Search Expanse is a potentially unwanted program that can install itself in your computer without you having any clue as to how or why.
Search Expanse’s mission is quite simple, to broadcast as much publicity as possible when you’re browsing the internet. It won’t be beating around the bush to achieve this goal, Search Expanse will go directly to modify the source code of every website you visit, specially those related to e-commerce like Amazon. Search Expanse also acts as a spyware, by saving important data about every move you make online.
These ads can be seen as pop-ups, advertising boxes, or green/blue links underlined directly onto the content of the visited website. We usually notice Search Expanse has been installed because we start seeing ads tagged as Powered by Search Expanse or Search Expanse Ads. Here’s what the program looks like on Firefox:
Besides messing with your browsing experience, Search Expanse also takes the chance to analyze everything you do online, saving every website you visit and every search you make. It goes as far as analyzing your whole computer’s content, according to them for statistics purposes only, or so they say on their conditions of use. What they actually do with this data is to save it into commercial databases with your profile so they can sell them afterwards.
Even though Search Expanse has its own official website, it’s impossible to download the software there. We’re sure that this website was only built to trick the user into believing Search Expanse is a legitimate software, as well as to publish their conditions of use where some of their malicious tasks are detailed.