Hyourfreeonlineforms.com – hijacker that redirects its users to partners’ websites

Your Free Online Forms is a fake engine which hijacks[1] your browser and alters the homepage, new tab URL, and default search engine. Typically, these settings are switched to hxxp://search.hyourfreeonlineforms.com or hxxp://query.hyourfreeonlineforms.com domain names. The developer of this dubious application knows what he is doing – after hijacking these system settings, he starts redirecting its victims to needed websites.
As the name of this extension suggests, it offers free online forms. However, having in mind that its owners are Polarity Technologies Ltd, there is no surprise that Your Free Online Forms virus has no intension to disclose its full potential and capabilities.
Your Free Online Forms hijacks Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and similar popular browsers. Not only does it make changes to your browser but also redirects your search results to search.hyourfreeonlineforms.com, search.yahoo.com, and similar websites. Most likely, such activity is used to earn money thru affiliated advertising scheme. The goal of such projects is to make users visit particular websites, increase their traffic and make some profit from advertising.
However, the most unpleasant feature of this shady application is the data tracking. Here are statements that are disclosed in the Privacy Policy of Polarity Technologies:
<…> BY USING THE SERVICES, YOU ARE CONSENTING TO GRANT POLARITY PERMISSION TO COLLECT YOUR URLS AND SEARCH DATA, INCLUDING SEARCH QUERIES THAT MAY CONTAIN PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION, SHARE THEM WITH THIRD PARTIES, AND USE SEARCH-RELATED COOKIES.

As you can see, Search.hyourfreeonlineforms.com virus starts tracking you right after it is let into the system. No matter that data that it collects is considered as non-personal, it can be used to create more attractive ads and then redirect you to potentially malicious websites.
Once you find yourself on such site, please, stay away from ads that seem too good to be true. Besides, make sure you reset your web browser to remove search.hyourfreeonlineforms.com from your computer permanently. Otherwise, you can get infected with malware or other potentially unwanted program.
Browser hijackers are not as dangerous as ransomware viruses and similar threats. However, they can be very annoying to deal with. Therefore, we advise you to proceed with Your Free Online Forms removal instead. You can follow our professional guide below or use security software (like FortectIntego) to remove this browser hijacker from the system.
Dubious software spreads through bundling
While trying to get free software from the Internet, you might think that using Default/Recommended settings is the most suitable choice to install it. However, in reality, they must be avoided as they aim to trick users into downloading additional software components. Typically, developers of free software use bundling to hide adware and unwanted programs.[2]
Therefore, if you want to protect yourself, please, do the following when installing free software from the Internet:
- Scan the installer with security software before opening it;
- Always use Advanced/Custom mode when installing software;
- Read through installation instruction carefully;
- Untick any boxes you might find pre-checked.
If you follow these tips, you will find it much easier to keep your computer PUP and adware-free.
Uninstall search.hyourfreeonlineforms.com hijacker permanently
You might try to reset your browser settings and get rid of Your Free Online Forms yourself, but, in most of the cases, such viruses require more work to eliminate them from the system. To prevent their reappearance and shady behavior which can be particularly annoying, you should use one of the solutions prepared by our experts.
The first way to remove Your Free Online Forms hijacker is manual removal method. In this case, you need to follow our guide below. Please execute every step carefully as failure to do so might result in reappearance of the virus.
If you run into difficulties while using our guide, we would advise you to proceed with automatic Your Free Online Forms removal guide. Security software requires only installing it, updating it to its latest version and scanning the system. After checking your computer thoroughly, the program will remove all the infected files.
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.

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