Hao123 by Baidu

Hao123 by Baidu is an adware application that manifests itself in a form of a browser extension. Baidu is a major Chinese portal that is often called Chinese “Google”. It provides Chinese language search service for over a billion users worldwide, and Hao123 by Baidu is a plugin provided by this search engine. Here it should be mentioned that there are quite a few versions of this extension, and some of them are not developed by Baidu in the first place. There is even a Hao123 toolbar developed by Conduit Ltd! The point is that, although Hao123 by Baidu is not a computer infection, it is in your best interest to remove the application from your computer and avoid possible pop-up ad floods and other possible security risks.

According to a few security experts, Hao123 by Baidu is usually installed without user’s consent, and it changes your home page to hao123 search website. Due to the fact that Baidu is a legitimate search engine, it is possible to assume that users, after all, ARE prompted about the oncoming installation. The problem, however, is that computer users often go through the installation process automatically, skipping important setup steps. So you may miss a piece of information that tells you about Hao123 by Baidu. Nevertheless, if your home page gets changed to Hao123 by Baidu search engine, and it was not your intention, then you should remove Hao123 by Baidu and restore your browser settings.

The problem with Hao123 by Baidu arises when this search engine starts displaying commercial advertisements and customized search results. Hao123 by Baidu may be related to a number of commercial websites, and you could be redirect to them automatically. Due to the fact that such search engines could be exploited by cyber criminals a possibility to get infected with malware via Hao123 by Baidu arises. Therefore, if you do not intend to make use of this search engine and browser extensions, you should remove Hao123 by Baidu right now.

Do take notice of the fact, that Hao123 by Baidu may be downloaded not only from the official Baidu website, but also from third party websites that bundled the adware application with other freeware programs. Do check what you install on your computer, and make sure that your system is protected from potentially unwanted programs.

How to remove Hao123 by Baidu

Windows 8

1. Move mouse cursor to the bottom right corner of the screen.
2. Click Settings and select Control Panel.
3. Go to Uninstall a program and remove Hao123-Client.

Windows Vista & Windows 7

1. Open Start menu and click Control Panel.
2. Go to Uninstall a program and remove Hao123-Client.

Windows XP

1. Open Start menu and go to Control Panel.
2. Select Add or remove programs and uninstall Hao123-Client.

How to restore browser settings

Internet Explorer

1. Press Alt+X and click Internet options.
2. Under General tab change your home page address and press OK.
3. Press Alt+X again and click Manage add-ons.
4. Remove Hao123 from Toolbars and Extensions and click Search Providers on the left.
5. Set a new default search engine and remove Hao123. Restart your browser.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Press Firefox button and click Options.
2. Change your home page address under General tab and click OK.
3. Click Search engine icon on the left of search box (top right corner).
4. Select Manage search engines from drop-down menu.
5. Remove Hao123 from the list and click OK.
6. Press Ctrl+Shit+A and Add-ons manager tab will open.
7. Disable and remove Hao123 from Extensions and restart your browser.

Google Chrome

1. Press Alt+F and click Tools.
2. Navigate to Extensions and remove Hao123.
3. Click Settings on the left and select Open a specific page or set of pages.
4. Click Set pages and enter a new home page address. Press OK.
5. Select Manage search engines under Search.
6. Set a new default home page, delete Hao123 and press Done.

After manual removal, run a full system scan with SpyHunter free scanner, because you may have other potentially unwanted programs on your PC as well. Do all it takes to secure your PC against possible infections.