Stop Local Classifieds Hub from hijacking your browser

What is Local Classifieds Hub?

Local Classifieds Hub is a browser hijacker. Endorsed as a tool for easy and fast access to classified advertisements, it is accompanied by a fake search engine. Most users install this rogue app onto their devices inadvertently/unwillingly, therefore it is considered to be a PUA (potentially unwanted application).

Local Classifieds Hub changes browser settings and promotes its fake search engine (search.localclassifiedshubtab.com), additionally it can spy on users' browsing habits - due to this activity it is categorized as a browser hijacker.

In general, browser hijackers tend to target the most popular browsers (Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and others). They change browser settings, such as: homepage, new tab/window URL and default search engine. Local Classifieds Hub changes them to search.localclassifiedshubtab.com - its fake web search tool.

These alterations affect browsers like this: every new tab/window opened and every search done through the URL bar - all redirect to a fake search engine or create a redirection chain, possibly ending with a legitimate search engine (e.g. Google, Yahoo, Bing and others).

As search.localclassifiedshubtab.com is unable to provide any actual search results, it redirects to search.yahoo.com. All these alterations may seem easy to undo, however that is often not the case. Access to some settings can be limited or denied, and any changes made simply reset.

Without removing the browser hijacker, recovery of the afflicted browser is not possible. It should be mentioned, that Local Classifieds Hub is commonly spread along with the Hide My Searches app, also a PUA.

The data tracking abilities of Local Classifieds Hub are considered to be a user safety risk; due to browsing activity (search engine and browsing histories) containing personal information (IP address, geolocation and real-life identity details). This gathered data is passed onto third parties (possibly, cyber criminals), intent on using it for financial gain.

Therefore data tracking can lead to severe privacy issues, even culminate in identity theft. To ensure device integrity and user safety, all rogue applications must be removed immediately.

Threat Summary:

Name	Local Classifieds Hub
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab
Detection Names	Avast (Win32:AdwareSig [Adw]), DrWeb (Adware.Spigot.145), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of Win32/WinWrapper.V Potentially Unwanted), Kaspersky (Not-a-virus:HEUR:AdWare.Win32.WebSearch.gen), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal)
Browser Extension(s)	Local Classifieds Hub, Classifieds
Supposed Functionality	Fast access to classified ads.
Promoted URL	search.localclassifiedshubtab.com
Serving IP Address (search.localclassifiedshubtab.com)	52.204.175.169
Affected Browser Settings	Homepage, new tab URL, default search engine
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.
Additional Information	Local Classifieds Hub is distributed alongside with another browser hijacker called Hide My Searches.
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 thousands of PUAs out there, many share similar traits, some are analogous. Browser hijackers identical to Local Classifieds Hub are Inbox Manager, Your Template Finder, Online Manuals App and Your Email Simplified. Unwanted applications are always designed to look legitimate and useful (and they frequently succeed in this task).

They offer a wide variety of "useful" features, however they are rarely functional. PUAs are designed with but one goal in mind - the creation of profit; to users they are of no genuine value.

Therefore, instead of delivering on any promises, these applications hijack browsers, generate redirects to untrustworthy/malicious sites, run intrusive advertisement campaigns and gather vulnerable data.

How did Local Classifieds Hub install on my computer?

PUAs can be installed by users themselves or without their knowledge. The aforementioned can be done through "official" websites, which some rogue apps have (Local Classifieds Hub does). Also they can be inadvertently installed together with desired software.

"Bundling" is a false marketing method, used by PUA designers, by which they pack ordinary programs with their malignant product. By having a hasty and reckless approach towards installation processes (e.g. ignoring terms, skipping steps, using pre-set options and etc.) - users can easily install unwanted content onto their devices.

However PUAs can infiltrate systems without user knowledge, through intrusive adverts. Once clicked, said advertisements can execute scripts, designed to make autonomous downloads/installs of unwanted applications.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

It is highly recommended to always research desired applications, browser extensions/plug-ins, tools, features and etc. before installing them onto devices, in order to verify their legitimacy. Only official and trustworthy download sources are recommended, as opposed to peer-to-peer sharing networks (e.g. BitTorrent, eMule, Gnutella, etc.) and other third party downloaders.

Untrustworthy sources are more likely to offer bundled content. Installation advices include: reading terms and exploring possible options, using "Custom/Advanced" settings and opting-out/declining additional apps/features.

Prudent browsing is encouraged; i.e. avoiding suspicious websites, advertisements and other. Intrusive adverts usually appear ordinary and harmless, however the sites they redirect to, tend to be the opposite (e.g. pornography, adult-dating, gambling and similar).

Should users encounter such ads/redirects, they are strongly advised to inspect their systems and remove all suspect applications and/or browser extensions/plug-ins. If your computer is already infected with Local Classifieds Hub, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.

Local Classifieds Hub browser hijacker installer set-up:

Local Classifieds Hub download page asks for various permissions:

Website promoting Local Classifieds Hub 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 set the toggle button to "OFF"

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 "Website permissions"
• Click the switch under each suspicious website

Safari (Mac):

• Click "Safari" button on the left upper corner 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: 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 Local Classifieds Hub?
• STEP 1. Uninstall Local Classifieds Hub application using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove search.localclassifiedshubtab.com redirect from Internet Explorer.
• STEP 3. Remove Local Classifieds Hub browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove search.localclassifiedshubtab.com homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 5. Remove search.localclassifiedshubtab.com redirect from Safari.
• STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.

Local Classifieds Hub 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, "Local Classifieds Hub"), select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

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

Local Classifieds Hub 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.localclassifiedshubtab.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 "Local Classifieds Hub".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the search.localclassifiedshubtab.com redirect, 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 "Local Classifieds Hub" and other recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons (e.g., "Hide My Searches"), 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 "Local Classifieds Hub" or "Hide My Searches", look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://search.localclassifiedshubtab.com or hxxps://hidemysearches.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 "hxxp://search.localclassifiedshubtab.com" and "hxxp://hidemysearches.com", 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 search.localclassifiedshubtab.com redirect, 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 plugins from Mozilla Firefox:

Click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), select "Add-ons". Click on "Extensions" and remove "Local Classifieds Hub" (or simply "Classifieds"), as well as all other recently installed browser plug-ins (e.g., "Hide My Searches").

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 "Local Classifieds Hub" (or simply "Classifieds") or "Hide My Searches", remove hxxp://search.localclassifiedshubtab.com or hxxp://hidemysearches.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 search.localclassifiedshubtab.com redirect 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 search.localclassifiedshubtab.com redirect, 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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