How to remove Online Recipes Viewer from your browser

What is Online Recipes Viewer?

Online Recipes Viewer is a browser hijacker advertised as a tool for quick access to various recipes and cooking-related content. It is supposedly capable of providing quick and easy, top-rated breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert recipes, and access to a continually updated database of meal ideas.

In fact, Online Recipes Viewer makes changes to browsers and promotes a fake search engine (search.viewfreerecipestab.com) without users' permission.

Furthermore, this rogue app tracks data relating to browsing activity. It is also classified as a potentially unwanted program (PUA) due to its dubious proliferation methods. Note that Online Recipes Viewer is often distributed together with another unwanted app called Hide My Searches.

After successful infiltration, browser hijackers assign their fake web search addresses as the homepage, default search engine, and new tab/window URLs. Common targets include Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, and other popular browsers.

Online Recipes Viewer reassigns the aforementioned settings to search.viewfreerecipestab.com. Therefore, each new tab/window opened and each search query typed into the URL bar redirects to search.viewfreerecipestab.com. Few fake search engines generate unique results - most redirect to legitimate search engines, such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, and others.

Note that search.viewfreerecipestab.com is no exception and redirects to search.yahoo.com. Online Recipes Viewer has data tracking capabilities, which it employs to record users' browsing activity (URLs visited, pages viewed, search queries, etc.) and to collect their personal information (IP addresses, geolocations, and other details).

This sensitive data is then shared with third parties (often, cyber criminals) intent on misusing it for financial gain.

The presence of data tracking content on devices can thus lead to serious privacy issues, financial loss, and even identity theft. To protect devices from potential browser/system infiltration and infections, and ensure user safety, remove all suspicious applications and browser extensions/plug-ins immediately upon detection.

Threat Summary:

Name	Online Recipes Viewer.
Threat Type	Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab.
Detection Names	AVG (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)	Online Recipes Viewer, Recipes.
Supposed Functionality	Access to thousands of food recipes.
Promoted URL	search.viewfreerecipestab.com
Serving IP Address (search.viewfreerecipestab.com)	52.204.175.169
Affected Browser Settings	Homepage, new tab URL, default search engine.
Symptoms	Manipulated Internet browser settings (homepage, default Internet search engine, new tab settings). Users are forced to visit the hijacker's website and search the Internet using their search engines.
Additional Information	Online Recipes Viewer is distributed with another browser hijacker called Hide My Searches.
Distribution methods	Deceptive pop-up ads, free software installers (bundling), fake Flash Player installers.
Damage	Internet browser tracking (potential privacy issues), display of unwanted ads, redirects to dubious 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.

Browser hijackers are a common type of PUA. Apps of this kind share certain traits, and those released by the same developers tend to be identical. 100sofRecipes, RecipeHub, TotalRecipeSearch, Classsifieds List App, and Tasty Online Recipes are just some examples of browser hijackers similar to Online Recipes Viewer. In fact, all PUAs are alike.

These unwanted apps often seem legitimate and entice users into installing them by offering "useful" and "beneficial" features. In fact, these features rarely work as advertised and, in most cases, are nonoperational. The only purpose of unwanted content is to generate revenue for the designers, whilst regular users receive no value.

Rather than delivering any real value, PUAs hijack browsers and cause redirects to sale-based, untrustworthy, compromised, deceptive and even malicious websites. Some PUAs deliver intrusive advertisement campaigns (pop-ups, banners, coupons, surveys, etc.). These applications are also notorious for their data tracking capabilities.

How did Online Recipes Viewer install on my computer?

Some PUAs (e.g. Online Recipes Viewer) have "official" download web pages on which they are typically endorsed as "free" and "useful" software, however, they also proliferate through the download/install set-ups of other programs. The false marketing method of pre-packing regular software with unwanted or malicious content is called "bundling".

Rushing download/installation processes (e.g. ignoring terms, skipping steps, using pre-set options, etc.) increases the risk of inadvertently allowing deceptive or bundled software onto systems. When clicked, intrusive ads can be triggered to execute scripts designed to download/install PUAs without users' consent.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

Research content and softwware to verify its legitimacy, before downloading/installing. Software should be downloaded only from official and verified sources. Do not use Peer-to-Peer sharing networks (BitTorrent, Gnutella, eMule, etc.), unofficial and free file-hosting sites, or third party downloaders.

These and similar download channels are untrusted, and thus more likely to offer unwanted/malicious programs or bundled content. Download/Installation processes should be treated with caution. Read the terms, explore all possible options, use the "Custom/Advanced" settings, and opt-out of downloading/installing supplementary apps, tools, features, etc.

Intrusive advertisements usually seem normal and harmless, however, they can redirect to dubious websites (e.g. pornography, adult-dating, gambling, etc.). If you experience ads/redirects of this type, remove all suspect applications and/or browser extensions/plug-ins without delay.

If your computer is already infected with Online Recipes Viewer, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.

Online Recipes Viewer browser hijacker installer set-up:

Online Recipes Viewer browser hijacker asking for various permissions:

Websites promoting Online Recipes Viewer browser hijacker:

IMPORTANT NOTE! These deceptive sites ask 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

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Quick menu:

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

Online Recipes Viewer 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, "Online Recipes Viewer"), select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

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

Online Recipes Viewer 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.viewfreerecipestab.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 "Online Recipes Viewer".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the search.viewfreerecipestab.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 "Online Recipes Viewer" 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 "Online Recipes Viewer" or "Hide My Searches", look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://search.viewfreerecipestab.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.viewfreerecipestab.com" and "hxxp://hidemysearches.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 search.viewfreerecipestab.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 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 "Online Recipes Viewer" (or simply "Recipes"), 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 "Online Recipes Viewer" (or simply "Recipes") or "Hide My Searches", remove hxxp://search.viewfreerecipestab.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.viewfreerecipestab.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.viewfreerecipestab.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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