Thursday, July 19, 2012

Getting rid of "search mobile online" browser hijack in Android

If your android browser has been hijacked and you find your home page and default home page have been changed to www.searchmobileonline.com, follow the procedure to get rid of it.

Warning: Backup your browser bookmarks using a good app before you do this! All bookmarks will be lost from the Internet browser, including those that came pre-installed on your phone.

1. Remove any suspicious "Search" shortcut on your home screen panels.
2. Open Settings > Applications > Manage applications > All (tab on top).
3. Look for "Internet" in the list and open it.
4. Tap "Clear cache" (if enabled) and "Clear data".
5. Tap OK to any prompts that appear.

That's it, now you can exit out of Settings and open Internet. Check the settings if the default home page now points to either Google or your phone manufacturer. Set the various internet settings according to your preferences and restore the bookmarks you backed up.

13 comments:

  1. Thank you. Worked like a charm.
    Do you have any clue how this gets on ones Android device?

    ReplyDelete
  2. No clue, but suspected that installing adware apps or rogue software can have this happen.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh thanks =)
    You´re my hero!

    X.O.X.O.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What is the best back up app? For bookmarks

    ReplyDelete
  5. When I go to applications, I have no option for "Internet". I've cleared EVERYTING and reset my homepage and it still comes up.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Doesn't work for me personally -- Both the "clear data" and "clear cache" are grayed out and unclickable...

    ReplyDelete
  7. This tip was written for Android 2.x. I'm not sure how much of it is still applicable for Android 4.x. If 'clear data' and 'clear cache' are grayed out, it means there's nothing to clear. Also you need to ensure you're looking at the correct browser. If the malware affected Chrome, you gotta clear in Chrome. If it affected Opera, you gotta clear in Opera. And so on.

    ReplyDelete

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