Weather Hub

Weather Hub is a useless but potentially harmful browser extension that we have categorized as a browser hijacker. This malware infection seems to be most popular in Germany, Turkey, and Russia, but this does not mean that you cannot get infected with it anywhere else in the world. This hijacker may show up as your new home page and new tab page in your Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome browsers but does not seem to affect Internet Explorer somehow. Although you may think that it is great to have up-to-date local weather information in your browsers as well as a search box, you should know that the promoted search engine may expose you to manipulated search results that could lead to malicious websites and being scammed by criminals. Since it is also possible that this browser hijacker does not come on board all alone, we suggest that you remove Weather Hub and all related malware infections you may find on your system.

There are two possible ways for you to be infected with this hijacker. First, there is a slight chance that you find its promotional webpage at weather-hub.com where you can directly install it by clicking on the big “Install Now!” button. However, before you rush to click “Add extension” on the small window that pops up, you should spend a minute to check what you allow this questionable extension by doing so:

• Read and change all your date on the websites you visit
• Communicate with cooperating websites
• Detect your physical location

Do you really think that it is all okay to grant these permissions to this potentially unreliable browser extension? We do have concerns when it comes to browser hijackers that want to “communicate with cooperating websites” and all the above permissions. But what are the chances that you will actually find this official page? Not too much, to be frank.

This is why it is also possible to find this browser hijacker spreading via freeware bundles. Unfortunately, if you install this version, it will be a bit more complicated to delete Weather Hub from your browsers but we have got you covered. The bundled version is likely to contain a number of malware threats, such as adware programs, other browser hijackers, fake alerts, Trojan programs, and potentially unwanted applications as well. If you let such a lot onto your machine, before long your web browsing experience can turn into a nightmare and your system can become a “shrine” for malware infections. If you want to make sure that you clean your computer properly, we suggest that you delete Weather Hub and detect all other potentially harmful programs as well, which also need to be eliminated for best results. If you cannot do this manually, we recommend that you find a reliable online malware scanner for detection.

This browser hijacker offers you a beautiful nature background in your browsers as your home page and new tab page that has a fake toolbar and a search box in the middle. You can also find a search tool on this toolbar as well as a couple of quick links to weather-related functions, which actually seem to work just fine, in all fairness. You can also see real-time local weather information and predictions for the next few days below the main search box. We have found that these tools seem to function properly; at least in the case of the official version.

The biggest worry is obviously the search engine itself. This browser hijacker can collect information about you, including your search keywords, the websites you visit, how much time you spend there, what ads you prefer, and so on. Based on this data a profile can be made that can be used to send customized content to your screen through the search results. This would not even be a problem if all the third parties related to this hijacker were reliable. But what if cyber criminals use it as a channel to promote their corrupt ads and links?

This search engine sends all your queries to a questionable third-party search engine first, such as blpsearch.com and ultimatesearchweb.com, depending on the browser you are using. Then, you get redirected to a modified Yahoo search results page that may contain potentially unreliable third-party advertisements and sponsored links. Since you cannot know which one you can actually trust, there is always some risk involved when you click on any content. If you choose wrongly, you may end up on malicious websites and you could get scammed by criminals and lose money as well as your personal information. If you do not want to experience such scenarios first hand, we believe that you should remove Weather Hub right now.

Since there are two main versions out there, we cannot know which one you got infected with. If it is the official version, the removal of Weather Hub could be as easy as clicking on the cloud icon it creates in the top-right corner of your browser window and choosing the “Remove from Chrome” option. Then, click on the Remove button and this browser extension is hopefully gone without a trace. However, if you installed it from a bundle, this may not be just enough. We suggest that for best results, reset the affected browsers and delete all the leftovers. Please follow our instructions below if you want to make sure you do not leave any mess behind. If you do not trust your IT skills, we advise you to install a decent anti-malware program, such as SpyHunter, that will protect your computer automatically from all kinds of malicious attacks.

How to remove Weather Hub from browsers

Google Chrome

1. Tap Alt+F and select Settings.
2. Click Show advanced settings at the bottom.
3. Click Reset settings at the bottom.
4. Press Reset.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Tap Alt+H and select Troubleshooting Information.
2. Press Refresh Firefox at the top.
3. Click Refresh Firefox again in the pop-up.
4. Click Finish.

Remove leftovers of bundled version

1. Tap Win+E to launch File Explorer.
2. Delete these folders if found:
   %PROGRAMFILES%\WeatherHub
   %PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\WeatherHub
3. Tap Win+R and type regedit. Press OK.
4. Delete these registry entries:
   HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Google\Chrome\Extensions\kbejacapfbbfcbonimhhmpdbbpjdoplf (64-bit)
   HKLM\SOFTWARE\Google\Chrome\Extensions\kbejacapfbbfcbonimhhmpdbbpjdoplf
5. Close the editor.