Websearch.searchboxes.info

Posted: July 22, 2013

Threat Metric

The Threat Meter is a malware assessment that SpywareRemove.com's research team is able to give every identifiable malware threat. Our Threat Meter includes several criteria based off of specific malware threats to value their severity, reach and volume. The Threat Meter is able to give you a numerical breakdown of each threat's initial Threat Level, Detection Count, Volume Count, Trend Path and Percentage Impact. The overall ranking of each threat in the Threat Meter is a basic breakdown of how all threats are ranked within our own extensive malware database. The scoring for each specific malware threat can be easily compared to other emerging threats to draw a contrast in its particular severity. The Threat Meter is a useful tool in the endeavor of seeking a solution to remove a threat or pursue additional analytical research for all types of computer users.

The following fields listed on the Threat Meter containing a specific value, are explained in detail below:

Threat Level: The threat level scale goes from 1 to 10 where 10 is the highest level of severity and 1 is the lowest level of severity. Each specific level is relative to the threat's consistent assessed behaviors collected from SpyHunter's risk assessment model.

Detection Count: The collective number of confirmed and suspected cases of a particular malware threat. The detection count is calculated from infected PCs retrieved from diagnostic and scan log reports generated by SpyHunter.

Volume Count: Similar to the detection count, the Volume Count is specifically based on the number of confirmed and suspected threats infecting systems on a daily basis. High volume counts usually represent a popular threat but may or may not have infected a large number of systems. High detection count threats could lay dormant and have a low volume count. Criteria for Volume Count is relative to a daily detection count.

Trend Path: The Trend Path, utilizing an up arrow, down arrow or equal symbol, represents the level of recent movement of a particular threat. Up arrows represent an increase, down arrows represent a decline and the equal symbol represent no change to a threat's recent movement.

% Impact (Last 7 Days): This demonstrates a 7-day period change in the frequency of a malware threat infecting PCs. The percentage impact correlates directly to the current Trend Path to determine a rise or decline in the percentage.

Ranking:	6,916
Threat Level:	5/10
Infected PCs:	4,176

First Seen:	July 22, 2013
Last Seen:	October 14, 2023
OS(es) Affected:	Windows

WebSearch.Searchboxes.info is a search site that doesn't have any actual Web-searching features of its own, preferring to redirect any visitors to a sub-domain of Smartshopping.com. SpywareRemove.com malware experts don't classify either WebSearch.Searchboxes.info or Smartshopping.com as malicious websites, but do warn that searches through WebSearch.Searchboxes.info may include advertisements and potentially inaccurate search results that aren't optimized for your safety. Because some instances of browser hijacks involving WebSearch.Searchboxes.info have been observed, you also should be prepared to use all appropriate anti-malware tools to prevent WebSearch.Searchboxes.info browser hijacker-related infections and, if needed, remove a WebSearch.Searchboxes.info browser hijacker before it can expose you to any potentially dangerous Web content.

WebSearch.Searchboxes.info: a Search without an Engine Behind It

With a slightly modified Google icon to tempt random traffic into using its services, WebSearch.Searchboxes.info seems to be a search site, but SpywareRemove.com malware experts easily verified that WebSearch.Searchboxes.info doesn't have any functions besides redirecting you to a real search site – Smartshopping.com. In the process of doing so, WebSearch.Searchboxes.info or its affiliate sites also may monitor your basic Web-browsing behavior, including which sites you visit, which search terms you use and how you use popular social networking services. WebSearch.Searchboxes.info states that this 'feature' allows WebSearch.Searchboxes.info to customize your online advertising experience by sending you advertisements targeted to your interests, but SpywareRemove.com malware experts personally don't see any reason why you'd want to subjects yourself to WebSearch.Searchboxes.info's advertisements in the first place.

Other than the advertisements that WebSearch.Searchboxes.info may include in your results, WebSearch.Searchboxes.info is not a very dangerous site to visit and has not been categorized as an infection vector (a site that distributes malware or related PC threats). SpywareRemove.com malware researchers recommend using common sense precautions when browsing content related to WebSearch.Searchboxes.info, but don't consider a brief visit to WebSearch.Searchboxes.info or sites related to WebSearch.Searchboxes.info to be harmful to your PC by default.

Busting Out of a WebSearch.Searchboxes.info Hijacker's Browser Box

WebSearch.Searchboxes.info mostly is of concern to SpywareRemove.com malware researchers for its indirect part in browser-hijacking campaigns. These attack campaigns usually are caused by specialized browser hijackers that redirect your browser to WebSearch.Searchboxes.info or similar sites (Websearch.greatresults.info, Websearch.homesearch-hub.info, etc.) without your consent. The attacks may directly redirect your online searches, change your homepage or create pop-ups, amongst other possible issues.

A browser hijacker always is a danger to both your Web-browsing experience and the overall safety of your computer, and SpywareRemove.com malware researchers personally suggest removing them ASAP even when they redirect to apparently non-malicious sites like WebSearch.Searchboxes.info. Anti-malware products always should be used to uninstall WebSearch.Searchboxes.info browser hijackers, since such PC threats typically may resist a normal uninstallation method that would take care of any benign application or browser add-on.

Technical Details

Registry Modifications

The following newly produced Registry Values are:

HKEY..\..\..\..{RegistryKeys}Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\LowRegistry\DOMStorage\searchboxes.infoSoftware\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\LowRegistry\DOMStorage\smartaddressbar.com

Additional Information

The following URL's were detected:

http://websearch.searchboxes.info/?