Hihikal.ru

Posted by Max Lehmann on September 30, 2016

What is Hihikal.ru?

Hihikal.ru will hijack your browser and change your default homepage settings. This computer security threat enters your system uninvited, and you know for sure that you have to remove this application at once. In this description, we will discuss the nature of this browser hijacker in a greater detail, and you will also find the manual removal instructions at the bottom of the article. If you do not want to find out more about this infection, you can simply scroll down to the removal instructions. However, it would be better to learn about browser hijackers because this way you will be able to protect yourself from similar intruders in the future. test

Where does Hihikal.ru come from?

There are many other similar browser hijackers, and Hihikal.ru actually comes from the same group as Workno.ru, Smartinf.ru, Funday24.ru, Time-to-read.ru, and others. Needless to say, there is no direct distribution source for this infection, and it usually slithers into your computer unexpectedly.

This program affects users mostly in the Russian Federation, Uzbekistan, the Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan. As you can see, the Russian-speaking users are the most vulnerable, so if you frequent Russian language websites, there is a good chance you could get infected with Hihikal.ru, too.

There are several ways for this program to enter your system. It could be installed by third-party installers that are available at Russian p2p sites. Thus, if you are about to download something from a Russian file sharing page be careful and attentive. You might download a lot more than you ask for. What’s more, it can be even worse. According to our research, Hihikal.ru might be dropped on the target system by various Trojan infections intended for the Russian market. We know for sure that it usually comes with one of these programs: Amigo browser, Mail.ru, PUP.Kometa browser, Adware.Torrent Search, and Adware.Searchgo. Hence, if you have recently downloaded any of these programs, the chances are this browser hijacker was installed on your system, too.

What does Hihikal.ru do?

This browser hijacker is slightly unusual in a way that it does not use its name for the domain that gets set as your default homepage. Instead, it redirects you to one of the following websites: opatolo.ru, dopona.ru, mechito.ru or papala.ru.

The hijacker also adds an auto-run entry in your Registry, so whenever you load your system, your browser opens automatically, and you get redirected to one of the sites associated with this browser hijacker. Needless to say, such redirections are not safe because there is no way to check whether the pages you land on are safe.

What’s more, browser hijackers are often exploited by cyber criminals for information hoarding and malware distribution. After all, you can expect Hihikal.ru to collect data on your web browsing habits because the hijacker needs to promote customized content. When it knows your basic web browsing patterns, it can target specific content at you, and when the commercial content is customized, there is a bigger chance you may click the displayed links.

Technically, there is nothing illegal about such practice, but no one can review and check the third-party content that goes through this browser hijacker. Therefore, you are left entirely on your own.

How do I remove Hihikal.ru?

It is probably obvious that you have to remove Hihikal.ru from your system in order to ensure safe web browsing and safe computer exploitation. You can delete the infection from your system manually, as that is not too complicated. On the other hand, you have to consider the fact the hijacker is not the only unwanted program on-board.

You will probably notice a few unwanted applications immediately, but the most efficient way to detect and terminate them all would be scanning your system with a licensed antispyware tool. After a full system scan, you will get a list of all the potential threats you need to terminate immediately. If you do not want to delete those files and programs on your own, you can invest in a security program that will do it for you automatically.

Aside from saving you from the likes of Hihikal.ru, a powerful antispyware application will also protect you from similar threats that may try to enter your system again. Do what is best to safeguard your PC against dangerous intruders.