This page is an online guide on how to remove Omiga Plus homepage hijacker from the browsers. These instructions are easy to follow and they work for all Windows versions.
Isearch.omiga-plus.com (Omiga Plus) is a browser hijacker – a malicious program used by cybercriminals to force users into repeatedly paying unintended visits to their website, thus illicitly boosting its advertising revenue.
Omiga Plus homepage consist of a search field and a couple of advertising items. The search it provides, however, is not trustworthy and prone to returning fabricated results aimed at unfair profit. As its ads, which come in the form of three differently designed banners, are provided by shady advertising networks, clicking on any of them equals voluntarily putting your computer and data safety at risk. For example, at least one of these adverts (using URL obfuscation) will lure you onto the website of another well-known browser hijacker – v9.com. Additionally, a fraudulent Windows alert dialog-resembling banner placed in the middle of the page is designed to scare users into downloading Reimage Repair – a fake system optimizer which cybercriminals use in order to scam victims into paying cash for the alleged removal of non-existing performance and registry issues.
The core of Omiga Plus fraud is the malicious application which causes users to constantly re-land on its homepage. Programmed to grant its developers quick financial gain by diverting large amounts of online traffic, the hijacker is tailored to comply with all popular browsers. In other words, upon deceptively infiltrating a target system, it attacks Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer simultaneously, altering their default start-up page, homepage and search engine provider with its own. Similarly to Esurf.biz browser hijacker, it also takes the additional measure to modify affected browsers’ desktop shortcuts, adding a command line in its target field. Although it is not its primary functionality, the unwanted program may also introduce third party advertising content while victims are browsing legitimate websites. It is also very important to note that the intrusive application is set to monitor users’ Internet activities and collect diverse information ranging from IP to sensitive data such as login credentials and credit card numbers.
Who Stands Behind Omiga Plus Fraud?
Omiga Plus is the proud creation of Taiwan Shui Mu Chih Ching Technology Limited, a company with tradition in developing and infesting the Internet with suspicious applications such as WinZipper, Picexa Viewer and Qone8.com browser hijacker. Since the company has been massively distributing these offensive programs bundled with other risky software, the presence of any of its products should be regarded as a ground for virus-scanning your entire system.
How Is Omiga Plus Distributed?
Freeware Bundling
The most typical way in which Omiga Plus is spread across the Internet is via an underhanded technique known as software bundling. In its essence, it means that a few applications are packed, distributed and installed together using a shared, custom-built installation interface. Authors of freeware such as PDF-creators, video codecs, download manager, etc. are often willing to distribute third party programs as optional features together with their product since the “pay-per-install” reward they receive in exchange is one of the few ways to monetize free software. Cybercriminals exploit this practice, stuffing freeware bundles with a diversity of malicious content. Nevertheless, browser hijackers, like Isearch.oming-plus.com, and adware most typically take advantage of this propagation method since not all antivirus software is set to detect them (unlike Trojan Horses, ransomware, etc.). It is greatly recommendable to be extra careful when dealing with software bundles because their creators take an effort to mislead users into what exactly they are about to install. Additional (malicious) applications usually come in the form of prechecked bonus offers which one would only notice, if they chose the advanced installation method. Therefore, unless you consent to ending up with a couple of suspicious programs installed on your PC, always closely examine the customized installers of software bundles and make sure your setup only includes applications you actually want to use.
Other Propagation Vectors
Malvertisement (the placing of maliciously coded or misleadingly presented advertisements on legitimate advertising networks and websites), Drive-by downloads (the exploitation of client-side software vulnerabilities in order to automatically install malware) and spam e-mail campaigns count among hackers’ most efficient means of spreading their malevolent creations across the Web. For now, there haven’t been reports the developers of Omiga Plus have massively employed any of them, yet, being selective about which banners you click and which e-mail messages you trust may save you a lot of unneeded trouble, not only regarding this browser hijacker, but in terms of computer security generally.
Why Is It Necessary To Remove Isearch.oming-plus.com Right Away?
- Modified Browser Settings
Since it is the most obviously intrusive activity of Omiga Plus, replacing the default start-up page, homepage and search engine provider settings of resident browsers is reason number one to immediately get rid of the pesky hijacker. By redirecting victims to its homepage it does not only unauthorizedly limit their ability to use Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer, but also exposes them to insecure online content which they wouldn’t be else viewing.
- Unreliable Search Results
Replacing your preferred search engine with its own has two major negative consequences. For one, you are forced to change your browsing routine, adjusting it to the mechanisms of an unfamiliar provider. More disturbingly, however, you can’t rely on the search results returned since they are mostly manipulated in order to display sponsored results which often link to malicious websites that can endanger your PC and your privacy in many various ways.
- Unsafe Advertising Items
Isearch.oming-plus.com tends to present third party advertising items while you browse the Internet. These banners, pop-ups and the like make navigating through the Web difficult and more time-taking than usually. More alarmingly, they are often associated with dangerous websites and harmful software downloads. Therefore, the sooner you get rid of the browser hijacker which triggers them, the smaller the chance you wind up with additional malware plaguing your system.
- Data Breach
Dangerously, Omiga Plus is also known to collect and record diverse information that you input in your hijacked browsers. Varying from geographic location, IP, visited pages and installed programs to login credentials for important websites and banking related data, the theft and possible sharing / selling of this information represent a sever threat to your privacy.
- Decreased Computer And Internet Connection Performance
Last but not least, Isearch.oming-plus.com is programmed to start up together with Windows. This means, the offensive program eats up system resources and Internet bandwidth non-stop. As it modifies a variety of settings and facilitates other malicious programs into “getting in touch” with affected computers, it also destabilizes them, making them susceptible to random crashes and freezes.
Omiga Plus Homepage Hijacker Removal Instructions
Navigation:
1: Enter Safe Mode.
2: Remove Omiga Plus from Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Edge.
3: Remove malicious attachments to browser shortcuts.
4: Uninstall the malware from your Add/Remove Programs.
5: Permanently delete the virus from Task Manager’s processes.
6: Uninstall the threat from Regedit and Msconfig.
In order to get rid of Omiga Plus, please refer to the following step-by-step removal instructions for each of your browsers. Please note that you also have to manually restore their desktop shortcuts to their original state.
Before starting the real removal process, you must reboot in Safe Mode. If you are familiar with this task, 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.
Omiga Plus hijacks the homepage of Chrome, Firefox and IE. Please, follow the guide precisely. If you miss some of the steps below, there is a chance that Omiga Plus will come back at a later moment. Here are the steps you must follow to remove the hijacker from the browser:
Remove Omiga Plus 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 Omiga Plus 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 the Hijacker 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 Omiga Plus from your browser? Please, leave a comment below, describing what steps you performed. I will answer promptly.