Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.
Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.
Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.
Note! Your computer might be affected by Search(.)getmaps(.)co and other threats.
Threats such as Search(.)getmaps(.)co may be persistent on your system. They tend to re-appear if not fully deleted. A malware removal tool like SpyHunter will help you to remove malicious programs, saving you the time and the struggle of tracking down numerous malicious files. SpyHunter’s scanner is free but the paid version is needed to remove the malware threats. Read SpyHunter’s EULA and Privacy Policy
Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.
A browser hijacker created by Get Maps™ has been reported to affect users by changing the default home page to a custom search engine that also has a non-encrypted connection. The search engine is called Search(.)getmaps(.)co and it transfers users to a modified search.yahoo.com web page displaying different advertisements. Such ads may lead to suspicious third-party websites and this is why Search(.)getmaps(.)co browser hijacker has been deemed as an indirect low-level threat. Since it may not be detected with a conventional antivirus software, it is advisable to follow the tutorial after this article to entirely remove it.
Name
Search(.)getmaps(.)co
Type
Browser Hijacker
Short Description
The software changes the user’s homepage to Search(.)getmaps(.)co and may collect user information.
Symptoms
Slow PC, different ad-supported search results, other forms of ads.
Distribution Method
Via PUPs, installed by bundling or by visiting a suspicious third-party site that is advertising it.
Search(.)getmaps(.)co Browser Hijacker – How Did I Get It
The most likely reason because of which you may have accidentally installed this hijacker is called bundling. Bundling involves adding software to the installer of a free program downloaded online. It can be quite nasty sometimes, and this is why we advise users always to be careful when they install software on their computer because bundling can be quite nasty sometimes. Search(.)getmaps(.)co most likely came to the user PC via software, called SaferBrowser which is also responsible for other search engines of this character, like MyClassFiedsXP(.)com and Home.login-help(.)net Browser Hijackers.
Search(.)getmaps(.)co Browser Hijacker – How Does It Work
As soon as the browser hijacker has been installed on our computer, it may be added as a concealed extension to your browser and may request permissions to:
Read and change all your data on the websites you visit.
Read and change your browsing history.
Manage your downloads.
Manage your apps, extensions, and themes.
Furthermore, the application has been developed by Get Maps™ who have very particular requests in their privacy policy:
Once we checked the search engine, the first detail which was noticed was that the hoax search engine itself did not provide HTTPs encryption. This is highly untypical for legitimate search engines. Beside this we have identified adware cookies used solely by the search engine:
An interesting detail was noticed by this software when we have made a comparison to its Yahoo search results and the original Yahoo search. We have found that the advertisements displayed by the original are to top rated websites, whereas the ads provided by the Yahoo redirect of Search(.)getmaps(.)co led to suspicious sites:
Besides collecting personal information, this is the main reason such ad-supported applications are considered to be indirectly risky for the user. This is why it is advisable to stay away from them.
To get rid of this low-level threat, a standard antivirus will not do. And it doesn’t make sense to reinstall your OS because it is a timely process and you have to back-up your data.
Instead, what we advise is to follow carefully the step-by-step instructions provided below and use an advanced anti-malware tool to locate any objects and files left over on your computer and automatically neutralize the hijacker. Also, it is important after removal to change all of your passwords since they may have been collected via cookies.
Delete Search(.)getmaps(.)co from Windows and Your Browser
1.Remove or Uninstall Search(.)getmaps(.)co in Windows
Remove or Uninstall Search(.)getmaps(.)co in Windows.
Step 1: Remove/Uninstall Search(.)getmaps(.)co in Windows
Here is a method in few easy steps to remove that program.No matter if you are using Windows 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 get left behind, and that can lead to unstable work of your PC, mistakes 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:
Hold the Windows Logo Button and “R” on your keyboard. A Pop-up window will appear (fig.1).
In the field type in “appwiz.cpl” and press ENTER (fig.2).
This will open a window with all the programs installed on the PC. Select the program that you want to remove, and press “Uninstall” (fig.3).
Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall Search(.)getmaps(.)co.
2.Remove Search(.)getmaps(.)co from Your Browser
Remove Search(.)getmaps(.)co from Your Browser.
