Browser hijacker, also known as browser modifier, is a kind of malware that changes your browser settings and modifies the search algorithms. The activity of this virus, like of all other viruses, is related to profit gained for showing the previously paid sites to victims.
Describing the browser hijacker
These dubious programs are ones which may disguise as legitimate applications. You can often spectate the advertisements of “useful” utilities, for example, alternative search tabs or modifiable homepage for Chrome. All these programs need to have access to your browser configuration, and also the ability to modify these settings as they want. That’s why these pseudo-effective tools are used massively to promote different dubious pages.
But how are these pages promoted? Browser hijackers are not the same thing as adware. Last one is also able to change the browser settings, but it manages other branches of the configuration file. Hijackers change the homepage to show you ads on it, and to offer the promoted pages as “recommended pages”. Search engine settings are also altered to ones which will bring profit to the hijacker distributors. You can easily detect if your search results were changed: open the Microsoft Edge (it is invulnerable to third-party programs attack) and search the same question. Then, compare the search results with ones in the hijacked browser.
Is this virus dangerous?
The main danger is carried not by the exact virus, but by malicious sites promoted to you. Malware distributors have no reason to check the benevolence of the sites they show to their victims. Hence, there is a huge risk to see fraudulent websites in the search results. And hazards may obtain various forms. You can lose money while trying to purchase something on the internet store, which turns out to be a “shell” which only shows you the assortment and payment window. Another way of getting damaged is a malware attack. A lot of sites that are promoted through hijackers contain different malicious links. Clicking these links, you can discover in one moment that your computer is full of spyware, unwanted programs, and other malware.
Despite the malware and fraud risks, hijackers are very easy to remove. For each case, you will see the guide in the according article. Below, you can see the list of articles about browser hijackers.