Nearbyme.io

Nearbyme.io is the address of a fake search engine that is being promoted via a browser hijacker application. This is a common tactic for the proliferation of such dubious engines, because users are extremely unlikely to use them willingly. Browser hijackers are classified as PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs) as well, mostly. They rely on deceptive tactics designed to mask the fact that an additional application is being installed on the users' system. Two of the more popular methods include bundling or hiding inside a fake installer/updater for a popular software product. 

The main tasks of the browser hijacker include taking control over the Web browsers on the system and modifying certain settings such as the homepage, new page tab and the default search engine. All three will be set to open the Nearbyme.io address. Afterward, whenever the user starts the browser, opens a new tab, or conducts a search via the URL field of the browser, it would generate traffic for the promoted address immediately.

Fake search engines are rarely capable of producing any search result on their own. In the vast majority of cases, they take the user's search query and redirect it to a legitimate engine. Nearbyme.io is not an exception, as it has been observed to redirect either to Google or Bing. 

While the PUP is present on the system, it also may run a data-harvesting routine, a common behavior associated with this type of application. Users may have their browsing history, search history, clicked URLs, as well as the IP address of the device and its geolocation packaged and uploaded to a remote server.