Gikayo.org

The Gikayo.org site is oriented towards German-speaking users, and it appears to be connected to a browser hijacker. Web surfers have reported been redirected to Gikayo.org and that their new tab page loads Gikayo.org by default. Cyber security researchers that were tasked with investigating the reports have revealed that free software packages might include a desktop app named 'Gikayo Search,' which is responsible for the unwanted redirects to Gikayo.org

The 'Gikayo Search' software might edit the Internet settings for Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera and Mozilla Firefox so that the user is forced to load Gikayo.org. Affected users may notice that Gikayo.org is presented as the homepage new tab and default search provider if you take a closer look at the settings. The Gikayo.org site does not appear to trigger security warnings on Web filters at the time of research. Gikayo.org is registered to the 188.138.101.152 IP address, which does not suggest there are security breaches. However, tests of Gikayo.org showed that not all functions of Gikayo.org are in working order and sometimes a network error report is generated instead of the search results. The search bar at Gikayo.org appears to offer filters that allow Web surfers to specify what services are to be accessed during the search. For example, you can input a few keywords on Gikayo.org and make it traverse Yahoo and Wikipedia for related content.

The Gikayo.org site appears to lack advertisements, and it is supported by donations from Web surfers as stated on gikayo.org/unsere-spenden. It is not clear if ad networks have access to the keywords collected on the service but the site lacks proper HTTPS support. Many Web surfers that wish to protect their privacy might want to avoid Gikayo.org considering it is tailored to German-speaking users, has poorly configured filters and lacks a secure connection. The 'Gikayo Search' extension is perceived as a Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP) that some researchers may report as a browser hijacker due to its activity. Pc users that do not find 'Gikayo Search' and Gikayo.org useful may want to use a trusted anti-spyware instrument that can remove unwanted software quickly.