SportSearchNow

SportSearchNow is a dubious application that pretends to be offering useful features to its users, while its main purpose is to promote a fake search engine. Applications such as SportSearchNow are classified as browser hijackers due to their functionality, and PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs) because of the underhanded methods used in their distribution. 

Once established onto the user's device, SportSearchNow will waste no time to assume control over the Web browsers. The PUP modifies the homepage, new tab page, and the default search engine settings and forces them to open the sportsearchnow.com address. Fake engines such as sportsearchnow.com cannot produce results on their own and that is why they instead redirect all search queries through another engine.

In most cases, this is a legitimate search engine such as Yahoo, Bing and Google. However, some users also may be presented with inaccurate and low-quality results generated by a dubious and unproven engine. Sportsearchnow.com can do both - it may show results from Yahoo but also is capable of redirecting to the dubious nearbyme.io engine.

Another reason why you should never keep PUPs installed on your computers and devices is that they are notorious for possessing data-harvesting capabilities. Vast swathes of data could be continuously transmitted to a remote server under the control of the PUP's operators. Users risk having their entire browsing history, all conducted searches, IP address, geolocation and more accessed by third parties.