Howtonews.ru

Howtonews.ru is a browser hijacker that may come bundled with unreliable browser extensions, adware, potentially unwanted programs, or other software. Thus, if your browser started loading this search engine just recently, perhaps it is time to scan the computer with a legitimate antimalware tool and find out whether there are more suspicious programs on the computer. While Howtonews.ru may look like a harmless tool, it might be responsible for redirections to unreliable web pages or doubtful advertising content injected in the search results. This is why our researchers advise to be more cautious with the browser hijacker and remove it from the computer as soon as you can. To get rid of the application manually, you could see the deletion instructions located below the article. As for more details about its working manner, we encourage users to read the full article.

For starters, we would like to give some tips on how to avoid irritating applications like Howtonews.ru. Such threats are often distributed through bundled installers of various unreliable programs, so our first advice would be to gather more information about software (e.g. reviews from other users, experts, and so on.). Reading the application’s description is rarely enough unless it comes from a reputable and trustworthy developer. In other words, keep it in mind that it is equally important to know how the software works and what company published it.

Another suggestion would be to keep away from suspicious file-sharing web pages; it is safer to download installers you need from official and legitimate websites. Plus, to protect your computer from threats, you could employ a trustworthy antimalware tool as well. It might make this task easier, by warning the user about potentially malicious content. If you decide to acquire such a tool, we would advise you to do a full system scan once it is installed since Howtonews.ru might have entered the system with other threats. After all, cleaning the system may help secure it or make it less vulnerable.

Since now we know how the application could enter the computer, it is time to talk about its working manner. The browser hijacker should be compatible with Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Internet Explorer. It may affect these browsers by replacing their homepage, new tab page or default search engine. Therefore, you could be redirected to howtonews.ru/news when you launch the browser or open a new tab. According to our researchers, the provided search engine could be showing results injected with third-party ads. It means the results might include third-party advertisements (sponsored links, banners, pop-up ads, etc.). If you ever notice such content, you should know that some of the advertisements could be possibly malicious, e.g. they may redirect to web pages containing malware, distributing suspicious software, so on.

Furthermore, Howtonews.ru might even create scheduled tasks on the user’s computer. Because of such data, your browser could be opening the default browser without your permission every few minutes; the interval should be from 5 to 35 minutes. In the beginning, the opened browser might load howtonews.ru/news, but later the hijacker may redirect the user to websites with pop-ups asking to participate in fake surveys, lotteries, and so on. Given the risks, we advise you not to take any chances and waste any time with such ads, especially if you are asked to tell your personal or sensitive data.

The only way to stop the browser hijacker from showing you suspicious ads or redirecting you to unknown web pages is to delete it permanently. You could try to do so manually, but since it might be slightly difficult, you should follow the removal instructions placed below. However, there might be an easier way to eliminate Howtonews.ru; you could use a trustworthy antimalware tool. Firstly, you would have to install such a tool, but once it is ready, you could scan the whole system with it. The best part is that during the scan the software might detect not only the hijacker but also other possible threats. If you still have any questions about the application, let us know by contacting us via social media or leaving a message below.

Erase Howtonews.ru

1. Press Win+E.
2. Locate the following path C:\Windows\system32\tasks
3. Search for a file named as httphowtonewsrupoweronsm.
4. Select it and press Shift+Delete.
5. Close the Explorer.

Restore hijacked browsers

Internet Explorer

1. Press Alt+X.
2. Select Internet Options.
3. Click Advanced and press Reset.
4. Select Delete personal settings.
5. Press Reset again and click Close.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Press the Help icon.
2. Click Troubleshooting information.
3. Select Refresh Firefox.
4. Lastly press Refresh Firefox again and click Finish.

Google Chrome

1. Press Alt+F.
2. Open Settings and slide below.
3. Select Show advanced settings.
4. Scroll down once again and click Reset Settings.
5. Choose Reset.