Hotwebfree.com

Posted by Max Lehmann on November 28, 2016

What is Hotwebfree.com?

Hotwebfree.com can appear in your major browsers as your new home page after you let on board a suspicious software bundle. This questionable search engine can infiltrate your system after you click on unsafe third-party content, such as a banner and a pop-up advertisement. Our malware specialists have categorized this threat as a browser hijacker due to its capability to change your browser settings. It is one thing that this hijacker can introduce you to potentially unsafe third-party ads and links through the contents it may show to you. Another thing is that this infection could bring several malware threats on board, which could clearly pose multiple threats to your virtual security. If you want to make sure that your system remains secure, we advise you to remove Hotwebfree.com and all other potentially risky applications that may mean a risk to your privacy or to your data stored on your computer. Please read our full report to learn more about this malware infection and options you may have to protect your computer from similar or even worse hits. test

Where does Hotwebfree.com come from?

When it comes to browser hijackers, the most likely way you get infected by them starts with a click on the wrong third-party content, such as an innocent-looking commercial ad or a hyperlink offered by an unreliable search engine like this. You need to know that clicking on third-party ads is never fully safe. Even more so, when there is an adware program on your system. Such an infection can affect authentic third-party ads and reroute them to malicious websites. This way, you are never really secure even when visiting reputable sites, including Amazon. An adware infection can flood your screen with potentially unreliable ads whenever you go surfing the web. However, this is not the only way you can be exposed to such risky ads.

It is also possible that you get redirected to questionable file-sharing or online gaming sites, but you may also visit one on purpose. The biggest issue with such pages is that they host several third-party ads and many of these do not even look like commercials; instead, they are disguised to confuse and trick inexperienced computer users. Basically, it does not really matter how or from what source you are presented with an unsafe advertisement. The problem is that if you click on it, you may drop a bundle of malicious software installers onto your machine. This is why we say that if you are infected with this browser hijacker, it is important that you take it seriously and make sure that you scan your system with a proper malware scanner to find all other malware threats once you delete Hotwebfree.com from your browsers.

How does Hotwebfree.com work?

This malware infection offers you a search box and two rows of thumbnail links leading to popular websites, such as Facebook, ESPN as well as some online game sites (e.g., bigfarm.goodgamestudios.com/?w=177306). While some of these links may be reliable, some of them could take you to websites that may host potentially unreliable third-party ads. If this is not enough to see it as a threat source and remove it, we also need to mention that this browser hijacker can manipulate the search results. Although you get redirected to a Google search results page, it is important for you to know that these results could be altered and contain unsafe ads and sponsored links leading to malicious websites. This means that you should not trust any content that comes from or through this search engine because you may end up on malicious and fake websites. In this case, you could infect your computer with more malware programs but you could also become the next victim of some cyber criminals in an online scam. If you do not want to disclose your precious details and credit card information to crooks, you should remove Hotwebfree.com right away.

How can I delete Hotwebfree.com?

Our specialists say that the best you can manually do to put an end to the flow of potentially harmful contents is to reset your affected browsers, including Google Chrome and Internet Explorer. We have included instructions for you for all major browsers just in case. Please use these steps to make sure that this browser hijacker leaves no leftovers on your system. If you want to defend your PC from similar attacks, it is important that you stay away from questionable websites and use only official and reputable pages for downloading free software. Also, it is essential that you stop clicking on random third-party ads. You can increase your security level by keeping all your programs and drivers up-to-date as well. Nevertheless, the best way to protect your computer is to employ an automated anti-malware program.