Search.htodayonlinenews.org Redirect
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What is search.htodayonlinenews.org?
search.htodayonlinenews.org is categorized as a fake, dubious search engine. It is very similar to search.hmyclassifiedslist.net, search.hnewsscoop.co, search.hfastmapsanddirections.com, and many others. They are all promoted through potentially unwanted applications (PUAs), browser hijackers.
In this case, search.htodayonlinenews.org is promoted using an app called Today Online News. When installed, PUAs collect user-system information relating to browsing activity and modify browser settings.
Browser hijackers are installed on browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer. Today Online News assigns search.htodayonlinenews.org as the default search engine, homepage and new browser tab URL. These modifications cannot be reverted unless a browser hijacker is uninstalled.
In this case, users with Today Online News installed on their systems are forced to visit search.htodayonlinenews.org when they open their browsers, new browser tabs, or search by entering a search query into the URL bar. If used as a search engine, it provides results generated by Yahoo, simply by redirecting users to search.yahoo.com.
Therefore, this fake search engine is redundant. Furthermore, search.htodayonlinenews.org and Today Online News collect browsing-related data including geo-locations, URLs of visited websites, entered search queries, IP addresses, etc. PUAs and search engines of this type also gather personal, sensitive details.
This can lead to privacy/browsing safety problems or even identity theft - developers continually collect and share this data with third parties who misuse it to generate revenue. Some of these third parties could be cyber criminals. Therefore, do not download and install any browser hijackers (or other PUAs) or use dubious search engines.
Name | Today Online News 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. |
Most developers present fake search engines as legitimate and useful - capable of providing various features, tools, and so on. This is simply to trick people into using them. In fact, they are used by developers to generate revenue and cause a number of problems.
How did Today Online News install on my computer?
Today Online News can be downloaded from its website, however, most users install PUAs unintentionally when they click intrusive advertisements or download/install other software. To trick people into these unwanted installations and downloads, developers use a marketing method called "bundling".
They additionally include PUAs into set-ups of other, regular downloaded or installed software. They hide PUAs in settings such as "Custom", "Advanced" and other similar sections. All information regarding the inclusion of PUAs in software download/installation set-ups is not properly disclosed.
These unwanted installations would not occur if users check available settings when they download or install software (especially if it is free).
How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?
Do not use third party downloaders, installers, Peer-to-Peer networks (torrent clients, eMule, and other tools of this type), unofficial websites etc. as sources to download software. Use only official websites and direct links. All installations (and downloads) should be performed properly.
Check available "Custom", "Advanced" and other settings of any download or installation setup. Dismiss offers to install or download unwanted applications. When clicked, intrusive ads often redirect to untrustworthy websites such as gambling, pornography, adult dating, and so on.
These ads should not be trusted or clicked. If they appear randomly (or unwanted redirects occur), check your browser for suspicious extensions, add-ons, and plug-ins. Also check for unwanted programs installed on your computer and remove dubious entries immediately.
If your computer is already infected with Today Online News, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.
Website promoting Today Online News browser hijacker:
IMPORTANT NOTE! This deceptive site asks to enable web browser notifications.
Therefore, before commencing, perform these steps:
Google Chrome (PC):
- Click the Menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the screen
- Select "Settings", scroll down to the bottom and click "Advanced"
- Scroll down to the "Privacy and security" section, select "Content settings" and then "Notifications"
- Click three dots on the right hand side of each suspicious URL and click "Block" or "Remove" (if you click "Remove" and visit the malicious site once more, it will ask to enable notifications again)
Google Chrome (Android):
- Click on the Menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the screen and click "Settings"
- Scroll down, click on "Site settings" and then "Notifications"
- In the opened window, locate all suspicious URLs and click on them one-by-one
- Select "Notifications" in the "Permissions" section and click "Block"
Mozilla Firefox:
- Click the Menu button (three bars) on the right upper corner of the screen
- Select "Options" and click on "Privacy & Security" in the toolbar on the left hand side of the screen
- Scroll down to the "Permissions" section and click the "Settings" button next to "Notifications"
- In the opened window, locate all suspicious URLs, click the drop-down menu and select "Block"
Internet Explorer:
- Click the Gear button on the right upper corner of the IE window
- Select "Internet options"
- Select the "Privacy" tab and click "Settings" under "Pop-up Blocker" section
- Select suspicious URLs under and remove them one by one by clicking the "Remove" button
Microsoft Edge:
- Click the menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the Edge window
- Scroll down, find and click "Settings"
- Scroll down again and click "View advanced settings"
- Click "Manage" under "Notifications"
- Click the switch under each suspicious website
Safari:
- Click "Safari" button on the bottom of the screen and select "Preferences..."
- Select the "Websites" tab and then select "Notifications" section on the left pane
- Check for suspicious URLs and apply the "Deny" option for each
Instant automatic malware removal:
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Quick menu:
- What is search.htodayonlinenews.org?
- STEP 1. Uninstall Today Online News application using Control Panel.
- STEP 2. Remove search.htodayonlinenews.org redirect from Internet Explorer.
- STEP 3. Remove Today Online News browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
- STEP 4. Remove search.htodayonlinenews.org homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
- STEP 5. Remove search.htodayonlinenews.org redirect from Safari.
- STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.
Today Online News 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, "News", "Today Online News"), select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".
After uninstalling the potentially unwanted applications that cause browser redirects to the search.htodayonlinenews.org website, scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.
Today Online News 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.htodayonlinenews.org 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.htodayonlinenews.org".
Optional method:
If you continue to have problems with removal of the today online news 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 "Today Online News" (or "News") 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, disable "Today Online News" or "News", look for a browser hijacker's URL (hxxp://www.search.htodayonlinenews.org) 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.htodayonlinenews.org", 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 today online news 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 "News" (or "Today Online News"), 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 "News" (or "Today Online News"), remove hxxp://search.htodayonlinenews.org 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 today online news 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 today online news 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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