What is Hi.fo?
The main culprit of forced change of search engine to http://hi.fo/ is presence of hijacker on your system. The user will probably wonder how it got on computer. In fact, it penetrates by means of bundling, when user doesn’t opt out from additional services while installing. And from now on, all your search results will be processed by Hi.fo, and worse, the program is capable of altering them. So, eventually, user might land on the different webpage instead of required one. As a rule, these are advertising pages since it’s the main source of income.
Although it’s not a virus and almost harmless, but it can drive you crazy by its sudden redirects as well as bothersome ads. The ad literally will fill almost free space of your browser. Moreover, the ad might pop-up anywhere, thus overlaying content. Of course, you’re advised to remove Hi.fo, however, it’s not a simple task as it is developed in a way to be able to recover. That’s why it would be better to use automated removal tool which can remove all its traces from computer.
Another unpleasant feature of Hi.fo is tracing user’s personal data. It can gather, record and send such data as frequently visited pages, search queries, clicked ads, bank account details, passwords, e.t.c. Subsequently, these data might fall into the wrong hands who often misuse them.
Appearance of intrusive pop-up ads, slowness of the system, redirecting links, random websites opening and even spying on you, all of these are caused by Hi.fo browser hijacker. Follow this guide to get rid of.
How to remove Hi.fo from your computer?
The best and easiest way to remove Hi.fo from your computer is to use special anti-malware program that has this threat in its database. The program is fully automated, all you need to do is to download and install it. Once you’ve installed anti-malware application, it will scan your system and remove all the threats.
It scans your computer and detects various threats like Hi.fo, then removes it with all of the related malicious files, folders and registry keys. After deep scanning of your system, it will easily find and delete Hi.fo. Use this removal tool to get rid of Hi.fo for FREE.
Norton 360 Antimalware – this program will help you to get rid of Hi.fo. It can find malicious program that is corrupting your system and clean up junk files after removal.
CleanMyMac – fully removes all instances of Hi.fo from Mac and Safari. After deep scanning of your system, it will easily find and delete Hi.fo. Use this removal tool to get rid of Hi.fo for FREE.
Combo Cleaner – can find malicious program that is corrupting your system and clean up junk files after removal.
How to remove Hi.fo manually
Remove Hi.fo from Control Panel
In order to get rid of Hi.fo, first thing you need to do is to uninstall malicious program from your computer. When removing Hi.fo, try to find suspicious recently installed programs and delete them too, as it’s pretty common that any malware comes with some other unwanted programs.
Windows XP:
- Select Start.
- Control Panel.
- Then choose Add or Remove Programs.
- Search for Hi.fo.
- Click Uninstall.
Windows 7/Windows Vista:
- Select Start.
- Then Control Panel.
- Choose Uninstall a Program.
- Find Hi.fo and choose Uninstall.
Windows 8/Windows 8.1:
- Open the Menu.
- Select Search.
- After that choose Apps.
- Next Control Panel.
- Then as in Windows 7, click Uninstall a Program under Programs.
- Find Hi.fo, select it and choose Uninstall.
Windows 10:
- Click on the Start button (or press the Windows key) to open the Start menu, then select Settings at the top.
- Choose App & features on the left menu.
- On the right side, find Hi.fo and select it, then click on the Uninstall button.
- Click on Uninstall to confirm.
Mac OSX:
- Launch Finder
- Select Applications in the Finder sidebar.
- If you see Uninstall Hi.fo or Hi.fo Uninstaller, double-click it and follow instructions
- Drag unwanted application from the Applications folder to the Trash (located on the right side of the Dock)
Note: If you can’t find required program, sort programs by date in Control panel and search for suspicious recently installed programs. If you still can’t locate any suspicious program or not sure what some application is for, we advise you to use SpyHunter free scanner in order to track down what malicious program is infecting your system.
Hi.fo won’t uninstall
There are a lot of options in any Windows version for removing applications. Still, not all the programs can be completely deleted using these options. Adware, Badware and Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs) are too stubborn to be removed, more than that, there are created this way, created to be hard to get rid of them. That’s why sometimes you can’t uninstall them using standard Windows options. You’ll probably get this message: “You do not have sufficient access to uninstall Hi.fo. Please, contact your system administrator.” To remove stubborn Hi.fo, you can use SpyHunter removal tool, it will completely remove Hi.fo from your computer. Or you may try to use Safe Mode:
For Windows XP, Vista, 7
- Turn off your PC;
- Turn it on and immediately press F8 button;
- You’ll see Advanced Boot Options menu;
- Select Safe Mode with arrow buttons;
- In Safe Mode navigate to Control Panel, then choose Uninstall a program and remove “Hi.fo”.
For Windows 8/8.1 and 10
- Press the Win+R buttons, type msconfig in box and press Enter;
- Choose Boot tab, and click on Safe Boot check box;
- Select the type of Safe Mode: Minimal or Network;
- Press OK and reboot your PC;
- In Safe Mode navigate to Control Panel, then choose Uninstall a program and remove “Hi.fo”.
You can also perform Clean Boot. You need to turn off all the startup programs that may be the reason why the program won’t uninstall.
- Press Windows + R;
- In the Run window type msconfig;
- Choose Services section;
- Find Hide all Microsoft services line, tick the box;
- The click Disable all;
- Return back to General section;
- Find the line Selective startup and untick the box Load startup items;
- Select Apply, then OK;
- Reboot your PC;
- Remove Hi.fo from Control Panel.
Step 2: Remove Hi.fo from browsers
Once you’ve uninstalled the application, remove Hi.fo from your web browser. You need to search for recently-installed suspicious add-ons and extensions.
Google Chrome:
- Open Google Chrome
- Push Alt + F.
- Choose Tools.
- Select Extensions.
- Search for Hi.fo.
- Select the trash can icon to remove it.
Safari:
- Click Preferences from Safari menu
- Select Extensions.
- Find Hi.fo or other extensions that look suspicious.
- Click Uninstall button to remove it.
Mozilla Firefox:
- Open Firefox.
- Push Shift + Ctrl + A.
- Select Hi.fo.
- Choose Disable or Remove option.
Internet Explorer:
- Open IE.
- Push Alt + T.
- Choose Manage Add-ons option.
- Click Toolbars and Extensions.
- Next select Disable Hi.fo.
- Choose More information link in the left-bottom corner.
- Click Remove button.
- If this button is grayed out – perform alternative steps.
How to block malicious pop-ups in browsers
Adguard is a perfect application that will get rid your system of annoying ads, online tracking and will provide reliable protection from malware. The main advantage of Adguard is that you can easily block any types of ads whether legitimate they or not within your browser. Use it for FREE.
Adguard provides 14 days for trial use, to continue using the program, you will need to purchase the full version: $19.95 for a yearly subscription/ $49.95 for lifetime version. By clicking the button, you agree to EULA and Privacy Policy. Downloading will start automatically.