Home Malware Programs Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs) SpicySEARCH

SpicySEARCH

Posted: November 16, 2017

Threat Metric

Threat Level: 8/10
Infected PCs: 5
First Seen: June 12, 2021
Last Seen: June 20, 2021
OS(es) Affected: Windows

SpicySEARCH is a Chrome extension, which offers to enhance the users' online and searching experience by giving them access to a feature-rich new tab page, as well as a more powerful search aggregator that can provide them with extensive search results. While this might sound promising, you should keep in mind that the SpicySEARCH add-on is marked as a Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP) by major names in the cybersecurity sector. PUPs are not unsafe at all and, in fact, they may sometimes give users access to useful features. However, the thing that PUPs like SpicySEARCH have in common is that they also may become the reason for undesired side effects that many users are likely to want to avoid. In the case of SpicySEARCH, the users might experience a sudden change to their Web browser's new tab page and default search service provider. While this change is not harmful, many users are likely to consider it unwelcome since it will have an impact on their Web browsing experience and habits, as well as on the quality of the search results they see.

The specific changes that SpicySEARCH brings are:

  • Sets the default new tab page to hxxps://spicystart.com/.
  • Sets the default search aggregator to http://status77.ampxsearch.com/.

The default search engine might be linked to an alternative browser add-on called 'Status77 Search,' but we don't have information whether it is related to SpicySEARCH's publisher or not. Since this extension is not unsafe and some users might find its features useful, we don't think that its removal is mandatory. However, if you are not pleased with the quality of the SpicySEARCH's features, then it is recommended to proceed with this extension's removal. You can accomplish this task by either uninstalling SpicySEARCH from the browser's settings manually or by using a suitable PC security tool to remove this Potentially Unwanted Program.

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