select General.
- Erase http://search.testmyspeeds.co/
- Enter a new address.
In non-techie terms:
Cyber security experts have concluded that Search.testmyspeeds.co is an unreliable search engine that they have classified as a browser hijacker due to the fact how its developers distribute it. It can replace your browser’s homepage address without your knowledge or consent. If you use it, then you might see promotional links that can pose a security threat to your PC, so we recommend that you get rid of this hijacker at your earliest convenience.