With so many hijacking tools out there looking to take advantage of Mac users and overwhelm their protection with adware and more malicious content – knowing how to protect your Mac from a browser hijacker can make a lot of difference to your experience. Fortunately, there are some simple and easy methods available to Mac owners and in this article, we’ll be taking a look at some of the most popular.
A freelancer working with a laptop – illustrative photo.
What is a browser hijacking tool?
Knowing how to remove browser hijacking will likely need you to understand what a browser hijacker actually is. In short, it’s a type of tool used to invite itself onto a browser such as Safari, Firefox, or Chrome, and then monitor your activity and behaviour, in an effort to sell this data to advertisers so that they can target you with ads.
How dangerous are hijackers?
To be honest, they aren’t as much of a threat as malware and spyware tools, but that doesn’t mean that you have to accept them being present. According to Wikipedia, browser hijacking is very common and the goal of the tool isn’t to destroy your Mac – it’s to intrude on your activities and make money from advertisers by doing so.
How can you protect your Mac from a browser hijacker?
It’s fairly simple really – the two ways that a hijacker can enter your Mac are via trickery or misleading you.
For instance, a hijacker can pretend that it’s a new update via a popup and as you click it, it can then install an extension directly onto your browser. This extension hides in the same folder as the ones that you installed on purpose, but it will immediately begin harvesting your information.
Another way outside of tricking you via fake updates, is by advertisements. Banners that say that they offer one thing may instead point you somewhere else, which can result in a web hijacker being installed. Fortunately, removing hijackers can be fairly straightforward by first protecting yourself from these events even taking place – and if they do, knowing how to remove the hijacker directly.
Step one – blocking
With the notorious names of hijacking tools being so well-known (such as QSearch), many antivirus tools have already introduced real-time measures to identify them and block their efforts. Antivirus One is a good solution, as it works in the background of a Mac, allowing it to sweep data and then see if it poses a risk. This tool can help by blocking a hijacker before it even manages to worm its way into your device’s extension list.
Step Two – removal
If you’ve already fallen victim to a hijacker, removing them can be simple and straightforward. Simply open your browser, go to your settings, click on the extensions tab or menu, locate the name of the tool and then remove/uninstall it.
What to consider about hijackers
Although they won’t aim to damage your device, they can still be a nuisance and we are sure that with this quick guide, you’ll be far more protected from website hijackers.