Amazon is a widely popular retail platform where you can find great deals for any product you want. People consider Amazon a convenient option for online shopping and want easy access to the platform. Therefore, Amazon launched a virtual shopping assistant known as the Amazon Assistant, to make things easier for its customers.
The Amazon Assistant allows users to compare prices of different brands, keep track of current orders, and be aware of the latest deals on offer. The Amazon extension is a great tool for someone who wants a comprehensive shopping assistant.
However, where there is a useful product, there are others who try impersonating genuine services and fool users with a service of their own. The Amazon Assistant aa.hta virus is one of such bogus services.
The Amazon Assistant aa.hta Virus is nothing like the original shopping service it tries to replicate. Instead of being a friendly web browser extension from Amazon, the program is an annoying malware that will spam your computer with excessive advertisement of products.
While this may not seem harmful at first, the actions taken by the Amazon Assistant aa.hta Virus can expose you to extremely dangerous viruses.
In this article, we will discuss how this adware works and how you can stay safe from this malware. Furthermore, the article contains a comprehensive Amazon Assistant aa.hta Virus removal guide to get rid of the virus.
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In essence, the Amazon Assistant aa.hta is not really a virus. Instead, it is an unwanted program known as a browser hijacker. A browser hijacker is a malicious program that has the ability to change the settings of your web browser. This means that these applications can change the homepage and default searching engine of the browser.
Moreover, these applications often initiate page redirects to their various sponsored pages. These page abrupt redirects interfere a lot with your regular browsing and can be pretty annoying.
The Amazon Assistant aa.hta is no different and alters the web browser settings of its victim without wasting any time. However, when users see these changes, they are quick to jump to conclusions and start thinking that the Amazon Assistant aa.hta is a virus.
While the program is not as harmful as a real virus (i.e., ransomware), there are several aspects of the system that can frustrate you a lot. For instance, browser hijackers such as Amazon Assistant aa.hta are known to make certain changes to a system’s Registry keys.
These changes have the potential to make your computer vulnerable to external threats such as other dangerous viruses and malware. Besides that, these malware have the tendency to issue fake alerts, warning messages, and pop-up notifications telling you that there is a problem within your system.
However, once you click on one of these alerts or notifications, it can land you on a malicious website. Once you are on such a website, you are at risk of getting exposed to dangerous viruses that can harm your system.
Lastly, programs such as the Amazon Assistant aa.hta often scan your browsing history and extract information relating to your browsing habits. These programs then sell this information to third parties, which they later use for marketing purposes. Other times, they use this information for their own marketing purposes and get a significant product by spamming you with advertisements.
People often wonder where they got infected with Amazon Assistant aa.hta in the first place. While it’s easier to point fingers at the Amazon, but the likely culprit behind the installation of
the browser hijacker is the user himself.
However, you don’t need to be hard on yourself. Most times, people have no idea that they have installed a browser hijacker. The reason why it’s hard to stay away from browser hijackers is that they use other software bundles to infiltrate your system.
The majority of these programs are bundled with downloadable items on an open-source platform. For instance, you might get infected with a browser hijacker after you try to install free software or using a free service on the internet. Other times, these files can enter your system after you use peer-to-peer file-sharing platforms such as torrent.
The problem is that most users don’t pay attention when they are installing new software from an external source. These users just cruise through the entire installation process without paying attention to what they are installing. As a result, they accidentally install malicious components as well.
Avoiding these malicious programs is not that difficult if you are careful during the installation process. Spending an extra minute to install software with custom settings can help you avoid most browser hijackers.
Cyber attacks can happen at any time and when you feel protected. Total AV offers the protection that you need but won’t break the bank. You can get the free security and peace of mind that millions of other people around the world use daily. With security that you use every day, you can rest assured that there is someone looking out for you. Download a free copy of Total AV Today!
| Name of Software | Amazon Assistant aa.hta “Virus” |
| Type | Potentially Unwanted Program/ Browser Hijacker/Adware |
| Danger Level | Amazon Assistant aa.hta isn’t a virus on its own. However, the program has the potential to damage your computer by other means. The application presents a low to medium risk because it can facilitate dangerous viruses (such as ransomware) is damaging your system.
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| Symptoms | One of the most apparent symptoms of a browser hijacker is that the performance of your web browser will worsen. Web pages will take significantly longer to load. Other than that, the application will display you various kinds of advertisements. You will see unwanted audio/video ads, annoying pop-ups, and intrusive ad-banners.
