Update! For to a greater extent than such awesome Tips as well as Tricks exercise see the Technology How To section.
3 days dorsum I was browsing a pop website as well as I spotted “Zwinky” (which is supposed to plough a photograph into a 3D image)! It did await harmless as well as so I installed it willing to plough over it a try. If you lot read me regularly, so you lot mightiness belike know that I prefer Firefox over whatever other browser. I had used Firefox piece downloading as well as installing “Zwinky”. But my excitement was short-lived when I spotted a novel web search tool bar (MyWebSearch) that was added to my Firefox toolbar without my permission during the installation. I uninstalled this toolbar as well as thought it was the destination of it; but shortly I was going to live proved wrong!
Sometimes later, piece trying to lookup something inwards Google, I straight typed the search enquiry into the Firefox location/address bar. Usually, it should convey displayed Google search results or a direct website based on Google’s "I'm feeling Lucky" algorithm. But this time, I got this instead:
It was super-annoying because I couldn’t search alongside Google, my primary search engine as well as Firefox, my primary spider web browser. It was clear that my dearest browser (Firefox) was hijacked yesteryear MyWebSearch, which was causing browser redirection to their site. What the hell? I went through all of the Firefox preferences (Tools --> Options) to encounter if I could alter dorsum the default search engine to Google but I couldn't honour whatever such option! Searching inwards Google for “MyWebSearch” gave me loads of information most this spyware. Yes, I would telephone telephone it a spyware because it collects as well as stores information most the spider web pages you lot view, the information you lot run inwards in online forms as well as search fields, the "clicks" you lot make, the IP address, URL as well as the world of the sites you lot visit, your IP address, information most your browser as well as operating system, as well as the products you lot buy online piece using the service. Instantly I did a scan of my PC using “Spybot – Search & Destroy”. It did honour some instances of “MyWebSearch” as well as claimed to build clean it too. But when I started Firefox, I saw it remained hijacked! Damn! :(
"MyWebSearch" Spyware Removal - Getting rid of Firefox/Google redirect Hijack:
The most irritating matter most a spyware is that it tin sack create out to enshroud inwards your arrangement as well as thus difficult to live cleaned/removed. And “MyWebSearch” appeared to live quite expert at it. I did the next things trying to hunt it down:
1. I checked in i lawsuit to a greater extent than inwards “Add & Remove Programs” list. It wasn’t there.
2. I did a manual search inwards the “C:\program files”. I didn’t honour whatever suspicious folder hither equally well. I expanded my search to whole “C:\”, without whatever luck.
3. Now I opened the “Registry Editor” (Start --> Run --> regedit). I did a search (Ctrl+F) for “MyWebSearch” as well as flora three registry entries. I deleted them after making certain that they were the ones I was looking for. To brand certain I was non missing whatever to a greater extent than registry keys, I did a search for “search” as well as this gave me some to a greater extent than entries. Out of these most were genuine Windows registry keys. But I flora two of them were pointing to “MyWebSearch” entries; so I deleted them equally well.
WARNING! If you lot are doing this, delight live rattling careful piece deleting a registry entry. Accidental deletion of a genuine entry may upshot inwards corrupted Windows that tin sack exclusively live fixed via reinstalling Windows.
After deleting the relevant “MyWebSearch” entries from the registry I was almost certain that this fourth dimension it was endure removed. I started Firefox as well as oops; I was wrong! It was nonetheless hiding somewhere as well as hijacking my search results everytime I tried to exercise a quick Google Search via Firefox location/address bar. I searched on Web inwards hopes of finding out a MyWebSearch removal tool. But most (all) of them described how to larn rid of the toolbar, which I had removed already. I could hardly honour whatever information that could assist inwards getting dorsum my hijacked Firefox. I tried HijackThis (a gratuitous spyware removal tool yesteryear Trend Micro) too. But it was unable to sniff out “MyWebSearch” inwards its scan result.
I was showtime to larn frustrated at this indicate as well as all of a abrupt some other “test idea” came across my mind. I went to the configuration agency of Firefox yesteryear typing “about:config” on the place bar. But searching for “defaultSearch” inwards the filter bar, gave me “Google” equally the default engine! Damn. Where did they enshroud the redirect hijack configuration then?
Baffled, I at in i lawsuit keyed inwards “myweb” inwards the filter box as well as hither it was. It showed me the entries where the user setting was modified to hijack the browser, without my permission.
I right-clicked both the entries, lead “Reset” as well as restarted Firefox.
Hurray! And at in i lawsuit the search upshot is dorsum to Google. I am glad that this nasty hijack episode is endure over for me. Sorry Firefox. You had to pass three days inwards hostage province of affairs due to my stupidity (in deciding to travail out a malicious computer programme similar “Zwinky”). If you lot are facing a similar province of affairs of browser hijack as well as looking for a agency out, experience gratuitous to travail my to a higher house steps as well as allow me know if it helped.
Update! For to a greater extent than such awesome Tips as well as Tricks exercise see the Technology How To section.
Happy Testing…
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