by Ventsislav Krastev | September 6, 2016 | 0 Comments ad-supported application, browser hijacker, PUP

Users have increasingly started to report a browser hijacking software setting the page Tavanero.info which is a suspicious search engine as a home and a new tab of their web browsers. Among the web browsers that are influenced by this PUP (Potentially Unwanted Program) is reported to be primarily Google Chrome, but other web browsers, like Internet Explorer and Firefox may be affected as well. Such potentially unwanted programs may cause browser redirects, collect information and significantly slow down the performance of the computer. Since they may be indirectly dangerous to your computer as well, malware researchers strongly advise removing Tavanero.info hijacker from your PC, using the information in this article.

Threat Summary

Name	Tavanero Hijacker
Type	Browser Hijacker, PUP
Short Description	The program modifies various settings on your PC, including the browser homepage and new tab page. You will see advertisements when you browse, generated from it.
Symptoms	Sets a custom browser homepage, new tab and search engine.
Distribution Method	Freeware Installers, Bundle Packages
Detection Tool	See If Your System Has Been Affected by malware Download Malware Removal Tool
User Experience	Join our forum to Discuss Tavanero.info.

Tavanero.info – How Does It Install

To be situated onto a computer without the user noticing, the Tavanero.info application was reported to have relations to several third-party websites that use bundling. Bundling is an aggressive way to push a program into a computer, by adding it in one of the installation steps of another program’s setup wizard. Such setups are often characteristic when free software is involved. Free programs, like you, favorite movie player, mp3 DJ studio, recording software, torrent downloader software and others may contain “Add as a free extra” type of Installation steps. To avoid this, experts always advise to go carefully through the installer and choose “Advanced” or “Custom” installation options that will display every install step.

Tavanero.info App – Why It May Be Dangerous

As soon as Tavanero.info PUP is installed on your computer, it may immediately begin to modify the settings of your web browsers. Settings such as you default home page, search engine, new tab page and others may be changed and in addition to that, the app may also make it impossible to uninstall it. Users have reported even reinstalling Google Chrome and Tavanero.info hijacker was still there.

This is a strong indicator that Tavanero.info also creates files in %ProgramFiles% folder and other key Windows directories and may also modify the Windows Registry Editor as well. After this has been done, Tavanero.info may set it’s home page on the web browser of the user:

From the home page, advertising the “app” users may believe that this application is helpful into managing .htaccess and other types of programs and services. However, do not be fooled, because this application is nothing but useful.

For starters, it’s Tavanero(.)com/tavanero.php search engine may use numerous cookies linking to the Tavanero.info domain:

In addition to this, the web page also does not support HTTPs encryption, making it susceptible to various modifications that may be performed by external parties.

Furthermore, such cookies and tracking technologies may also be used to keep track of various activities on the user’s computer with the purpose of displaying targeted advertisements on it:

Pixels.
Beacons.
Cookies.
LSOs (Local Shared Objects) or Flash Cookies.
Tags.

These many tools may be used to track your information, more specifically your:

IP Address and Region.
Language.
Settings.
Software installed on your computer.
Online searches.
Online clicks.
Browsing history.

This information may be used for various of purposes, primarily for displaying advertisements, such as:

Pop-ups.
Browser Redirects.
Ad-supported search results.
Modified banners on the websites you visit.

These adverts may correspond to your online activities, increasing the likelihood of you clicking on them. Since this program may advertise any websites it wishes to, including malicious URLs, malware researchers strongly recommend removing it.

Tavanero.info App – Remove It Completely from Your PC

To fully remove this potentially unwanted software, we strongly advise you to follow the step-by-step removal instructions which we have posted after this article. In case you still haven’t removed the Tavanero.info PUP fully from your PC, we advise you to follow the Automatic removal instructions below. Malware researchers often recommend using an advanced anti-malware program for maximum effectiveness and full removal of apps such as Tavanero.info and detecting other threats in the same time, while providing active protection against present and future threats as well.

Ventsislav Krastev

Ventsislav is a cybersecurity expert at SensorsTechForum since 2015. He has been researching, covering, helping victims with the latest malware infections plus testing and reviewing software and the newest tech developments. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for learning new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management, Network Administration and Computer Administration of System Applications, he found his true calling within the cybersecrurity industry and is a strong believer in the education of every user towards online safety and security.