Remove a toolbar from Mozilla FirefoxRemove a toolbar from Google Chrome Remove a toolbar from Internet Explorer Remove a toolbar from Safari
Start Mozilla Firefox Open the menu window
Select the “Add-ons” icon from the menu
Select Search(.)getmaps(.)co and click “Remove”
After Search(.)getmaps(.)co is removed, restart Mozilla Firefox by closing it from the red “X” in the top right corner and start it again.
Start Google Chrome and Open the drop menu
Move the cursor over “Tools” and then from the extended menu choose “Extensions“
From the opened “Extensions” menu locate Search(.)getmaps(.)co and click on the garbage bin icon on the right of it.
After Search(.)getmaps(.)co is removed, restart Google Chrome by closing it from the red “X” in the top right corner and start it again.
Start Internet Explorer:
Click “‘Tools’ to open the drop menu and select ‘Manage Add-ons’
In the ‘Manage Add-ons’ window, make sure that in the first window ‘Add-on Types’, the drop menu ‘Show’ is on ‘All add-ons’
Select Search(.)getmaps(.)co to remove, and then click ‘Disable’. A pop-up window will appear to inform you that you are about to disable the selected toolbar, and some additional toolbars might be disabled as well. Leave all the boxes checked, and click ‘Disable’.
After Search(.)getmaps(.)co has been removed, restart Internet Explorer by closing it from the red ‘X’ in the top right corner and start it again.
Start Safari
Open the drop menu by clicking on the sprocket icon in the top right corner.
From the drop menu select ‘Preferences’ In the new window select ‘Extensions’ Click once on Search(.)getmaps(.)co Click ‘Uninstall’
A pop-up window will appear asking for confirmation to uninstall Search(.)getmaps(.)co. Select ‘Uninstall’ again, and the Search(.)getmaps(.)co will be removed.
Remove Search(.)getmaps(.)co automatically by downloading an advanced anti-malware program.
1. Remove Search(.)getmaps(.)co with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool
1. Remove Search(.)getmaps(.)co with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool
1. Install SpyHunter to scan for and remove Search(.)getmaps(.)co.2. Scan with SpyHunter to Detect and Remove Search(.)getmaps(.)co.
Step 1:Click here to go to SpyHunter’s download instruction page. Step 2: Guide yourself by the download instructions provided for each browser. Step 3: After you have installed SpyHunter, wait for it to automatically update.
Step1: After the update process has finished, click on the ‘Scan Computer Now’ button. Step2: After SpyHunter has finished scanning your PC for any Search(.)getmaps(.)co files, click on the ‘Fix Threats’ button to remove them automatically and permanently. Step3: Once the intrusions on your PC have been removed, it is highly recommended to restart it.
2. Back up your data to secure it against attacks related to Search(.)getmaps(.)co in the future
2. Back up your data to secure it against attacks in the future
IMPORTANT! Before reading the Windows backup instructions, we highly recommend to back up your data automatically with cloud backup and insure it against any type of data loss on your device, even the most severe. We recommend reading more about and downloading SOS Online Backup.
1. For Windows 7 and earlier 1. For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10 1. Enabling the Windows Defense Feature (Previous Versions)
1-Click on Windows Start Menu 2-Type Backup And Restore 3-Open it and click on Set Up Backup 4-A window will appear asking you where to set up backup. You should have a flash drive or an external hard drive. Mark it by clicking on it with your mouse then click on Next. 5-On the next window, the system will ask you what do you want to backup. Choose the ‘Let Me Choose’ option and then click on Next. 6-Click on ‘Save settings and run backup’ on the next window in order to protect your files from possible attacks by Search(.)getmaps(.)co.
1-Press Windows button + R 2-In the window type ‘filehistory’ and press Enter 3-A File History window will appear. Click on ‘Configure file history settings’ 4-The configuration menu for File History will appear. Click on ‘Turn On’. After its on, click on Select Drive in order to select the backup drive. It is recommended to choose an external HDD, SSD or a USB stick whose memory capacity is corresponding to the size of the files you want to backup. 5-Select the drive then click on ‘Ok’ in order to set up file backup and protect yourself from Search(.)getmaps(.)co.
