How to remove View Free Recipes Now from your browser
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What is View Free Recipes Now?
As its name suggests, View Free Recipes Now is a rogue application endorsed for quick access to various food recipe websites. It is classified as a browser hijacker, due to the changes it makes to browser settings in order to promote search.viewfreerecipesnowtab.com (a fake search engine).
Furthermore, this app monitors users' browsing activity. Since most users install View Free Recipes Now inadvertently, it is also classified as a PUA (Potentially Unwanted Application). Note that this app is often distributed together with another PUA called Encrypted Search.
Browser hijackers are primarily designed to target Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and other popular browsers. After successful infiltration, these rogue applications reassign the homepage, default search engine and new tab/window URLs to the addresses of their bogus search engines.
These seemingly minor modifications seriously affect the browsing experience. To elaborate, with View Free Recipes Now installed, each new browser tab/window opened and each search query typed into the URL bar redirects to search.viewfreerecipesnowtab.com.
Few fake search engines can generate unique results and simply redirect to (or cause redirection chains ending with) a legitimate site. These bogus search engines are therefore useless and search.viewfreerecipesnowtab.com is no exception (it redirects to search.yahoo.com).
Furthermore, these alterations are not easy to undo. Any changes that users attempt to make to their browsers are automatically reset, if indeed access to the settings is allowed at all. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the hijacker app to recover the hijacked browser.
Most browser hijackers have data tracking capabilities, and this is the case with View Free Recipes Now, which monitors users' browsing habits (URLs visited, pages viewed, search queries typed, etc.) and gathers their personal information (IP addresses, geolocations and other details).
This vulnerable data is often shared with third parties, seeking to misuse it for profit - potentially, by putting it to criminal use. To summarize, the presence of data tracking content on systems can result in serious privacy issues, financial loss and even identity theft.
To protect device health and user safety, you are advised to eliminate all suspicious applications and/or browser extensions/plug-ins immediately upon detection.
Name | View Free Recipes Now. |
Threat Type | Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab. |
Detection Names | Avast (Win32:Adware-gen [Adw]), Fortinet (Riskware/WinWrapper), ESET-NOD32 (A Variant Of Win32/WinWrapper.V Potentiall), GData (Win32.Application.Agent.04S4T2), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
Browser Extension(s) | View Free Recipes Now. |
Supposed Functionality | Quick access to recipe sites. |
Promoted URL | search.viewfreerecipesnowtab.com |
Serving IP Address (search.viewfreerecipesnowtab.com) | 54.210.83.35 |
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 | View Free Recipes Now is distributed with another browser hijacker called Encrypted Search. |
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. |
Browsers hijackers often seem legitimate, with little to no apparent difference from genuine software that they attempt to imitate. These apps entice users into downloading/installing them with offers of "useful" functions, however, these features are rarely operational.
Flash App+, Get Your Coupons Now, Your Streaming TV App and Fun APP are some other examples of such applications. In fact, a legitimate appearance and nonfunctional advertised capabilities are common to all PUAs. The only purpose of this unwanted software is to generate revenue for the developers, whilst regular users receive no real value.
PUAs modify browsers, force-open untrusted and malicious sites, deliver intrusive ads (e.g. pop-ups, banners, coupons, etc.) and collect private data.
How did View Free Recipes Now install on my computer?
PUAs such as View Free Recipes Now often have "official" promotional web pages from which they can be downloaded. They can also be downloaded/installed together with other software. This deceptive marketing technique of packing regular programs with unwanted or malicious content is called "bundling".
By rushing through download/installation processes (e.g. ignoring terms, using presets, skipping steps and sections, etc.), users risk unintentionally allowing bundled applications onto their device. Intrusive advertisements can infiltrate PUAs into systems as well. When clicked, they can execute scripts to make stealthy downloads/installations.
How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications
All products should be researched to verify their legitimacy, prior to download/installation. You are advised to use only official and verified download channels. Untrustworthy sources such as P2P sharing networks (BitTorrent, eMule, Gnutella, etc.), free file-hosting websites and other third party downloaders can offer bundled and/or deceptive content.
Download and installation processes should be approached with care. Read the terms, study all possible options, use the "Custom/Advanced" settings and opt-out of supplementary apps, tools, features, etc. Intrusive ads usually seem normal, yet, once clicked, they redirect to highly dubious pages (e.g. pornography, adult-dating, gambling and many others).
If you experience these ads/redirects, inspect the system and remove all dubious applications and/or browser extensions/plug-ins without delay. If your computer is already infected with View Free Recipes Now, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.
View Free Recipes Now browser hijacker installer set-up:
View Free Recipes Now browser hijacker asking for various permissions:
Website promoting View Free Recipes Now 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 and select "Settings"
- Click on "Site permissions" in the toolbar on the left hand side of the screen and select "Notifications"
- Click three dots on the right hand side of each suspicious URL under "Allow" section and click "Block" or "Remove" (if you click "Remove" and visit the malicious site once more, it will ask to enable notifications again)
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:
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Quick menu:
- What is View Free Recipes Now?
- STEP 1. Uninstall View Free Recipes Now application using Control Panel.
- STEP 2. Remove search.viewfreerecipesnowtab.com redirect from Internet Explorer.
- STEP 3. Remove View Free Recipes Now browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
- STEP 4. Remove search.viewfreerecipesnowtab.com homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
- STEP 5. Remove search.viewfreerecipesnowtab.com redirect from Safari.
- STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.
View Free Recipes Now 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, "View Free Recipes Now"), select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".
After uninstalling the potentially unwanted applications that cause browser redirects to the search.viewfreerecipesnowtab.com website, scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.
View Free Recipes Now 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.viewfreerecipesnowtab.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 "View Free Recipes Now".
Optional method:
If you continue to have problems with removal of the search.viewfreerecipesnowtab.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 "View Free Recipes Now" and other recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons (e.g., "Encrypted Search"), 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 "View Free Recipes Now" or "Encrypted Search", look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://search.viewfreerecipesnowtab.com or hxxps://encryptedsearch.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 "hxxp://search.viewfreerecipesnowtab.com" and "hxxp://encryptedsearch.org", 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.viewfreerecipesnowtab.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 "View Free Recipes Now", as well as all other recently installed browser plug-ins (e.g., "Encrypted Search").
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 "View Free Recipes Now" or "Encrypted Search", remove hxxp://search.viewfreerecipesnowtab.com or hxxp://encryptedsearch.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: "extensionControlled"
Set both results to "false" by either double-clicking each entry or clicking the button.
Optional method:
Computer users who have problems with search.viewfreerecipesnowtab.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.viewfreerecipesnowtab.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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