What is a hijacker ? - Security Term

A hijacker is an attempt from a third party to take control of your web browser and use it for their own evil purposes. Some browser hijacks can be done to spread awareness of a particular website, but aren’t actually dangerous. In some cases, though, they can be malicious, and they can steal information like passwords you have saved into your browser automatically. Perhaps the most common type of browser hijack is done by a program that installs itself on your computer without you knowing. The program will add several favorites to your list without your knowledge, and it will change the start page of your browser and even some registry keys. When you attempt to reset your browser, you will be unable to do so.

The most obvious sign of a browser hijack is that your start page has been changed and you can’t change it back. You may notice a complete slowdown in the performance of your computer since many browser hijacks work as fully functional programs that run in the background of your computer from the time you turn it on to the time you turn it off. These programs are often resource hogs that cause everything else on your machine to run slower. You may also notice that a whole new set of bookmarks have been added to your browser that you’ve never seen before. Some websites have been known to add one bookmark (usually one for that particular site), but if you see a whole new folder full of questionable bookmarks, you may have a browser hijacker installed on your machine.

The first step you should take if you feel that you have a hijacker installed on your computer is head to the Microsoft Update site to ensure that you have all the patches and updates you need. Microsoft does a great job of stopping many of these.

Once you’ve updated and restarted your computer, you need to install a reputable anti-spyware program on your computer to run in the background and monitor what bad programs you come into contact with. Two reputable programs are provided by Paretologic and PC Tools Software. Both not only remove browser hijackers they also provide the dynamic monitoring you need to protect you against future hijacks.

You can download and install either of their programs in minutes. Run a full scan of your machine immediately. Once you’ve removed any initial problems, you should run a full scan of your machine at least once per week to ensure that you haven’t come down with any browser hijackers or any other program that can affect your machine in a negative way.

Finally, make sure you keep your anti-virus and anti-spyware programs updated at all times.


source: freetechexams