A browser hijacking software that has been associated with the suspicious search engine 22find.com has been reported to take over users’ web browsers and display adverts. The program is not a virus or malware. However it’s behavior makes it fall into the category of potentially unwanted programs. 22find.com browser hijacker may collect different information from users and collaborate with third-party services and websites to display targeted advertisements to users. Everyone who has seen the search engine in their address bar as their default engine for Google Chrome, Firefox or Internet Explorer are advised to read this article and learn how to be able to remove 22find.com browser hijacker fully.
Threat Summary
| Name | 22find.com |
| Type | Browser Hijacker, PUP |
| Short Description | Changes the default web page of your browsers and begins displaying advertisements and using cookies. |
| Symptoms | Changed browser settings, slow computer, PC freezes. |
| Distribution Method | Freeware Installations, Bundled Packages |
| Detection Tool |
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| User Experience | Join Our Forum to Discuss 22find.com. |
22find.com Browser Hijacker – More Information
The browser hijacking software that may set 22find.com may be unknowingly installed on your computer, by being included in the installations of other programs which are available for free online. Such programs may be your favorite video player, music mixer, torrent engine and other software. Usually, besides their original websites, such programs are offered for free in websites that provide a lot of freeware in one place with the goal of generating traffic through downloads.
Some third-party websites, however, may use the so-called bundling marketing to make money. And since their policies may allow for them to advertise any programs that they wish to, these websites may not mind or not pay attention to what types of programs they advertise.
This is how users may see the browser hijacker behind 22find.com to be added “As a free extra” in one of the installation steps. To detect such programs being installed, it is a should to always check the “Advanced” also known as “Custom” Installation option. It gives the user opportunity to see opt-out boxes if he or she pays attention to the installation. Since some bundled programs may not even exist in the installation steps, malware analysts often recommend that users should only seek the official websites or recognized websites to download the free program they seek.
22find.com Browser Hijacker – In-Depth View
Once installed on your computer, the program may appear in several spots:
- As a browser extension or toolbar in Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer or other web browser supporting add-ins.
- As a program installed in Programs & Features in Windows.
Upon install, it may immediately change the home page and the new tab page to 22find.com, which besides displaying adverts, has no HTTPs connection – something which is highly untypical for search engines.
The page may trick inexperienced users because it very much resembles Google and even displays Google results when you search for something while using it (at the time of writing this):
Not only this, but we have found approximately 13 cookies from third-party websites at the time of writing this research. What was more intriguing, however, were the websites to which the cookies were primarily focused on. They were all “404s” meaning they were not brought up:
Such “ghost” websites collecting information is usually considered to be very dangerous for the user. This becomes more evident when you take a look at the privacy policy of the company:
Judging by this policy, an infamous company in the pay-per-click advertising sphere, called Elex is associated with the search engine 22find.com. It is associated with multiple browser hijackers, similar to another ad-supported network, known as Mindspark.
One of the indicators that this program is part of a pay-per-click scheme is that whenever you click on one of the icons on its main page, it conducts a browser redirect to a V9(.)com related webpage – another notorious and very widespread browser hijacker:
22find.com Browser Hijacker – Conclusion
As a bottom line, this web page is associated with software that may turn out to be potentially harmful to your computer. One very strong indicator for this is that it is associated with the name Elex. 22find.com browser hijacker may also display advertisements from the shady third-party websites it is related to and the adverts may lead users to various websites. Since such software developers that primarily make their money via ads and pay-per-click schemes are very widespread, they may become a good target for malware writers to “advertise” their malware. And this is how you, a user who does not suspect at all, may receive a browser redirect to a malicious URL that may infect your computer with a dangerous ransomware virus, like Cerber, for example.
This is why experts recommend removing this PUP via using an advanced anti-malware program which will make sure the program is gone for good and protect your computer in the future as well. If you want to delete 22find.com and clean up your browser from its ads permanently we advise you to guide yourself by the instructions below and quickly get rid of this potential harm.
Ventsislav Krastev
Ventsislav is a cybersecurity expert at SensorsTechForum since 2015. He has been researching, covering, helping victims with the latest malware infections plus testing and reviewing software and the newest tech developments. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for learning new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management, Network Administration and Computer Administration of System Applications, he found his true calling within the cybersecrurity industry and is a strong believer in the education of every user towards online safety and security.
Follow Me:
- Guide 1: How to Remove 22find.com from Windows.
- Guide 2: Get rid of 22find.com from Mac OS X.
- Guide 3: Remove 22find.com from Google Chrome.