1- Press Windows button + R keys. 2- A run windows should appear. In it type ‘sysdm.cpl’ and then click on Run. 3- A System Properties windows should appear. In it choose System Protection. 5- Click on Turn on system protection and select the size on the hard disk you want to utilize for system protection. 6- Click on Ok and you should see an indication in Protection settings that the protection from Search(.)getmaps(.)co is on. Restoring a file via Windows Defense feature: 1-Right-click on the encrypted file, then choose Properties. 2-Click on the Previous Versions tab and then mark the last version of the file. 3-Click on Apply and Ok and the file encrypted by Search(.)getmaps(.)co should be restored.
Optional: Using Alternative Anti-Malware Tools
Remove Search(.)getmaps(.)co Using Other Alternative Tools
Malwarebytes Anti-MalwareSTOPZilla Anti Malware
1. Install Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to scan for and remove Search(.)getmaps(.)co. Step 1: Download Malwarebytes by clicking here. Step 2: A pop-up window will appear. Click on the ‘Save File’ button. If it does not, click on the Download button and save it afterwards. Step 3: After you have downloaded the setup, simply open it. Step 4: The installer should appear. Click on the ‘Next’ button. Step 5: Check the ‘I accept the agreement’ check circle if not checked if you accept it and click the ‘Next’ button once again. Step 6: Review and click on ‘Next’ on the following 4 steps that will appear afterwards and after that click on the ‘Install’ button. Step 7: After the installation process has completed click on the ‘Finish’ button and check the ‘Launch MalwareBytes AntiMalware’ check box.
2. Scan your PC with MalwareBytes to remove all Search(.)getmaps(.)co associated files automatically.
Step 1: Launch MalwareBytes if you havent launched it after install. Step 2: Wait for the software to update and then click on the blue ‘Scan Now’ button. If it doesnt start updating automatically, click on the blue ‘Update Now’ highlighted text. Step 3: At this point, after clicking the ‘Scan Now’ button, the system should start scanning your PC. It may take a while but be patient – it is worth it. Step 4: After the scan has been complete and all of the threats have been identified, click on the ‘Remove Selected’ button to delete them permanently. Step 5: Once the scan has completed, MalwareBytes will prompt you to restart your computer. It is recommended to save all your data you are working on before restarting.
1. Download and Install STOPZilla Anti-malware to Scan for And Remove Search(.)getmaps(.)co. Step 1: Download STOPZilla by clicking here. Step 2: A pop-up window will appear. Click on the ‘Save File’ button. If it does not, click on the Download button and save it afterwards. Step 3: After you have downloaded the setup, simply open it. Step 4: The installer should appear. Click on the ‘Next’ button. Step 5: Check the ‘I accept the agreement’ check circle if not checked if you accept it and click the ‘Next’ button once again. Step 6: Review and click on the ‘Install’ button. Step 7: After the installation process has completed click on the ‘Finish’ button.
2. Scan your PC with STOPZilla Anti Malware to remove all Search(.)getmaps(.)co associated files completely. Step 1:Launch STOPZilla if you haven’t launched it after install. Step 2: Wait for the software to automatically scan and then click on the ‘Repair Now’ button. If it does not scan automatically, click on the ‘Scan Now’ button. Step 3: After the removal of all threats and associated objects, you should Restart your PC.
NOTE! Substantial notification about the Search(.)getmaps(.)co threat: Manual removal of Search(.)getmaps(.)co requires interference with system files and registries. Thus, it can cause damage to your PC. Even if your computer skills are not at a professional level, don’t worry. You can do the removal yourself just in 5 minutes, using a malware removal tool.
Ventsislav has been covering the latest malware, software and newest tech developments at SensorsTechForum for 3 years now. He started out as a network administrator. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for discovery of new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management and then Network Administration, he found his passion within cybersecrurity and is a strong believer in basic education of every user towards online safety.
Remove a toolbar from Mozilla Firefox
Remove a toolbar from Google Chrome
Remove a toolbar from Internet Explorer
Remove a toolbar from Safari
1. Install SpyHunter to scan for and remove Search(.)getmaps(.)co.
1. For Windows 7 and earlier
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
STOPZilla Anti Malware
