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Hao123.com Removal Guide

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Do you know what Hao123.com is?

Here is a rather exotic computer infection. It is called Hao123.com. Our researchers have classified it as a browser hijacker that you must remove. Technically, it is just an average good for nothing search engine that features things that you do not need. You probably got infected with this hijacker by installing a program that contained the code which changed your browser’s homepage. Getting rid of it may not be an easy task. For this reason we have included a manual removal guide that we hope will be of use to you.

The way this hijacker is distributed is very puzzling. We hear that it uses different malicious software installers. They are most likely bundled with unreliable and potentially dangerous software and featured on websites that specialize in distributing pirated software. Nothing else is known about this browser hijacker at this particular time. The link to its End User Agreement found on its main webpage En.hao123.com cannot be opened, which makes us wonder if it is done on purpose or it is due to technical issues. Since there is not additional information at this time, we will focus on what this hijacker does.

The search engine’s main page is littered with commercial content. It features links to popular social media, news and other websites, which we do not have a problem with. However, the advertisements redirect to websites of questionable reliability so we do not recommend roaming trough them with confidence. Now, the search engine has been translated into 11 languages. We do not know its countries of origin, but we assume that it came from Far East Asia or the Middle East. The site can be viewed in English, Arabic, Japanese, Taiwanese, and so on.Hao123.com Removal GuideHao123.com screenshot
Scroll down for full removal instructions

If you have downloaded a program that changed your browser’s homepage to Hao123.com, then you should delete it as soon as you can, because you probably did not want it anyway. However, a browser hijacker would not be a browser hijacker if it did not hinder your efforts to change it. Changing the homepage to how it was may be frustrating, because you can change it via the browser’s settings, but it will be reset the next time you launch your browser. It is no surprise that you want to change it, because it certainly is useless. The search engine can use either Google or Yahoo to do its searches. However the search results will be modified and injected with sponsored links and ads that can promote unreliable content. So you must take action as soon as you can.

Uninstalling the application that keeps resetting the homepage is not that difficult of a task. All you have to do is go to the Control Panel, identify the culprit and uninstall it. Hao123.com is bundled with different installers so the names will vary. Once you have done that, you can proceed to removing any Hao123.com-afiliated browser extensions and clearing the target line if necessary. Lastly, you should check your computer for malicious software by downloading our recommended antimalware scanner.

Remove Hao123.com-afiliated programs from your computer manually

Windows 8 and 8.1

  1. Open the Charm bar and click Settings.
  2. Select Control Panel.
  3. Click Uninstall a program.
  4. Locate the program in the program list.
  5. Right-click on it and click Uninstall.

Windows Vista and 7

  1. Open the Start menu and select Control Panel.
  2. Click Uninstall a program.
  3. Locate the unwanted application in the program list.
  4. Right-click on it and click Uninstall.

Windows XP

  1. Open the Start menu and select Control Panel.
  2. Click Add or Remove Programs.
  3. Locate Hao123.com-afiliated programs in the program list.
  4. Click Remove.

Delete the modifications made to the Brower’s Target line

  1. Right-click on the browser.
  2. Select Properties.
  3. Open the Shortcut tab.
  4. Fix the Target line by erasing the search engine address.
  5. Click OK.

Remove Hao123.com-afiliated extensions from the browser

Internet Explorer

  1. Press Alt+T and click Internet Options.
  2. Open the Advanced tab and click Reset.
  3. Select the Check box.
  4. Click Reset and then click Close.

Mozilla Firefox

  1. Press Alt+H and click Troubleshooting Information.
  2. Click Reset Firefox.
  3. In the dialog box, click Reset Firefox.
  4. Click Finish.

Google Chrome

  1. Press Alt+F and click Settings.
  2. Open Show advanced settings.
  3. Click Reset settings.
  4. Click Reset.

In non-techie terms:

Hao123.com is considered a browser hijacker that will change your browser’s homepage. It will also prevent you from changing it using traditional means so you have to remove the accompanying application in order to change it. The search engine’s main page features a lot of third party content and links to unreliable websites. We think that you should not visit them just in case they are malicious. If removing the infection manually was unsuccessful, then you should remove it using SpyHunter — a reliable antimalware tool.