How to remove Search.frontier.com browser hijacker

Search.frontier.com causes unwanted redirects to a list of links that are similar to your search queries

Search.frontier.com is classified as a browser hijacker because it appears seemingly out of nowhere and takes over the browser. Some users suggest they do not have any association with Frontier Communications, but they still get redirected to its domains when trying to perform searches.

The search engine should present a list of links that are similar when users enter a website domain that does not exist. However, users report that this happens even when they enter legitimate URLs. The application may also change the homepage and new tab address.

What is Frontier Communications and why is it on my browser?

This search service is a product of an American telecommunications company. It filed for bankruptcy in April 2020 with a plan to cut more than $10 billion of its $17 billion debt. It was bought up by other companies but is still involved in various controversies.

Many customers complain about low internet speeds and this was addressed with a lawsuit from The Federal Trade Commission.^[1] Allegedly, the telecom provider misrepresented Internet speeds and charged many customers for higher speeds than it actually provided or was capable of providing. 

Despite it being a huge company with a revenue of $7.155 billion in 2020, there is not much information you can find about its search engine. The first thing we noticed is that it is marked by Google Chrome as “Not Secure,”^[2] which means that there is a lack of security for the connection to that page. It’s alerting you that information sent and received with that page is unprotected and could potentially be stolen, read, or modified by attackers and hackers.

You can also find a lot of insight into how the company treats its customer data in its Privacy Policy:

We collect certain information when you visit a Frontier website or use a Frontier mobile app, including information about your operating system and browser, IP address and device identification numbers, and web addresses of the websites you come from and go to next.

While there is nothing out of ordinary with this sentence, there is another section where the company says it does not guarantee that it will protect your data from unauthorized access and it cannot be held accountable if you suffer consequences from such events. Combined with the fact that search.frontier.com possibly does not have SSL certificates and end-to-end encryption, it becomes clear that the entity does not take user privacy and security seriously.

Remove the extension

You should check if there are no suspicious add-ons in your browser that could be causing the symptoms. You can remove plugins by going to your browser settings. Step-by-step instructions for Chrome, MS Edge, Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer are available below:

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 the suspicious plugins that might be related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.

MS Edge:

1. Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
2. From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
3. Click on Uninstall at the bottom.

MS Edge (Chromium)

• Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
• Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.

Mozilla Firefox

• 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 plugin and click Remove.

Safari

• Click Safari > Preferences…
• In the new window, pick Extensions.
• Select the unwanted extension and select Uninstall.

Internet Explorer:

1. Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
2. Pick Manage Add-ons.
3. You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.

Restore settings to your preference

If you removed the plugin, but the settings did not restore to their previous state, you can go and change them back manually:

Change your homepage on Chrome:

1. Click the menu and choose Settings.
2. Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
3. Click on Open a specific or set of pages and click on three dots to find the Remove option.

Restore new tab and homepage settings on MS Edge:

1. Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
2. Then find On startup section.
3. Click Disable if you found any suspicious domain.

Reset the homepage on Firefox:

1. Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
2. Choose Options.
3. Under Home options, enter your preferred site that will open every time you newly open the Mozilla Firefox.

Reset Safari:

1. Click Safari > Preferences…
2. Go to Advanced tab.
3. Tick the Show Develop menu in menu bar.
4. From the menu bar, click Develop, and then select Empty Caches.

Change your homepage on Internet Explorer:

1. Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
2. Select Internet Options.
3. In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
4. Click Apply and then select OK.

If you still cannot get rid of it, apparently, search.frontier.com will appear when you arrive at a page that your browser can't find/open. You can try disabling this unasked-for service at the link when it appears.

Check your system for PUPs and malware

If you entered pages that were linked by Frontier, you might have a PUA and not only a browser extension. Manual removal of a PUA can sometimes be tricky because the program can be disguised as a handy tool and have a completely different name. These are often installed from freeware^[3] distribution sites as bundled software, so often users do not even know about their existence.

For example, freeware page owners need to make money, so they include additional programs^[4] in the installers without disclosing that on the site, hoping that most people will not notice them. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happens most of the time as people find the installation process boring and rush through it.

We recommend using professional security tools like SpyHunterCombo Cleaner or MalwarebytesMalwarebytes to eliminate any PUAs that could be hiding in your system. Security software can scan your machine and detect suspicious processes working in the background of your PC. It can prevent the installations of such programs in the future by warning you about it as well. If you want to proceed with a manual removal you can find instructions below.