Recently, cybersecurity investigators found a new variant of browser redirect viruses called NewPDFSearch browser hijacker. This hijacker is reasonably easy to fall victim to and might be difficult to get rid of, especially since you’re most likely not even aware of it. But don’t worry; we’ve got you covered with all you need to know about what NewPDFSearch redirect is, what it tries to do to you, and how to avoid it in the future.
Browser hijackers, or simply hijackers, are a form of unwanted software that are created for modifying the web browser’s settings without the user’s permission. The main function of such software is to change default browser settings and replace an existing homepage with the hijacker page.
What is NewPDFSearch browser hijacker?
According to IT security experts, NewPDFSearch is a PUA (potentially unwanted application) from the family of browser hijackers. The main goal of this NewPDFSearch redirect virus is to generate advertising revenue for its developers.
For instance, NewPDFSearch redirects the user’s homepage to the hijacker’s page that contains unwanted pop-ups, advertisements or sponsored links. In short, NewPDFSearch redirects the search queries to ads or links the hijacker wants the user to see, rather than to genuine search provider results.
When the user clicks on banners and pop-ups in the search results, the authors of NewPDFSearch browser hijacker get paid.
Aside from this, some hijackers are known to gather user data such as user browsing-relating data (e.g., IP addresses, geolocations, search history, URLs of visited sites) and sell this data to third parties or external users for marketing purposes.
Common Symptoms of NewPDFSearch Browser Hijacker
If you’re experiencing any of the below-mentioned symptoms, then it’s a clear indication that you have a browser hijacker installed on your computer system.
- The browser’s homepage, default search engine, and new tab/window URLs are changed to ‘newpdfsearch.com.
- Frequent redirects to unsecured webpages.
- Search queries are redirecting through some fake search engine.
- Automatic download of suspicious .exe files from suspicious websites.
- Websites are loading slowly.
- Lots of intrusive advertisements, banners, warning alerts, etc.
How to Remove NewPDFSearch Browser Hijacker?
Browser hijacker applications like NewPDFSearch are quite easy to remove compared to other malicious programs. Since the manual removal process is quite complicated and time-consuming and requires advanced computer skills, we won’t cover it here.
The fastest and simplest way to remove the NewPDFSearch browser redirect virus along with all its associated files, we recommend running a scan with a powerful antivirus or anti-malware software on the compromised system.