How to Remove Tavanero Hijacker from Windows.

Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove Tavanero Hijacker

OFFER

Manual Removal Usually Takes Time and You Risk Damaging Your Files If Not Careful!

We Recommend To Scan Your PC with SpyHunter

Keep in mind, that SpyHunter’s scanner is only for malware detection. If SpyHunter detects malware on your PC, you will need to purchase SpyHunter's malware removal tool to remove the malware threats. Read our SpyHunter 5 review. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter's EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria

1. Hold Windows key() + R

2. The "Run" Window will appear. In it, type "msconfig" and click OK.

3. Go to the "Boot" tab. There select "Safe Boot" and then click "Apply" and "OK".

Tip: Make sure to reverse those changes by unticking Safe Boot after that, because your system will always boot in Safe Boot from now on.

4. When prompted, click on "Restart" to go into Safe Mode.

5. You can recognise Safe Mode by the words written on the corners of your screen.

Step 2: Uninstall Tavanero Hijacker and related software from Windows

Here is a method in few easy steps that should be able to uninstall most programs. No matter if you are using Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP, those steps will get the job done. Dragging the program or its folder to the recycle bin can be a very bad decision. If you do that, bits and pieces of the program are left behind, and that can lead to unstable work of your PC, errors with the file type associations and other unpleasant activities. The proper way to get a program off your computer is to Uninstall it. To do that:

1. Hold the Windows Logo Button and "R" on your keyboard. A Pop-up window will appear.

2. In the field type in "appwiz.cpl" and press ENTER.

3. This will open a window with all the programs installed on the PC. Select the program that you want to remove, and press "Uninstall"

Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall most programs.

Step 3: Clean any registries, created by Tavanero Hijacker on your computer.

The usually targeted registries of Windows machines are the following:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce

You can access them by opening the Windows registry editor and deleting any values, created by Tavanero Hijacker there. This can happen by following the steps underneath:

1. Open the Run Window again, type "regedit" and click OK.

2. When you open it, you can freely navigate to the Run and RunOnce keys, whose locations are shown above.

3. You can remove the value of the virus by right-clicking on it and removing it.

Tip: To find a virus-created value, you can right-click on it and click "Modify" to see which file it is set to run. If this is the virus file location, remove the value.

IMPORTANT!
Before starting "Step 4", please boot back into Normal mode, in case you are currently in Safe Mode.
This will enable you to install and use SpyHunter 5 successfully.

Step 4: Scan for Tavanero Hijacker with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool

1. Click on the "Download" button to proceed to SpyHunter's download page.

Download

Malware Removal Tool

It is recommended to run a scan before purchasing the full version of the software to make sure that the current version of the malware can be detected by SpyHunter. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter's EULA, Privacy Policy and Threat Assessment Criteria.

2. After you have installed SpyHunter, wait for it to update automatically.

3. After the update process has finished, click on the 'Malware/PC Scan' tab. A new window will appear. Click on 'Start Scan'.

4. After SpyHunter has finished scanning your PC for any files of the associated threat and found them, you can try to get them removed automatically and permanently by clicking on the 'Next' button.

If any threats have been removed, it is highly recommended to restart your PC.

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Get rid of Tavanero Hijacker from Mac OS X.

Step 1: Uninstall Tavanero Hijacker and remove related files and objects

OFFER

Manual Removal Usually Takes Time and You Risk Damaging Your Files If Not Careful!

We Recommend To Scan Your Mac with SpyHunter for Mac

Keep in mind, that SpyHunter for Mac needs to purchased to remove the malware threats. Click on the corresponding links to check SpyHunter’s EULA and Privacy Policy

1. Hit the ⇧+⌘+U keys to open Utilities. Another way is to click on “Go” and then click “Utilities”, like the image below shows:

2. Find Activity Monitor and double-click it:

3. In the Activity Monitor look for any suspicious processes, belonging or related to Tavanero Hijacker:

Tip: To quit a process completely, choose the “Force Quit” option.

4. Click on the "Go" button again, but this time select Applications. Another way is with the ⇧+⌘+A buttons.

5. In the Applications menu, look for any suspicious app or an app with a name, similar or identical to Tavanero Hijacker. If you find it, right-click on the app and select “Move to Trash”.

