Hijackthis

Hijackthis is a freeware tool that was created by Merijn Bellekom for Microsoft Windows. The tool is designed to target various hijacking methods instead of fishing through a database of well-known software. Basically, the tool scans the computer and shows the various hijacking locations, and displays the entries there. So Hijackthis finds the location of the browser hijacking issue, which can hopefully spot malware found on a computer. The hijackthis tool only lists general locations where hijacking is probable, but it does not remove it.

The way that Hijackthis operates is through generating plain text files and making notes on all of the entries discovered, as some of the entries can actually be repaired by Hijackthis. Novices should be cautioned, as Hijackthis cannot tell the difference between wanted and unwanted items, except for some whitelist entries, which allow a user to accidentally prevent programs from working, thus causing perhaps the entire system to fail. Hijackthis creates new files, or back-ups of items that it fixes, which can eventually restore the system in the case of a future breakdown.

Hijackthis is used to post logfiles whereby expert users can decipher the entries that should be removed. Automated tools can examine various logs and provide alternatives for the user. However, serious users of Hijackthis consider these tools to be fatal for novices, and they can never take the place of a trained, knowledgeable person.

Online Malware detection is essential these days because millions of innocents become victims of these malicious programs. As long as the user has experience using Hijackthis, he or she stands a chance at detecting these parasitic developers. The latest antivirus impostors including Virtumonde, Antivirus 2008, and System guard 2009, which mimic real software programs, but they are potentially lethal in nature and can perhaps be spotted by Hijackthis.

Learn more about Hijackthis and download it at the Trend Micro website: http://free.antivirus.com/hijackthis/