SimpleSignSearch

SimpleSignSearch is a browser hijacker app targeting Apple users. The main purpose of SimpleSignSearch is to stealthily install itself onto the user's device and then immediately take over certain browser settings. In most cases, those include the homepage, new tab page, and the default search engine. All of them will be modified to open a sponsored third-party address. Subsequently, whenever the affected browser is opened, a new tab is started or a search is conducted, it would redirect to the promoted address and generate artificial traffic towards it. Most browser hijackers do not allow the affected settings to be changed back to their previous states.

While SimpleSignSearch cannot cause any damage directly, it is still recommended to remove the app as soon as possible. After all, all searches carried out in the affected browser will first be put through a fake search engine before being redirected to a legitimate engine that will produce the results displayed to the user. However, various sponsored ads may have been injected into those results even if they do not meet the search criteria.

Another red flag that shouldn't be ignored is the browser hijacker's ability to collect browsing data. Indeed, most apps of this type are equipped with data-harvesting functionalities that could access and then exfiltrate information, including the user's browsing habits (visited websites, clicked URLs, conducted searches), IP address, geolocation, ISP, etc.