What is MovieSearchHome browser hijacker

MovieSearchHome is a generic browser hijacker that will make unwanted changes to your browser’s settings. It will set portal.moviesearchhome.com as your homepage and searchlee.com as your default search engine in order to redirect you to sponsored websites. It will not directly harm your computer so it’s not a particularly dangerous infection but you will want to get rid of it sooner rather than later because it will interrupt your regular browsing.

 

 

Browser hijackers are pretty minor infections so there is no need to worry about damage to the computer. However, they are pretty annoying to deal with. As you’ve probably already noticed, MovieSearchHome changed your browser’s settings. In particular, it set portal.moviesearchhome.com as your homepage and searchlee.com as the default search engine. These changes are done in order to redirect you to sponsored websites, which is the main purpose of browser hijackers. All popular browsers can be affected, including Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. It should also be mentioned that you will not be able to undo these changes while the hijacker remains installed. So until you remove MovieSearchHome from your computer, you will be redirected to portal.moviesearchhome.com every time you open your browser.

The site set as your homepage is pretty generic, with shortcuts to cryptocurrency and currency converters, a PDF converter, and a calculator. The main thing portal.moviesearchhome.com is promoting is the searchlee.com search engine. If you do a search using the search box or your browser’s address bar, you’ll be shown results generated by searchlee.com. The search engine is questionable and you should not trust it to provide you good results. Whatever you search for, the search engine will modify results to include sponsored content. Those results will have nothing to do with what you were searching for and may even expose you to dangerous content, such as malware and scams. So even if the hijacker does not directly harm the computer, it’s not entirely harmless.

MovieSearchHome’s data collection practices should also be addressed. In addition to hijacking browsers, browser hijackers track browsing and collect information. MovieSearchHome will track what sites you visit, what you search for, what kind of content you click on, your IP address, etc. Despite not collecting personal information, the browser hijacker is still quite intrusive. The data it collects would be used for advertisement purposes, as well as shared with third parties.

The hijacker’s installation methods should also be discussed. Most likely, you do not remember installing the extensions because it installed via software bundling. That means that MovieSearchHome was attached to some free program you installed, and because you did not deselect it, it was permitted to install alongside. Continue reading to learn how to correctly install free programs and avoid any unnecessary offers.

In short, MovieSearchHome is nothing but trouble. It was installed without your explicit permission, changed your browser’s settings, started redirecting you to random websites, inserts sponsored content into search results, and tracks your browsing, as well as potentially shares your browsing data with unknown third parties. There is no reason why you should put up with this kind of intrusive behavior from a program you didn’t even install knowingly.

Browser hijacker installation methods

Infections like browser hijackers, adware, and potentially unwanted programs install via a method known as software bundling. In short, these kinds of infections come attached to free software as extra offers. This allows them to install alongside the program they’re attached to automatically and without explicit permission from users. The offers are optional but they need to be manually deselected to stop their installation. And because they are initially hidden, the offers often go unnoticed by users. This is why a lot of users are often taken by surprise when they notice these unwanted programs installed on their computers. And since software bundling is rather frowned upon, programs that use it are often detected as potential threats by anti-virus programs.

To prevent unwanted installation and install freeware correctly, it’s important that you pay attention to the installation process. Above all, choose Advanced (Custom) settings when given the option. The installation window may warn you that using Default settings is recommended but if you follow that advice, you’ll end up allowing the offers to install alongside the freeware without even knowing it. If you opt for Advanced settings, everything that has been added to the program will be made visible. You will also be able to deselect everything. We suggest unchecking all offers when installing free programs because if you allow any of them to install, you’ll fill your computer with junk. Software bundling is a rather deceptive installation method and programs that use it should not be permitted to install, even if they appear useful at first sight.

You may also encounter MovieSearchHome being advertised as some kind of useful extension to have. Hence, it’s possible that you installed it yourself believing it would make your browsing better. However, if that’s the case, you need to be more careful in the future. Always research programs before installing them. A search of MovieSearchHome using Google would have shown many results recommending its removal.

MovieSearchHome removal

The easiest way to remove MovieSearchHome is to use anti-virus software. This applies to all similar infections like adware and potentially unwanted programs. A program like WiperSoft would not only delete MovieSearchHome from the computer but also undo all unwanted changes done to your settings. You will be free to change your browser’s settings however you want once the hijacker has been removed.

You can also uninstall MovieSearchHome manually if you don’t have anti-virus and do not wish to install it. While hijackers can be pretty persistent infections, you should be able to get rid of MovieSearchHome manually without too much trouble.