Guide to Remove Learnthelyrics Browser Hijacker
Learnthelyrics is an illegitimate browser re-director that stealthily installs in user’s system via deceptive tactics. Apart form regular approach adopted by threat actors to sneak the ghastly infection in the system, the malicious extension is also distributed via its dubious web domain learnthelyrics.com.
learnthelyrics.com is dodgy website that lures users with lucrative offers like:
- Instantly find songs by entering artists, title, album or even lyrics in the search box.
- Find lyrics of any song quickly and easily.
- Discover more information about your favorite song, artist or album.
To gain user confidence,
- The pernicious re-director when downloaded via the malignant domain i.e. learnthelyrics.com in Chrome browser, it redirects users to official chrome web store – an infamous Google’s online store for web applications for Google Chrome browser or Google Apps.
- Moreover, the presence of Google icon is misleading to confuse users to believe that the malevolent redirector is associated with the renowned search engine.
When user tries to install Learnthelyrics browser hijacker, an inline notification appears that seeks for following permissions from users:
- Read and change all the data on the website you visit
- Replace the page you see when opening a new tab
- Manage your downloads
- Manage your apps, extensions, and themes
As these disclaimers are associated with almost every application /software that the user downloads, these are often ignored by them. Hence, users fall in the vicious trap of this malicious application. It hijacks user’s default browser and ruins their browsing experience without their consent.
Why should Learnthelyrics browser hijacker be instantly removed once discovered?
- Learnthelyrics is a malicious browser hijacker that replaces the homepage and new tab of the default browser with its own.
- The payload of the malicious application is bundled with another hijacker application by APN LLC’s(Ask Partner Network Limited Liability Company) Ask.com that pops-up on your browser while installing your extension as shown below:
- Incorrect Search Results: Each and every search query you make is processed by the servers of the cyber maniacs. Users are redirected to search.myway.com/search/URL address.This shows that Learnthelyrics Browser Hijacker is associated with this malicious web domain. Hence, very single online search done inside a browser will get filtered by MyWay.
- The links promoted by the PUP are sponsored and generate money for hijacker owners via pay-per-click monetization.
- Victims experience unnecessary redirection and witness pop-ups that make their system susceptible to other software infections.
- Malicious Icons: When the search engine is affected by the capabilities of Learnthelyrics browser hijacker, the homepage is wrapped up with lots of buttons, for example, Gmail, Yahoo, Facebook, Youtube, Shopping sites like Amazon, Ticket and Hotel Booking sites like Trivago. Though all these buttons are legitimate and redirect users to the genuine web page, this is merely a trick adopted by threat actors to gain access to important user information like:
- Credentials(username, passwords)
- Bank details
- Location
- Areas of Interest
Learnthelyrics Browser Hijacker Privacy Policy
The privacy policies of Learnthelyrics browser hijacker can be read by navigating to the EULA and policy page. As per the policies, the nasty redirector gathers following user information:
- Email Address
- User Name & address
- Preferred language
- Browsing Data
- History & Cookies
- Credentials (Username & Password) and a lot more.
All these information are highly sensitive and access to it can be used against the user to extort them. Hence users are strictly recommended to remove all the instances of Learnthelyrics Browser Hijacker as soon as it is detected in the system.
How is Learnthelyrics Browser Redirect distributed?
The cybercriminals use various strategies for malware distribution which include –
- Software Bundling: Software bundling is the process in which a malicious program is distributed with other free software, to get an unnoticed entry into your computer system. When a user installs a free application, the malicious programs gains a front door entry with the free application, the user has downloaded. Thus, it is a good idea to keep an eye on the installation screens while installing these free applications.
- Infected Storage Devices: Your system can also get infected by using removable media such as USB hard drives and jump drives without scanning them with an anti-virus.
- Spam Emails – Spamming is the most economic and common method used for the distribution of such malware. The targeted users get genuine looking emails which contain .doc, .txt, and other similar attachments. These attachments can be named as anything which can grab the user’s attention and triggers him/her to open the attachment. As soon as the user opens this attachment, the malware infects the user’s computer system.
- Malicious Websites or Malevolent Advertisements: The malicious websites are the ones which are created just for promoting the malware infections. Such websites include but are not limited to porn sites, torrent sites and other free downloading platforms. By visiting such websites, the adware infects the user’s computer without permission. Fake advertisements and updates like Flash player and windows updates which ask the user to update to the latest version are a few examples. When the users click on such links, their computer system gets infected. That is why, it is highly recommended to resist clicking on such links. Also avoid clicking on advertisements offering free stuff such as Win an iPhones, cars or free overseas trips etc.
Threat Summary
Name: Learnthelyrics
Browsers Affected: Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox
Targeted Operating System: Windows
Category: Browser Hijacker
Symptoms:
- Homepage, new tab and search engine are modifies.
- Search results are directed to int.search.myway.com/search/ URL address.
- Appearance of sponsored ads and pop-ups
- Registry Modification,
- Unnatural network activities,
- Occasional sluggishness of the infected device.
How to remove Learnthelyrics Browser Hijacker?
STEP A : Remove malicious extensions from your browser
Google Chrome
- Open Google Chrome and click on the three vertical dots (
) i.e.Menu option which are located at the upper right corner of the Chrome Window.
- Find and click on More tools from the drop down menu that is displayed & select Extensions or you can open a Chrome window and type “chrome://extensions” in the address bar.
