Tip #3104 - Hijack Mania
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Q:
What exactly is a hijack and are there different kinds that I should look
out for when I'm using my computer?
A:
That's a wonderful question! I'm actually quite surprised that we've never
gone over this in a tip before. With that in mind, now is the perfect
time to do so. Like any virus or piece of spyware that invades your computer,
a hijack is similar. They work in just a little different way though.
So, let's tackle this subject and continue to keep you and your computer
safe!
Basically, a computer
hijacker is any type of software that messes with your Web browser. They
begin by resetting the preferences you have chosen and they then point
that information to other Web sites. For example, a hijacker may work
to reroute the information you have set in place, along with any Web address
requests that you make. The hijacker will point that information to some
sort of unseen site and with doing that, they are able to capture all
of that material. If something like this happens, your Web browser may
still work the same, but it will react much slower.
There are a couple
of other types of hijacks as well, including search and homepage hijacks.
A search hijacker will change all of the search settings you have chosen
and a homepage hijacker will change your preferred homepage to a completely
different site. I'm sure you've all had experience with a homepage hijack
before, am I right? You choose a site to be your homepage and then the
next time you open your browser, it has changed. How frustrating!
Hijacking has been
known for awhile now, but it's still pretty popular. It may not be as
scary as a virus, but it still has its downfalls. If you ever get caught
in a hijack, there are some pretty simple ways to fix them. See, what
the hijackers are doing is messing with your registry keys. They go in
and change certain settings so you're unable to do what you intended to
on your computer.
So, to fix the search
hijack, open Internet Explorer and go to Tools, Options,
Programs tab. You will see a listing of some of your
Internet services. Look past those and in the bottom left hand corner,
there is a button that says "Reset Web Settings."
Click that and the registry keys will be renewed. Click OK when
you're finished.
To fix the homepage
problem, you have to disable some scripting within your browser. In Internet
Explorer, go to Tools, Options, Security
tab. Make sure the Internet icon is highlighted and click
on the Custom Level button. Scroll down to the
Scripting area and choose the Disable option
under the "Active scripting" and "Scripting
of Java applets" choices. Click OK twice.
That wasn't too bad,
was it?! Now you should be safe from any hijackers who may try and hit
your computer. You can't beat that!
~ Erin
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