Hi.ru

Hi.ru is a search tool that cannot be trusted, and most users realize this as soon as they find it installed onto their browsers without permission. While it is obvious that Hi.ru requires removal if it has entered your PC illegally, there are a few reasons why you should delete this search tool even if you have installed it yourself. Of course, you cannot call a search tool a hijacker if it has entered with permission, but we have found that it can circumvent removal, which is the kind of activity we usually associated with hijackers. Continue reading to find more about the removal of Hi.ru and the risks associated with it.

Our researchers have found that Hi.ru is a Russian browser hijacker, and it should target only users who live in this country. Just like Webalta.ru, this infection can affect Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Internet Explorer web browsers. Both of these threats are known for hijacking the Target of the browser shortcuts, something we have seen in the past when researching Esurf.biz, Allinchrome.com, and similar infections. In fact, the changes made to the Target are the main reason why computer users often fail to delete Hi.ru manually. Fortunately, this issue can be fixed using a few simple steps that are represented in our removal guide.

Even though Hi.ru looks like a normal search tool, it is not supported by a Privacy Policy or other documents that every user should analyze before installing or using any software. Unfortunately, this makes Hi.ru extremely suspicious and unpredictable, which is one more reason to delete it from your operating system. If legal information was available to us, we are sure that we would learn about the activity of third-party advertisers. As soon as you open Hi.ru, you are hit with banner advertisements promoting suspicious third-party software and services. On top of that, Hi.ru displays sponsored search results, which is another reason to delete it, considering that it is not a reliable search tool.

Although Hi.ru might come packaged with legitimate programs, such as Shadow Defender, it could come bundled with unreliable software as well. Do you suspect that the software installed along with this hijacker is dangerous? Even if you think that it is not, it is important to run a malware scanner to evaluate the situation. In the worst case scenario, you will have to delete Trojans, intrusive tracking cookies, keyloggers, and other kinds of malicious software. We do not blame the creators of Hi.ru for bundling this search tool with other infections, as it is the responsibility of the installers that are employed for spreading this software.

As mentioned previously, it is necessary to fix the Target before proceeding with the removal of Hi.ru. If you follow the instructions below with care, you will have Hi.ru deleted in no time. The biggest issue is that this hijacker can affect all browser shortcuts, which means that you might have to attend to all shortcuts on your desktop, start menu, taskbar, etc. Needless to say, this is not all you need to worry about if other infections were infiltrated into your operating system as well. If extremely clandestine and malicious infections have been installed, you might have trouble deleting them manually. Luckily, you do not have to, as you can trust automated malware detection and removal software.

Hi.ru Removal

Change the Target

1. Right-click the infected shortcut, select Properties, and click the Shortcut tab.
2. Move to the Target, remove the URL after iexplore.exe”/firefox.exe”/chrome.exe”, and click OK.

Remove from Google Chrome:

1. Open the browser and tap Alt+F.
2. Select Settings and navigate to the On Startup section.
3. Mark Open a specific page or set of pages and click Set pages.
4. Delete/overwrite the URL of the unreliable search tool and click OK.
5. Navigate to Appearance and select Show Home button.
6. Click Change and repeat step 4.
7. Under Search click Manage search engines.
8. Select a new search provider, click X to delete the unwanted one, and click Done.

Remove from Internet Explorer:

1. Open the browser and tap Alt+T.
2. Click Manage Add-ons and move to Search Providers.
3. Select the preferred search provider and Remove the undesirable one. Click Close.
4. Tap Alt+T again and select Internet options.
5. Click on the General tab, change/delete the Home Page URL, and click OK.

Remove from Mozilla Firefox:

1. Open the browser and tap Alt+T.
2. Select Options and move to the General menu on the left.
3. Delete/change the Home Page URL.
4. Navigate to the Search menu on the left.
5. Select the preferred search provider and Remove Hi.ru.