--- title: Browser Hijacking and the Conduit Virus description: Browser hijacking and the conduit virus. How to identify and remove. image: https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/hs-fs/file-915369913-jpg/images/36.jpg --- ## [Northampton Computer Repair](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/) 413-341-3571 12 Main St, Northampton, MA 01060 # Our Blog ## [Browser Hijacking and the Conduit Virus](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/noho-pcs-blog/bid/347147/Browser-Hijacking-and-the-Conduit-Virus) Posted by [Henry Dallow](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/noho-pcs-blog/author/henry-dallow) on Fri, May 30, 2014 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) #### **All Your Browsers Belong To Us** Has your browser been acting strange lately? Slow? Pop ups everywhere? Strange looking search pages? You might have a hijacked browser. ![hijacked browsers](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/hs-fs/file-915369913-jpg/images/36.jpg?width=213&height=112&name=36.jpg)Browser hijacking means that malicious code has modified the settings of your browser. There are several ways a hijacking software can reach a computer. It may come as part of a freeware installation that is supported by adware or spyware, so always read carefully the disclaimers appearing during installation, and watch for additional programs that are being installed along with the main software (toolbars, add-ons and so on). It can also come through an infected or misleading e-mail, file share or a drive-by download. Rogue security software developers are also known for browser hijacking, usually pretending that your system is infected and redirecting to their download page. **My browser has been hijacked?** There are a few ways to see if your browser has been compromised, the browser’s home page will have been changed, usually directing to a website you never intended to visit; a lot of pop-up windows flood your browser, turning your surfing experience into a nightmare; your computer runs slower than usual; unsolicited new tools (such as search bars) are added to your browser; you can't access certain web pages, such as anti-spyware, anti-virus and other security related sites; your browser has become unstable and exhibits frequent errors; your default search engine has been replaced by an unsolicited one. Some browser hijacks can be uninstalled with the freeware they came with, while others are far more difficult to remove. For that reason, prevention is better than cure. **Some of the most common hijacks** A lot of these browser hijacks are because of an installation of another program that a user believes to be beneficial to either the PC or the user (productivity). An example of this is PC Optomizer Pro, My PC Backup, Speed Up My PC, and the list goes on. Download sites such as cnet and softonic will have programs for you but the installer file will try to install these browser hijacking bits of software. ALWAYS check when you are installing a new program to un-check the added toolbars, add-ons and other software that the installer is trying to install. Make sure it is just the program you want. **Search Engines** Here are a few search engines that your browser will be redirected to because of the hijacking; Conduit virus - ![Search Conduit virus](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/hs-fs/file-914195444-png/images/search-conduit-virus.png?width=435&height=279&name=search-conduit-virus.png)This is usually installed in your browser after the program 'Search Protect' has been installed. It redirects your search to the conduit search engine that will return results but to unsecure sites and these sites will contain downloads that will harm your PC. Snap.do - This redirects your browser to the Snap.do search engine.  Mysearchdial.com - This is a search engine that appears on your web browser once you have downloaded the Mysearchdial browser hijacker. This browser hijacker may manipulate your browsing and search engine results so that you will find Mysearchdial.com as your default search engine instead of any other, whether it's Bing or Google. In terms of web browser interruptions, this hijacker and toolbar has been known to attack almost all kinds of browsers, including Chrome, Explorer and Firefox.  **How to deal with a hijacked browser** You can run the uninstaller file of the program you installed and this can uninstall the browser hijacking also, however it doesn't always rid the browser of the code. A decent anti-spyware program can identify and rid the computer of the code. PC Tools' [Spyware Doctor](http://www.pctools.com/norton-offer/pctEOL/), Lavasoft's *[Ad-Aware SE](http://www.lavasoft.com/)* and Patrick Kolla's *[Spybot - Search & Destroy](http://www.safer-networking.org/dl/) *are amoung the most popular ones to use.  Here's a link to the different examples of [hijacking](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browser_hijacking#Examples_of_hijackers) to give you a better guide of identifying which one your system might have. At Northampton Computer Repair we highly recommend you contact us so we can rid your PC of these malicious programs and code. If you have any questions don't hesitate to call: 413-341-3571 or alternatively click below. Safe surfing!   [![Contact Us](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/166626/94f0c240-c01a-4f01-b8af-f9d0c6a1c76e.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/166626/94f0c240-c01a-4f01-b8af-f9d0c6a1c76e)    Or download our free guide to Malware / Virus Prevention below.   [![Malware Prevention Guide](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/166626/6a331077-20f9-46d1-9b31-bad0f2f1e941.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/166626/6a331077-20f9-46d1-9b31-bad0f2f1e941) Tags: [Web Browser](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/noho-pcs-blog/topic/web-browser), [Virus](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/noho-pcs-blog/topic/virus), [Windows](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/noho-pcs-blog/topic/windows), [Browser Hijacking](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/noho-pcs-blog/topic/browser-hijacking), [Conduit](https://www.northamptoncomputerrepair.com/noho-pcs-blog/topic/conduit) Search for More Posts Find it! ### Subscribe to Email Updates *Disclosure: We may include links in our articles for products and services we recommend, in very few cases we may receive an affiliate referral fee if you purchase or subscribe via our link* ## Our Most Popular Posts | **Kaspersky Lab's Award-Winning Software** **_____________________________________** **Data Security Has Never Been So Easy** **[![How Much Is Your Data Worth to You? 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