What is Search.instantnewsnow.co?
Search.instantnewsnow.co is the latest browser hijacker from Polarity Technologies Ltd. It works as a regular search engine, but its developers distribute in a way that is set to change your browser’s homepage address without your knowledge or consent. Furthermore, this hijacker might feature promoted links in its search results, and the problem here is that some of those links can redirect you to questionable websites. Therefore, it is highly unreliable, and we recommend that you remove it from your browser to avoid visiting the shady sites.
Where does Search.instantnewsnow.co come from?
Polarity Technologies is not in the forefront of browser hijacker development as it releases dozens of hijackers each week. This company is allegedly based in Cyprus, but we cannot confirm this information as fact. The company’s policy is to make it appear as if its browser hijackers are actually legitimate search engines and, therefore, you can get some of its hijackers (including Search.instantnewsnow.co) from the Chrome Web Store. Hence, at least for Chrome, this hijacker comes with a browser extension. It may have dedicated extensions for Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer, but we have not found them. In any case, the extension is not needed as some of the hijackers produced by this company earlier were distributed using software bundles. The installers of those bundles were set to interact with all three aforementioned browsers and inject he hijacker secretly. Therefore, bundled software installers from various freeware sites can set Search.instantnewsnow.co as your browser’s homepage without your knowledge or consent.
What does Search.instantnewsnow.co do?
As mentioned, this hijacker replaces the homepage address if you use Chrome, Firefox or Internet Explorer. If you use it, then you will get a second toolbar with links to game-related websites. However, all of Polarity Technologies hijackers toolbars are with links but the theme varies. Interestingly, Search.instantnewsnow.co has two clones that include Search.instantnewsnow.co and Home.instantnewsnow.co. All three of them are identical but have different URLs.
Search.instantnewsnow.co redirects all entered search queries to a modified Yahoo search engine. However, that does not mean that the links it shows are all safe. The modified Yahoo search engine can feature promotional links that come from third-party websites. These links can be unreliable and, in the worst case scenario, redirect you to fake online shopping sites, clone sites, phishing sites, and websites featuring malicious software.
Furthermore, in order to present you with customized search results and promoted links to make more money, this hijacker has been configured to collect information about you. It can collect non-personally identifiable information automatically using web beacons and browser cookies. The collected information includes your approximate geographical location, IP address, Internet Service Provider domain name, search history, entered search terms, browser type and version, operating system type, and so on. All of this anonymous information can be used to enhance the relevance of the promoted links you see and, as a result, make more money for the developers of this hijacker.
How do I remove Search.instantnewsnow.co?
It is evident that Search.instantnewsnow.co was created not with the users but the developers in mind. Their sole task is to make as much money as possible, and sometimes that means promoting questionable websites. However, you do not have to risk your PC’s security or your privacy and simply remove this browser hijacker. All you have to do is replace the homepage address using the guide provided below. You should also be on the safe side and scan your PC with an anti-malware program.
How to change the homepage address
Mozilla Firefox
- Launch the browser.
- Simultaneously press Alt+T.
- Click Options and select General.
- Erase Search.instantnewsnow.co and enter a new address.
Microsoft Internet Explorer
- Launch the browser.
- Hold down Alt+T and click Internet Options.
- Erase http://search.instantnewsnow.co/
- Enter a new URL.
- Click OK.
Google Chrome
- Launch the browser.
- Press Alt+F keys.
- Select Settings.
- Click Set pages.
- Erase http://search.instantnewsnow.co/
- Enter a new URL
- Click OK.
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