Gotoinstall.ru is a browser hijacker that imitates Google and even looks like it. Furthermore, it redirects all search queries to a custom Google search engine. This hijacker was designed to serve an agenda, and it is distributed using deceptive methods to replace your browser’s homepage address in order to make you use it for searching the web and, thus, see ads in the search results. Furthermore, this hijacker can gather information about you to show personalized, geotargeted ads that generate more interest and, thus, revenue. However, the advertisements and links shown by Gotoinstall.ru can be unsafe, so we recommend that you remove it from your computer as soon as you can.
There is no information on where this hijacker comes from, but its domain address gives away there it is hosted. Evidently, this hijacker is hosted on a server based in Russia. Nevertheless, it looks like it was tailored for English speakers more than Russian speaking people as the main page features a large doodle that says “Search” and the search box says Google Custom Search. Hence, this hijacker has not been localized.
We believe that this hijacker (like so many others) is distributed using bundled software installers designed to inject additional software or hijackers such as this one when installing the primary software. We think that the installers have been set to inject Gotoinstall.ru into your browser by default, so it is likely that you will not be able to uncheck its implementation. The bundled software installers are probably featured on shady freeware websites, so you ought to watch out for those.
We have found that this hijacker comes without a browser extension and it does more than just replaces the homepage address. Our research has revealed that the installers have been set to modify your browser’s Target line settings to load Gotoinstall.ru each time you open your browser. Target line hijacking ensures that the homepage remains hijacked because it will override your settings if you replace the homepage address manually.
Its creators use Google Custom Search to present you with search results, so all of the search terms you enter into Gotoinstall.ru are redirected to Google Custom Search. The search results are modified, and Gotoinstall.ru use Google’s platform to show promoted links and ads that can be quite misleading, so we do not recommend that you use it for searching the web.
It is also worthy of a note that that this particular hijacker can collect information about you to maximize ad revenue, granted, it does not do anything that other hijackers do not do. Gotoinstall.ru collects usage and technical information to present you with targeted ads that you may be inclined to click. For this reason, this hijacker can obtain information such as your browser type, operating system type, IP address, approximate geographical location, search terms entered, and search history, among other information.
If you do not want Gotoinstall.ru keeping tabs on your browsing preferences that result in targeted links and ads in the search results, we recommend that you remove it from your computer as soon as you can because these links and ads can be misleading. See the guide below on how to fix the target line and reset your browser to default.
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox