How to Remove Hi.fo Hijacker

Can’t Remove Hi.fo hijacker virus? This page includes detailed Hi.fo Removal instructions!

Hi.fo is a hijacker-related page. To come across it, is to have an infection on your PC. The sooner you accept the invasion as fact, the better. Consider the website a clue. Its appearance announces the hijacker’s existence. Heed the warning! And, act on it ASAP. These infections are malicious and an utter menace. They pose a multitude of issues. And, threaten not only the well-being of your system, but also your privacy. That’s right. Having a hijacker on your computer, places your private life in danger. How come? Well, the tool follows programming to steal your personal and financial information. The, once it does, it exposes it to the unknown cyber criminals that published it. After these strangers get a hold of your information, they can use it as they see fit. That does NOT end well for you. Do you think it’s a risk, worth taking? What do you imagine you gain from keeping the hijacker? Nothing. You earn nothing but negatives, headaches, and regret. Don’t extend its stay by even a moment after detection. Save yourself the unpleasantness that follows the hijacker, behind Hi.fo. Heed the page’s warning. Acknowledge the hijacker’s presence. Find its hiding place. Delete it on discovery. The sooner you do, the better. The more you delay, the worse your predicament gets.

How did I get infected with?

The Hi.fo page pops up, because of you. Yes, there’s a hijacker on your PC that forces the site on you. But the hijacker’s on your PC, because of you. You agreed to install it. Oh, yes! You may not recall doing it, but it’s fact. Let’s elaborate. Hijackers have to ask for your consent on their installment. Only if you give it, can they proceed with the process. And, since they can’t risk rejection, they turn to trickery. They still do follow the rules to seek consent. But they do it in the sneakiest way possible. So sneaky that, if you’re not careful enough, that’s it. You say YES, and the infection slips by you, unnoticed. Don’t allow that! Don’t let your carelessness cost you! Always take the time to be thorough, and do your due diligence. Vigilance helps to catch such cyber threats in the act. And, prevent their invasion. Even a little extra attention goes a long way. Remember that, next time, you open your system to tools, updates, or anything online. The web is a dangerous place. Don’t underestimate it.

Why is this dangerous?

The Hi.fo site turns into the bane of your browsing. No matter what you do online, the site shows up. You cannot escape the sight of it. Open a new tab? It’s there. Type a search? It’s among the results. So much as touch your browser, and you’ll see the site. It’s quite the nightmare. Going online turns into a hellish experience. You get redirected to Hi.fo at every turn. And, not only that! But, you also get bombarded with pop-up, in-text, and banner ads. That’s not only an immense nuisance, it’s also quite dangerous. The incessant interference has consequences. Due to the endless display of the page, you suffer frequent system crashes. Your computer’s performance slows down to a crawl. Browsing turns into quite the frustration. Add to that the security hazard, the hijacker brings your way, and it’s clear. The program has NO place on your computer. And, you must remove it the first chance you get. The longer you allow it to remain, the more regrets you’ll have. Keeping the dangerous infection is a mistake. One with severe repercussions. Don’t set yourself up for further grievances. Protect your system, and yourself. Avoid the hijacker’s menacing touch. Locate and delete it, following the display of Hi.fo. Do it now.

How to Remove Hi.fo virus

The Hi.fo infection is specifically designed to make money to its creators one way or another. The specialists from various antivirus companies like Bitdefender, Kaspersky, Norton, Avast, ESET, etc. advise that there is no harmless virus.

If you perform exactly the steps below you should be able to remove the Hi.fo infection. Please, follow the procedures in the exact order. Please, consider to print this guide or have another computer at your disposal. You will NOT need any USB sticks or CDs.

STEP 1: Track down Hi.fo related processes in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate Hi.fo startup location

STEP 3: Delete Hi.fo traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down Hi.fo related processes in the computer memory

• Open your Task Manager by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ESC keys simultaneously
• Carefully review all processes and stop the suspicious ones.

• Write down the file location for later reference.

Step 2: Locate Hi.fo startup location

Reveal Hidden Files

• Open any folder
• Click on “Organize” button
  
• Choose “Folder and Search Options”
• Select the “View” tab
• Select “Show hidden files and folders” option
• Uncheck “Hide protected operating system files”
• Click “Apply” and “OK” button

Clean Hi.fo virus from the windows registry

• Once the operating system loads press simultaneously the Windows Logo Button and the R key.

• A dialog box should open. Type “Regedit”

• WARNING! be very careful when editing the Microsoft Windows Registry as this may render the system broken.

Depending on your OS (x86 or x64) navigate to:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run] or
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run] or
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]

• and delete the display Name: [RANDOM]

• Then open your explorer and navigate to: %appdata% folder and delete the malicious executable.

Clean your HOSTS file to avoid unwanted browser redirection

Navigate to %windir%/system32/Drivers/etc/host

If you are hacked, there will be foreign IPs addresses connected to you at the bottom. Take a look below:

STEP 3 : Clean Hi.fo traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

• Open Google Chrome

• In the Main Menu, select Tools then Extensions
• Remove the Hi.fo by clicking on the little recycle bin
• Reset Google Chrome by Deleting the current user to make sure nothing is left behind

• Open Mozilla Firefox

• Press simultaneously Ctrl+Shift+A
• Disable the unwanted Extension
• Go to Help
• Then Troubleshoot information
• Click on Reset Firefox

• Open Internet Explorer

• On the Upper Right Corner Click on the Gear Icon
• Click on Internet options
• go to Toolbars and Extensions and disable the unknown extensions
• Select the Advanced tab and click on Reset

• Restart Internet Explorer

Step 4: Undo the damage done by Hi.fo

This particular Virus may alter your DNS settings.

Attention! this can break your internet connection. Before you change your DNS settings to use Google Public DNS for Hi.fo, be sure to write down the current server addresses on a piece of paper.

To fix the damage done by the virus you need to do the following.

• Click the Windows Start button to open the Start Menu, type control panel in the search box and select Control Panel in the results displayed above.
• go to Network and Internet
• then Network and Sharing Center
• then Change Adapter Settings
• Right-click on your active internet connection and click properties. Under the Networking tab, find Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4). Left click on it and then click on properties. Both options should be automatic! By default it should be set to “Obtain an IP address automatically” and the second one to “Obtain DNS server address automatically!” If they are not just change them, however if you are part of a domain network you should contact your Domain Administrator to set these settings, otherwise the internet connection will break!!!

You must clean all your browser shortcuts as well. To do that you need to

• Right click on the shortcut of your favorite browser and then select properties.

• in the target field remove Hi.fo argument and then apply the changes.
• Repeat that with the shortcuts of your other browsers.
• Check your scheduled tasks to make sure the virus will not download itself again.

How to Permanently Remove Hi.fo Virus (automatic) Removal Guide

Please, have in mind that once you are infected with a single virus, it compromises your whole system or network and let all doors wide open for many other infections. To make sure manual removal is successful, we recommend to use a free scanner of any professional antimalware program to identify possible registry leftovers or temporary files.