Search.hwatchingnewsonline.com Redirect
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What is search.hwatchingnewsonline.com?
According the developers, Watching News Online is a legitimate application that (as its name implies) allows users to watch the latest news online, free of charge.
Judging on appearance alone, Watching News Online may appear legitimate and useful, however, this potentially unwanted program (PUP) typically infiltrates systems without permission and continually records various information.
Furthermore, Watching News Online is categorized as a browser hijacker - a form of unwanted software that modifies web browser options without users’ permission.
Immediately after installation, Watching News Online hijacks Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox, stealthily assigning the new tab URL, default search engine, and homepage to search.hwatchingnewsonline.com - a fake Internet search engine.
Henceforth, users continually encounter unwanted redirects to search.hwatchingnewsonline.com when they open a new browser tab or search via the URL bar. Furthermore, although these changes may seem insignificant, users are unable to revert them. Research shows that Watching News Online continues to reassign browser options when attempts are made to change them.
Therefore, returning browser settings to their previous states becomes impossible. Continual unwanted redirects significantly diminish users' Internet browsing experience. Watching News Online is essentially used to deceptively build search.hwatchingnewsonline.com website traffic.
Furthermore, Watching News Online continually gathers various information (mostly relating to web browsing habits). Collected data is likely to contain personal details that developers later share with third parties to generate revenue. These persons (potentially, cyber criminals) generate revenue by misusing users' personal information.
Thus, the presence of data-tracking apps can lead to serious privacy issues or even identity theft. Be aware that some potentially unwanted programs run various processes (e.g., to mine cryptocurrency) in the background.
By misusing system resources, PUPs significantly diminish overall system performance. Therefore, we strongly advise you to uninstall potentially unwanted programs immediately.
| Name | Watching News Online browser hijacker |
| Threat Type | Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab |
| Symptoms | Manipulated Internet browser(s) settings (homepage, default Internet search engine, new tab settings). User's are forced to visit hijacker's website and search the Internet using their search engines. |
| Distribution methods | Deceptive pop-up ads, free software installers (bundling), fake flash player installers. |
| Damage | Internet browsing tracking (potential privacy issues), displaying of unwanted ads, redirects to shady websites. |
| Malware Removal (Windows) | To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. |
Watching News Online is identical to Easy Coupon Access, My Email Signin, Easy Television Access, and many other apps. In fact, all browser-hijacking applications are very similar.
By offering various "useful features", PUPs such as Watching News Online often trick users into believing that they are legitimate and useful, however, potentially unwanted programs are designed only to generate revenue for the developers, whilst regular users receive no real value.
Rather than enabling the functionality promised, potentially unwanted programs pose a direct threat to your privacy and Internet browsing safety. Most promote fake search engines. These websites feed users with fake search results and/or intrusive advertisements (coupons, banners, etc.) Generated results and ads typically lead to malicious websites.
Furthermore, these ads might run scripts that stealthily download/install malware or other PUPs. Therefore, use of fake search engines can also result in high-risk computer infections.
How did search.hwatchingnewsonline.com install on my computer?
Watching News Online is available for download on its official website, however, this program often infiltrates systems without permission. PUPs such as Watching News Online are often distributed using the aforementioned intrusive ads, and using a deceptive marketing method called "bundling" - stealth installation of third party applications with regular software/apps.
Research shows that criminals hide "bundled" apps within various sections (for example, "Custom/Advanced" settings) of the download or installation processes.
Many users rush these processes, skip steps, and often click advertisements without considering the possible consequences. This behavior often leads to inadvertent installation of PUPs such as Watching News Online.
How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?
The key to computer safety is caution. Therefore, be very cautious when downloading/installing software and browsing the Internet. Select the "Custom/Advanced" settings, carefully analyze each window of the download/installation dialogues, and opt-out of all additionally-included programs.
Note that third party download/installation tools are monetized using the "bundling" method. Therefore, we advise you to avoid using these tools. Furthermore, many intrusive ads look legitimate, since criminals invest a great deal of resources into their design. Once clicked, however, they redirect to gambling, survey, adult dating, and other suspicious websites.
Therefore, if you encounter redirects of this kind, immediately eliminate all dubious applications and browser plug-ins (ads are often displayed by malicious adware-type programs).
Website promoting Watching News Online browser hijacker:
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Quick menu:
- What is search.hwatchingnewsonline.com?
- STEP 1. Uninstall Watching News Online application using Control Panel.
- STEP 2. Remove search.hwatchingnewsonline.com redirect from Internet Explorer.
- STEP 3. Remove Watching News Online browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
- STEP 4. Remove search.hwatchingnewsonline.com homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
- STEP 5. Remove search.hwatchingnewsonline.com redirect from Safari.
- STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.
Watching News Online browser hijacker removal:
Windows 11 users:
Right-click on the Start icon, select Apps and Features. In the opened window search for the application you want to uninstall, after locating it, click on the three vertical dots and select Uninstall.
Windows 10 users:
Right-click in the lower left corner of the screen, in the Quick Access Menu select Control Panel. In the opened window choose Programs and Features.
Windows 7 users:
Click Start (Windows Logo at the bottom left corner of your desktop), choose Control Panel. Locate Programs and click Uninstall a program.
macOS (OSX) users:
Click Finder, in the opened screen select Applications. Drag the app from the Applications folder to the Trash (located in your Dock), then right click the Trash icon and select Empty Trash.
