What is and How to Protect Ourselves against Browser Highjacking?

Browser hijacking is the addition of small programs to the web browsers that we use to surf the internet. Hackers or software companies add these add-ons to the browsers without the consent or knowledge of the users in order to acquire information about the users. Here are a few tips on how to stay protected against browser highjacking.

There may be several motives behind browser hacking, such as:

Stealing information from users,
Spying on them,
To display persistent advertising,
Tracking the user activity,
To drop malware.

What is browser highjacking and how is it implemented?

Marketing organizations often often intend to track user activities to either use the information for themselves or to sell it to the advertisers. This can help them to target display ads for specific consumers based on their interest and habits of browsing.

Additionally, websites continuously place pixels in browsers to collect data. Many times, these are not entirely removed from the browsers even after users have responded to the ads or offers.

Another common form of browser hijacking is when vendors force an unauthorized software into the browser. This leads to occupancy of a significant amount of space into the browser’s toolbar.

Many vendors do so to make user’s purchase a full version of a software, or prompt them to shop on a particular website, or even influence them to search for something specific on the Search Engine using a specific query.

How to protect ourselves against of browser hijacking?

You can try the below-mentioned ways to protect ourself from browser hijackers.

Install an efficient antivirus that can provide total internet security and also be effective against detection of zero-day threats. It should also be capable of alerting users against presence of adware and spyware.
Reinstall the browser can help to regain control over the interface.
Clean browser cookies and browser history can be helpful at times.
Frequently cleaning the temp directories can also be effective.
Users should avoid installing freeware from untrusted sources, as they may attempt to install unwanted programs that can at times lead to issues like browser hijacking.
Keep the browser and Operating System up-to-date is equally essential to keep the system healthy and secure.
Always check the download settings of the programs that you intend to install on your system to prevent unwanted programs from creeping up on your system and damaging your system or browser.

So, that’s how you can safeguard your computer from browser highjacking and ensure that you can browse the internet safely.

Adrian