Guide to Remove Searchmine.net Browser Redirect

Searchmine.net or Search Mine is a dubious application that has recently been reported to have impacted a large number of Mac OS users around the world.

This malicious search tool alters default browser settings of popular browsers such as Google Chrome, Safari & Mozilla Firefox without your consent. It further replaces the home-page & search engine for your default web-browsers to https://searchmine.net.

The prominent method of its propagation is Software Bundling, fake software updates, network file sharing & spam e-mail campaigns.

Threat Summary of Searchmine.net

Insight into the Threat Behavior of Searchmine.net

Search Mine or searchmine.net is a malicious search engine that asserts to provide better search results & quick access to various renowned websites such as Facebook, Twitter & YouTube.  Please note that such claims are fake, as these are mere attempts take the users into thinking that they installing a legitimate & useful application.

However, this fraudulent application begins to show its true intentions as soon as you install it on your Mac.

You will observe unauthorized modifications in the browser’s default settings such as home-page, search engine & new tab functionality & replaced with https://searchmine.net.

The new home-page will deteriorate your web browsing experience by causing unexpected redirects to malicious & malware-laden pages. These websites may display commercial content such as banners, hyperlinks, pop-ups, discount offers etc.

You will face difficulty in accessing other search providers & requisite information from this replaced home-page. All the web-searches will be redirected to search.yahoo.com result pages. You system may become extremely sluggish & you may observe bogus alerts, pop-ups & notifications appearing on your system over & over again.

The sole motive of hackers behind causing these redirects is to redirect online traffic to affiliated/sponsored websites & generate illicit revenue in return.

Considered as a Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP) by the cyber security analysts, Searchmine.net can impact all the popular browsers such as Safari, Google Chrome & Mozilla Firefox.

This devious search engine has the functionality of tracking & collecting your web-browsing activities, online preferences, location, technical details of the device like browser type, IP Address, OS Version, Bookmarks & Banking Credentials.

Cyber-security researchers have found that searchmine.net is a variant of other fake search engines such as weknow.com & chumsearch.com.

Distribution Techniques of Searchmine.net browser redirect-

The chief method of propagation of Searchmine.net Browser Redirect is Software Bundling (freeware or shareware).

Other common methods used by the hackers to spread the infection of Searchmine.net includes-

• Spam e-mail campaigns
• Accidental click on malware-laden banners, hyperlinks & pop-ups.
• By visiting rogue websites such as torrent sites or adult content sites.
• By Using infected external devices

How to Remove Searchmine.net browser redirect from your Mac system?

Step A: How to Remove SearchMine App from Mac

1. Open “Finder” on Mac.
2. Click on “Applications”.
3. Find & remove the Search Mine App: The Applications Page will display a list of apps & software installed on your Mac. Find “Searchmine” from the list, right click over the app icon & then click on “Move to Trash” from the options. 
4. Click “Empty Trash”: Find “Trash” on the dock. Right click on the trash icon & select “Empty Trash” from the options. Emptying the trash deletes trash content & “Searchmine” that you just sent to trash. 

Step B: Reset your browser to Default Settings

Safari–

1. Open Safari Browser & go to safari’s “Preferences”.
2. Check the “Homepage” section. Change the URL to your default home-page.
3. Now click on the “Extensions” tab. Check & change the web-page URL to the default one. 

Google Chrome–

1. Open Chrome’s “Settings” Menu.
2. Find “Advanced” at the bottom of the page & click on it.
3. Locate the section “Reset Settings” & click on “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
4. A pop-up will appear. Click on “Reset” to confirm the modifications.

Mozilla Firefox-

1. Open Firefox browser & go to “Help Menu”.
2. Click on “Troubleshooting Information” from the options.
3. Now click on “Refresh Firefox” button.
4. To confirm the changes click on “Refresh Firefox” button displayed in the pop-up.
5. Click on “Finish” to revert default settings of Firefox.

Tips to prevent your system from getting infected-

1. Keeping the Operating System Updated- In order to remain protected and avoid such infections, it is recommended to keep your Operating System updated by enabling the automatic update on your system. The systems with outdated or older versions of Operating System become an easy target for the attackers.
2. Resist clicking on spam emails – One of the major techniques used for malware distribution is forwarding spam emails to the user. The system gets infected as soon as the user clicks on the attachment. These mails appear to be genuine, so be aware and resist falling for these tricks.
3. Keep an eye on third party installations- It is quite important that you take due care while installing any third party applications for they are major source of such infections. Such malware programs come bundled with the free applications thereby requiring the user to remain cautious.
4. Regular periodical backup- In order to keep your data and files safe, it is recommended to take regular back up of all your data and files either on an external drive or cloud.
5. Use Anti-Virus Protection- We strongly recommend the use of antivirus protection/internet security in your PC like Vipre and BULL GUARD so that it remains safe.
6. Enable the Ad Blocker/Popup Blocker in your browser- Enabling the popup blocker/ ad blocker in your chosen browser will help you to stay protected from annoying adware.

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