Remove Softonicstart.com Redirect (Complete Removal)

As you can probably tell, Softonicstart.com is unsafe. This program is light years away from the attractive search engine it’s supposed to be. However, hackers’ don’t really tend to be honest about the malicious parasites they develop. They tend to lie and, ultimately, cause you damage. Softonicstart.com has been classified as a nasty browser hijacker. Have you had to deal with hijackers so far? Check out today’s article to learn all you need to know about the virus. It’s key for your further safety that you take measures immediately. You’re stuck with a deceptive, tricky, very dangerous infection. The more time it spends on your machine, the more harmful it becomes. Softonicstart.com modifies your default browser settings. Just to make the mess a little bit bigger, the virus seeks no permission. It completely ignores all your preferences about your own browser experience. And that’s just the beginning. Hijackers do exactly what their name implies. They hijack the browsers of the target computer. That’s what Softonicstart.com does as well. It makes changes in your default search engine and browser homepage. Both get replaced with the parasite’s domain. As a result, you’re forced to use Softonicstart.com when surfing the Web. The only problem is that anything generated by this thing is unreliable. Hijackers have a very specific category of web links to display. Sponsored web links. That means the virus will bombard you with tailored and questionable search results. Apart from the obvious fact you won’t be able to find what you search for, you also get exposed to threats. There is no doubt that some of the Softonicstart.com so-called “accurate” search results are corrupted. You should never trust a sponsored link. This program is generating web traffic so hackers could gain profit. Their revenue comes at your expense, though. By keeping Softonicstart.com on your machine, you’re becoming a sponsor of cyber criminals. We assume that you aren’t willing to support their malicious business. Then get rid of their hijacker. The Softonicstart.com virus might also display various pop-up ads in various shapes. That includes coupons, discounts, price comparisons, product deals and offers. Restrain yourself from clicking any of those. Hackers will keep on harassing you till the very moment you remove this nuisance.

How did I get infected with?

There are many plausible scenarios. That’s why it’s quite difficult to tell which method Softonicstart.com used. The most popular technique at the moment is called freeware/shareware bundling. All sorts of infections imaginable use this stealthy tactic. Therefore, next time you install such programs, be cautious. You might accidentally agree to download a whole bunch of parasites if you skip steps. Remember, the Web is infested with parasites. Preventing installation is indeed easier than having to remove malware. Do the right thing concerning both your safety and privacy. Watch out for undesirable intruders. Opting for the Custom or Advanced option in the Setup Wizard could help you protect your device. Also, it’s always a good idea to check out the Terms and Conditions. Same thing goes for the EULA (End User License Agreement). Reading those might seem like a time-consuming task. However, it could save you a huge hassle later on. Be careful what you give green light to. Stay away from unverified websites as well. Last but not least, bear in mind spam messages and email-attachments are potentially harmful. Make no mistake when it comes to your security. It’s your job and yours only to prevent malware infiltration.

Why is this dangerous?

There’s no reason to tolerate the hijacker. However, Softonicstart.com gives you plenty of reasons to uninstall it right now. The virus modifies Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer. It leads to a poor PC performance. It also disturbs your everyday online activities. As mentioned already, none of the parasite’s shenanigans involves your consent. Hijackers work behind your back. They also cause your browsers to redirect you, freeze or crash on occasions. Your Internet connection might become unstable too. This pest of a program is supposed to provide accurate and safe search results. It turns your online experience into a cyber battlefield instead. To top it all, Softonicstart.com jeopardizes your privacy. It collects all your browsing-related data such as browsing history, usernames, passwords, email addresses, IP addresses. Hackers won’t think twice before they sell your details to third parties with unknown intentions. Don’t let the hijacker mess with you. To delete it manually, please follow our detailed removal guide down below.

How to Remove Softonicstart.com virus

The Softonicstart.com 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 Softonicstart.com 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.

WARNING! Stopping the wrong file or deleting the wrong registry key may damage your system irreversibly.
If you are feeling not technical enough just use Spyhunter Professional Malware Removal Tool to deal with the problem!
>>Download SpyHunter – a Professional Remover.

Please, keep in mind that SpyHunter’s scanner tool is free. To remove the Softonicstart.com infection, you need to purchase its full version.

STEP 1: Track down Softonicstart.com in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate Softonicstart.com startup location

STEP 3: Delete Softonicstart.com traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down Softonicstart.com 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 Softonicstart.com 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 Softonicstart.com 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 Softonicstart.com traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

• Open Google Chrome

• In the Main Menu, select Tools then Extensions
• Remove the Softonicstart.com 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 Softonicstart.com

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 Softonicstart.com, 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 Softonicstart.com 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 Softonicstart.com Virus (automatic) Removal Guide

Please, have in mind that once you are infected with a single virus, it compromises your system 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.