SearchGUARDIAN is a browser extension that promises to keep you safe from malicious websites. It is based on an on-the-cloud virus detection service that scans webpages to find possible threats.
The extension is compatible with Google Chrome and other browsers of the same family. However, other popular browsers are not supported. It is downloadable from Chrome Web Store and installed as any other extension. During the installation process, you will be alerted that your search preferences will be changed. Although I have to say that I absolutely dislike any software that alters the way I normally search the web, I admit that this step is indispensable for the correct functioning of SearchGUARDIAN.
Since your browser’s default search engine is changed to provide results from Yahoo and Bing instead, you do not need to do anything different to perform a search. Just enter the desired words in the Omnibus and press Enter and you will get the list of results. In addition, you can click the icon on the browser’s toolbar and type in the words. This method has the additional advantage of allowing to find specific file types, including maps, videos and news. Inexplicably, it does not look for images as other similar tools do. Finally, you can set the extension to support context-menu search, which means that you can simply right-click on a word, wait for the menu to appear and then click on search.
The difference about a SearchGUARDIAN search lies on the additional protection against malware. According to the developers, they regularly check pages to verify their safety. The tool is fortunately quite unobtrusive because it does simply nothing when the results are innocuous. On the other hand, if you click on an infected URL, a popup will warn you about the danger and explain the reason for the alert. Still, the extension does not prevent going on and visiting the page in spite of their alert.
All in all, SearchGUARDIAN seems to work as expected. In this respect, it has the support of various prestigious companies. As for me, I am sorry to say that I have no intention to keep it, mostly because I cannot get used to using a different search engine. However, going straight to their page can solve the problem of having your browser’s search preferences modified. Besides, this can be done from any browser other than Chrome.
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