MySocialShortcut Hijacker - How to remove

The MySocialShortcut browser add-on has been around for a few years and amassed hundreds of thousands of users during that time. There are a few reviews of this add-on and most of them are very unhappy with the product. Pop-ups, unwanted installation, very intrusive permissions, and difficulty removing it are problems that qualify MySocialShortcut as a browser hijacker.

If you scan the MySocialShortcut installer with a security program, you’ll probably get a warning from your antivirus program. It’s deserved – this program presents itself as some sort of an enhancement to your browser, but really is just make to promote the advertising business of Ask and MyWay.

Some users have their search hijacked by this extension, others also see a lot of pop-up ads, even after they’ve removed this add-on – these problems are common with other hijackers by the same distributor, like ProPDFConverter or VideoConverterHD.

MySocialShortcut is a browser hijacker that lacks any features that would make it worth using:

Type of threat	Browser hijacker Adware
Problems with MySocialShortcut	Unnecessarily hijacks your new tab page and your search engine Gets access to your browsing history, sometimes – your search keywords Sometimes is installed without permission
Distribution	Adware sites, misleading ads and redirects Freeware bundlers Installed manually
Remove MySocialShortcut	Manually remove browser hijackers Get rid of adware (Combo Cleaner for Mac, SpyHunter for PC) Restore browser settings

MySocialShortcut adware

MySocialShortcut offers easy access to your social media networks – for free! In reality, this useless add-on replaces the home page and the new tab page of your browser and puts there a few (outdated) links to a couple of social media networks. You can’t customize them, you can’t add new ones – its design is intrusive and outdated, it’s totally useless.

The fact that MySocialShortcut takes over your new tab page is a big clue – it’s a newtab virus, a type of malware that uses its access to your browser to extract your browsing data and to force you to visit the websites that are profitable for the creator of the adware. In this case, it’s Mindspark, a big name in the browser hijacker business.

MySocialShortcut probably isn’t doing anything illegal, it reveals its associations and how it shares data collected about you in its privacy policy. Though its installation page is misleading, it does reveal all the info in the fine print. And though some people do not remember installing this add-on, they might have technically agreed to install MySocialShortcut, even if they did not see it. But this add-on is obviously unethical and dishonest in how it spreads and how it behaves.

MySocialShortcut promotes Myway.com and Ask.com and tries to get you to use these sites to search the web. It gets access to your browsing history and your search keywords, which is sort of like browsing a website that doesn’t have encryption. Encryption is becoming the standard in the web and it protects the privacy of all users, so it’s no wonder that some advertising companies want to get around that. But MySocialShortcut doesn’t even try to provide a good service in exchange for your data.

How MySocialShortcut spreads

There are a few explanations for why so many people do not notice when MySocialShortcut gets installed and allow this add-on in unintentionally. Bundling, malicious advertising, adware infections, even drive-by downloads could be responsible.

Many people might encounter MySocialShortcut on a site that requires them to download it in order to continue using the site or to download some file. Most likely, this isn’t a shady deal between the site and MySocialShortcut, but rather, just a malicious ad that can show up on almost any website. If a site requires you to install something or to allow notifications, don’t listen to it and close the tab (Alt+F4 for windows, Cmd+W for Mac OS).

Bundlers are freeware installers that include offers for additional software. You’re probably familiar with this, as many free programs include additional programs in them. If you don’t deselect these offers during the setup, they’ll get installed. The distributors of this freeware usually get paid for each successful installation of an optional offer, so some of them make it really difficult to notice the bundled software. Be careful or find more reliable sources to download software from.

I haven’t seen MySocialShortcut use drive-by-downloads, so I don’t want to accuse its creators wrongly, but with all the complaints that people have about never installing these extensions, who knows. I’ve definitely seen hijackers by this developer spread around by adware sites like Pushsub.com or Install.notify-service.com. Shortened links are also used, so be careful when clicking on unfamiliar links.

How to remove MySocialShortcut

MySocialShortcut is probably not the only browser hijacker in your web browser, but the method to remove them is always the same, the instructions are below this article. Sometimes it doesn’t completely work, though: the hijacker might reinstall itself, pop-up ads might still appear, and your browser settings might still be different from how you want them. Instructions on restoring the settings are below as well, this article talks about how to block browser notifications, and scanning your computer with an antivirus program (like Combo Cleaner for MacOS or SpyHunter for Windows) should weed out most malicious files that reinstall the hijacker.

Automatic Malware removal tools

TopHow To remove MySocialShortcut Hijacker from Google Chrome:

• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select More Tools→Extensions
  
• Select all malicious extensions and delete them.
  
• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select Settings
  
• Select Manage Search engines
  
• Remove unnecessary search engines from the list
  
• Go back to settings. On Startup choose Open blank page (you can remove undesired pages from the set pages link too).
• If your homepage was changed, click on Chrome menu on the top right corner, select Settings. Select Open a specific page or set of pages and click on Set pages.
  
• Delete malicious search websites at a new Startup pages window by clicking “X” next to them.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to MySocialShortcut Hijacker, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on a Chrome’s menu button (three horizontal lines) and select Settings.
• Scroll to the end of the page and click on theReset browser settings button.
  
• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

TopHow to remove MySocialShortcut Hijacker virus from Internet Explorer:

How to remove MySocialShortcut Hijacker virus from Internet Explorer (older versions):

• Click on the arrow on the right of the search box.
• Do the following: on IE8-9 choose Manage Search providers, on IE7 click Change search defaults.
• Remove the MySocialShortcut Hijacker from the list.

How to remove MySocialShortcut Hijacker from IE 11:

• Click on the Settings icon (top right) → Manage Addons.
  
• Go through Toolbars and extensions. Remove everything related to MySocialShortcut Hijacker and items you do not know that are made not by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Oracle or Adobe.
  
• Select Search Providers.
  
• If any of these search providers is not available, follow “Find more search providers” in the bottom of the screen and install Google.
  
• Close the Options.
• If your homepage was changed, click on the Gear icon on the top right corner to open the Internet Explorer menu, select Internet options and choose General tab. Enter a preferable URL to the homepage field and click Apply.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to MySocialShortcut Hijacker, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Gear icon→Internet Options.
  
• Choose the Advanced tab and click on the Reset
• Select “Delete personal settings” checkbox and click on the Reset button.
  
• Click on the Close button on the confirmation box, then close your browser.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.