How to remove YourIncognitoSearch browser hijacker

YourIncognitoSearch is a browser hijacker that will set portal.yourincognitosearch.com as your homepage. It will make other unwanted changes to your browser, all with the intention to redirect you to sponsored websites. It’s not a particularly dangerous infection, as it’s main aim is to generate traffic and revenue for certain sites.

 

If your browser’s homepage has been set to portal.yourincognitosearch.com, your have a browser hijacker problem.  YourIncognitoSearch is a pretty regular browser hijacker, with the typical features. It’s promoting a questionable search engine that will insert sponsored content into search results, which would redirect you to sponsored websites. These redirects are the main goal of a browser hijacker.

YourIncognitoSearch changes your homepage and tabs to portal.yourincognitosearch.com, and your default search engine to searchlee.com. These changes are very obvious, which is good as you will be able to get rid of the hijacker much quicker. They’re not particularly harmful as doing damage to your computer is not its main intention, but keeping it installed is not a good idea. For one, you probably didn’t even install it knowingly, which means it installed via software bundling without your explicit permission. Furthermore, while the hijacker may not be directly dangerous, it could redirect to websites that hide malware or promote scams.

It’s recommended that you delete YourIncognitoSearch as soon as you notice it. It shouldn’t be difficult, especially if you use anti-virus software, which is what we recommend users with little experience do. Anti-virus programs like WiperSoft would also undo setting changes made by hijackers automatically.

Can YourIncognitoSearch harm your computer

The good thing about browser hijackers is that they are very noticeable infections. As soon as YourIncognitoSearch installs, it will change your homepage and new tabs to portal.yourincognitosearch.com and your search engine to searchlee.com. These changes can affect most popular browsers, such as Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. These changes will be irreversible while the hijacker remain present on your computer, as it will just keep making changes over and over again.

The site set as your homepage is essentially identical to many other browser hijacker promoted sites. It has a PDF converter, cryptocurrency and currency converter, and a calculator features. There will also be a search box on the site, and it’s promoted as some kind of more private way to search. However, it’s actually the opposite. Whenever you do a search, you will be redirected to searchlee.com, which will insert quite a large amount of sponsored content and ads. These sponsored results usually have little to do with what you were searching for, not to mention you could end up on dangerous websites.

Furthermore, browser hijackers track your browsing and collect information about your browsing activities. It collects your search queries, sites visited, your IP address, etc. This information is often shared with questionable third-parties.

Browser hijacker distribution methods

When it comes to browser hijackers, users usually pick them up via software bundling, meaning they come attached to free software and are permitted to install alongside without requiring any additional permission. For obvious reasons, software bundling is a rather controversial method of installation, which is why programs that use it are usually detected as potentially unwanted or potential threats by anti-virus software.

Most free programs, especially the ones you download from non-official websites, will have some kind of offer attached to it. The offers are optional but because they’re hidden initially, many users aren’t even aware of them being there and thus, are unable to deselect them. If you want to make them visible, you need to opt for Advanced (Custom) settings when given the option. Those settings will also allow you to deselect the offers. All you really need to do is uncheck the boxes. Once that is done, you can continue installing the program.

Some of the offers may seem useful at first but allowing any of them to install is not recommended. For one, software bundling is a pretty sneaky installation method and programs that use it should not be permitted to install. The added offers are also usually adware, browser hijackers and potentially unwanted programs, and those kinds of programs have no place on your computer.

YourIncognitoSearch removal

The easiest way to remove YourIncognitoSearch browser hijacker from your computer is to use anti-virus software like WiperSoft. The program would not only detect and delete YourIncognitoSearch but also undo all setting changes the hijacker forced on you. Since it’s not a dangerous infection, you can try to uninstall YourIncognitoSearch manually. Once you do that, you will be able to change your browser’s settings as normal.