Removal instructions for SearchTheConverter

[Metallica]

What is SearchTheConverter?

The Malwarebytes research team has determined that SearchTheConverter is a search hijacker. These so-called "hijackers" 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 SearchTheConverter?

You may see this entry in your list of installed Chrome extensions:



and this changed setting:



You may have noticed these warnings during install:









How did SearchTheConverter get on my computer?

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



after a redirect from their website:



How do I remove SearchTheConverter?

Our program Malwarebytes can detect and remove this search hijacker.

• Please download Malwarebytes for Windows to your desktop.
• Double-click MBSetup.exe and follow the prompts to install the program.
• When your Malwarebytes for Windows installation completes, the program opens to the Welcome to Malwarebytes screen.
• Click on the Get started button.
• Click Scan to start a Threat Scan.
• When the scan is finished click Quarantine to remove the found threats.
• Reboot the system if prompted to complete the removal process.

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

• No, Malwarebytes removes SearchTheConverter completely.

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 Malwarebytes Browser Guard, and the full version of Malwarebytes would have protected you against the SearchTheConverter hijacker. It would have blocked their website, giving you a chance to stop it before it became too late.
 

 

Technical details for experts

Possible signs in FRST logs:
 

CHR DefaultSearchURL: Default -> hxxps://feed.searchtheconverter.com/?q={searchTerms}&publisher=searchtheconverter&barcodeid=577340000000000
CHR DefaultSearchKeyword: Default -> SearchTheConverter
CHR DefaultSuggestURL: Default -> hxxps://api.searchtheconverter.com/suggest/get?q={searchTerms}
CHR Extension: (SearchTheConverter) - C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\emkofdmkojfmdidciddpppahbkklfcbl [2020-08-28]

Alterations 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\emkofdmkojfmdidciddpppahbkklfcbl\1.1.0_0
       Adds the file manifest.json"="8/28/2020 8:59 AM, 2156 bytes, A
    Adds the folder C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\emkofdmkojfmdidciddpppahbkklfcbl\1.1.0_0\_metadata
       Adds the file computed_hashes.json"="8/28/2020 8:59 AM, 6255 bytes, A
       Adds the file verified_contents.json"="7/21/2020 10:57 AM, 2049 bytes, A
    Adds the folder C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\emkofdmkojfmdidciddpppahbkklfcbl\1.1.0_0\images
       Adds the file logo-white-text.png"="7/21/2020 10:57 AM, 0 bytes, A
    Adds the folder C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\emkofdmkojfmdidciddpppahbkklfcbl\1.1.0_0\images\icons
       Adds the file 128x128.png"="8/28/2020 8:59 AM, 5958 bytes, A
       Adds the file 16x16.png"="8/28/2020 8:59 AM, 606 bytes, A
       Adds the file 64x64.png"="8/28/2020 8:59 AM, 3005 bytes, A
    Adds the folder C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\emkofdmkojfmdidciddpppahbkklfcbl\1.1.0_0\scripts
       Adds the file background.js"="7/21/2020 10:57 AM, 514674 bytes, A
       Adds the file sitecontent.js"="7/21/2020 10:57 AM, 77 bytes, A
    Adds the folder C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Sync Extension Settings\emkofdmkojfmdidciddpppahbkklfcbl
       Adds the file 000003.log"="8/28/2020 8:59 AM, 0 bytes, A
       Adds the file CURRENT"="8/28/2020 8:59 AM, 16 bytes, A
       Adds the file LOCK"="8/28/2020 8:59 AM, 0 bytes, A
       Adds the file LOG"="8/28/2020 8:59 AM, 0 bytes, A
       Adds the file MANIFEST-000001"="8/28/2020 8:59 AM, 41 bytes, A
    Adds the folder C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Web Applications\_crx_emkofdmkojfmdidciddpppahbkklfcbl
       Adds the file SearchTheConverter.ico"="8/28/2020 8:59 AM, 182528 bytes, A
       Adds the file SearchTheConverter.ico.md5"="8/28/2020 8:59 AM, 16 bytes, A

Registry details [View: All details] (Selection)
------------------------------------------------
    [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Google\Chrome\PreferenceMACs\Default\extensions.settings]
       "emkofdmkojfmdidciddpppahbkklfcbl"="REG_SZ", "2CC0D52C90CC60460D227A3C56FF11A70462DA3B06C8501C529F05CE09A402C0"

Malwarebytes log:
 

Malwarebytes
www.malwarebytes.com

-Log Details-
Scan Date: 8/28/20
Scan Time: 9:06 AM
Log File: ee82e18a-e8fc-11ea-8b85-00ffdcc6fdfc.json

