Time-to-read.ru

Time-to-read.ru is a search engine that is often classified as a browser hijacker by specialists. In most cases, people cannot understand why they see it every time they open their Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox browsers because they notice that another search engine is set as their Start page, e.g. basady.ru, chatozov.ru, indetoch.ru, rynkara.ru, or sculkom.ru. Actually, this can be explained easily. Specialists at pcthreat.com have revealed that this browser hijacker uses different domains to hide itself; however, users still see the presence of Time-to-read.ru because the sites it employs redirect straight to Time-to-read.ru. There is only one way to stop these redirections – you need to remove the browser hijacker from your computer fully. To be honest, it will not be very easy to do that because this browser hijacker, unlike similar threats, creates the new Value in the system registry to be opened automatically after the system restart. Yes, the system reboot will not help you to eliminate Time-to-read.ru from browsers.

Judging from the domain .ru this hijacker uses, Time-to-read.ru is primarily targeted at users living in Russia or those who have a good command of Russian. The content of the website is in Russian as well, so we have not found it surprising at all that this hijacker is the most prevalent in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Belarus. Of course, we do not say that it cannot sneak onto your computer if you live in a different country as well. If you have already become a victim of this browser hijacker, you need to remove it from browsers as soon as possible. It is because Time-to-read.ru is an untrustworthy search engine that might quickly cause harm to your computer. There are two reasons why we believe that it is a bad idea to keep Time-to-read.ru. First of all, this webpage is not trustworthy because it is full of commercial advertisements and might provide you with the sponsored links if you use its search box to find the relevant information. As our experience shows, these links and advertisements might even promote third-party sites that belong to cyber criminals, so clicking on any of them is extremely dangerous. Secondly, it has been noticed that this webpage is going to collect information about users. It is very likely that it is not only interested in the non-personally identifiable information, but might also gather personal details. Nobody knows whether it will really use them to provide relevant ads only, so we suggest that you no longer allow it to act like that. You know what you have to do to stop it.

In order to appear on all the browsers and make sure that computer users cannot remove it easily, this browser hijacker creates the Value with the random name, e.g. jncymwqeqj containing the Value data explorer \"http://sculkom.ru/?utm_source=uoua03&utm_content=b409c088ec94b169a9cc060bac8f7a53&utm_term=ACEDA4ACA11E4CCED617F786CCAB0C44&utm_d=20160527\ in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. It does that to be able to start automatically after the system restart. In addition, it has been observed that the shortcut Вoйти в Интeрнет.lnk will be created on Desktop. If you double-click on it, Time-to-read.ru will be immediately opened for you. It seems that this shortcut is put on Desktop in order to fool users into believing that it is the shortcut of the default browser.

We are sure that you have not set Time-to-read.ru on your browsers willingly because research has shown that this Russian hijacker tends to enter computers without permission in most cases. Specialists at pcthreat.com are sure that this browser hijacker can be dropped by a Trojan. In addition, users might allow it to enter their systems if they download the fake installer from some kind of Russian P2P website. Unfortunately, Time-to-read.ru browser hijacker usually travels together with other undesirable applications, e.g. Amigo Browser, Kometa browser, Torrent Search, Searchgo, and Mail.ru. In other words, it bundles with other ad-supported programs, potentially unwanted programs, and browser hijackers.

You need to remove the browser hijacker fully in order not to see its presence on browsers anymore. In order to do that, you will have to remove the Value this threat has created in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. In addition, its shortcut has to be removed from Desktop. Last but not least, you will have to change the settings of all the browsers or simply reset them to their default settings. If it is too hard for you to do that, scan your system with an automatic malware remover, e.g. SpyHunter. It will remove all the infections for you very quickly.

Delete Time-to-read.ru

1. Launch RUN (Win+R).
2. Enter regedit.exe into the box and tap Enter.
3. Move to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run.
4. Locate the Value with the random name, e.g. jncymwqeqj containing the Value data http://sculkom.ru/?utm_source=uoua03&utm_content=b409c088ec94b169a9cc060bac8f7a53&utm_term=ACEDA4ACA11E4CCED617F786CCAB0C44&utm_d=20160527\.
5. Right-click on it and select Delete.
6. Close the Registry Editor and remove the shortcut Вoйти в Интeрнет.lnk from your Desktop.
7. Empty the Recycle bin.

Reset browsers

Internet Explorer

1. Open your browser and tap Alt+T.
2. Open Internet Options.
3. Click on the Advanced tab.
4. Click Reset.
5. Mark the Delete personal settings box and click Reset.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Open your browser and tap Alt+H.
2. Select Troubleshooting information.
3. Click Refresh Firefox.
4. Click on the Refresh Firefox button once again.

Google Chrome

1. Open your browser.
2. Tap Alt+F.
3. Select Settings and then scroll down.
4. Click Show advanced settings.
5. Click Reset settings.
6. Click Reset to start the process.