Search101 Browser Hijacker Removal Instructions

Search101 – What is it?

“Search101” search hijacker is a potentially unwanted application (PUA)¹, that is promoted as a plugin for your internet browser. It is typically shared as an add-on for Chrome or Firefox, that assists to browse some particular information, for instance, about sport events, make your web browser much more secure, enable downloading of any kind of web video, and so on.

However, the “Search101” plugin is quite pointless because all such features are currently built-in to your browser and/or system. Such marketing mottos are targeted at low-skilled computer users, for example, pensioners or schoolchildren. But often even skilled users are getting caught on such a lure. In specific instances, this hijacker is distributed together with free programs.

How harmful is Search101 hijacker?

Besides its impracticality, Search101 hijacker is also really unsafe for web browser usage. It changes your search engine to its particular – Search101.info, and also modifies your background, adding its watermark on your wallpaper (or, sometimes, changing it to default with the specified symptom).

In addition to aesthetic alterations done by Search101 hijacker, you can notice that some of your search questions are redirecting to the suspicious websites, full of links and ads – so-called doorway websites. Such websites can have web links for malware downloads. The possibility of redirecting rises if you try to open Google search page by force.

But all these actions are a lot more annoying than really dangerous. The most important threat, especially for people who have a considerable amount of secret information in their browsers, is embedded in information gathering functions. Cookie files, chats, often-visited sites, as well as other activities are simply gathered by Search101 hijacker.