Remove Feed.snowbitt.com (Removal Instructions) - updated Aug 2017
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.
Questions about Feed.snowbitt.com
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 Reimage to delete it from your computer.
Click 'Start -> Control Panel -> Programs and Features' (if you are 'Windows XP' user, click on 'Add/Remove Programs').
If you are 'Windows 10 / Windows 8' user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once 'Quick Access Menu' shows up, select 'Control Panel' and 'Uninstall a Program'.
Right click on each of suspicious entries and select 'Uninstall'
Right click on browsers' icon and select 'Properties'
Select 'Shortcut' tab and delete 'http://isearch.babylon.com...' or other suspicious URL
Cick 'Go' and select 'Applications'
Click on every malicious entry and select 'Move to Trash'
Click on menu icon and select 'Manage add-ons'
Right click on each of malicious entries and select 'Disable'
Delete malicious URL, enter your desired domain name and click 'Apply' to save changes
Go to 'Advanced' tab and click on 'Reset' button. Now select 'Delete personal settings' and click on 'Reset' button again
Go to Settings and select 'Choose what to clear'
Select 'Clear' button
Open the start menu and select 'Task Manager'
Right-click 'Microsoft Edge' and select 'Go to details'
Select 'More details' if 'Go to details' option fails to show up
Find Microsoft Edge entries and select 'End Task'
Go to Microsoft Edge folder on your computer, right-click every entry and click 'Delete'
Find Windows PowerShell, right-click it and select 'Run as administrator'
Copy and paste a required command and press 'Enter'
Click on menu icon and select 'Add-ons'
Select 'Extensions' and look for malicious entries. Click 'Remove' to get rid of each of them
When in 'General' tab, delete malicious URL from 'Home Page' section or click on 'Restore to Default' button. Click 'OK' to save changes
Click on menu icon and then on '?'. Select 'Troubleshooting Information'
Click on 'Reset Firefox' button for a couple of times
Click on menu icon. Select 'Tools' and 'Extensions'
Look for malicious entries and delete each of them by clicking on the Trash bin icon
After clicking on menu and 'Settings', select 'Set pages'
Click 'X' to remove malicious URLs
When in 'Settings', select 'Manage search engines...'
Click 'X' to remove malicious URLs
When in 'Settings', scroll down to 'Reset browser settings' button and click on it
Click on 'Reset' button to complete your removal
Click on 'Safari' and select 'Preferences'
Go to 'Extensions' and uninstall malicious add-ons
When in 'General', delete malicious URL and enter your desired domain name
Click on 'Safari' and select 'Reset Safari...'
Select all options and click on 'Reset' button
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.
You can remove virus damage automatically with a help of one of these programs: Reimage, SpyHunterCombo Cleaner, Malwarebytes Malwarebytes. We recommend these applications because they detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.
To remove Feed.snowbitt.com, follow these steps:
Delete Feed.snowbitt.com from Windows systems
Nevertheless, Snowbitt hijacker mostly affects Mac OS X users, it might hijack Windows OS as well. In order to get rid of it manually, you have to uninstall suspicious programs from “Add/Remove programs” section in the Control Panel. These instructions will guide you through the task:
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Click Start → Control Panel → Programs and Features (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
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If you are Windows 10 / Windows 8 user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once Quick Access Menu shows up, select Control Panel and Uninstall a Program.
- Uninstall Feed.snowbitt.com and related programs
Here, look for Feed.snowbitt.com or any other recently installed suspicious programs. -
Uninstall them and click OK to save these changes.
- Remove Feed.snowbitt.com from Windows shortcuts
Right click on the shortcut of Mozilla Firefox and select Properties. -
Go to Shortcut tab and look at the Target field. Delete malicious URL that is related to your virus.
Repeat steps that are given above with all browsers' shortcuts, including Internet Explorer and Google Chrome. Make sure you check all locations of these shortcuts, including Desktop, Start Menu and taskbar.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariGet rid of Feed.snowbitt.com from Mac OS X system
First of all, you have to find and remove the folder that is related to Feed.snowbitt.com virus. Therefore, you have to check the “Applications” folder and move to “Trash” suspicious entries. Get rid of all programs that you do not remember installing. Some of them might be responsible for bringing the hijacker to your PC.
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If you are using OS X, click Go button at the top left of the screen and select Applications.
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Wait until you see Applications folder and look for Feed.snowbitt.com or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash.
Erase Feed.snowbitt.com from Internet Explorer (IE)
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Remove dangerous add-ons
Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top right corner of the browser and choose Manage Add-ons. -
You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for Feed.snowbitt.com and other suspicious plugins. Disable these entries by clicking Disable:
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Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Click on the gear icon (menu) on the top right corner of the browser and select Internet Options. Stay in General tab. -
Here, remove malicious URL and enter preferable domain name. Click Apply to save changes.
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Reset Internet Explorer
Click on the gear icon (menu) again and select Internet options. Go to Advanced tab. - Here, select Reset.
