Time Search Now PUP on Mac OS X
Time Search Now is the name given to a number of browser hijackers that can end up on your Mac computer. Browser hijackers are a sub-category of potentially unwanted applications - software that resides in the grey area between legitimate applications and malware. While potentially unwanted applications are not as damaging and dangerous to your system's stability and health as viruses or ransomware, their very name suggests that keeping them on your system is not very desirable.
If you happen to have Time Search Now already installed on your system, you will discover than your browser's homepage has been switched to load up timesearchnow dot com and your browser's default search engine has also been swapped out to Time Search Now. This is classic browser hijacker behavior as this happens quietly, without explicit user consent.
Additionally, Time Search Now will also display additional ads in any web searches performed using their engine. This diminishes user experience and simply generates extra revenue for the Time Search Now platform, with no real benefit to the end user. Additionally, Time Search Now will also have access to any search queries you feed into their engine. As a general rule, this information should only be provided to the big search engines you regularly use, whether this is Bing, Google or something more exotic like DuckDuckGo.
The way potentially unwanted applications are usually distributed is bundle installers. This is also the reason why you may have it on your Mac already with no memory of installing it. Bundle installers are software packages containing multiple apps, one of which may be legitimate and desirable. If you downloaded a bundle installer for an app you wanted from a free download website, there may have been additional potentially unwanted apps riding along with the main app inside the installer.
Those installers have poor disclosure practices and if you simply click "Next" until it's done, you will never really know you have also installed extra apps on your system. Always make sure to choose the "custom install" option when it's available and read the fine print in any installer in order to dodge similar apps getting on your system.
Whenever possible, download your installers and apps from trusted sources, including the App Store and any application's official developer or publisher website. This is a sure-fire way to avoid running into bundle installers that may have potentially unwanted applications piggy-backing in them along with the main app you searched for originally.
