What is browser hijacking?

Browser hijacking is when a malicious program takes control of your web browser. As a result, data is stolen, unwanted ad­vert­ise­ments appear, or ad­di­tion­al malware is installed. To prevent such in­fest­a­tions, employing antivirus programs, keeping your software regularly updated, and prac­tising cautious online behaviour are essential measures.

Browser hijacking defin­i­tion and types

Browser hijacking, like DNS hijacking and URL hijacking, is a par­tic­u­larly per­fi­di­ous form of malware. As the name suggests, it involves ‘hijacking’ a web browser. Users lose control over the browser and are compelled to tolerate undesired actions or even witness their browser executing these actions autonom­ously.

Browser hijacking takes on various forms, such as altering your start page, causing un­ex­pec­ted pop-up windows, or dis­play­ing unwanted ad­vert­ise­ments. Detecting browser hijacking can be chal­len­ging since it doesn’t announce itself, often becoming apparent only when issues arise.

The threat posed by browser hijackers varies, as it can be initiated by various entities. For instance, companies may employ this method to display ads or steer users to specific websites. Nev­er­the­less, even such actions should be cat­egor­ised as a form of cyber attack because they intrude upon users’ control.

However, it becomes more dangerous when hackers use this method to install malware, obtain sensitive in­form­a­tion or even paralyse the system. The malware therefore rep­res­ents a major security risk and should be taken seriously.

How does browser hijacking work?

Browser hijacking ne­ces­sit­ates nothing more than a dis­creetly installed small program on the user’s computer. This software can in­filt­rate the end device through various means such as an email at­tach­ment, downloads from un­fa­mil­i­ar websites, browser add-ons, or ex­ploit­ing other security vul­ner­ab­il­it­ies in the system.

When the program is run for the first time, it over­writes default browser functions. Sub­sequently, when the browser is launched again, these modi­fic­a­tions have already taken effect and cannot be manually reversed. Depending on the specific type of browser hijacker, affected users might not initially perceive the un­der­ly­ing issues occurring in the back­ground.

What are the risks of browser hijacking?

Browser hijacking can lead to great damage and should therefore def­in­itely be taken seriously. Among other things, the following con­sequences are possible because of an attack:

• Changed homepage: This al­ter­a­tion becomes im­me­di­ately no­tice­able. Instead of your pre­vi­ously chosen homepage, a different website appears, often inundated with ag­gress­ive ad­vert­ise­ments or attempts to redirect you to po­ten­tially harmful online des­tin­a­tions. This is where requests for personal data may also occur.
• Unwanted ad­vert­ising: Browser hijackers may cause numerous pop-up windows to suddenly appear after re­start­ing. Even many con­ven­tion­al ad­b­lock­ers sometimes have problems with this.
• Swapping the search engine: Browser hijacking can also lead to using a different search engine, which usually displays com­mer­cial results or results that are also malicious.
• Data theft: This malware can lead to the theft and resale of sensitive data like passwords, addresses, PIN codes, and the like. Ad­di­tion­ally, while less perilous, it can also gather in­form­a­tion about your browsing habits and pur­chas­ing behaviour. Con­sequently, this data may be sold, and you might be subjected to per­son­al­ised ad­vert­ise­ments, which, though not as dangerous, can still be quite both­er­some.
• Other malware: Browser hijacking also serves as a gateway for further malware, which then spreads on your computer and causes great damage. Con­ceiv­able attacks include viruses, Trojans and other types of malware.
• System overload: When your browser is hijacked, it can lead to numerous ap­plic­a­tions running sim­ul­tan­eously, causing a decline in your computer’s per­form­ance. In the worst-case scenario, these issues can escalate to system crashes.
• Hijacking the computer: Without the ap­pro­pri­ate coun­ter­meas­ures and with the use of the right software, hackers can po­ten­tially seize control not only of your browser but also your entire computer, ef­fect­ively locking you out. This situation can lead to severe con­sequences, including massive data loss and various other problems.

Examples of browser hijackers

There are numerous different programs that perform browser hijacking. These are some of the best-known examples:

• Ask Toolbar: The Ask Toolbar is among the most widely used search engines globally, but not ne­ces­sar­ily by choice. It often comes bundled as an extension with various programs, replacing your preferred search option without consent. The Ask Toolbar is known for dis­play­ing numerous ads and offering biased search results. If you don’t want to use it, it’s advisable to remove the extension.
• Awesomehp: This browser hijacker hides itself in data packages or updates and then lets itself be installed sur­repti­tiously. Once im­ple­men­ted, the malicious program hijacks the homepage and the set search engine of any installed web browser and from then on it only links to awesomehp.com. This is a fake search engine that links mostly adware and malware. Ad­di­tion­ally, Awesomehp leads to an increase in pop-ups and various other forms of ad­vert­ise­ments.
• Conduit: Conduit was a well-known toolbar that many users or companies liked to use. However, the program not only changed the homepage and search engine, but also collected personal data and sold it to third parties.
• Search Dimension: Search Dimension operates similarly. It mas­quer­ades as a helpful add-on, par­tic­u­larly for Chrome, while sur­repti­tiously col­lect­ing and sharing sensitive data. Removing this browser hijacker is chal­len­ging because of its numerous concealed con­nec­tions.

How to remove a browser hijacker?

Un­for­tu­nately, if you have become a victim of browser hijacking, elim­in­at­ing the problem is not that easy. Although in some cases it may be enough to simply uninstall the affected browser and download it again af­ter­wards, some malicious programs also reinstall them­selves auto­mat­ic­ally. Un­in­stalling the browser hijacker is not always enough either. In this case, it often helps to use a suitable antivirus program, which detects and removes the unwanted files. However, if the problem persists beyond that, you may have to format your computer and reboot the operating system in the worst case.

How to protect yourself from browser hijacking?

Therefore, it’s important that you prevent browser hijacking in the first place. The following steps will help you do this:

• Antivirus software: Use ap­pro­pri­ate antivirus software to protect against not only browser hijacking, but also other threats such as phishing, smishing, spear phishing, pharming or other ransom­ware, spyware and scareware.
• Install updates: To reduce security risks, always keep your system and browser up to date.
• Check sources: Be cautious with downloads and at­tach­ments from unknown senders; this includes pop-ups. Avoid clicking ‘OK’ in such cases.
• Control downloads: Before and after down­load­ing, check for any unwanted files to ensure your safety.

Un­for­tu­nately, browser hijacking can affect smart­phones too. The best defense includes antivirus programs, ad­b­lock­ers, and keeping security updates current. Even on mobile browsers, it’s crucial to download only from trusted sources.