Hi.fo virus - How to remove

Hi.fo (or Search.hi.fo) virus is a Russian news provider and a platform for searching. It looks similar to search engines like Workno.ru and Rambler.ru malware parasites and it can be assigned as browsers’ preferences without permissions from users. On the other hand, the permission might be provided unknowingly during an installation process of a free software product.
We also noticed that the Hi.fo redirect virus incorporates Taboola advertisements. While this advertising network is legit, we have always regarded their content as potentially dangerous. The recent news about MSN.com does not improve the reputation for Taboola: sometimes, they do not properly review the ads they accept from advertisers. In most cases, the service promotes fake or overly exaggerated news articles (Tech support scammers abuse Taboola).

Hi.fo redirect virus can lead you to suspicious domains

Hi.fo malware parasite is called a browser hijacker due to the fact it occupies home pages, new tabs and default search providers. Furthermore, many this type of infections have rookit capabilities (More about rootkits), meaning that they will be able to do more damage and make removal process more difficult. If you wish to read more about these parasites, switch to this section in which we explicitly explain the main features of these pesky parasites.

If you are infected with a Russian browser hijacker like Hi.fo virus, you will surely be presented with a parade of annoying notifications, warnings, surprise announcements and other types of online ads (Digital deception). Nevertheless, the website is the most successful in Indonesia, Brazil, Thailand, United States and India. Therefore, it might be that Russian-speaking users rarely see this website. This twist might be due to the fact that the articles in Hi.fo website are written in English. However, their content appears to be slightly influenced by politics of Russia and might serve as a mere provider of not fully transparent news.

Furthermore, this website has an older version Hi.ru browser hijacker which presents the same content, only in the Russian language. Therefore, Hi.fo infection stands as an alternative for the Russian version and should not be trusted to provide quality news or results to search queries. In addition to all of these arguments, we also discovered that the domain might present adult-oriented, nudity-containing advertisements because it displays ads from exoClick. Besides this inappropriate content, the website also incorporates material Propeller Ads Media, sh.st, AdSupply and other ad-networks. The fact that the website functions with so many ads shows that the engine will be constantly filled with objectionable content.

Lastly, Hi.fo browser hijacker could be responsible for spying on its visitors (Whos spying on your computer?). This means that it will collect users’ personally identifiable information, together with technical details about an operating system. In some cases, this tactic reveals whether a device is protected by anti-malware tools or not.

Keeping operating systems malware free is a difficult task

Do not forget the main rules to keep devices secure. For instance, never install applications from suspicious websites. If a pop-up warns you about Trojans, spyware infections, do not believe these statements. Trust only a respectable anti-malware tool like Spyhunter which will properly protect devices from malware. Run regular scans to detect and remove threats.

This browser hijacker might have been brought with a malicious browser extension or a desktop application. Please check the list of active add-ons. If you find any extensions you did not install yourself, remove them. The same applies to desktop programs. Below, our researchers provide you with thorough guidelines to get rid of a browser hijacker.

For the future, to avoid potentially unwanted programs and malware, select advanced/custom modes for installations. This will help you find out whether there are more applications that are going to be installed together with the one you selected. This method is called “bundling”.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Fully removef Hi.fo virus

How to remove Hi.fo virus using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like Hi.fo virus install some of their components as regular Windows programs as well as additional software. This part of malware can be uninstalled from the Control Panel. To access it, do the following.

• Start→Control Panel (older Windows) or press Windows Key→Search and enter Control Panel and then press Enter (Windows 8, Windows 10).
• Choose Uninstall Program (if you don't see it, click in the upper right next to "View by" and select Category).
• Go through the list of programs and select entries related to Hi.fo virus . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make Hi.fo virus easier to find.
• Click the Uninstall button. If you're asked if you really want to remove the program, click Yes.
• In many cases anti-malware programs are better at detecting related parasites, thus I recommend installing Spyhunter to identify other programs that might be a part of this infection.

How to remove Hi.fo virus from macOS

Delete Hi.fo virus from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the Hi.fo virus app.
5. Select it and right-click it (or hold the Ctrl and click the left mouse button).
6. In the dropdown, click Move to Bin/Trash. You might be asked to provide your login password.

TopHow To remove Hi.fo virus from Google Chrome:

• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select More Tools→Extensions
  
• Select all malicious extensions and delete them.
  
• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select Settings
  
• Select Manage Search engines
  
• Remove unnecessary search engines from the list
  
• Go back to settings. On Startup choose Open blank page (you can remove undesired pages from the set pages link too).
• If your homepage was changed, click on Chrome menu on the top right corner, select Settings. Select Open a specific page or set of pages and click on Set pages.
  
• Delete malicious search websites at a new Startup pages window by clicking “X” next to them.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to Hi.fo virus, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on a Chrome’s menu button (three horizontal lines) and select Settings.
• Scroll to the end of the page and click on theReset browser settings button.
  
• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How To remove Hi.fo virus from Firefox:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla window and select the “Add-ons” icon (Or press Ctrl+Shift+A on your keyboard).
  
• Go through Extensions and Addons list, remove everything Hi.fo virus related and items you do not recognise. If you do not know the extension and it is not made by Mozilla, Google, Microsoft, Oracle or Adobe then you probably do not need it.
  
• If your homepage was changed, click on the Firefox menu in the top right corner, select Options → General. Enter a preferable URL to the homepage field and click Restore to Default.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to Hi.fo virus, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla Firefox window. Click on the Help button.
  
• ChooseTroubleshooting Information on the Help menu.
  
• Click on theReset Firefox button.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button on the confirmation box. Mozilla Firefox will close and change the settings to default.
  

If the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program to identify malicious entries.

How to remove Hi.fo virus from Microsoft Edge:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Microsoft Edge window. Select “Extensions”.

• Select all malicious extensions and delete them.

• Click on the three-dot menu on the browser toolbar and Select Settings

• Select Privacy and Services and scroll down. Press on Address bar.

• Choose Manage search engines.

• Remove unnecessary search engines from the list: open the three-dot menu and choose Remove.

• Go back to Settings. Open On start-up.
• Delete malicious search websites at Open specific page or pages by opening the three-dot menu and clicking Delete.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to Hi.fo virus, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings

• Click on Edge's menu button and select Settings. Click on the Reset Settings button on the left.
• Press the Restore settings to their default values option.

• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How to remove Hi.fo virus from Safari:Top

Remove malicious extensions

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences.
  
• Select Extensions and uninstall Hi.fo virus and other suspicious extensions.
  
• If your homepage was changed, click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences and choose General tab. Enter preferable URL to the homepage field.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings(older versions) If you are still experiencing any issues related to Hi.fo virus, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Reset Safari…
  
• Select which options you want to reset (usually all of them come preselected) and click on the Reset button.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.