- Guide 4: Erase 22find.com from Mozilla Firefox.
- Guide 5: Uninstall 22find.com from Microsoft Edge.
- Guide 6: Remove 22find.com from Safari.
- Guide 7: Eliminate 22find.com from Internet Explorer.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
How to Remove 22find.com from Windows.
Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove 22find.com
Step 2: Uninstall 22find.com and related software from Windows
Here is a method in few easy steps that should be able to uninstall most programs. No matter if you are using Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP, those steps will get the job done. Dragging the program or its folder to the recycle bin can be a very bad decision. If you do that, bits and pieces of the program are left behind, and that can lead to unstable work of your PC, errors with the file type associations and other unpleasant activities. The proper way to get a program off your computer is to Uninstall it. To do that:
Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall most programs.
Step 3: Clean any registries, created by 22find.com on your computer.
The usually targeted registries of Windows machines are the following:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
You can access them by opening the Windows registry editor and deleting any values, created by 22find.com there. This can happen by following the steps underneath:
Tip: To find a virus-created value, you can right-click on it and click "Modify" to see which file it is set to run. If this is the virus file location, remove the value.
Before starting "Step 4", please boot back into Normal mode, in case you are currently in Safe Mode.
This will enable you to install and use SpyHunter 5 successfully.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Get rid of 22find.com from Mac OS X.
Step 1: Uninstall 22find.com and remove related files and objects
1. Hit the ⇧+⌘+U keys to open Utilities. Another way is to click on “Go” and then click “Utilities”, like the image below shows:
- Go to Finder.
- In the search bar type the name of the app that you want to remove.
- Above the search bar change the two drop down menus to “System Files” and “Are Included” so that you can see all of the files associated with the application you want to remove. Bear in mind that some of the files may not be related to the app so be very careful which files you delete.
- If all of the files are related, hold the ⌘+A buttons to select them and then drive them to “Trash”.
In case you cannot remove 22find.com via Step 1 above:
In case you cannot find the virus files and objects in your Applications or other places we have shown above, you can manually look for them in the Libraries of your Mac. But before doing this, please read the disclaimer below:
You can repeat the same procedure with the following other Library directories:
→ ~/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons
Tip: ~ is there on purpose, because it leads to more LaunchAgents.
Step 2: Scan for and remove malware from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts, programs and malware, the recommended way of eliminating the threat is by using an anti-malware program. Combo Cleaner offers advanced security features along with other modules that will improve your Mac’s security and protect it in the future.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Remove 22find.com from Google Chrome.
Step 1: Start Google Chrome and open the drop menu
Step 2: Move the cursor over "Tools" and then from the extended menu choose "Extensions"
Step 3: From the opened "Extensions" menu locate the unwanted extension and click on its "Remove" button.
Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Google Chrome by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Erase 22find.com from Mozilla Firefox.
Step 1: Start Mozilla Firefox. Open the menu window
Step 2: Select the "Add-ons" icon from the menu.
Step 3: Select the unwanted extension and click "Remove"
Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Mozilla Firefox by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Uninstall 22find.com from Microsoft Edge.
Step 1: Start Edge browser.
Step 2: Open the drop menu by clicking on the icon at the top right corner.
Step 3: From the drop menu select "Extensions".
Step 4: Choose the suspected malicious extension you want to remove and then click on the gear icon.
Step 5: Remove the malicious extension by scrolling down and then clicking on Uninstall.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Remove 22find.com from Safari.
Step 1: Start the Safari app.
Step 2: After hovering your mouse cursor to the top of the screen, click on the Safari text to open its drop down menu.
Step 3: From the menu, click on "Preferences".
Step 4: After that, select the 'Extensions' Tab.
Step 5: Click once on the extension you want to remove.
Step 6: Click 'Uninstall'.
A pop-up window will appear asking for confirmation to uninstall the extension. Select 'Uninstall' again, and the 22find.com will be removed.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Eliminate 22find.com from Internet Explorer.
Step 1: Start Internet Explorer.
Step 2: Click on the gear icon labeled 'Tools' to open the drop menu and select 'Manage Add-ons'
Step 3: In the 'Manage Add-ons' window.
Step 4: Select the extension you want to remove and then click 'Disable'. A pop-up window will appear to inform you that you are about to disable the selected extension, and some more add-ons might be disabled as well. Leave all the boxes checked, and click 'Disable'.
Step 5: After the unwanted extension has been removed, restart Internet Explorer by closing it from the red 'X' button located at the top right corner and start it again.
