SONAR.ProcessHijack Virus Removal

SONAR.ProcessHijack, which is a security warning issued by Symantec’s Norton Antivirus, indicates the presence of a specific type of malicious software on the system on which Norton Antivirus is running. Norton Antivirus gives the SONAR.ProcessHijack warning whenever its sensors detect abnormal activity from specific files on the system. This activity could be some unauthorized processes trying to access various files and folders, trying to modify the Windows Registry, or trying to access administrator areas of the system. These malicious programs may also steal private data and download other malicious software to the computer.

Symantec advises the following course of action in case of your installation of Norton Antivirus reporting an instance of SONAR.ProcessHijack:

Disable System Restore – In Windows XP, System Restore can be accessed via Start Menu->Accessories->System Tools. Here you will be able to disable System Restore. In Windows Vista/7, open the start menu and search for ‘System Restore’. Choose to disable System Restore points from being created.

Update your Norton Antivirus virus definitions to the latest version. Virus definitions can be updated through your Norton Antivirus control panel.

Commence a complete scan of the computer using Norton Antivirus. Norton will detect the location of the file that is causing the SONAR.ProcessHijack warning. You now have the option of deleting or quarantining the files that are causing the warnings.

In rare cases, Norton Antivirus may detect legitimate programs with a SONAR.ProcessHijack warning. This is due to the highly sensitive nature of the scanning process which Norton employs. It is best to take precautionary measures however, and to quarantine whatever files that may be detected to be causing this warning. If you are sure that the detected file is legitimate, you may restore it from quarantine.

SONAR.ProcessHijack is a warning of dangerous malicious software that could damage your computer. However, with the use of Norton Antivirus, you can alleviate this threat before it causes any serious damage.