Removing the New.net Browser Hijacker

New.net, or Newdotnet, is a browser hijacker which, according to it's creators, is designed to "enable" infected computers to access certain sites.

Words like "enable" imply that people have a choice, whereas browser hijackers are designed to ensure that we do not have that choice.

This particular hijacker is bundled with BearShare, iMesh, KaZaa, Go!Zilla, Babylon, Cydoor, Gdivx, and WebShots, and visitors to the New.net website are informed that other "partners" may be used in the future, so beware.

These removal instructions are provided by the malware distributors themselves, but it does seem that, in this instance at least, they can be trusted. If anybody finds that this is not the case, please click here and let me know.

Click on Start.
Click on Settings.
Click on Control Panel.
Double click on Add/Remove Programs.
Click on the Install/Uninstall tab.
Locate either New.net Application or New.net Domains and select it.
Click on the Add/Remove button.

When finished, restart your computer.

If the above method doesn't work,
Double click on My Computer.
Double click on the C: drive icon.
Double click on the Program Files folder.
Look for a NewDotNet folder.
If found, double click on the folder, then locate and double click on the uninstaller, which will be labelled uninstallx_xx.exe. (where "x_xx" represents the version number of the uninstaller. You should always use the latest version)

When finished, restart your computer.

If there is no NewDotNet folder,
Double click on My Computer.
Double click on the C: drive icon.
Double click on the Windows or Winnt folder.
Locate and double-click on the uninstaller, which will be labelled NDNuninstallx_xx.exe.
(where "x_xx" represents the version number of the uninstaller)

When finished, restart your computer.

If there is no uninstaller present, you can download one from New.net by clicking on the link below.
http://www.new.net/support/uninstall6_30.exe.
Download and save uninstall6_30.exe to a 3½" floppy disc.
Insert the disc into the floppy drive of the infected computer.
Click on Start.
Click on Run.
Type a:\uninstall6_30.exe.
Click on the OK button.

When finished, restart your computer.

Finally, you'll probably want to delete all instances of the uninstaller and anything else connected with the hijacker, though this isn't strictly necessary.

If the above procedures do not fully remove the hijacker, you're advised to contact support@new.net.

If you need to do this, please click here afterwards and let me know how you got on.