About

What is a Web Hijacker?

There is a good chance you have come across a Web Hijacker before while you were browsing. This kind of malware usually pops up a large message, claiming to be from Microsoft, Google, or Apple customer support and telling you that there is an issue with your computer. Sometimes the message says that there have been viruses/malware detected and that the computer is locked. Sometimes it accuses you of looking at illegal content. These messages will sometimes play an audible alarm and make it difficult to close the page.

Web Hijackers

Virtually always these hijackers have a phone number for you to call to "help resolve the issue." This phone number is the phone number of the scammers. If you call them, they will usually tell you that they can fix the issues for something like $100-300. Sometimes they will try to talk you into initiating a remote "support" session, where they remotely connect to and control your computer. If you allow this remote access, the scammers usually lock you out to increase the chances that you'll pay them.

Return to the Malware Glossary page.