6: Select Accounts, after which click on the Login Items preference. Your Mac will then show you a list of items that start automatically when you log in. Look for any suspicious apps identical or similar to Tavanero Hijacker. Check the app you want to stop from running automatically and then select on the Minus (“-“) icon to hide it.

7: Remove any left-over files that might be related to this threat manually by following the sub-steps below:

Go to Finder.
In the search bar type the name of the app that you want to remove.
Above the search bar change the two drop down menus to “System Files” and “Are Included” so that you can see all of the files associated with the application you want to remove. Bear in mind that some of the files may not be related to the app so be very careful which files you delete.
If all of the files are related, hold the ⌘+A buttons to select them and then drive them to “Trash”.

In case you cannot remove Tavanero Hijacker via Step 1 above:

In case you cannot find the virus files and objects in your Applications or other places we have shown above, you can manually look for them in the Libraries of your Mac. But before doing this, please read the disclaimer below:

Disclaimer! If you are about to tamper with Library files on Mac, be sure to know the name of the virus file, because if you delete the wrong file, it may cause irreversible damage to your MacOS. Continue on your own responsibility!

1: Click on "Go" and Then "Go to Folder" as shown underneath:

2: Type in "/Library/LauchAgents/" and click Ok:

3: Delete all of the virus files that have similar or the same name as Tavanero Hijacker. If you believe there is no such file, do not delete anything.

You can repeat the same procedure with the following other Library directories:

→ ~/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons

Tip: ~ is there on purpose, because it leads to more LaunchAgents.

Step 2: Scan for and remove Tavanero Hijacker files from your Mac

When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as Tavanero Hijacker, the recommended way of eliminating the threat is by using an anti-malware program. SpyHunter for Mac offers advanced security features along with other modules that will improve your Mac’s security and protect it in the future.

Click the button below below to download SpyHunter for Mac and scan for Tavanero Hijacker:

Download

SpyHunter for Mac

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Remove Tavanero Hijacker from Google Chrome.

Step 1: Start Google Chrome and open the drop menu

Step 2: Move the cursor over "Tools" and then from the extended menu choose "Extensions"

Step 3: From the opened "Extensions" menu locate the unwanted extension and click on its "Remove" button.

Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Google Chrome by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Erase Tavanero Hijacker from Mozilla Firefox.

Step 1: Start Mozilla Firefox. Open the menu window

Step 2: Select the "Add-ons" icon from the menu.

Step 3: Select the unwanted extension and click "Remove"

Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Mozilla Firefox by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Uninstall Tavanero Hijacker from Microsoft Edge.

Step 1: Start Edge browser.

Step 2: Open the drop menu by clicking on the icon at the top right corner.

Step 3: From the drop menu select "Extensions".

Step 4: Choose the suspected malicious extension you want to remove and then click on the gear icon.

Step 5: Remove the malicious extension by scrolling down and then clicking on Uninstall.

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Remove Tavanero Hijacker from Safari.

Step 1: Start the Safari app.

Step 2: After hovering your mouse cursor to the top of the screen, click on the Safari text to open its drop down menu.

Step 3: From the menu, click on "Preferences".

Step 4: After that, select the 'Extensions' Tab.

Step 5: Click once on the extension you want to remove.

Step 6: Click 'Uninstall'.

A pop-up window will appear asking for confirmation to uninstall the extension. Select 'Uninstall' again, and the Tavanero Hijacker will be removed.

How to Reset Safari
IMPORTANT: Before resetting Safari make sure you back up all your saved passwords within the browser in case you forget them.

Start Safari and then click on the gear leaver icon.

Click the Reset Safari button and you will reset the browser.

Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups

Eliminate Tavanero Hijacker from Internet Explorer.

Step 1: Start Internet Explorer.

Step 2: Click on the gear icon labeled 'Tools' to open the drop menu and select 'Manage Add-ons'

Step 3: In the 'Manage Add-ons' window.

Step 4: Select the extension you want to remove and then click 'Disable'. A pop-up window will appear to inform you that you are about to disable the selected extension, and some more add-ons might be disabled as well. Leave all the boxes checked, and click 'Disable'.

Step 5: After the unwanted extension has been removed, restart Internet Explorer by closing it from the red 'X' button located at the top right corner and start it again.