- Check the developer mode option which is located opposite to extensions heading on the top of the Chrome window. By enabling the developer mode, additional details and option related to all the installed extensions will be displayed. One of the details that will be displayed is the ID. ID is the folder name created by the extension at the location “C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions”.
- Locate the extension you want to uninstall or delete. Copy and paste the folder name opposite to the ID Tag of that extension into a notepad file. In this case the folder name is “iekdaegkmghillhfecnncgepaapdfcgf”
- Now, uncheck the enabled option next to the extension in question. Make sure you also click the trash icon to delete the extension from the browser. It is important to note that even after uninstalling and deleting the extensions from the browser, the extension might not uninstall properly. Thus, it is a good practice to make sure that we have deleted the folder as mentioned in step 3.
- Make sure that you have made the hidden files and folders visible.
- Open My Computer and go to “C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions”. Now, look for folder with the name as specified in Step 4 i.e. “iekdaegkmghillhfecnncgepaapdfcgf”. Delete the folder if present.
- Close and reopen the browser. It is also advisable to restart your computer once done.
Mozilla Firefox
- Open Mozilla Firefox, click on three horizontal lines (
) at the top right corner of the Firefox Window and select the Add-ons option.
- On the Add-ons manger page, select and click on the Extensions tab as shown below.
- Find the extensions related to Learnthelyrics Browser Hijacker and click on the remove button.
- In addition, try to remember how the extension got downloaded on your computer system. If this extension was bundled with some other software, then make sure to delete that as well.
Internet Explorer
STEP B: Show Hidden Files and Folders
Windows 7
- Left click on the Organize button on the Windows Explorer. A drop down menu will appear.
- On this menu left click on the option that reads “Folder and search options” as shown above. A folder options dialogue box will appear.
- On the View tab under the Advanced settings, Check the option that reads “Show hidden files, folders, and drives” and uncheck the option that reads “Hide protected operating system files“.
- Click on the “OK” button to save your changes. This will make all the hidden files and folders visible to you.
Windows 8 and 10
- On the file explorer toolbar, click on the View
- In the Show/hide section, Click on the “Hidden items” checkbox.
- Click on the options button.
- Under folder options, click on the “View” tab.
- Uncheck the “Hide protected operating system files” option.
- Click the “OK” button to save your changes.
STEP C: How To Reset Your Browser
Mozilla Firefox
- Open Mozilla Firefox and click on the three horizontal lines () which are at the top right corner of the computer screen.
- A Drop down menu will be displayed. On this menu click on the “Help” (
) button as shown in the image below. The Help menu will be displayed on the screen.
- From this menu click the option that reads “Troubleshooting information“. A new tab will open up with the <strong”>Troubleshooting information.
- On the Troubleshooting Information page, click on the button that reads “Refresh Firefox” as shown in the image below.
- The “Refresh Firefox” message box will pop up on the screen. On this message box click on the “Refresh Firefox” button.
- After this Firefox will close itself and a new window will be displayed which will list the information that is imported. Click on the option that reads “Finish” to complete the task.
Google Chrome
- Open Google chrome and click on the three vertical dots ( ) which is at the top right corner of the computer screen. A drop down menu will appear on the screen. From this menu choose the option that reads “Settings”.
- The Chrome’s settings window will be displayed on the screen. On this screen scroll through the bottom of the page and click on the option that reads “Advanced option” as shown below.
- The Advanced setting options will be displayed on the screen. Scroll through the list of options till you find the “ Reset browser settings” section. Click on the icon as shown below.
- The reset dialogue box will pop up on the screen. From this dialogue box click on the button that reads “Reset”.
Internet Explorer
- Open Internet Explorer and click on the gear icon (
) which is at the top right corner of the browser screen. A drop down menu will be displayed on the screen. From this drop down menu, click on the option that reads “Internet options”.
- The “Internet options” dialogue box will be displayed. Click on the “Advanced” tab. In the Advanced tab click on the button that reads “Reset” as shown in the image below. The “Reset Internet Explorer Settings” section will be displayed on the screen. Now click on the button that reads “Reset” .Precautions: In this dialogue box make sure to uncheck the “Delete Personal settings” option to save your passwords and other important data.
- When it’s done, click on the button that reads “Close” to complete the task. Now close and reopen your browser.
Tips to prevent your computer system from getting infected –
- Keeping the Operating System Updated- In order to remain protected and avoid such infections, it is recommended to keep your Operating System updated by enabling the automatic update on your system. The systems with outdated or older versions of Operating System become an easy target for the attackers.
- Resist clicking on spam emails – One of the major techniques used for malware distribution is forwarding spam emails to the user. The system gets infected as soon as the user clicks on the attachment. These mails appear to be genuine, so be aware and resist falling for these tricks.
- Keep an eye on third party installations- It is quite important that you take due care while installing any third party applications for they are major source of such infections. Such malware programs come bundled with the free applications thereby requiring the user to remain cautious.
- Regular periodical backup- In order to keep your data and files safe, it is recommended to take regular back up of all your data and files either on an external drive or cloud.
- Use Anti-Virus Protection- We strongly recommend the use of antivirus protection/internet security in your PC like Vipre and Kaspersky Labs Inc so that it remains safe.
- Enable the Ad Blocker/Popup Blocker in your browser- Enabling the popup blocker/ ad blocker in your chosen browser will help you to stay protected from annoying adware.
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