Remove TinyChill browser hijacker and redirects to feed.tinychill.com
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What is TinyChill?
TinyChill is a browser hijacker endorsed as a tool capable of improving the browsing experience. It modifies browsers to promote feed.tinychill.com, a fake search engine. Additionally, TinyChill has data tracking capabilities, which are employed to gather information relating to users' browsing habits.
Due to its dubious proliferation methods (most users install this software unintentionally), TinyChill is also categorized as a Potentially Unwanted Application (PUA).
Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and other popular browsers with large user bases are common targets of browser hijackers. Following successful infiltration, they assign the addresses of their bogus search engines as the homepage, default search engine and new tab/window URLs.
TinyChill promotes feed.tinychill.com in this manner. Therefore, with the hijacker installed, each new tab/widow opened and each search made via the URL bar redirects to feed.tinychill.com. Few of these fake tools can generate unique results, and thus tend to redirect (or cause redirection chains leading) to a legitimate search engine (e.g. Google, Yahoo, Bing and others).
In the case of feed.tinychill.com, it redirects to search.yahoo.com. These modifications may seem minor and relatively easy to undo, however, this is impossible without removing the browser hijacker - any changes users attempt to make to their browsers are automatically reset (if access to the settings is allowed at all).
Most browser hijackers can track data, and TinyChill is no exception. It can record browsing activity (URLs visited, pages viewed, search queries typed, etc.) and collect users' personal information (IP addresses, geolocations and other details). This data is likely to contain sensitive and personally identifiable information.
The gathered material is then shared with third parties (potentially, cyber criminals) seeking to misuse it for profit. To summarize, the presence of data tracking software on systems can lead to serious privacy issues, financial loss and even identity theft.
To protect device integrity and user safety, remove all suspect applications and browser extensions/plug-ins immediately upon detection.
Name | TinyChill |
Threat Type | Browser Hijacker, Redirect, Search Hijacker, Toolbar, Unwanted New Tab. |
Browser Extension(s) | TinyChill |
Supposed Functionality | It supposedly improves the browsing experience. |
Promoted URL | feed.tinychill.com |
Serving IP Address (feed.tinychill.com) | 13.84.45.249 |
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. |
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. |
Searchsio, MyDocsToPDF, Safeplex Search, and Find A Flight Pro are examples of other browser hijacking software. It may seem legitimate, useful and harmless, and people are often tempted to install with offers of various functions, ranging from quick access tools to content/service providers.
In fact, these features rarely work as promised and, in most cases, they are nonoperational. These traits are shared by most PUAs.
These unwanted applications have just one goal: to generate revenue for the developers at users' expense. Rather than delivering any real value, PUAs hijack browsers, force-open untrusted and malicious websites, run intrusive ad campaigns and track private data.
How did TinyChill install on my computer?
TinyChill has several promotional web pages from which it can be downloaded, however, PUAs have other proliferation tactics as well. They can be downloaded/installed together with other products. This deceptive marketing technique of pre-packing regular software with unwanted or malicious additions is called "bundling".
When downloading/installing, ignoring terms, skipping steps and sections increases the risk of unintentionally allowing bundled content onto devices. Intrusive ads also proliferate these apps. Once clicked, they can execute scripts to stealthily download/install PUAs.
How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications
All products should be researched to verify their legitimacy, before download/installation. All downloads should be performed from official and trustworthy sources. Peer-to-Peer sharing networks (BitTorrent, eMule, Gnutella, etc.), free file-hosting sites and other third party downloaders are untrusted and can offer likewise suspect content.
You are advised to treat download/installation processes with care: read the terms, study all available options, use the "Custom/Advanced" settings and opt-out of supplementary apps, tools, features and so on. Intrusive ads often seem normal and innocuous, however, they can redirect to dubious web pages (e.g. pornography, adult-dating, gambling and others).
If you encounter advertisements/redirects of this type, inspect the system and immediately eliminate all dubious applications and/or browser extensions/plug-ins. If your computer is already infected with TinyChill, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate this browser hijacker.
TinyChill browser hijacker asking for various permissions:
Screenshots of websites promoting TinyChill browser hijacker:
IMPORTANT NOTE! These deceptive sites ask to enable web browser notifications.
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:
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 TinyChill?
- STEP 1. Uninstall TinyChill application using Control Panel.
- STEP 2. Remove feed.tinychill.com redirect from Internet Explorer.
- STEP 3. Remove TinyChill browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
- STEP 4. Remove feed.tinychill.com homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
- STEP 5. Remove feed.tinychill.com redirect from Safari.
- STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.
TinyChill 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, "TinyChill"), select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".
After uninstalling the potentially unwanted applications that cause browser redirects to the feed.tinychill.com website, scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.
TinyChill 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://feed.tinychill.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 "TinyChill".
Optional method:
If you continue to have problems with removal of the feed.tinychill.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 "TinyChill" 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 "TinyChill", look for a browser hijacker URL (hxxp://www.feed.tinychill.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 "feed.tinychill.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 feed.tinychill.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 "TinyChill", 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 "TinyChill", remove hxxp://feed.tinychill.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: "extensionControlled"
Set both results to "false" by either double-clicking each entry or clicking the button.
Optional method:
Computer users who have problems with feed.tinychill.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 feed.tinychill.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.
Post a comment:
If you have additional information on feed.tinychill.com redirect or it's removal please share your knowledge in the comments section below.
▼ Show Discussion