What is Downtoext.info?
Downtoext.info is a regular browser hijacker that can be added to your browser when you install various freeware applications on your computer. A browser hijacker may not look like the most dangerous thing in the world, but such programs can easily expose you to potentially harmful content, and you should be careful to avoid that. Hence, the best way to solve this situation is to remove Downtoext.info from your system immediately. You will find the manual removal instructions below this description, but if you feel that you need assistance with the software removal, please feel free to leave us a comment.
Where does Downtoext.info come from?
Our research team says that Downtoext.info is similar to Searchgosearch.com, but it does not mean that both browser hijackers were created by the same developers. It is very likely that the same framework could be used by multiple hackers out there, as browser hijacker is not a sophisticated program. For the full impact, their developers usually rely on the sheer amount of these applications, so if a browser hijacker belongs to a particular family, the chances are that almost all of the programs in the group are practically identical.
Normally, browser hijackers spread through freeware packages. So it would not be surprising if this is how you got Downtoext.info, too. Also, the research suggests that the program might have also entered your computer with a browser extension. We are talking about the Chrome extensions here because apparently, Downtoext.info works only on Chrome. So if that is really the case, it depends on how this particular extension was added to your browser. Perhaps you added something directly from the Chrome Web Store. Maybe the extension came bundled with other freeware products. There is much potential, and unless you are very attentive about the things you add to your computer, you might have missed the moment when this browser hijacker slipped in.
The bottom line is that such programs usually require action on the user’s part, and it should be possible to avoid these intrusions. For that, you need to remain vigilant whenever you download and install something from a third-party source. If you are not sure whether the installer file is reliable, you can always scan it with a security tool before opening it.
What does Downtoext.info do?
This search engine does no differ much from other browser hijackers that we have encountered over the years. Of course, the fact that it works only on the Chrome browser makes our job of removing it at lot easier. There is only one set of removal guidelines that we have to apply here.
As far as the behavior of Downtoext.info is concerned, the program will exhibit the same behavioral patterns as other pieces of software from the same category. The hijacker will change your homepage and default search engine. At first you may not even notice that something has gone awry because Downtoext.info looks like a reliable search engine. However, soon enough, you will start seeing a lot more commercial content when you browse the web, and most of that content will be associated with your likes and preferences.
We always emphasize that it is the main security concern associated with browser hijackers: They can collect information on the websites you visit and the keywords you use, and then later on that information can be used to promote commercial content that you may find interesting. The most important thing is that Downtoext.info does not review the content it promotes. Consequently, this can be exploited by cyber criminals, and it could lead straight to a malware infection. Therefore, the sooner you remove this browser hijacker from your system, the better.
How do I remove Downtoext.info?
You can follow the manual removal instructions below to get rid of this browser hijacker. It is not complicated to terminate the intruder on your own. Nevertheless, if you feel that there might be more unwanted “guests” on-board, or that you might have missed some unwanted files, you can scan your PC with the SpyHunter free scanner to check for potential threats. If any is found, please do not hesitate to terminate them automatically. By investing in a legitimate security tool, you would also protect your system from similar threats in the future.
Manual Downtoext.info Removal
- Press Win+R and type %LocalAppData%. Click OK.
- Go to Google\Chrome\User Data\Default.
- Find and remove the Preferences, Secure Preferences, and Web Data files.
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