SecureSurf – What is it?

“SecureSurf” search hijacker is a potentially unwanted application (PUA)¹, that is promoted as a plugin for your internet browser. It is typically promoted as an add-on for Chrome or Firefox, that helps to browse some particular details, for instance, about sport events, make your web browser far more secure, allow downloading of any web video, et cetera. Also, this app adds the “Managed by your organization” feature (on Chrome browsers).

However, the “SecureSurf” plugin is fairly pointless since all such features are already built-in to your web browser and/or Windows. Such advertising and marketing mottos are targeted at low-skilled computer users, such as pensioners or schoolchildren. However occasionally even skilled users are getting caught on such an attraction. In particular scenarios, this hijacker is dispersed together with free software.

How harmful is SecureSurf hijacker?

Besides its uselessness, SecureSurf hijacker is additionally pretty hazardous for browser usage. It modifies your search engine to its specific – Securesurf.biz, and also alters your background, putting its watermark on your background image (or, in some cases, altering it to default with the mentioned symptom).

Besides visual adjustments done by SecureSurf hijacker, you can notice that a couple of your search questions are redirecting to the untrustworthy sites, filled with links and ads – so-called doorway sites. Such sites can have links for malware downloads. The chance of redirecting boosts if you attempt to open Google search page by force.

However all these activities are a lot more frustrating than really harmful. The greatest threat, primarily for people who have a lot of confidential information in their browsers, is installed in data collecting functions. Cookie files, conversations, often-visited web pages, and other activities are simply collected by SecureSurf hijacker.