Search.hmapsanddrivingdirection.com Redirect

What is search.hmapsanddrivingdirection.com?

search.hmapsanddrivingdirection.com is one of many fake search engines available - this one is promoted using a browser hijacker called Maps And Driving Direction. According to its developers, this app allows users to access various maps and free driving directions directly from their browsers.

Note, however, that browser hijackers of this type are categorized as potentially unwanted applications (PUAs), since users often install them inadvertently and they record data.

Like most browser hijackers, Maps And Driving Direction targets popular browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Internet Explorer. It assigns the default search engine, homepage, and new tab URL to search.hmapsanddrivingdirection.com. It is impossible to undo these changes without uninstalling this browser hijacker.

Maps And Driving Direction prevent users from undoing the changes by reassigning settings when attempts are made to change them. Therefore, users are forced to visit search.hmapsanddrivingdirection.com when they open browsers or new tabs. Once a search query is entered, this fake search engine redirects users to search.yahoo.com, a legitimate Yahoo search engine.

Therefore, it provides results generated by Yahoo, thus making search.hmapsanddrivingdirection.com pointless. Furthermore, Maps And Driving Direction record browsing-related and other data such as IP addresses, search queries, keystrokes, and URLs of visited websites.

This can often include personal data. Developers generate revenue by sharing these details with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) who misuse private information to generate revenue.

These actions can lead to privacy/browsing safety issues or even more serious problems such as identity theft. We recommend that you uninstall this browser hijacker and avoid using the search engine.

Threat Summary:

Name	Maps And Driving Direction 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.

There are hundreds of unwanted apps similar to Maps And Driving Direction. Some examples are 365Stream, Recipe Network, and Find My Route.

Developers promote them as 'useful apps' that offer various features, however, these are merely attempts to trick users into downloading and installing browser hijackers and other potentially unwanted apps. These apps are designed only to generate revenue for their developers and provide none of the functionality promised.

How did Maps And Driving Direction install on my computer?

Maps And Driving Direction can be downloaded from a website used to promote it, however, in many cases, users install these applications unintentionally by clicking deceptive (intrusive) advertisements or when software developers use "bundling", a deceptive marketing method used to trick people into installing/downloading unwanted apps together with regular software.

They do not disclose information about the presence of PUAs within set-ups and hide them in "Custom", "Advanced", and other similar settings/options. This occurs, since users often skip installation/download steps and do not study the available options/settings.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Do not download software using tools such as torrents or third party download managers/downloaders. These are often monetized by promoting rogue, potentially unwanted applications. Use official, trustworthy websites and direct links. Install software with care, and never skip installation/download steps, especially if the software is free.

Check all available options/settings such as "Custom/Advanced" and look for any checkboxes that are ticked by default. Opt-out of offers to install/download unwanted applications and only then finish the download/installation process. Avoid visiting untrustworthy websites and do not click intrusive advertisements displayed on them.

These ads often redirect to untrustworthy websites such as gambling, pornography, adult dating, etc. If you continually encounter these redirects, check your browser for any unwanted applications (extensions, add-ons, plug-ins) and remove them.

Also check the list of installed programs on your computer. If your computer is already infected with Maps And Driving Direction, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.

Website promoting Maps And Driving Direction 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.hmapsanddrivingdirection.com?
• STEP 1. Uninstall Maps And Driving Direction application using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove search.hmapsanddrivingdirection.com redirect from Internet Explorer.
• STEP 3. Remove Maps And Driving Direction browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove search.hmapsanddrivingdirection.com homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 5. Remove search.hmapsanddrivingdirection.com redirect from Safari.
• STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.

Maps And Driving Direction 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, "Maps And Driving Direction"), select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

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

Maps And Driving Direction browser hijacker removal from Internet browsers:

Video showing how to remove browser redirects (Windows OS):

Video showing how to remove Maps And Driving Direction browser hijacker using Combo Cleaner (Mac OS)

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.hmapsanddrivingdirection.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 "Maps and Driving Direction..".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the maps and driving direction 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 "Maps And Driving Direction" 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 "Maps and Driving Direction" browser hijacker URL (hxxp://www.search.hmapsanddrivingdirection.com) below the “Open a specific or set of pages” option. If present, click on 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.hmapsanddrivingdirection.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 maps and driving direction 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 on "Extensions" and remove "Maps And Driving Direction", 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, disable "Maps" or "Maps and Driving Direction", remove hxxp://search.hmapsanddrivingdirection.com 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 maps and driving direction 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 maps and driving direction 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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