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[Metallica]

Content is republished with permission from Malwarebytes.

What is Searchfort Plus?

The Malwarebytes research team has determined that Searchfort Plus is a Chrome search hijacker. These so-called "hijackers" can manipulate your browser(s), for example to change your startpage or searchscopes, so that the affected browser visits their site or one of their choice.

How do I know if my computer is affected by Searchfort Plus?

You may see this Chrome extension:



and these warnings during install:









And you may see this new setting:



How did Searchfort Plus get on my computer?

Browser hijackers use different methods for distributing themselves. This particular one was downloaded from the webstore after a redirect.



How do I remove Searchfort Plus?

Our program Malwarebytes can detect and remove this potentially unwanted program.

• Please download Malwarebytes to your desktop.
• Double-click mb3-setup-consumer-{version}.exe and follow the prompts to install the program.
• Then click Finish.
• Once the program has fully updated, select Scan Now on the Dashboard. Or select the Threat Scan from the Scan menu.
• If another update of the definitions is available, it will be implemented before the rest of the scanning procedure.
• When the scan is complete, make sure that all Threats are selected, and click Remove Selected.
• Restart your computer when prompted to do so.

Is there anything else I need to do to get rid of Searchfort Plus?

• If you are using an older version of Malwarebytes, you may have to remove the Extension manually under Tools > More Tools > Extensions. Click on the bin behind the Searchfort Plus entry and confirm Remove in the prompt.
• If your browsers have been hijacked, you should read our Restore Browser page. You can read there how to fix additional browser redirect methods.

How would the full version of Malwarebytes help protect me?

We hope our application and this guide have helped you eradicate this hijacker.

As you can see below the full version of Malwarebytes would have protected you against the Searchfort Plus hijacker. It blocks traffic to their domains:

Technical details for experts

Possible signs in a FRST log:

 CHR DefaultSearchURL: Default -> hxxp://www.searchfortplus.com/lookup.html?q={searchTerms}
 CHR DefaultSearchKeyword: Default -> obifind
 CHR Extension: (Searchfort Plus) - C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\fgmobdghmdbfpeockbljcdiknkeakobp [2017-12-05]

Changes made by the installer:

File system details [View: All details] (Selection)
---------------------------------------------------
    Adds the folder C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\fgmobdghmdbfpeockbljcdiknkeakobp\1.0.1_0
       Adds the file background.js"="11/2/2017 10:28 AM, 583 bytes, A
       Adds the file icon128.png"="12/5/2017 9:19 AM, 178 bytes, A
       Adds the file manifest.json"="12/5/2017 9:19 AM, 1370 bytes, A
    Adds the folder C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\fgmobdghmdbfpeockbljcdiknkeakobp\1.0.1_0\_metadata
       Adds the file computed_hashes.json"="12/5/2017 9:19 AM, 241 bytes, A
       Adds the file verified_contents.json"="11/12/2017 1:44 PM, 1525 bytes, A

Registry details [View: All details] (Selection)
------------------------------------------------
    [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Google\Chrome\PreferenceMACs\Default\extensions.settings]
       "fgmobdghmdbfpeockbljcdiknkeakobp"="REG_SZ", "9BBDCA382A0943F21D3B76DC733525A3F56334D8AA1EFAFA7FB4C6E7E8F921E5"

The Malwarebytes scan log:

Malwarebytes
www.malwarebytes.com

-Log Details-
Scan Date: 12/5/17
Scan Time: 9:09 AM
Log File: 905e7d06-d993-11e7-ae87-080027750297.json
Administrator: Yes

-Software Information-
Version: 3.3.1.2183
Components Version: 1.0.236
Update Package Version: 1.0.3412
License: Premium

-System Information-
OS: Windows 7 Service Pack 1
CPU: x64
File System: NTFS
User: {computername}\{username}

-Scan Summary-
Scan Type: Threat Scan
Result: Completed
Objects Scanned: 242889
Threats Detected: 10
Threats Quarantined: 10
Time Elapsed: 1 min, 55 sec

-Scan Options-
Memory: Enabled
Startup: Enabled
Filesystem: Enabled
Archives: Enabled
Rootkits: Disabled
Heuristics: Enabled
PUP: Detect
PUM: Detect

-Scan Details-
Process: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Module: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Key: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Value: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Registry Data: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Data Stream: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Folder: 3
PUP.Optional.SearchfortPlus, C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\fgmobdghmdbfpeockbljcdiknkeakobp\1.0.1_0\_metadata, Quarantined, [4586], [465745],1.0.3412
PUP.Optional.SearchfortPlus, C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\fgmobdghmdbfpeockbljcdiknkeakobp\1.0.1_0, Quarantined, [4586], [465745],1.0.3412
PUP.Optional.SearchfortPlus, C:\USERS\{username}\APPDATA\LOCAL\GOOGLE\CHROME\USER DATA\Default\EXTENSIONS\fgmobdghmdbfpeockbljcdiknkeakobp, Quarantined, [4586], [465745],1.0.3412

File: 7
PUP.Optional.SearchfortPlus, C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\fgmobdghmdbfpeockbljcdiknkeakobp\1.0.1_0\_metadata\computed_hashes.json, Quarantined, [4586], [465745],1.0.3412
PUP.Optional.SearchfortPlus, C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\fgmobdghmdbfpeockbljcdiknkeakobp\1.0.1_0\_metadata\verified_contents.json, Quarantined, [4586], [465745],1.0.3412
PUP.Optional.SearchfortPlus, C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\fgmobdghmdbfpeockbljcdiknkeakobp\1.0.1_0\background.js, Quarantined, [4586], [465745],1.0.3412
PUP.Optional.SearchfortPlus, C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\fgmobdghmdbfpeockbljcdiknkeakobp\1.0.1_0\icon128.png, Quarantined, [4586], [465745],1.0.3412
PUP.Optional.SearchfortPlus, C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\fgmobdghmdbfpeockbljcdiknkeakobp\1.0.1_0\manifest.json, Quarantined, [4586], [465745],1.0.3412
PUP.Optional.SearchfortPlus, C:\USERS\{username}\APPDATA\LOCAL\GOOGLE\CHROME\USER DATA\Default\Secure Preferences, Replaced, [4586], [465745],1.0.3412
PUP.Optional.SearchfortPlus, C:\USERS\{username}\APPDATA\LOCAL\GOOGLE\CHROME\USER DATA\Default\Preferences, Replaced, [4586], [465745],1.0.3412

Physical Sector: 0
(No malicious items detected)


(end)

As mentioned before the full version of Malwarebytes could have protected your computer against this threat.
We use different ways of protecting your computer(s):

• Dynamically Blocks Malware Sites & Servers
• Malware Execution Prevention

Save yourself the hassle and get protected.