In the uninstall programs window: look for any recently-installed suspicious applications (for example, "Watching News Online"), select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".
After uninstalling the potentially unwanted programs that cause browser redirects to the search.hwatchingnewsonline.com website, scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.
Watching News Online browser hijacker removal from Internet browsers:
Video showing how to remove browser redirects:
Remove malicious add-ons from Internet Explorer:
Click the "gear" icon 
(at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Manage Add-ons". Look for any recently-installed suspicious extensions, select these entries and click "Remove".
Change your homepage:
Click the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Internet Options", in the opened window, remove hxxp://search.hwatchingnewsonline.com and enter your preferred domain, which will open each time you launch Internet Explorer. You can also enter about: blank to open a blank page when you start Internet Explorer.
Change your default search engine:
Click the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Manage Add-ons". In the opened window, select "Search Providers", set "Google", "Bing", or any other preferred search engine as your default and then remove "Search".
Optional method:
If you continue to have problems with removal of the watching news online browser hijacker, reset your Internet Explorer settings to default.
Windows XP users: Click Start, click Run, in the opened window type inetcpl.cpl In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.
Windows Vista and Windows 7 users: Click the Windows logo, in the start search box type inetcpl.cpl and click enter. In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.
Windows 8 users: Open Internet Explorer and click the gear icon. Select Internet Options.
In the opened window, select the Advanced tab.
Click the Reset button.
Confirm that you wish to reset Internet Explorer settings to default by clicking the Reset button.
Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:
Click the Chrome menu icon 
(at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "More tools" and click "Extensions". Locate "Watching News Online" and other recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons, select these entries and click the trash can icon.
Change your homepage:
Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "Settings". In the "On startup" section, look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://www.search.hwatchingnewsonline.com) below the “Open a specific or set of pages” option. If present, click the three vertical dots icon and select “Remove”.
Change your default search engine:
To change your default search engine in Google Chrome: Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "Settings", in the "Search engine" section, click "Manage search engines...", in the opened list, look for "search.hwatchingnewsonline.com", and when located, click the three vertical dots near this URL and select "Remove from list".
Optional method:
If you continue to have problems with removal of the watching news online browser hijacker, reset your Google Chrome browser settings. Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome) and select Settings. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen. Click the Advanced… link.
After scrolling to the bottom of the screen, click the Reset (Restore settings to their original defaults) button.
In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Google Chrome settings to default by clicking the Reset button.
Remove malicious plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox:
Click the Firefox menu 
(at the top right corner of the main window), select "Add-ons". Click "Extensions" and remove "Watching News Online", as well as all other recently-installed browser plug-ins.
Change your homepage:
To reset your homepage, click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), then select "Options", in the opened window, remove Watching News Online and enter your preferred domain, which will open each time you start Mozilla Firefox.
Change your default search engine:
In the URL address bar, type about:config and press Enter.
Click "I'll be careful, I promise!".
In the search filter at the top, type: "search.hwatchingnewsonline.com"
Right-click on the found preferences and select "Reset" to restore default values.
Optional method:
Computer users who have problems with watching news online browser hijacker removal can reset their Mozilla Firefox settings.
Open Mozilla Firefox, at the top right corner of the main window, click the Firefox menu, in the opened menu, click Help.
Select Troubleshooting Information.
In the opened window, click the Refresh Firefox button.
In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Mozilla Firefox settings to default by clicking the Refresh Firefox button.
Remove malicious extensions from Safari:
Make sure your Safari browser is active and click Safari menu, then select Preferences...
In the preferences window select the Extensions tab. Look for any recently installed suspicious extensions and uninstall them.
In the preferences window select General tab and make sure that your homepage is set to a preferred URL, if its altered by a browser hijacker - change it.
In the preferences window select Search tab and make sure that your preferred Internet search engine is selected.
Optional method:
Make sure your Safari browser is active and click on Safari menu. From the drop down menu select Clear History and Website Data...
In the opened window select all history and click the Clear History button.
Remove malicious extensions from Microsoft Edge:
Click the Edge menu icon 
(at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Extensions". Locate any recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons, and remove them.
Change your homepage and new tab settings:
Click the Edge menu icon (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Settings". In the "On startup" section look for the name of the browser hijacker and click "Disable".
Change your default Internet search engine:
To change your default search engine in Microsoft Edge: Click the Edge menu icon (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Privacy and services", scroll to bottom of the page and select "Address bar". In the "Search engines used in address bar" section look for the name of the unwanted Internet search engine, when located click the "Disable" button near it. Alternatively you can click on "Manage search engines", in the opened menu look for unwanted Internet search engine. Click on the puzzle icon 
near it and select "Disable".
Optional method:
If you continue to have problems with removal of the watching news online browser hijacker, reset your Microsoft Edge browser settings. Click the Edge menu icon (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge) and select Settings.
In the opened settings menu select Reset settings.
Select Restore settings to their default values. In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Microsoft Edge settings to default by clicking the Reset button.
- If this did not help, follow these alternative instructions explaining how to reset the Microsoft Edge browser.
Summary:
A browser hijacker is a type of adware infection that modifies Internet browser settings by assigning the homepage and default Internet search engine settings to some other (unwanted) website URL. Commonly, this type of adware infiltrates operating systems through free software downloads. If your download is managed by a download client, ensure that you decline offers to install advertised toolbars or applications that seek to change your homepage and default Internet search engine settings.
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