YourTV.link hijacked your browser? Check on what to do next
YourTV.link is a web address you may find one day on Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or MS Edge seemingly out of nowhere. If this happened to you, it means that there is a potentially unwanted program installed on your system. Due to questionable installation techniques, you might not have noticed how this pest managed to sneak in.
Once installed, the PUP changes web browser settings without permission and assigns a customized search provider at the middle of the homepage. When using it, you would quickly see that the search engine is different and not what you are used to. Furthermore, you'd see much more ads than is acceptable. Luckily, browser hijackers are usually easy to eliminate.
| Name | YourTV.link |
| Type | Browser hijacker |
| Distribution | Software bundle packages downloaded from software distribution sites |
| Symptoms | Changes to homepage, new tab and search engine; inserted ads into the search results; redirects to a different provider |
| Removal | Use anti-malware software or follow the instructions below |
| Browser fix | To clean your web browser efficiently and ensure your privacy is no longer at risk, use FortectIntego |
Typically, browser hijackers infiltrate computers in a bundle with freeware and shareware as optional components, so you should either stop downloading freeware to the system or start monitoring its installation process if you want to avoid their infiltration, adware, and browser hijackers.
The official website of this program claims that it is a handy tool, but you should know that its main goal is not to provide the best user experience but rather to insert ads everywhere. If you have been using YourTV.link for a while, you should stop doing so because this page may show you altered search results. Most of these results are sponsored, so you may be redirected to unknown and even insecure sites when clicking them.
In addition, after hijacking your web browsers, it may start tracking its user and may collect different kinds of data. Typically, it is interested in people's search terms, mostly visited websites, data that they enter when visiting them, their computers' location, IP address, and similar details.
While this data is considered personally non-identifiable, you shouldn't reveal it to unknown parties as it might be shared with unknown sources. The safest thing to do in this situation is to remove the YourTV.link hijacker and start using well-known search engines, such as Google or Bing. They won't interrupt you with annoying ads and similar notifications.
For the successful elimination of all potentially unwanted programs, refer to our guidelines. In most cases, you can delete PUPs automatically with SpyHunterCombo Cleaner or a similar security tool – this would save you some time.
Use precautions to avoid infiltration of a browser hijacker
Ads may show up on your computer out of nowhere. In this case, you should think about what freeware was downloaded to your PC because that's how this application has been spread around. To avoid this distribution method, you should always opt for Custom or Advanced installation of the freeware.
Of course, this is not enough to avoid all PUPs. The next thing that you have to do is to uncheck all pre-checked checkmarks. It can be said that you should always uncheck checkmarks that claim that you want to change your start page or the default search engine on each of your web browsers.
In addition, do not let PDF creators, download managers, system optimizers, and other questionable software enter your PC as well because they can easily lead you to various troubles.
Delete YourTV.link at once
First thing's first: what you are dealing with is not a virus or malware. Browser hijackers do not use malicious infiltration techniques (software vulnerabilities, repacked installers, vulnerable RDP connections, etc.). Instead, the developers rely on some deception when promoting the app.
Thus, it is unlikely that this app will result in some serious consequences. We simply strongly discourage using programs or extensions that track your data and use it as required. Besides, extra ads are something that nobody likes to deal with. Thus, follow the instructions below to eliminate all unwanted apps to enjoy a personalized browsing experience once again.
Uninstall from Windows
Uninstall from Windows 10/8:
- Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.
Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:
- Click on Windows Start > Control Panel (Windows XP users should click on Add/Remove Programs).
- In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.
Remove the unwanted program:
- In the Programs and Features window, look for any recently installed suspicious entries, select them, and click Uninstall.
- If User Account Control appears, click Yes to confirm, then complete the removal.
Delete from macOS
Remove the unwanted application:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).
Delete leftover files and folders:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
- Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.
- Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.
Remove from Microsoft Edge
Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:
- Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
- From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
- Click Remove.
Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Select Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files. (apart from passwords, although you might want to include Media licenses as well, if applicable) and click on Clear.
Restore new tab and homepage settings:
- Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
- Then find On startup section.
- Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.
Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:
- Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
- Select Details tab.
- Now scroll down and locate every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right-click on each of them and select End Task to stop MS Edge from running.
Instructions for Chromium-based Edge
Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):
- Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
- Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.
Clear cache and site data:
- Click on Menu and go to Settings.
- Select Privacy, search and services.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Under Time range, pick All time.
- Select Clear now.
Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- On the left side, pick Reset settings.
- Select Restore settings to their default values.
- Confirm with Reset.
- This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.
Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
- Select Add-ons.
- In here, select the unwanted extension and click Remove.
Reset the homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Settings.
- Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.
Clear cookies and site data:
- Click Menu and pick Settings.
- Go to Privacy & Security section.
- Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
- Click on Clear Data...
- Select Cookies and Site Data and Temporary cached files and pages, then click Clear.
Reset Mozilla Firefox
If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
- Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.
- Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox...
- Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.
Remove from Google Chrome
Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:
- Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
- In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all suspicious extensions related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.
Clear cache and web data from Chrome:
- Click on Menu and pick Settings.
- Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
- Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
- Click Clear data.
Change your homepage:
- Click menu and choose Settings.
- Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
- Click on Open a specific or set of pages and click on three dots to find the Remove option.
Reset Google Chrome:
If the previous methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the unwanted components:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
- Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
- Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
- Confirm with Reset settings.
Delete from Safari
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
- Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.
Clear history and website data:
- Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
- Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.
Reset Safari:
- Click Safari in the menu and select Preferences > Advanced.
- Enable Show Develop menu in menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop and select Empty Caches.
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