TelevisionFanatic is a potentially unwanted browser hijacking extension developed by Mindspark Interactive Network. It is marketed to enjoy one-click access to local TV listings, watch recently-aired episodes of your favorite shows and viral web videos, plus TV news and show recaps. However, all of these services require registration and sensitive personal data, that is later sold/forwarded to serve ads.
Upon installation, this extension adds registry entries that allow it to run each time the computer is started. It also changed your default search engine to MyWebSearch and hijacks your default new tab behavior opening MyWebSearch instead. These search results display unwanted ads, and clutter pages with sponsored links that negatively affect your browsing experience. Multiple anti-virus scanners have detected TelevisionFanatic as a browser hijacker, and therefore it is flagged for optional removal.
About Browser Hijackers
Browser hijacking is amongst the web’s constant problems that target browsers. It’s a kind of malware program that alters your web browser’s configuration settings and redirects you to sites or pages that you had no intention of visiting. Browser hijackers could do a variety of things on your PC. It redirects you to the sponsored internet sites and injects ads on the web browser that helps its creator generate income. While it might appear naive, all browser hijackers are damaging and thus always regarded as security risks. Some browser hijackers are designed to make certain modifications beyond the browsers, like altering entries on the computer registry and letting other types of malware further damage your PC.
Browser hijacking signs and symptoms
When your browser is hijacked, the following could happen:
1. home-page is changed
2. new bookmarks pointing to porn sites have been added to your favorite pages
3. the default online search engine and/or the default browser settings are modified
4. you see unwanted new toolbars added
5. you may see many pop-up ads on your computer screen
6. your internet browser starts running slowly or displays frequent glitches
7. you are blocked to access those sites of antivirus solution providers.
Exactly how browser hijacker finds its way to your computer
Browser hijackers may use drive-by downloads or file-sharing websites or an e-mail attachment to reach a targeted PC. Many internet browser hijackings come from add-on software, i.e., browser helper objects (BHO), toolbars, or plug-ins added to web browsers to provide the extra features. Browser hijackers sneak into your pc in addition to free software application downloads that you unwittingly install alongside the original. Common examples of browser hijackers include Conduit, CoolWebSearch, Coupon Server, OneWebSearch, RocketTab, Snap.do, Delta Search, and Searchult.com.
Browser hijackers can record user keystrokes to collect potentially important information leading to privacy concerns, cause instability on systems, severely disrupt user’s browsing experience, and finally slow down the system to a stage where it will become unusable.
Removing browser hijackers
Some hijackers can be removed by uninstalling the freeware they came with or by deleting any extension you’ve recently added to your browser. However, most hijackers are hard to get rid of manually. Irrespective of how much you try to remove it, it might return over and over again. And there is no denying the very fact that manual repairs and removal can certainly be a difficult job for an inexperienced PC user. Besides, there are various risks connected with tinkering around with the system registry files.
What To Do When You Cannot Download Safebytes Anti-Malware?
Viruses can cause plenty of damage to your personal computer. Some malware sits in between your computer and your internet connection and blocks a few or all sites that you would like to visit. It might also block you from the installation of anything on your system, particularly antivirus applications. So what you should do if malicious software prevents you from downloading or installing Anti-Malware? There are some steps you can take to get around this issue.
Make use of Safe Mode to fix the issue
In Safe Mode, you may modify Windows settings, uninstall or install some software, and remove hard-to-delete viruses. In the event the malware is obstructing internet connection and affecting the computer, launching it in Safe Mode allows you to download anti-malware and run a diagnostic scan whilst limiting potential damage. To start the computer into Safe Mode, hit the “F8” key on the keyboard right before the Windows boot screen comes up; Or right after normal Windows boot up, run MSCONFIG, check the Safe Boot under Boot tab, and click Apply. Once you are in safe mode, you can attempt to download and install your anti-malware program without the hindrance of malicious software. Following installation, run the malware scanner to eliminate standard infections.
