Top Adware Cleaner

What is Browser Hijacking?

Browser Hijacking software, or hijackware is a form of malware that modifies Internet browser settings without permission in order to redirect users to websites that they would not normally visit. Browser hijacker can replace the existing internet browser homepage, error page, or search page with its own, as well as adding sites to users’ favorite’s folder.

Some examples of browser hijacker are Morwill Search and CoolWebSearch. Morwill Search is a browser hijacker in which it first redirects homepages to its website and begins to collect information on the computer. CoolWebSearch was one of the first and popular browser hijackers. It redirected the existing home page to the rogue CWS search engine, with its results as sponsored links. With most antivirus and antispyware programs unable to properly remove this particular hijacker, a man named Merijn Bellekom developed a special tool called CWShredder specifically to remove this hijacker. CoolWebSearch has since become a well known general name for any browser hijacker.

Even AOL has become a browser hijacker by placing their web site free.aol.com in Internet Explorer’s trusted sites security zone, thereby bypassing the most frequently used security settings. This occurs after installing their AOL software, AOL Instant Messenger, Netscape 6.x and ICQ2001b has reportedly done this. AOL then exploits this by downloading ActiveX components to your computer without your consent.

How do I know if my browser has been hijacked?

The following are indicators:

• Home page or other settings change on your computer. Links are added that point to Web sites that you’d usually avoid.
• You can’t navigate to certain Web pages, such as antispyware and other security software sites.
• A seemingly endless barrage of ads pops up on your screen.
• New toolbars or Favorites are installed that give you icons and links to Web pages that you don’t want.
• Your computer runs sluggishly. Malicious software can slow down your computer.

Browser Hijacking Intention

The intention of the hijackers is to artificially inflate traffic to their own sites in order to increase their advertising revenues. These sites are normally full of advertisements, pornography, or illegal download links. If a user clicks on any part of the site, or even tries to navigate to another address completely, they will usually be bombarded with more pop-ups and other nuisances.

The worst that could happen is usually a hijackware will modify the browser settings within the registry so that victims are unable to change their Internet options manually. These hijackers are very smart programs in which even if you are able to fix the browser settings, upon restarting you will find the hijacker reverting them once again. In addition, hijackers will also prevent access to certain sites, especially anti-virus sites, as well as redirect your browser to dubious sites even when you enter a correct address. Much like other forms of malware, the purpose of browser hijackers is to manipulate and profit from victims attempting to innocently browse the web.

Protection from Browser Hijacks

For protection from browser hijacking software, it is recommended to have proactive real-time spyware protection as well as on demand spyware scanning utility. Since browser hijacks can be a pain to repair, it is essential to have preventative protection that will block a browser hijack from downloading.

Proactive real-time spyware protection runs in the background continuously monitoring for spyware, browser hijacking and other malicious programs whereas on demand spyware scanning utility is the ability to run a full hijackers scan, detecting any hijackers on the system that could potentially compromise PC privacy or performance.

When spyware or any other type of malware tries to download itself, real-time spyware protection will detect and block the malicious program from installing and thus remove them.

Top Anti-Spyware protection software such as

PC Tools’ Spyware Doctor contains both of these features: real-time protection and on demand scanning. Don’t settle for other software which is only having “on demand scanning utility”. Watch out!

Don’t compromise your security with second best!

• Recommended by experts and editors around the world as the best Anti-Spyware.
• FREE customer support for all users.
• Frequent advanced updates ensure that you are always protected.
• Detects, removes and blocks all types of Spyware and Adware threats.
• Easiest to use with intelligent automatic protection.
• 100% Money Back Guarantee.

Leave a Reply