Placelow.com

Placelow.com Image

Placelow.com belongs to a batch of fake search engines released almost simultaneously in the final months of 2011. Most of the fake search engines in the Placelow.com family boast a minimalist interface with nothing but a hastily-created logo, the fake search engine's name and the search box. Placelow.com and its clones are also closely associated with malicious browser toolbars. In fact, ESG security researchers strongly recommend that computer users be extremely careful when dealing with toolbars of any kind for your Internet browser. Browser hijackers and other malware are often distributed with the help of malicious Browser Helper Objects in the form of these kinds of malicious toolbars. ESG security researchers strongly recommend taking any redirects to the Placelow.com fake search engine seriously, since this is usually the first step in an additional malware infection that may be severe in its nature and effects. To deal with malware associated with Placelow.com, ESG security researchers recommend starting up your computer in Safe Mode (by pressing the F8 key on your keyboard during start-up). Starting up in Safe Mode prevents malware associated with Placelow.com from starting up automatically, thus engaging its self-defense mechanisms to block your security programs. Once this is done, removing any Placelow.com-related malware is simply a matter of running a reliable anti-malware program that is fully up to date.

Why Websites Like Placelow.com Are Extremely Dangerous

The fake search engine Placelow.com is not particularly dangerous in itself. However, ESG security researchers consider that websites like Placelow.com are extremely dangerous and a severe threat to your computer's security. This is because the real danger with websites like Placelow.com is not in the website itself but in this website's associations. There are two ways in which Placelow.com is linked to dangerous malware:

1. The first of these associations lies in Placelow.com's browser hijacker. Usually, the browser hijacker associated with this fake search engine is the Google Redirect Virus. This infection is a Trojan that makes dangerous changes to your computer's settings and your operating system's Registry. This Trojan will also often be linked to a rootkit infection, considered among the most dangerous kinds of malware today.
2. The second of the dangers associated to the Placelow.com fake search engines is in its search results. This website is entirely dedicated to creating advertising revenue, and the search results on this website reflect that, often displaying nothing but spam and advertisements which will usually lead to additional malware-filled websites.