Chromium

 

Chromium

Chromium is a special type of software, which might be able to modify the settings of your favorite browser without asking for your approval. This program might easily incorporate a new homepage, a search engine, a toolbar or an add-on to popular browsing apps like Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc., and may force them to display various intrusive ads, pop-ups, banners and automatic page-redirects. And sadly, this is not the only program, which can do that. There is an entire software category, called browser hijackers, which can be blamed exactly for these activities, and it seems that Chromium is a typical representative of theirs. In the next lines, we will discuss all the basic things that every computer user should know about the browser hijackers, their abilities, typical characteristics, distribution channels and effective uninstallation methods. Those of you, whose browser has been hijacked by Chromium, could use the detailed instructions of the Removal Guide below to uninstall the unwanted changes and permanently remove the nagging ads from their screen.

Luckily, even if the hijacker is not removed, nothing really harmful could happen to the system.  Chromium and the other programs from its group are not representatives of any malware category and cannot relate to the criminal activities that a Ransomware or a Trojan horse virus could initiate. However, their presence on the computer might decrease the overall web surfing experience and may create irritation and constant page-redirect and pop-ups interruptions. For instance, Chromium may try to aggressively display ads, which correspond to your latest web searches or recent browsing history and for that, the program may launch a traffic data collection service in the background of your system. Another thing that might add up to the irritation could be the unresponsiveness of the hijacked browser or the sudden crashes and sluggishness that might happen due to the constant ad-broadcasting on your screen. These activities, despite not being malicious, could really prevent you from surfing the web normally and may convince you to uninstall Chromium and remove its nagging messages once and for all.

Why do developers create browser hijackers?

The browser hijackers are not creations of some anonymous cyber criminals. They are usually created by software developers, who use them for marketing purposes. The aim of such programs is to promote certain sponsored marketing content (it could be services, products, search engines, toolbars, software, homepages, etc.) directly on the people’s screen during their web browsing. The more the people get involved with the advertising content, the more traffic, exposure, sales and pay-per-click profits for the advertisers. There is really nothing illegal or criminal in this type of online marketing approach apart from the fact that it could be very annoying. Still, that simple annoyance is a good enough reason for some users to get rid of the hijacker without thinking twice. 

Where may you come across programs like Chromium and how to avoid them?

Torrents, different shareware platforms, free download links, spam messages, email attachments, automatic software installers and program bundles are the most typical sources of ad-producing software such as Chromium. In most of the cases, the unwanted program is promoted as a free component to another app, game, software update or a whole bundle of applications. Still, unlike the stealthy way a Ransomware or a sneaky Trojan can get in the system, the browser hijacker cannot self-install or replicate. It usually requires the users’ permission to get installed in the system and could easily be disabled from the installation pack if the correct installation options are selected. Most of the people, however, don’t pay close attention to the setup settings when running a new installer and skip the Advanced/Custom options, which can help them customize the installation of the given bundle. This is a common mistake which oftentimes lands them with programs like Chromium and similar undesirable components, which make changes to their system settings and install add-ons that modify their software.  To avoid annoying or harmful infections of this type, all the programs that you download and plan to make part of your system should be carefully customized. Another very important preventive measure you could take is to install reliable anti-virus software or use a trusted malware removal tool, which can detect and notify you when a potentially dangerous or infected content is loaded on the system. Of course, using your common sense and avoiding risky web locations should also be part of your protection strategy because, sometimes, one wrong click may deliver a really nasty and unexpected contamination. 

SUMMARY:

Name	Chromium
Type	Browser Hijacker
Detection Tool

How to Uninstall Chromium for Mac

Search Marquis is a high-profile hijacker – you might want to see if you’re not infected with it as well.

You can find the removal guide here.