Earlier today I downloaded a program from a website and then I noticed that I had something new on my Firefox browser. My default homepage was changed to Search.socialnewpagessearch.com automatically and it won’t let me change back to Google. So I checked my computer for malware by using malwarebytes and Norton, but both of them said my computer was clean. Now I am confused and not sure what to do now. I just need this page off my computer as soon as possible. Please help!
Search.socialnewpagessearch.com is a website that claims to provide web users with useful service and offers functions which should help the users increase the web browsing quality, but in reality this website is deceitful because it is associated with browser hijacker, potentially unwanted program, adware, or redirect malware. It is sponsored by third-parties and seeks mainly to promote affiliate websites or other unwanted programs so this spam search engine only displays fake search results, sponsored links and various ads about deals, coupons and commercial offers to its users. Mostly it sneaks to a target computer via bundling with programs that you installed, streamed or downloaded. It can get into your PC even after you visited malicious website or clicked suspicious pop-up ads. So if you find your current homepage or search engine suddenly get changed to Search.socialnewpagessearch.com and your web browser starts behaving strangely, it is a clear sign that your browser has been hijacked.
This hijacker is known to attack web browsers including IE, Firefox and Chrome. It changes your home page and default search engine provider, redirects your web browser to suspicious web pages, and adds unwanted toolbars or Favorites to your browser to interrupt your browsing experience. Every time you open the web browser, Search.socialnewpagessearch.com pops up automatically as your default homepage. It won’t allow you to change the homepage to other pages so you will be forced to go to this page again and again and also presented with various ads or unwanted search results. Your Internet speed will be slow and your web browser may keep crashing frequently. You will see endless pop-up ads on your screen asking you to buy something you don’t need. The hijacker stops your browsing activities and may probably disconnect your Internet by modifying your DNS setting without your permission. It can install additional malware which eats the memory and uses a lot of CPU resources. And what’s worse, it could collect data you used online including search keywords, web site visited, and other sensitive credentials without your knowledge. A browser hijacker can be very dangerous for your privacy and computer security. To keep everything safe and secure, you have to get rid of Search.socialnewpagessearch.com hijacker completely as soon as possible.
Browser hijacker infection like Search.socialnewpagessearch.com may enter your system as an add-on for your browser or bundled-up with some free software. Most of time, it can be downloaded from a website you visited, something you clicked on, or a pop-up that you did not request to view. You may not even know when and how you download this browser hijacker which compromises your internet security until you find your computer is fully messed up. A hijack virus is a type of computer virus known for its ability to disrupt your Internet browsing. It can redirect your Internet searches to random sites, disallow you from visiting certain Web sites, and change your Internet home page. In addition, it is able to slow your computer, decrease your available memory, and flood your computer with popup advertisements. When you detect the presence of such malicious hijacker, a complete removal is needed without any hesitation.
Search.socialnewpagessearch.com hijacks your browser to redirect your web search results and changes the homepage and browser settings. To completely uninstall it from an infected system, manual removal is the first choice because sometimes antivirus software cannot pick up the exact computer threat timely or remove it permanently. Now most browser hijackers are quite similar to spyware and adware threats and therefore cannot be removed with the help of popular antivirus products. Users can follow the manual guide here to get rid of this browser hijacker completely.
1. Clear all the cookies of your affected browsers.
Since this tricky hijacker virus has the ability to use cookies for tracing and tracking the internet activity of users, it is suggested users delete all the cookies before a complete removal.
Google Chrome:
Click on the “Tools” menu and click the “Clear browsing data” button.
Select “Delete cookies and other site data” to delete all cookies from the list.
Internet Explorer:
Open Internet explorer window
Click the “Tools” button
Point to “safety” and then click “delete browsing history”
Tick the “cookies” box, then click “delete”
Mozilla Firefox:
Click on Tools, then Options, select Privacy
Click “Remove individual cookies”
In the Cookies panel, click on “Show Cookies”
To remove a single cookie click on the entry in the list and click on the “Remove Cookie”
To remove all cookies click on the “Remove All Cookies” button
2. End the malicious process from Task Manager.
Once Search.socialnewpagessearch.com hijacker is installed, computer user may notice that CPU usage randomly jumps to 100 percent. At any time Windows always has many running processes. A process is an individual task that the computer runs. In general, the more processes, the more work the computer has to do and the slower it will run. If your system’s CPU spike is constant and remain at a constant 90-95%, users should check from Task Manager and see if there is a suspicious process occupying the system resources and then end it immediately.
(The name of the virus process can be random.)
Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to quickly bring up Task Manager Window：
3. Show hidden files and folders.
Open Folder Options by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Appearance and Personalization, and then clicking Folder Options.
Click the View tab.
Under Advanced settings, click Show hidden files and folders, uncheck Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) and then click OK.
4. Remove all the malicious files related to Search.socialnewpagessearch.com hijacker manually.
%AppData%Local[random].exe
C:\Documents and Settings\LocalService\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\*.exe
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main StartPage
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Search.socialnewpagessearch.com is a fraudulent search engine that can pop up as your default homepage or a new tab without your permission. It is linked to browser hijacker that often comes bundled to other software, such as free music or video players, PDF creators, etc. Once installed, it takes over browsers like Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome and prevents you from going to web sites you want. It can cause an immense problem to the functioning of your computer system. The application modifies browser settings to replace both the default search engine and homepage. Once the changes are made, you will keep receiving false and misleading information during your browsing activities. A lot of ads will pop up out of nowhere and also your computer will run slower than before. Your online behaviors may be monitored by the hackers who want to collect your sensitive and confidential data for illegal purposes too. Please note that search results provided by this Search.socialnewpagessearch.com contains full of ads that can mislead user to visit advertiser’s web site. You should not keep it on the computer for any reasons.
Note: If you are not a computer expert and have no idea how to perform the removal, please contact experts from YooCare Online Tech Support for further help.
Published by & last updated on April 28, 2016 3:21 am
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