MyWebSearch “Virus” Removal

Can’t Remove MyWebSearch hijacker virus? This page includes detailed MyWebSearch Removal instructions!

Did the MyWebSearch website replace your preferable homepage? If it did, you are in trouble. Your computer is no longer infection-free. You have the MyWebSearch hijacker on board. Don’t panic! This parasite is not a full-fledged virus. Still, it is not to be underestimated. You are dealing with a malicious ad-generating program. This utility can cause your browser to freeze and crash frequently. It may affect your computer’s performance negatively. And, of course, it will definitely ruin your browsing experience. The MyWebSearch hijacker is programmed to inject advertisements on every web page you open. All the pop-ups, banners, in-text ads are provided by the furtive utility. This parasite blocks its competitors’ content and replaces it with its own. Additionally, it redirects your browser to third-party pages and pauses your online videos. There is nothing positive about the hijacker. It causes only troubles. More troubles than you can imagine. Yes, it displays advertisements. But not random ones. The hijacker monitors your browsing-related data and uses the collected information as a base for better ad-targeting. In theory, if you enter “sneakers” into some search engine, the hijacker will display ads for sports shoes. In practice, however, the hijacker will display all sorts of unreliable ads, most of which are for sports shoes. The hijacker collects information in order to sell it. The MyWebSearch hijacker exposes your privacy at risk. This utility should be removed ASAP! Choose a removal method and act! The sooner it’s gone, the better!

How did I get infected with?

The MyWebSearch hijacker uses a lot of trickery. As sneaky as it is, the hijacker still needs your approval to be installed. Yet, it doesn’t need to ask openly. This pest hitches a ride with other software. Be careful what you are giving your approval to. Freeware, shareware and pirated copies of licensed software often become hosts of such parasites. Download your software from reliable sources only. When you start an installation process, opt for the advanced setup option. Under the Advanced/Custom installation, you will be presented with a list of all additional tools that are about to be installed. You can deselect these apps and still install the program you originally planned to set up. Make sure you know what you are giving your approval to. Pay close attention to the fine print. Read the Terms and Conditions/EULA or research the apps online. If you spot anything out of the ordinary, abort the installation immediately. Other malware distribution methods include the good old spam emails, torrents, and fake software updates. Only your caution can prevent these techniques from succeeding. So, don’t be lazy. Always do your due diligence.

Why is this dangerous?

The MyWebSearch hijacker should be removed upon detection. This parasite modifies your browser settings without your explicit permission. No matter how hard you try to restore your preferences, the hijacker will always undo the changes. This pest prevents you from using your computer normally. On top of that, it bombards you with dozens and dozens of commercials, redirects your browser and even pauses your online videos. The MyWebSearch hijacker is hard to be tolerated. And it shouldn’t. This parasite spies on you. It lurks in the shadows and monitors your online activities. It sends the collected data to a remote server and sells access to it. All sorts of crooks can use this data to target you with customized marketing campaigns. With the hijacker on board, you are very likely to be redirected to online scams. If an offer looks too good to be true, it probably isn’t. Don’t disclose personally identifiable information or your credit card details. There are numerous bogus websites out there. The hijacker can easily redirect you to one of them. If you are extremely unlucky, you might end up on an infected page. One click is all it takes for a virus or malware to be downloaded. The MyWebSearch hijacker is a breach of your security. Your best course of action is the immediate removal of the hijacker.

How to Remove MyWebSearch virus

The MyWebSearch infection is specifically designed to make money to its creators one way or another. The specialists from various antivirus companies like Bitdefender, Kaspersky, Norton, Avast, ESET, etc. advise that there is no harmless virus.

If you perform exactly the steps below you should be able to remove the MyWebSearch infection. Please, follow the procedures in the exact order. Please, consider to print this guide or have another computer at your disposal. You will NOT need any USB sticks or CDs.

STEP 1: Track down MyWebSearch related processes in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate MyWebSearch startup location

STEP 3: Delete MyWebSearch traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down MyWebSearch related processes in the computer memory

• Open your Task Manager by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ESC keys simultaneously
• Carefully review all processes and stop the suspicious ones.

• Write down the file location for later reference.

Step 2: Locate MyWebSearch startup location

Reveal Hidden Files

• Open any folder
• Click on “Organize” button
  
• Choose “Folder and Search Options”
• Select the “View” tab
• Select “Show hidden files and folders” option
• Uncheck “Hide protected operating system files”
• Click “Apply” and “OK” button

Clean MyWebSearch virus from the windows registry

• Once the operating system loads press simultaneously the Windows Logo Button and the R key.

• A dialog box should open. Type “Regedit”

• WARNING! be very careful when editing the Microsoft Windows Registry as this may render the system broken.

Depending on your OS (x86 or x64) navigate to:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run] or
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run] or
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]

• and delete the display Name: [RANDOM]

• Then open your explorer and navigate to: %appdata% folder and delete the malicious executable.

Clean your HOSTS file to avoid unwanted browser redirection

Navigate to %windir%/system32/Drivers/etc/host

If you are hacked, there will be foreign IPs addresses connected to you at the bottom. Take a look below:

STEP 3 : Clean MyWebSearch traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

• Open Google Chrome

• In the Main Menu, select Tools then Extensions
• Remove the MyWebSearch by clicking on the little recycle bin
• Reset Google Chrome by Deleting the current user to make sure nothing is left behind

• Open Mozilla Firefox

• Press simultaneously Ctrl+Shift+A
• Disable the unwanted Extension
• Go to Help
• Then Troubleshoot information
• Click on Reset Firefox

• Open Internet Explorer

• On the Upper Right Corner Click on the Gear Icon
• Click on Internet options
• go to Toolbars and Extensions and disable the unknown extensions
• Select the Advanced tab and click on Reset

• Restart Internet Explorer

Step 4: Undo the damage done by MyWebSearch

This particular Virus may alter your DNS settings.

Attention! this can break your internet connection. Before you change your DNS settings to use Google Public DNS for MyWebSearch, be sure to write down the current server addresses on a piece of paper.

To fix the damage done by the virus you need to do the following.

• Click the Windows Start button to open the Start Menu, type control panel in the search box and select Control Panel in the results displayed above.
• go to Network and Internet
• then Network and Sharing Center
• then Change Adapter Settings
• Right-click on your active internet connection and click properties. Under the Networking tab, find Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4). Left click on it and then click on properties. Both options should be automatic! By default it should be set to “Obtain an IP address automatically” and the second one to “Obtain DNS server address automatically!” If they are not just change them, however if you are part of a domain network you should contact your Domain Administrator to set these settings, otherwise the internet connection will break!!!

You must clean all your browser shortcuts as well. To do that you need to

• Right click on the shortcut of your favorite browser and then select properties.

• in the target field remove MyWebSearch argument and then apply the changes.
• Repeat that with the shortcuts of your other browsers.
• Check your scheduled tasks to make sure the virus will not download itself again.

How to Permanently Remove MyWebSearch Virus (automatic) Removal Guide

Please, have in mind that once you are infected with a single virus, it compromises your whole system or network and let all doors wide open for many other infections. To make sure manual removal is successful, we recommend to use a free scanner of any professional antimalware program to identify possible registry leftovers or temporary files.