-Software Information-
Version: 4.2.0.82
Components Version: 1.0.1025
Update Package Version: 1.0.29155
License: Premium

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

-Scan Summary-
Scan Type: Threat Scan
Scan Initiated By: Manual
Result: Completed
Objects Scanned: 231329
Threats Detected: 11
Threats Quarantined: 11
Time Elapsed: 5 min, 28 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: 1
Adware.SearchEngineHijack.Generic, HKCU\SOFTWARE\GOOGLE\CHROME\PREFERENCEMACS\Default\extensions.settings|emkofdmkojfmdidciddpppahbkklfcbl, Quarantined, 15227, 799722, , , , , , 

Registry Data: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Data Stream: 0
(No malicious items detected)

Folder: 2
Adware.SearchEngineHijack.Generic, C:\USERS\{username}\APPDATA\LOCAL\GOOGLE\CHROME\USER DATA\Default\Sync Extension Settings\emkofdmkojfmdidciddpppahbkklfcbl, Quarantined, 15227, 799722, , , , , , 
Adware.SearchEngineHijack.Generic, C:\USERS\{username}\APPDATA\LOCAL\GOOGLE\CHROME\USER DATA\DEFAULT\EXTENSIONS\EMKOFDMKOJFMDIDCIDDPPPAHBKKLFCBL, Quarantined, 15227, 799722, 1.0.29155, , ame, , , 

File: 8
Adware.SearchEngineHijack.Generic, C:\USERS\{username}\APPDATA\LOCAL\GOOGLE\CHROME\USER DATA\Default\Secure Preferences, Replaced, 15227, 799722, , , , , 198DC1D4B383D7B04798D5FFB2440FF0, D9D71DCAB9A4C67D81455186ADC30DE9228CBEE7AC708D39AD13363EBBDD66A5
Adware.SearchEngineHijack.Generic, C:\USERS\{username}\APPDATA\LOCAL\GOOGLE\CHROME\USER DATA\Default\Preferences, Replaced, 15227, 799722, , , , , C49E5783712BA319BEBCFAD8EE36FEA1, 65C016944E46DD279E053B3ED41C6EEB441BB3B2370AB48912E4A8C52CD51B99
Adware.SearchEngineHijack.Generic, C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Sync Extension Settings\emkofdmkojfmdidciddpppahbkklfcbl\000003.log, Quarantined, 15227, 799722, , , , , 45E16E74B4D2D7536616074525940969, A63DE7A8CC96015AA66D9A9EA61CF384BCE47CDDB0E24C4DF797A4BF3144C88F
Adware.SearchEngineHijack.Generic, C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Sync Extension Settings\emkofdmkojfmdidciddpppahbkklfcbl\CURRENT, Quarantined, 15227, 799722, , , , , 46295CAC801E5D4857D09837238A6394, 0F1BAD70C7BD1E0A69562853EC529355462FCD0423263A3D39D6D0D70B780443
Adware.SearchEngineHijack.Generic, C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Sync Extension Settings\emkofdmkojfmdidciddpppahbkklfcbl\LOCK, Quarantined, 15227, 799722, , , , , , 
Adware.SearchEngineHijack.Generic, C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Sync Extension Settings\emkofdmkojfmdidciddpppahbkklfcbl\LOG, Quarantined, 15227, 799722, , , , , FF287CEC1E0149B7C849B629CAC86185, 640FF37AD24805059367949CA68F714EE635A5245E6C5862A08A47718B2DD06A
Adware.SearchEngineHijack.Generic, C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Sync Extension Settings\emkofdmkojfmdidciddpppahbkklfcbl\MANIFEST-000001, Quarantined, 15227, 799722, , , , , 5AF87DFD673BA2115E2FCF5CFDB727AB, F9D31B278E215EB0D0E9CD709EDFA037E828F36214AB7906F612160FEAD4B2B4
Adware.SearchEngineHijack.Generic, C:\USERS\{username}\APPDATA\LOCAL\GOOGLE\CHROME\USER DATA\DEFAULT\EXTENSIONS\EMKOFDMKOJFMDIDCIDDPPPAHBKKLFCBL\1.1.0_0\MANIFEST.JSON, Quarantined, 15227, 799722, 1.0.29155, , ame, , 2FCF528DE3EB6C17CA13BC4E9FE8A319, C8A3D081638DB37C7866F37825C6ACB860744C82D25D7EA627E4E1582572D195

Physical Sector: 0
(No malicious items detected)

WMI: 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.