Search.hplayfreemusic.co Redirect

What is search.hplayfreemusic.com?

search.hplayfreemusic.co is a search engine, a browser hijacker also known as Play Free Music. It is installed on your web browser in a form of add-on or extension. It could also be installed as a program on your computer.

Play Free Music is software distributed by a company called Polarity Technologies Ltd., and is not the only software distributed by this company. If you have the Play Free Music browser hijacker installed on your browser, then you will notice that the default search engine now looks different.

The Play Free Music search engine contains two search boxes (one in the top-left corner and one in the middle of the page). It also contains various icons with links, and links to websites such as youtube.com, soundcloud.com, spotify.com, iheartradio.com, pandora.com, espn.com, amazon.com, gmail.com, yahoo.com, twitter.com and instagram.com.

It also shows current local time and weather. It encourages you to visit a National Weather Agency website or read news on 5thavenuenews.com This fake search engine may seem similar to search engines such as search.youreasyemailsh.com, search.thenewssource.co and search.hinstantgamesnow.com - all are distributed by the same company, Polarity Technologies Ltd., and redirect to search.yahoo.com, which is a search engine owned by Yahoo.

You can see that this is a music-related browser hijacker, since the links redirect to pages such as YouTube, SoundCloud, iHeartRadio, Pandora, and Spotify.

search.hplayfreemusic.co is a web browser hijacker that can be installed on virtually any popular web browser such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Internet Explorer. Its form depends on the web browser. For example, if you are using Internet Explorer or Microsoft Edge, then it is installed as a program on your Windows computer.

If Mozilla Firefox is your default browser, Play Free Music is installed in a form of add-on. If you are using Safari or Google Chrome, it is installed as an extension.

When installed, the Play Free Music browser hijacker is permitted to change the default home page (your default search engine) to search.hplayfreemusic.co, including the browser's built-in search box and address bar if applicable. It also adds search-related services, error page functionality (if applicable), and installs first-party publisher or Partner Cookies.

When you enter an enquiry into a search box and press the search button, you are redirected to search.yahoo.com, which is a search engine owned by Yahoo.

Threat Summary:

Name	Play Free Music 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. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

The Play Free Music browser hijacker is one of many browser hijackers on the Internet and has identical purposes - to claim to be a legitimate search engine and collect information about your online behaviour, or generate revenue by redirecting you to specific websites.

Most browser hijackers offer links to various websites, some of which might be popular, whilst others, unknown. By visiting these websites, you might receive various unwanted ads, or worse, your computer might become infected with malware.

How did search.hplayfreemusic.com install on my computer?

Browser hijackers such as Play Free Music are usually bundled into software as an extra programs and are delivered in a form of add-on, extension, or a separate program in the operating system.

Browser hijackers are deployed as additional options (or features), which can be opted-out, however, in many cases, users rush through the installation steps without checking the "Custom" or "Advanced" installation options or without unchecking the checkboxes staing that they agree/want to install a particular program (such as Play Free Music).

This is mostly how hijackers are installed on browsers, however, there are cases where browser hijackers are installed through torrents, download managers or email attachments.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

To prevent potentially unwanted applications such as the Play Free Music browser hijacker from being installed on your browser, we recommend that you install software with caution, especially if it is free or downloaded from unofficial sources. Do not hurry when going through the installation steps, and check "Advanced", "Custom" and other similar options.

Try not to miss any checkbox and ensure that you do not agree to download software that you do not need. Checkboxes are ticked by default, and this is how browser hijackers are installed. Also, try to avoid downloading software through software download managers.

Keep your antivirus real-time protection enabled and your browser updated. Do not click suspicious links you receive via emails or elsewhere on the Internet. If your computer is already infected with Play Free Music, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.

Website promoting Play Free Music browser hijacker:

Instant automatic malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick menu:

• What is search.hplayfreemusic.com?
• STEP 1. Uninstall Play Free Music application using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove search.hplayfreemusic.com redirect from Internet Explorer.
• STEP 3. Remove Play Free Music browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove search.hplayfreemusic.com homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 5. Remove search.hplayfreemusic.com redirect from Safari.
• STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.

Play Free Music 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, "Play Free Music"), select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

After uninstalling the potentially unwanted programs that cause browser redirects to the search.hplayfreemusic.com website, scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.

Play Free Music 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.hplayfreemusic.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 "Play Free Music".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the play free music 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 "Play Free Music" and other recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons, and remove them.

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.hplayfreemusic.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.hplayfreemusic.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 play free music 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 "Play Free Music", 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 Play Free Music 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: "moz-extension"
Right-click on the found preferences and select "Reset" to restore default values.

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with play free music 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 play free music 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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