Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

Question

browser hyjacker questions

Apr 21, 2015 1:30AM PDT

I have a number of those popups and redirects that people have asked about here. I've read most of the posts and the advice page given. I'm going to try all of these options, but I do have some questions.
1. Does it help to uninstall and reinstall the browser? I did that with firefox but all of my options and bookmarks were still there after the reinstall...
2. I saw a link to a "Malware tips" page. This looked good. Is it legit?
3. On the Malware tips page, there were a number of removal tools available. Are these good or just more malware type stuff?
4. How can I tell which malware it is that I have? I've seen Websearch, fix100 etc. My Malwarebytes keeps blocking a plug of some kind...
5. I've seen that I should turn off Java. right?
6. What is hitman pro and is it any good?

7. Lastly, I've seen my Mcafee site suggest that they can help for 80 bucks. What does anyone think of that..?

A lot of questions about the same topic I suppose, but I've tried to read up on this and not just ask "dumb" questions..
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Answer
1. No.
Apr 21, 2015 1:35AM PDT

Because folk want to not backup and restore those, uninstalls rarely delete "user data".

2. Can't tell. Grif has a list of apps we scan with. I'm sure you've seen that.
3. Can't tell. No link = can't check it out.
4. Maybe. I've yet to find any definitive report or scan. We usually have to scan with 3 or more tools to find them all.
5. I do more than that. I uninstall Java until it's clean.
6. It's another scanner and good. Remember there is NO ONE TOOL for this work.

7. I'm sure all antivirus companies have paid support. Since Grif and this forum can beat that price, why go there?
Bob

- Collapse -
Browser Hyjack
Apr 21, 2015 2:50AM PDT

Thanks for the reply Bob.
First the link provided here for Malware tips is : http://malwaretips.com/
The only reason I ask is that as you are well aware, the first thing someone does is look it up and find sites suggesting tools to download etc. So, this site looked good, but I am always wary.

Funny thing about finding out that you have a problem of course, is that your homepage changes or you end up at a different site than the one you wanted. Then, we you check extensions, you might have new ones. You look at your program list and find strange stuff - more strange than normal that is...

I started out with some kind of websearch. Following directions, I thought I'd gotten rid of it. Good for two days. Then, I see fix100. More searching for answers.. Now I'm on your site and going to start with Grif's stuff.

"We usually have to scan with 3 or more tools to find them all." - Any program titles or are these in Grif's list?


Thanks for reading....

- Collapse -
Web Of Trust says it's good.
Apr 21, 2015 2:55AM PDT
- Collapse -
Gone
Apr 22, 2015 2:42AM PDT

Yea!!!! It seems to be gone.. At least as far as I can tell. Thanks again. Things were much less complicated 30 some years ago, when I only had 16 K to worry about, but then my online speed was only a blazing 300 baud...

Terry
(online before there was internet)

- Collapse -
Answer
A Word of Caution regarding Malwaretips ...
Apr 22, 2015 6:26AM PDT

TerryVD,

According to your first reply to Bob, you accessed http://malwaretips.com/ which IS a legitimate site. Not a problem, as Bob mentioned.

I would ask you be aware, in case you have a need to visit Malwaretips dot COM, in the future ...

Last month, while reviewing new posts for spam, I came across "Malwaretips dot ORG" hidden within a hyperlink. Further research indicated Malwaretips dot ORG is NOT "legitimate". It pushes SpyHunter - a program by Enigma Software Group (ESG).

Presently, Web of Trust has 135 negative reviews regarding ESG's (shady) reputation and history of deceptive practices.

Also read: "SpyHunter ad campaign an enigma" There are countless more like it.

To repeat .. IF the need arises to visit http://www.malwaretips.com, continue to use it. (To date, I haven't found a problem with it) But do be mindful of the existence of malwaretips.ORG. It's to be avoided !

Glad to hear Grif's steps and tools were able to help get you back on track. Happy
Carol

- Collapse -
Agree Carol...
Apr 22, 2015 6:41AM PDT

I've seen that. I have used malwaretips.com and it's fine.
Dafydd.