What is Keep It Secure?
Keep It Secure is the title of a browser extension offered by an unknown publisher who goes by the name Search Tools. The extension is currently compatible with Google Chrome, Chromium, and other popular web browsers and can be downloaded manually from the Google Web Store repository. Although the browser extension can be manually downloaded it is often promoted as something it is not and may perform actions that users find deceptive, unethical, and illegal.
The Keep It Secure extension is self-described as “the secure way to search the web.” The unknown publisher claims that the extension optimizes Chrome’s default search settings with search engine results from Yahoo. It also claims that you can directly run searches from the Chrome search bar, a default feature of Chrome.
When a search is performed in the address bar, the user will be directed to keepitsecure.today and then to Yahoo. Keepitsecure.today acts as a website that intercepts the search term in order to gather information about the visitor, download malware and potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) on the visitor’s device, and perform other unknown and potentially severely dangerous tasks.
Does Keep It Secure work?
The Keep It Secure extension is fraudulently promoted as something it is not, “the secure way to search.” The extension offers no security benefits and redirects users to third-party websites that they have no control over including Yahoo. The statements and descriptions produced by the extension’s publisher are blatantly false.
The extension currently has 2 reviews and over 10,000 users in the Chrome Web Store which may indicate that the extension has been exposed to users by deceptive means or by force such as aggressive advertising campaigns.
Is Keep It Secure safe?
No, the Keep It Secure extension for Google Chrome is not safe to use. While testing the extension for Google Chrome we found inconsistencies with the publisher’s description and actual procedures of the extension. In addition, the extension redirected the searches we performed to an interceptor website and then to Yahoo.com.
As mentioned the Keep It Secure website will redirect searches performed on a default search engine to an interceptor website before it redirects the search to Yahoo.com or another search engine. This is typically done to install data files and track users online once they reach the URL before they are redirected again.
Furthermore, the Keep It Secure extension provides a high privacy and security risk because it is often advertised in advertisements by malicious third-party advertising networks that are known to show ads for malware, potentially unwanted programs (PUPs), and other serious security threats and it reads and changes private information. When the extension is installed it has permission to read your browsing history and read and change all your data on the websites you visit even when in incognito mode.
How to remove Keep It Secure
Follow these instructions to remove the Keep It Secure extension from Chrome:
- Open Chrome
- Go to Customize and control Google Chrome > More Tools > Extensions
- Find the Keep It Secure extension and click the Remove button
Although Keep It Secure is a browser extension that can be removed like other any other browser extension it is still promoted in advertisements by questionable third-party advertising networks that promote malware and potential threats and the extension is often promoted on websites that aren’t essentially permitted to use legitimate ad services like Google due to the content they contain such as malware, scams, copyrighted content, and torrents. Due to these factors, it is strongly advised to scan your computer or device for malware and potential threats that put your privacy at risk.
Follow these instructions to automatically remove malware with Malwarebytes. We recommend Malwarebytes as they have a free version, a free trial of the Premium version, and a Premium version that can all scan and remove malware. The only difference between the free versions and other others is that the free version is only a scan and removal tool while the others contain active protection that can stop malware in real and other security features that keep you protected online.
- Download the Malwarebytes setup file for the version you wish to use.
- Locate the setup file (MBSetup.exe) and open it to begin the installation process.
- Once Malwarebytes is installed click the Scan button.
- When finished, Malwarebytes will show a list of results including the detection names. Click the Quarantine button to remove all selected threats.
- Malwarebytes may require a system reboot. If so, restart your computer to complete the process.
