Feed.snowbitt.com might hijack web browsers installed on Mac computers

Feed.snowbitt.com is presented a useful and convenient search engine. However, in reality, it’s a potentially unwanted program (PUP)[1] that mostly attacks web browsers installed on Mac OS X[2] web browsers. After the hijack, it takes control over user’s web browser and might cause browsing-related problems.
This PUP enters the system with the help of freeware or shareware. After the attack, it makes modifications to the system and alters browser’s settings. It might add an extension to each of the web browsers in order to take control over them. For these reasons Feed.snowbitt.com removal becomes complicated.
After the hijack, users might have to deal with these problems:
- homepage changed to snowbitt.com;
- default search engine replaced with feed.snowbitt.com;
- the increase of ads that promote shady programs, such as MacKeeper;
- strange security alerts and warnings popping up when browsing the web;
- redirects to questionable sites.
The research revealed that Snowbitt is closely related to Search.snapdo.com, which is a highly unreliable website. This search tool might also provide lots of suspicious commercial content. Some of it can be highly dangerous and even promote malware, so remember to be cautious and avoid clicking on shady links, ads,[3] and other clickable content.
Apart from suspicious Feed.snowbitt.com redirect tendencies, this PUP might also monitor user’s behavior online. While it cannot track user’s personally identifiable data, it gathers various personally non-identifiable data that can include the list of user’s visited websites, search terms used, links that the user clicked on, and similar information.
If you are a security-minded user, you should remove Feed.snowbitt.com hijacker from your PC and set another website as your homepage immediately. Use instructions provided below, or run an anti-spyware software FortectIntego to delete it from your computer.

Suspicious search engine travels in software packages
Snowbitt tool is typically spread via bundling technique, which means it can be installed alongside other free programs.[4] When you install software, pay attention to its installation settings because this is where you can find out whether your downloaded piece of software includes any suspicious attachments or not.
Choose Advanced or Custom installation settings and if a list of “recommended downloads” shows up, deselect each item carefully. However, if you have recently installed a program under Standard or Recommended settings, it might be the time when the Feed.snowbitt.com hijack has occurred.
Instructions on how to remove Snowbitt from Mac
The browser hijacker causes the most problems for Mac OS X users. However, if your Windows machine was infected, these guidelines will work for you too. The best way to get rid of the problems caused by Snowbitt.com is to employ a professional anti-malware and scan the system.
Manual Feed.snowbitt.com removal is possible too. However, it might be challenging. According to the researchers from Viruset.no,[5] the majority of victims who try to uninstall the hijacker manually, fail. For this reason, we strongly advise you to get rid of the virus with reputable anti-malware software.
However, if you are willing to remove Feed.snowbitt.com manually, please follow the instructions below. Though, you should be careful and attentive. The hijacker may have installed numerous files, helper objects, and altered browser’s settings; and all these issues have to be fixed.
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.
Reset Internet Explorer
Remove dangerous add-ons:
- Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
- Pick Manage Add-ons.
- You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.

Change your homepage if it was altered:
- Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
- Select Internet Options.
- In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
- Click Apply and then select OK.

Delete temporary files:
- Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
- Under Browsing history, click Delete...
- Select relevant fields and press Delete.

Reset Internet Explorer:
- Click on Gear icon > Internet options and select Advanced tab.
- Select Reset.
- In the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset.

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.

Did this guide help?
4 comments
Chris82
Very suspicious search engine. At first, it seems that everything is ok with it; however, later on, it shows its real face. I would say you cannot rely on it. It functions too suspiciously. and all these redirects... no, you can definitely not rely on it. use another search engine - its easier
Rositta
Gotta express my thoughts, too! I have to say i am very disappointed with Feed.snowbitt.com. When it took over my chrome browser, I honestly thought that its a normal search engine, just like google or yahoo or whichever well-known search engine. But when I started to click on its search results, I saw that they open strange web pages. I feel insecure while searching via this site. I am not sure if it is secure. I am trying to remove it now, but it doesnt seem to be that simple though...
tomss
Thanks for preparing this report. I found it useful.
Trevoir
thanks! this hijacker is gone