What is BROWSER-HIJACKER-REDIRECT?
BROWSER_HIJACKER_REDIRECT shows up as a medium-severity malware/security fault. This diagnosis detects unauthorized modification of default web browser homepages, search engines, and shortcuts, redirecting users to malicious advertising search portals. It sometimes comes down to adware wrappers bundled during free software package installations. Use the steps below to track down and fix the cause.
Common Causes
- Adware wrappers bundled during free software package installations.
- Malicious extensions installed via third-party downloads.
Step-by-Step Fix Guide
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1
Open browser settings and reset the search engine and startup pages back to defaults.
"Open browser settings and reset the search engine and startup pages back to defaults." handles an edge case some users report with BROWSER-HIJACKER-REDIRECT.
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2
Remove unrecognized extensions from chrome://extensions or edge://extensions.
If earlier steps didn't help, "Remove unrecognized extensions from chrome://extensions or edge://extensions." directly addresses malicious extensions installed via third-party downloads.
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3
Check the properties of browser desktop shortcuts and delete any appended URLs from the 'Target' path.
Try "Check the properties of browser desktop shortcuts and delete any appended URLs from the 'Target' path." next if the issue persists — it addresses a secondary cause.
Commands & Diagnostics
powershell.exe Get-Process -Name chrome, msedge, firefox | Stop-Process -Force
Frequently Asked Questions
The leading cause of BROWSER-HIJACKER-REDIRECT is adware wrappers bundled during free software package installations, though malicious extensions installed via third-party downloads also show up in our reports.
The fastest fix is "Open browser settings and reset the search engine and startup pages back to defaults". Only move on to the later steps if BROWSER-HIJACKER-REDIRECT keeps coming back.
As a medium-severity issue, BROWSER-HIJACKER-REDIRECT is more of a stability annoyance than a hardware risk — the steps above should clear it up.
In most cases, yes — the guide above resolves BROWSER-HIJACKER-REDIRECT without a clean install. Treat a reinstall as the last resort, not the first move.
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