What is Search.hlocalweatherradar.co? And how does it function?
Search.hlocalweatherradar.co, also known as Local Weather Radar, is a browser extension that supposedly functions as a search engine that claims to give users improved search results. Aside from being a search engine, it also claims to provide users with weather city forecast and allows users to track severe weather in a user’s location.
If installed, it will modify the default settings on the affected browser without users’ consent. This affects the default homepage, new tab page and search provider settings in the browser. Because of these unwarranted changes in the browser, security experts categorize Search.hlocalweatherradar.co as a browser hijacker and a potentially unwanted program or PUP. So if you are one of the users who installed this pesky browser hijacker, you’ve definitely made a mistake as this fake search engine is nothing but a program that will bombard your browsing with tons of ads such as pop-ups, banners, in-text links and other annoying sponsored content. This will clearly ruin your browsing experience not to mention that it can also redirect you to suspicious parts of the web that may contain harmful virus or malware.
Moreover, Search.hlocalweatherradar.co also has the ability to monitor all your browsing-related activities in order to harvest sensitive information that may be used and shared with its affiliated sites to provide you with more customized and personalized advertisements. Thus, if you don’t want to go over the trouble of closing all the ads you come across to and if you don’t want to jeopardize your privacy and computer’s security, you need to erase Search.hlocalweatherradar.co from your browser and computer as soon as possible.
How does Search.hlocalweatherradar.co spread over the web?
Search.hlocalweatherradar.co spreads the web using several ways. For one, it can be found on its official website. On the other hand, you can also find this browser hijacker in software bundles that are distributed on free sharing sites. You might end unknowingly install this browser hijacker when you install software bundles so the next time you install this kind of software package, make sure that you opt for the Advanced or Custom setup rather than the quick one.
To erase Search.hlocalweatherradar.co from your browser and computer, you need to follow the removal guide prepared below as well as the advanced options that follow.
Step 1: The first thing you have to do is flush the DNS. To do so, right click on the Start button and click on Command Prompt (administrator). From there, type the “ipconfig /flushdns” command and hit Enter to flush the DNS.
Step 2: After that, restart your computer and then open all the browsers infected by Search.hlocalweatherradar.co. Reset all the affected browsers to default to their default state.
Google Chrome
- Open Google Chrome, then tap the Alt + F keys.
- After that, click on Settings.
- Next, scroll down until you see the Advanced option, once you see it, click on it.
- After clicking the Advanced option, go to the “Restore and clean up option and click on the “Restore settings to their original defaults” option to reset Google Chrome.
- Now restart Google Chrome.
Mozilla Firefox
- Open Mozilla Firefox and tap Ctrl + Shift + A to access the Add-ons Manager.
- In the Extensions menu Remove the unwanted extension.
- Restart the browser and tap keys Alt + T.
- Select Options and then move to the General menu.
- Overwrite the URL in the Home Page section and then restart the browser.
Internet Explorer
- Launch Internet Explorer.
- Next, click the wrench icon for Settings.
- Then click Internet Options.
- After that, go to the Advanced tab.
- From there, click the Reset button. This will reset Internet Explorer’s settings to their default condition.
- Now click OK to save the changes made.
- Restart your computer.
Step 3: Next, tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and type “appwiz.cpl” in the field and press Enter to open the Programs and Features in Control Panel.
Step 4: From the list of programs installed, look for Search.hlocalweatherradar.co or any unfamiliar program that could be related to it under the list of installed programs and once you’ve found it, uninstall it.
Step 5: Edit your Hosts File.
- Tap the Win + R keys to open then type in %WinDir% and then click OK.
- Go to System32/drivers/etc.
- Open the hosts file using Notepad.
- Delete all the entries that contain Search.hlocalweatherradar.co.
- After that, save the changes you’ve made and close the file.
Step 6: Hold down Windows + E keys simultaneously to open File Explorer.
Step 7: Navigate to the following directories and look for suspicious files associated to the browser hijacker such as the software bundle it came with and delete it/them.
- %USERPROFILE%\Downloads
- %USERPROFILE%\Desktop
- %TEMP%
Step 8: Close the File Explorer.
Step 9: Empty the contents of Recycle Bin.
Refer to the advanced instructions given below to ensure the removal of this browser hijacker from your computer as well as all the file residues it left behind.
Perform a full system scan using [product-code]. To do so, follow these steps:
- Turn on your computer. If it’s already on, you have to reboot it.
- After that, the BIOS screen will be displayed, but if Windows pops up instead, reboot your computer and try again. Once you’re on the BIOS screen, repeat pressing F8, by doing so the Advanced Option shows up.
- To navigate the Advanced Option use the arrow keys and select Safe Mode with Networking then hit
- Windows will now load the Safe Mode with Networking.
- Press and hold both R key and Windows key.
- If done correctly, the Windows Run Box will show up.
- Type in the URL address, [product-url] in the Run dialog box and then tap Enter or click OK.
- After that, it will download the program. Wait for the download to finish and then open the launcher to install the program.
- Once the installation process is completed, run [product-code] to perform a full system scan.
- After the scan is completed click the “Fix, Clean & Optimize Now” button.