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| Distribution Method |
Adware such as the Amazon Assistant aa.hta “Virus” cannot install themselves on computers without your help. These programs are bundled up with the installation of free software or any free services you use. You can also catch these programs after you visit untrustworthy websites. |
| Detection Tool | Only a handful of tools have the capacity to detect the numerous kinds of viruses found on the world wide web. In our opinion, TotalAV antivirus is the best tool to detect different kinds of viruses on every platform available. TotalAV can easily clear out the Amazon Assistant aa.hta ‘virus’ from your computer. The great thing about his antivirus is that it’s completely free. Besides that, the company even gives a 7-day free trial so that users can get a catch of its premium features. TotalAV has the ability to stops viruses before they can infect your computer. To see how the antivirus works, download it by visiting the company’s website download page. |
There are various ways to remove the Amazon Assistant aa.hta “virus” from your computer. One of those ways is to remove the said virus manually. However, that can leave the core files of the virus in your computer, which allows it to infect your computer again in the future.
Moreover, leaving the core files of the virus will put your computer at constant risk of getting exposed by dangerous viruses such as ransomware and Trojans. The best way to remove Amazon Assistant aa.hta from your computer is by installing the TotalAV antivirus.
The TotalAV antivirus will get rid of Amazon Assistant aa.hta “virus” or any other malware in the computer. However, if you’re still not sure about getting TotalAV antivirus yet, you can try these manual techniques to remove Amazon Assistant aa.hta “Virus” manually:
A browser hijacker bases its operation in your web browser. Therefore, you can temporarily
remove the browser hijacker from your computer by eliminating it from the web browser. To do this, you need to reset all the browser settings.
Doing so will also delete any additional programs that have clung on to your web browser. However, this will not remove any core files that are hidden somewhere in your system.
The Amazon Assistant aa.hta “Virus” can infect every popular web browser. So, there’s a good chance that you’ll have the adware in your computer even if you don’t use Google Chrome. To reset your web browser, follow the steps below:
At first, you need to open your respective web browser. If you are using the Google Chrome web browser, look for at the top-right of the browser screen and click this icon. After you do that, you‘ll see a list of options. Look for Settings and select it to open the browser settings. Once the browser settings open, scroll down until you see the ‘Advanced’ option. Select Advanced to continue.
After the Advanced section opens, scroll down until you see “Reset and Clean Up.” Beneath this label, you will see the option of “Restore settings to their original defaults.” Select the option to proceed with the process.
As soon as you select the last option, a pop-up will ask you to confirm whether or not you want to reset the browser settings. Select “Reset Settings” to remove all additional applications from the browser.
Note: Our readers should remember that that resetting the web browser settings will remove every add-on or extension from the browser. As a result, even useful extensions installed on your computer will get removed. So don’t follow this step if you have any important information saved in one of those extensions.
Resetting the browser settings, or any other manual method, for that matter, only removes the malware from your browser. But it does nothing to remove core files of the malware that have made their way into the system’s registry.
Alternatively, you use a reliable antivirus solution to get rid of hidden files. TotalAV has a 7-day trial version, so you can use this period to get the best out of the software and remove any
virus from your computer.
Go to TotalAV website and look for the antivirus’ download page. Click the ‘Download Now’ button to start downloading the installation setup in your computer.
Once the file downloads, click on the downloaded file icon to start the installation process.
Click ‘Yes’ whenever the system asks you about installation. After the installation completes, the system will ask your permission to restart the computer; click ‘Yes’ to proceed.
When your computer turns back on, open the TotalAV application, and click on ‘Antivirus.’ This will open further options. Among these options, select “System Scan” to start a virus scan of your entire system.
The virus scan will scan each and every file in your computer memory; therefore, it will take some time. You can leave your system on until the scan completes.
After the system scan completes, the antivirus will suggest recommendations on what you should do next. Open the recommendations to see what you can do to remove any traces of the virus left.
The antivirus will show a list of security threats it has detected. Just allows TotalAV to ‘Take action’ to delete all malicious programs from your computer. You should also take a look at the “Quarantine” section to view which files remain. Usually, this section contains Trojan programs. Unless you’re absolutely sure that a certain file is a legitimate program; delete all files in this section.
Total AV is the best choice for anyone who wants online protection at a low price because you get free protection from the world’s top threats. When you download today, you even receive a 30-day money back guarantee. What are you waiting for? Get your free copy of Total AV Today!
Amazon Assistant aa.hta is a browser hijacker that spams your computer with various forms of advertisements. The vulnerabilities it leaves in your System Registry can expose you to various security threats.
Besides that, it can introduce users to links that contain dangerous viruses. The only credible way to remove Amazon Assistant aa.hta virus is through a sophisticated antivirus like TotalAV. TotalAV will delete every core file Amazon Assistant aa.hta has hidden in your system. Moreover, the antivirus will provide you with malware protection in the future as well.
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