Minesey.com virus - How to remove

Minesey.com virus is a browser hijacker, targeting users that still enjoy playing minesweeper. This Minesey browser extension is created by a company called Skylikes Media Inc, and we have not noticed any of their products before. However, our analysis did reveal that Minesey.com website does redirect people to a few browser hijackers we have discussed: Str-search.com and Gl-search.com. At the time of writing this article (April of 2018), the Minesey.com hijacker is expected to have infected browsers of people, living in United States, Japan, Hungary, Germany and Australia.

Minesey.com hijacker will change your new tab, home page and default search provider

In Chrome Web Store, we did find the Minesey plugin, and it was advertised with the following description: “This extension will let you play minesweeper directly from your new tab! And remember that by installing this game we will change your new tab settings in order to provide you with this amazing game :-)”. In addition to being a new tab browser hijacker, Minesey.com virus will also change your default search provider (What is search hijacking?). However, the hijacker does not present results on its own, and exploits the Search.yahoo.com platform.

We suspect that most of the results, received thru the Minesey.com search engine, might be filled with sponsored links. In order to support its products, the Skylikes Media company could be affiliated with various third-parties. Therefore, the Minesey toolbar could be promoting many unknown websites in the results to search queries. In addition to this, we suspect that people will also be exposed to miscellaneous pop-ups.

Some of them could be stating that you’re your computer is at risk, while other ads could be gladly informing you that you have won a wonderful prize. Nevertheless, you should not click on random pop-ups. If you notice them, close those windows immediately (Online Ad Industry Threatened by Security Issues). Of course, the creators of Minesey.com hijacker make no warranty, endorse, guarantee or responsible for any third-party content. If users’ computers are damaged because of the content that the hijacker advertised, the Skyline will not be responsible.

In the Privacy policy of Minesey.com hijacker, we found more information about the monitoring habits:

“We collect non-personal information, which includes technical information automatically transmitted by the user’s device (for example, type of browser, the type of the user’s device and technical information pertaining to the user’s device, language preferences, time stamps, clicks and visited pages, search logs, the operating system, utilized internet service provider and other similar information). We will also analyze visited webpages content so as to recommend you content based upon your interests“.

Furthermore, it was stated that the service does not sell, trade or rent personal information to other parties. However, it is said that the non-personally identifiable details can be shared with third-parties, including retailers, ad networks, advertising companies, service providers, media and other interested parties. It is explained that this information is shared for the purpose of helping third-parties develop and deliver advertising.

Minesey.com malware parasite: how does it hijack browsers?

You could be recommended to install Minesey toolbar during browsing. An unexpected pop-up could recommend you to get this browser extension and enjoy the minesweeper game straight from your new tab page. However, we do not think that getting this plugin is a wise idea overall. Browser hijackers can expose you to dangerous content. Therefore, we never recommend users to use unknown search engines, or install suspicious browser extensions.

After discussing the main features of Minesey.com hijacker, we are ready to move onto to its removal. First of all, you must get rid of the Minesey plugin. This is fairly easy to do. Just open the list of active add-ons and find the extension you are looking for. Then, remove it. Nevertheless, we do think that you should run a scan with Spyhunter. In case your computer is compromised with other malware infections, these anti-malware tools will help you deal with them.

Automatic Malware removal tools