I wrote this article to help you remove Time to Read. This Time to Read removal guide is working for Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer.

Time to Read is a Russian search engine and news portal. The platform’s main function is to conduct keyword web searches, but it has a bundle of additional functions. Time to Read possesses a standard set of features. The platform has a calendar, listing the current date. It also provides a detailed weather report for the major Russian cities. Time to Read maintains a news feed with articles on various topics. The formal announcements cover the latest events from across the globe. A portion of the news feed is dedicated to leisure topics like lifestyle, entertainment, fashion, cuisine, sports and astrology. Time to Read is designed to look reliable, but in reality it is a pawn of a hijacker.

What makes the hijacker behind Time to Read dangerous?

The clandestine program makes use of the website for its malicious agenda. It penetrates the browser and tampers with its internal settings. The rogue program can affect Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge. The hijacker changes the homepage and default search engine to time-to-read.ru. Using this engine to conduct your searches is not advised. The results you get will not be reliable. The hijacker inserts supported websites amid the regular search results. They may not match your queries. Furthermore, the sponsored pages could be harmful. The hijacker does not run security checks.

Another way to take you to dubious websites is through pop-up advertisements. The shady tool shows exclusive shopping offers in an attempt to garner users’ interest. The Time to Read hijacker promotes deals for clothes, accessories, technological devices, furniture, games, toys and many other items. As good as the listed sales may be, they are not guaranteed to be genuine. Any of the ads could redirect to corrupted websites, spreading malware.

The most severe problem with the Time to Read hijacker is the personal security risks it exposes users to. The furtive program is set to monitor people’s browsing sessions and collect information on them. The hijacker can record your surfing history, tracking cookies, IP address, geographic location, email, user names, passwords and the personal input you have entered into your online accounts. The owners of the clandestine program can sell your data on darknet markets without your authorization.

How did the Time to Read hijacker get installed to my computer?

There are a couple of ways to contact the hijacker. We will start off by making it clear that visiting the time-to-read.ru website will not get you infected. Without the presence of a hijacker on your machine, the website is harmless.

The preferred way for the Time to Read hijacker to travel is packed in a bundle with another program. The furtive tool can get merged with freeware, shareware and pirated utilities. The hijacker tries to get installed together with the main software from the bundle by getting added to its terms and conditions as a bonus tool. You have to find where it is listed and opt not to have it installed.

The other propagation vector the Time to Read hijacker makes use of is spam emailing. The secluded program hides behind attachments, listed as essential documentation. Before accessing an attachment from an email, make sure the message is reliable. Check the email account and any other contacts the sender has provided. Be advised that spammers can send letters on behalf of reliable entities.

Time to Read Removal

Before starting the real removal process, you must reboot in Safe Mode. If you know how to do this, skip the instructions below and proceed to Step 2. If you do not know how to do it, here is how to reboot in Safe mode:

For Windows 98, XP, Millenium and 7:
Reboot your computer. When the first screen of information appears, start repeatedly pressing F8 key. Then choose Safe Mode With Networking from the options.

For Windows 8/8.1
Click the Start button, next click Control Panel —> System and Security —> Administrative Tools —> System Configuration.‌

Check the Safe Boot option and click OK. Click Restart when asked.
For Windows 10
Open the Start menu and click or tap on the Power button.

While keeping the Shift key pressed, click or tap on Restart.

Please, follow the steps precisely to remove Time to Read from the browser:

Remove From Mozilla Firefox:

Open Firefox, click on top-right corner , click Add-ons, hit Extensions next.

Look for suspicious or unknown extensions, remove them all.

Remove From Chrome:

Open Chrome, click chrome menu icon at the top-right corner —>More Tools —> Extensions. There, identify the malware and select chrome-trash-icon(Remove).

Remove From Internet Explorer:
Open IE, then click IE gear icon on the top-right corner —> Manage Add-ons.

Find the malicious add-on. Remove it by pressing Disable.

Right click on the browser’s shortcut, then click Properties. Remove everything after the .exe” in the Target box.

Open Control Panel by holding the Win Key and R together. Write appwiz.cpl in the field, then click OK.

Here, find any program you had no intention to install and uninstall it.

Run the Task Manager by right clicking on the Taskbar and choosing Start Task Manager.

Look carefully at the file names and descriptions of the running processes. If you find any suspicious one, search on Google for its name, or contact me directly to identify it. If you find a malware process, right-click on it and choose End task.

Open MS Config by holding the Win Key and R together. Type msconfig and hit Enter.

Go in the Startup tab and Uncheck entries that have “Unknown” as Manufacturer.

Still can not remove Time to Read from your browser? Please, leave a comment below, describing what steps you performed. I will answer promptly.