Two software installed in infected PCs without the knowledge of the users hijacks Google results and replaces their own results with ads.


Paul Piccard, director of threat research at Webroot Software Inc., an anti-spyware software company, says that there are at least two secretly installed software, in infected PCs, which replace Google search results for specific keywords with their own results. The search results are rigged only on infected PCs, not for all Google users.

David Moll, chief executive for Webroot, said, “We think that it poses a substantial challenge to the widely understood and valuable franchise of Google because the average user, and, in fact, even a sophisticated user, has no idea that they’ve been duped this way.”

A Google spokeswoman said users should read the site’s “help” area, under a section titled “unexpected results” to avoid becoming infected with such adware.

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