Switch over to an alternate web browser
Malicious program code could exploit vulnerabilities on a specific web browser and block access to all antivirus software websites. If you suspect that your Internet Explorer has been hijacked by malware or otherwise compromised by online hackers, the most effective thing to do would be to switch to an alternate web browser such as Firefox, Chrome, or Safari to download your favorite computer security program – Safebytes Anti-Malware.
Run anti-malware from your USB drive
Here’s another solution which is utilizing a portable USB anti-virus software that can check your system for malware without the need for installation. To run anti-virus using a thumb drive, follow these simple steps:
1) Download Safebytes Anti-Malware or Windows Defender Offline onto a clean PC.
2) Plug the USB drive into the clean PC.
3) Double-click the Setup icon of the antivirus software to run the Installation Wizard.
4) Select the drive letter of the flash drive as the location when the wizard asks you where you want to install the antivirus. Do as instructed on the screen to finish off the installation process.
5) Disconnect the flash drive. Now you can utilize this portable anti-virus on the infected computer system.
6) Double-click the anti-malware software EXE file on the pen drive.
7) Press the “Scan” button to run a full system scan and remove malware automatically.
A Look at the Best Anti-Malware Program
Do you want to download the best anti-malware program for your laptop or computer? There are many applications in the market that comes in free and paid versions for Microsoft Windows computers. A few of them are good and some are scamware applications that pretend as genuine anti-malware software waiting around to wreak havoc on your PC. You need to select one that is dependable, practical, and has a strong reputation for its malware source protection. One of the highly recommended software programs is SafeBytes Anti-Malware. SafeBytes carries a superb reputation for top-quality service, and customers seem to be happy with it.
SafeBytes anti-malware is a trustworthy tool that not only secures your computer completely but is also very user-friendly for people of all skill levels. With its outstanding protection system, this software will automatically detect and get rid of the majority of the security threats, which include adware, viruses, browser hijackers, ransomware, PUPs, and trojans.
SafeBytes anti-malware provides a plethora of enhanced features which sets it aside from all others. Let’s check out some of them below:
Anti-Malware Protection: Safebytes is built on the best virus engine within the industry. These engines will identify and remove threats even during the early stages of a malware outbreak.
Real-time Active Protection: Malware programs looking to get into the computer are discovered and stopped as and when detected by the SafeBytes active protection shields. This utility will continuously monitor your PC for suspicious activity and updates itself regularly to keep abreast of the constantly changing threat situation.
Internet Security: SafeBytes gives an instant safety rating on the pages you are about to visit, automatically blocking dangerous sites and ensuring that you are certain of your safety while browsing the web.
High-Speed Malware Scanning Engine: SafeBytes Anti-Malware has got a multi-thread scan algorithm that works up to 5 times faster than any other antivirus software.
Minimal CPU and Memory Usage: SafeBytes is well-known for its low influence on processing power and great detection rate of numerous threats. It works quietly and efficiently in the background so you’re free to use your computer or laptop at full power all of the time.
24/7 Guidance: SafeBytes provides you with 24/7 technical support, automatic maintenance, and updates for the best user experience.
Technical Details and Manual Removal (Advanced Users)
If you wish to manually remove TelevisionFanatic without the use of an automated tool, it may be possible to do so by removing the program from the Windows Add/Remove Programs menu, or in cases of browser extensions, going to the browsers AddOn/Extension manager and removing it. You will likely also want to reset your browser.
To ensure the complete removal, manually check your hard drive and registry for all of the following and remove or reset the values accordingly. Please note that this is for advanced users only and may be difficult, with incorrect file removal causing additional PC errors. In addition, some malware is capable of replicating or preventing deletion. Doing this in Safe Mode is advised.
The following files, folders, and registry entries are created or modified by TelevisionFanatic
Good thing is that website or web application will prompt you to allow it to use this feature like when a site/application wants to use your microphone or web camera. Developers are on board with this feature since it can provide them with more telemetric data on how users are interacting with their website/application but there are some that are strongly voicing against this.
Tantek Çelik, Mozilla Standards Lead, commented on GitHub, saying:
