Remove Browser Hijacker

The term browser hijacker alone gives away a negative vibe so it is of no surprise that it is one of the most commonly detected computer infections these days. This type of computer infection enters your system and then modifies your browser settings without your permission. Lately users have been suffering from a group of related browser hijackers which includes such names as Awesomehp.com, Sweet-page.com, Aartemis, NationZoom and so on. For the most part browser hijackers change your default search engine and home page to a pre-determined web page in order to generate financial profit to its creators.

One of the most annoying features of a browser hijacker is that quite often it is hard to tell apart from a genuine search engine. For example, Aartemis looks like a legitimate search engine, and even if it suddenly appears on a browser, an inexperienced computer user might not find it suspicious and keep on using as a real search engine. In fact, this is exactly what browser hijacker creators want and expect of you. After all, browser hijackers modify your browser settings in order to forcefully redirect you to a particular website, increasing its traffic and consequently – the advertising revenue.

There are all sorts of browser hijackers out there, and while some can be easily removed from your browser, others may resist being removed. The aforementioned Qvo6 Virus and other similar browser hijackers are extremely hard to remove, because they permeate your system on various levels and unless you remove browser hijacker manually from a various system settings, your browser will remain hijacked. Technically, the fake search engine page that is set as your default home page is not malicious by itself, but you are bound to notice a variety of commercial advertisements that appear below the search bar, and then pop up each time to run a search query.

Since browser hijackers are generally created to increase advertising revenue, the commercial advertisements are actually the things you should be wary of, because no one knows exactly what kind of content will be embedded into them. As far as Awesomehp.com, Sweet-page.com, Aartemis, or any similar browser hijacker is concerned; they do not generate the links within these advertisements and rely on third party advertising network for the content. Thus, browser hijackers become perfect vehicles for potentially corrupted content distribution, and there are even cases when browser hijacker indirectly becomes responsible for a Trojan, worm, rogue antispyware or any other malware infection entering a target computer.

What is Qvo6 Virus group though? Those computer users who are more aware of computer security and internet safety issues will definitely have seen at least one of these browser hijackers before. Qvo6 Virus was the first browser hijacker in line and it first appeared in the spring 2013. As of now, the group includes such browser hijackers as Dosearchers, Qone8 Virus, Aartemis, NationZoom and others. Once the infection takes places, users home pages get changed to v9.com, Qvo6.com, do-search.com, Qone8.com, 22find.com, delta-homes, aartemis.com, nationzoom.com and other addresses.

When we check the About page for any of the browser hijacker (they need to present themselves as reliable search engines, after all), they are presented as search engines developed by random companies in China, for example, Beijing ELEX Technology Co. Ltd. It should make users think that there is nothing wrong with the website, but that is definitely not the case.

The disturbing fact about these browser hijackers is that users often download them on their own. These computer infections are known to be distributed via soft365.com adware distribution network, so with every freeware or shareware download users increase the possibility of getting infected with one of the hijackers. It definitely requires users to be cautious whenever they download and install software from third party websites. In fact, it is important that you download and install programs from official websites ONLY.

However, the most important thing about these browser hijackers is how to remove them. To prevent even more dangerous infection from entering your PC, you need to change shortcut target setting, reset your browser settings to default, remove all the potentially unwanted applications from the computer, and then perform a full system scan with a licensed antimalware tool. A full system scan is necessary, because there is always a high chance that some residual malicious files are left behind, and they might cause the infection to regenerate.

We provide steps for manual browser hijacker removal below. If you do not know which programs are supposed to be removed from the PC, scan the system with SpyHunter free scanner and the potentially unwanted programs will be identified at once. Also, should you have any specific questions regarding browser hijackers or your computer security, do not hesitate to contact us by leaving a comment in the box.

Shortcut Target Modification

1. Right-click your browser’s shortcut.
2. Select Properties on drop-down menu.
3. Open Shortcut tab and navigate to Target line.
4. Delete everything that is OUTSIDE of quotation marks “ “.
5. Click OK to save changes.

Remove potentially dangerous programs

Windows 8

1. Move mouse cursor to the bottom right corner of the screen.
2. Wait for Charm bar to appear and click Settings.
3. Go to Control Panel and select Uninstall a program.
4. Highlight a potentially dangerous application and click to Uninstall it.

Windows Vista & Windows 7

1. Open Start menu and select Control Panel.
2. Go to Uninstall a program and remove unwanted application.

Windows XP

1. Click Start menu button and go to Settings.
2. Click Control Panel and select Add or remove programs.
3. Uninstall potentially dangerous application.

Reset browser settings to default

Internet Explorer

1. Press Alt+T and click Internet options.
2. Open Advanced tab and click Reset.
3. Mark Delete personal settings option.
4. Press Reset and click Close.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Press Alt+H and click Troubleshooting information.
2. When a new tab opens, click Reset Firefox button at the top right corner.
3. Click Reset Firefox on pop-up box.
4. Press Finish.

Google Chrome

1. Press Alt+F and go to Settings.
2. Scroll down to Users.
3. Highlight your account (if any) and press Delete button.