Twenty More Chrome Extensions Take Over the Default Search Engine

Overview

In June 2026 MalExt Sentry's SearchJack report described 23 Chrome extensions that quietly take over the browser's default search engine and earn from the redirected queries. The same technique shows up in more extensions. This entry covers 20 that MalExt Sentry has since flagged. We confirmed each one in its own manifest: every listed build makes its publisher's server the default search provider. Together they have about 132,000 installs. The largest are "View Maps & Directions" (50,000), "Asia Live Search" (30,000) and "Bubbly Search" (30,000).

How it works

The manifest's chrome_settings_overrides.search_provider sets a publisher URL with is_default: true. For example:

• https://viewmapsdirections.com/admin/public/link?q={searchTerms}
• https://searchtoggler.com/ext/search?src=default&q={searchTerms}
• https://obsrchrdr.com?dgd=RD1005457&PCSF=true&q={searchTerms}

Once installed, every search typed in the address bar goes to that host first. The host can log the query and pass it on to a paying search partner, usually with an affiliate tag. The extension's advertised feature, such as maps, recipes or a themed new tab, does not need this. Removing the extension restores the user's own search engine.

Attribution notes

SearchJack found no single operator behind its 23 extensions; they spread across many publishers and several search-monetisation brokers. The extensions here show the same split, with a few shared patterns:

• obsrchrdr.com and owsrchrdr.com use the same dgd=RD…&PCSF=true URL scheme, and resemble oasrchrdr.com from the original report.
• searchtoggler.com, which also appears in the original report, and quickengineswitch.com share the /ext/search?src=default&q= path.
• gettransitschedules.com and viewmapsdirections.com share the /admin/public/link?q= path.
• The FoundAI search URL carries a Yahoo Hosted Search source tag.

These are leads, not proof of a common operator.

How to spot it

• Your address-bar searches land on a site you did not choose before the results appear.
• chrome://settings/search shows the default engine is managed by an extension.
• Remove the extension; administrators can block the IDs and hosts above, or set the default search engine by policy (DefaultSearchProviderEnabled), which extensions cannot override.