What is Hi.ru?
If the homepage and default search provider on your web browsers were replaced with Hi.ru without your notice, there is no doubt that a browser hijacker has found its way into your operating system. It is most likely that this infection was installed after executing a malicious software bundle, which means that other threats could be have been unleashed as well. Our researchers at Anti-Spyware-101.com have found that Shadow Defender could be spread along with the suspicious hijacker. As you might know, this is a legitimate program, but installing it along with potentially malicious programs is not what we recommend. Yes, in some cases you might have the option to refuse unwanted software. Needless to say, you cannot remove Hi.ru as a browser hijacker if you have agreed to install it. Nonetheless, we believe that this search tool is undeserving of your trust.
How does Hi.ru work?
Once installed, Hi.ru replaces your regular search tools on Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer web browsers. Additionally, this infection changes the Target of your browsers’ shortcuts. Unfortunately, most users do not even know that this is something that they should check, which helps the clandestine hijacker remain active. We will talk more about this in the last section of this report. Unfortunately, many users do not even think about the removal of Hi.ru, especially if they chose to install it as their homepage or default search provider. After all, this search tool does not look very unreliable, and it does not act in a malicious way. On the other hand, there is no information about it, which is quite disconcerting. On top of that, it shows ads in all kinds of forms, including banners and sponsored links. The worst part is that this search tool shows ads together with regular search results, which is why we cannot identify it as a reliable search provider.
Besides showcasing third-party ads, Hi.ru also promotes its own services, including otvet.hi.ru, mail.hi.ru, and games.hi.ru. Since there is little information about these services, we do not recommend trusting them either. There are plenty of authentic search tools that offer advanced search options and different tools to find the information you are looking for. Even though the suspicious browser hijacker seems authentic and useful, trusting it is risky. You do not know how this tool collects information about you or which parties it works with, and these are the two things you need to be at peace with before trusting any search tool.
How to remove Hi.ru
We have seen many browser hijackers that are capable of corrupting the Target, including Webalta.ru and Esurf.biz. Even though anyone can modify this feature, most computer users are unaware of it altogether. If you do not change the Target back to normal, your attempts to delete Webalta.ru will be unsuccessful. Our research team has created a guide that will help you get rid of the unreliable search tool, regardless of how it has entered your operating system. Of course, this guide will not help you eliminate other infections that could have entered your Windows operating system along with this hijacker. You can trust an automated malware remover, or you can spend your time indicating and removing all malicious files one by one manually. The choice is yours.
Modify the browser’s shortcut
- Identify the infected browser’s shortcut.
- Right-click it and select Properties.
- Click the Shortcut tab and move to the Target.
- Erase the URL after firefox.exe”, chrome.exe” or iexplore.exe”.
- Click OK and replace the unwanted search tools.
Delete Hi.ru
Mozilla Firefox:
- Simultaneously tap Alt+T keys on your keyboard.
- Select Options and open the General menu.
- Overwrite the undesirable Home Page URL.
- Open the Search menu and Remove the undesirable search provider.
- Restart your browser.
Google Chrome:
- Simultaneously tap Alt+F keys on your keyboard.
- Select Settings and move to On Startup.
- Mark Open a specific page or set of pages and click Set pages.
- Identify the undesirable URL, overwrite it, and click OK.
- Move to Appearance, select Show Home button, and click Change.
- Identify the undesirable URL, overwrite it, and click OK.
- Go to Search, click Manage search engines, and set the desired search provider.
- Click X on the URL of the undesirable search provider.
- Click Done and restart your browser.
Internet Explorer:
- Simultaneously tap Alt+T keys on your keyboard.
- Select Manage Add-ons and, in the menu on the left, click Search Provider.
- Remove the unwanted search provider after applying the preferred one.
- Click Close and tap Alt+T again.
- Select Internet options and click the General tab.
- Navigate to the Home Page box and overwrite the URL.
- Click OK and restart your browser.
tested removal of Hi.ru*
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