Users are forced to visit the hijacker's website and search the Internet using their search engines.ĭeceptive pop-up ads, free software installers (bundling), fake Flash Player installers. Manipulated Internet browser settings (homepage, default Internet search engine, new tab settings). Homepage, new tab URL, default search engine
Threat Summary: Nameīrowser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tabįortinet (Malware), alphaMountain.ai (Suspicious), Forcepoint ThreatSeeker (Suspicious), Full List Of Detections ( VirusTotal) To protect device integrity and user privacy, all suspicious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins must be eliminated immediately upon detection. In summary, the presence of data-tracking software on devices can lead to serious privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.
Targeted information includes (but is not limited to): URLs visited, webpages viewed, search queries typed, IP addresses/ geolocations, and personally identifiable details.īrowser hijacker developers then share or sell the collected data to third-parties, likewise intent on misusing it for profit. What is more, browser hijackers usually have data tracking functionalities, and Simple Note is not an exception to this. Therefore, restoring a hijacked browser is impossible without removing the software affecting it. Alternatively, this software can ensure persistence by restricting or denying access to the browser settings. While can generate search results, they are inaccurate and may promote unreliable or malicious content.įurthermore, browser hijackers can undo any changes users attempt to make to their browsers. Like fxsmash.xyz, the latter is also considered to be illegitimate. It has been observed redirecting to the Yahoo () search engine and. Illegitimate search engines are seldom able to provide search results, so they tend to redirect to (or cause redirection chains ending with) to Yahoo, Bing, Google, and other genuine ones. To elaborate, with Simple Note installed: new browser tabs/windows opened and search queries typed into the URL bar - redirect to fxsmash.xyz. These seemingly minor changes seriously affect the browsing experience. Due to the questionable techniques used to distribute browser hijackers, they are also categorized as PUAs (Potentially Unwanted Applications).īrowser hijackers reassign browsers' homepage, default search engine, and new tab/window URLs - to fake web searcher addresses. Additionally, this browser extension has data tracking abilities, which are used to gather browsing-related information. Simple Note promotes the fxsmash.xyz illegitimate web searcher. However, it is classified as a browser hijacker due to making modifications to browser settings - in order to promote fake search engines. Simple Note is a piece of software endorsed as a browser extension with a simple and easy-to-use notepad feature.