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When in the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset again to complete Feed.snowbitt.com removal.
Uninstall Feed.snowbitt.com from Microsoft Edge
Reset Microsoft Edge settings (Method 1):
- Launch Microsoft Edge app and click More (three dots at the top right corner of the screen).
- Click Settings to open more options.
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Once Settings window shows up, click Choose what to clear button under Clear browsing data option.
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Here, select all what you want to remove and click Clear.
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Now you should right-click on the Start button (Windows logo). Here, select Task Manager.
- When in Processes tab, search for Microsoft Edge.
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Right-click on it and choose Go to details option. If can’t see Go to details option, click More details and repeat previous steps.
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When Details tab shows up, find every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right click on each of them and select End Task to end these entries.
Resetting Microsoft Edge browser (Method 2):
If Method 1 failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method.
- Note: you need to backup your data before using this method.
- Find this folder on your computer:
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe. -
Select every entry which is saved on it and right click with your mouse. Then Delete option.
- Click the Start button (Windows logo) and type in window power in Search my stuff line.
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Right-click the Windows PowerShell entry and choose Run as administrator.
- Once Administrator: Windows PowerShell window shows up, paste this command line after PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> and press Enter:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml -Verbose}
Once these steps are finished, Feed.snowbitt.com should be removed from your Microsoft Edge browser.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariEliminate Feed.snowbitt.com from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
Check the list of Firefox extensions. Remove all add-ons, plugins or other entries that were installed without your knowledge. Then reset the browser in order to eliminate the Feed.snowbitt.com entirely.
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Remove dangerous extensions
Open Mozilla Firefox, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Add-ons → Extensions. -
Here, select Feed.snowbitt.com and other questionable plugins. Click Remove to delete these entries.
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Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Click on the menu (top right corner), choose Options → General. - Here, delete malicious URL and enter preferable website or click Restore to default.
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Click OK to save these changes.
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Reset Mozilla Firefox
Click on the Firefox menu on the top left and click on the question mark. Here, choose Troubleshooting Information. -
Now you will see Reset Firefox to its default state message with Reset Firefox button. Click this button for several times and complete Feed.snowbitt.com removal.
Remove Feed.snowbitt.com from Google Chrome
The hijacker may have installed browser extensions to Google Chrome that helps it to keep your browser to hostage. Therefore, you have to carefully look through the list of the installed extensions and remove each of the suspicious entries. Then reset Chrome in order to delete tracking cookies and similar items.
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Delete malicious plugins
Open Google Chrome, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Tools → Extensions. -
Here, select Feed.snowbitt.com and other malicious plugins and select trash icon to delete these entries.
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Change your homepage and default search engine if it was altered by your virus
Click on menu icon and choose Settings. -
Here, look for the Open a specific page or set of pages under On startup option and click on Set pages.
- Now you should see another window. Here, delete malicious search sites and enter the one that you want to use as your homepage.
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Click on menu icon again and choose Settings → Manage Search engines under the Search section.
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When in Search Engines..., remove malicious search sites. You should leave only Google or your preferred domain name.
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Reset Google Chrome
Click on menu icon on the top right of your Google Chrome and select Settings. -
Scroll down to the end of the page and click on Reset browser settings.
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Click Reset to confirm this action and complete Feed.snowbitt.com removal.
Delete Feed.snowbitt.com from Safari
These instructions will help you to remove suspicious extensions and reset Safari. These steps are crucial in order to wipe out components related to Snowbitt virus.
- Remove dangerous extensions
Open Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu at the top left of the screen. Once you do this, select Preferences. -
Here, select Extensions and look for Feed.snowbitt.com or other suspicious entries. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid each of them.
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Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Open your Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu section. Here, select Preferences as it was displayed previously and select General. -
Here, look at the Homepage field. If it was altered by Feed.snowbitt.com, remove unwanted link and enter the one that you want to use for your searches. Remember to include the "http://" before typing in the address of the page.
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Reset Safari
Open Safari browser and click on Safari in menu section at the top left of the screen. Here, select Reset Safari.... -
Now you will see a detailed dialog window filled with reset options. All of those options are usually checked, but you can specify which of them you want to reset. Click the Reset button to complete Feed.snowbitt.com removal process.
About the author
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References
- ^ How Microsoft antimalware products identify malware and unwanted software. Microsoft. Official Home Page.
- ^ Eric Limer. Apple No Longer Claims It’s Immune to Viruses. The Mary Sue. The Nexus of Pop Culture and the Uncharted Universe.
- ^ Malvertising: When Online Ads Attack. Trend Micro. Enterprise Cyber Security Solutions.
- ^ Pre-installed software. Wikipedia. The free encyclopedia.
- ^ Viruset. Viruset. The Norwegian website about recent cyber threats.
July 25th, 2016 at 9:26 am
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
July 25th, 2016 at 9:29 am
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…
July 25th, 2016 at 9:29 am
Thanks for preparing this report. I found it useful.
July 25th, 2016 at 9:30 am
thanks! this hijacker is gone