Search.searchgmfs.com hijacker - How to remove

Search.searchgmfs.com is website that will appear on your homepage if your web browser is infected with this malicious add-on which is dedicated to run on Google Chrome web browser. That means this infection is relative only to Google Chrome users.

Why Search.searchgmfs.com is considered to be browser hijacker? Well, there are several points to back this fact up:

• It is distributed using deceptive methods;
• It automatically changes settings on your web browser;
• It changes the way you browse the Internet;
• It can be difficult to get rid of;
• It might steal your sensitive information.

This hijacker comes from a well known malware family dubbed Polarity Technologies LTD.  It’s the name of the company that is developing and distributing browser hijackers. We have reviewed a bunch of browser hijackers from Polarity, such as Search.textfrompc.co and Search.tp-cmf.com. They all operate using same methods, therefore it is easy to sum up all symptoms and eliminate this threat effectively.

Fake Maps Provider

So what is this malware all about? First of all, we would like to bring your attention to the way it is being installed on computers. Search.searchgmfs.com comes as a bundle to other free software that can be downloaded from the Internet. So when you download some free application or game to your computer, during the installation you might bump into the offer to add searchgmfs to your web browser. “GMF” in the name of this website stands for “Get Maps Fast”, therefore this tool should allow you to access various online maps right on your web browser just with a few clicks.

This description of this tool as online maps provider is really misleading, because all you are going to get after installing this add-on is two quick links on a toolbar to Google and Bing Maps, it looks like this:

What you actually get with the presence of this add-on is changed settings on your web browser. And this malware won’t even ask your permission to do that! Both new tab page and default search settings will be changed to www.search.searchgmfs.com. It can be especially irritating if you are used to open a lot of new tabs on your web browser and perform search there.

We have already mentioned that this browser hijacker might take a shot at your private information and it is even disclosed in their Privacy Policy: “BY USING THE SERVICES, YOU ARE CONSENTING TO GRANT POLARITY PERMISSION TO COLLECT YOUR URLS AND SEARCH DATA, INCLUDING SEARCH QUERIES THAT MAY CONTAIN PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION, SHARE THEM WITH THIRD PARTIES, AND USE SEARCH-RELATED COOKIES”.

That is a good argument why you should never ever consider using this search engine. In fact, it is not even an unique search engine – you will be simply redirected to Yahoo search results page.

Remove Search.searchgmfs.com and protect your computer from similar infections in the future

If you are wondering how to defend against malware on the Internet, there are two key factors – keep your computers’ security level high and mind the way you browse the Internet. It all depends on the operating system you are using – if you are on Windows 10, your system is protected enough by default and you probably do not need any additional security software. Otherwise, please consider installing anti-malware and anti-virus programs to keep you safe. You can read more about features of various security software on our reviews page. To make web browsing more secure, we suggest to get yourself AdBlock tool, which is free. This way you won’t be seeing most of the web ads ever again.

Now, to get rid of Search.searchgmfs.com you will have to perform various actions both on Google Chrome web browser and your computer. To make this easier, we suggest to get yourself a decent anti-malware tool Spyhunter should come really handy in removing Search.searchgmfs.com virus. Also, take a look at the instructions below to completely reset settings on your web browser after the virus is removed by anti-malware program.

TopHow To remove Search.searchgmfs.com hijacker from Google Chrome:

• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select More Tools→Extensions
  
• Select all malicious extensions and delete them.
  
• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select Settings
  
• Select Manage Search engines
  
• Remove unnecessary search engines from the list
  
• Go back to settings. On Startup choose Open blank page (you can remove undesired pages from the set pages link too).
• If your homepage was changed, click on Chrome menu on the top right corner, select Settings. Select Open a specific page or set of pages and click on Set pages.
  
• Delete malicious search websites at a new Startup pages window by clicking “X” next to them.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to Search.searchgmfs.com hijacker, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on a Chrome’s menu button (three horizontal lines) and select Settings.
• Scroll to the end of the page and click on theReset browser settings button.
  
• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Manual removal