Malware

Browser hijacker Youndoo switches victims to new Chrome profile

The browser hijacker Youndoo, discovered earlier this year, is now adding an extra Google Chrome profile to victims' machines, copying settings from users' current profiles so they don't necessarily notice the difference when their settings are switched, according to researchers at Malwarebytes.

Infected users who look at their Chrome settings will notice a gray icon with account name “user0” instead of their own name and image. Users' extensions and histories are copied to this new account, but the start page is changed to Youndoo.com, which becomes the default search engine, Malwarebytes reported Tuesday in a blog post. Manually changing the settings back to the previous configuration won't undo the changes either; a system reboot is also required – and even then, Malwarebytes advised killing the program altogether, which is typically found bundled in free software downloads.

Bradley Barth

As director of multimedia content strategy at CyberRisk Alliance, Bradley Barth develops content for online conferences, webcasts, podcasts video/multimedia projects — often serving as moderator or host. For nearly six years, he wrote and reported for SC Media as deputy editor and, before that, senior reporter. He was previously a program executive with the tech-focused PR firm Voxus. Past journalistic experience includes stints as business editor at Executive Technology, a staff writer at New York Sportscene and a freelance journalist covering travel and entertainment. In his spare time, Bradley also writes screenplays.

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