How to Remove Startwebsearch.com (Chrome/Firefox/IE)

Can’t Remove Startwebsearch.com hijacker virus? This page includes detailed Startwebsearch.com Removal instructions!

Think of the Startwebsearch.com page as a sign. If you see it, you have a browser hijacker on your computer. The website is your first clue of the infection’s presence. Once it starts to take over your screen, you know you’re in trouble. Startwebsearch.com cannot appear without a hijacker, making it. So, there’s no doubt about it. Te sooner you accept the infection’s existence, the better. Acknowledge the threat, you face, as soon as you see Startwebsearch.com. If you don’t, you can be sure you’ll regret it. Nothing good comes from harboring a hijacker. They wreak havoc, and make a giant mess of everything. The issues start to flow not long after they invade. All of a sudden, Startwebsearch.com becomes your shadow. Every online move you make gets intercepted with the site. Open your browser, get redirected to Startwebsearch.com. Surf the web, it’s among your suggested links. Do anything online at all, the page is there. And, it’s not alone. You also get flooded with pop-up, in-text, and banner ads. Try to imagine what your browsing becomes once these intrusions kick in. Your screen turns into a continuous display of ads and Startwebsearch.com. That doesn’t go unnoticed. Pretty soon after the intrusion begin, you notice your system crashes more often. Apart from the frequent crashes, your computer slows down, as well. It’s a mess. Your browsing experience turns hellish. And, that’s not even the worst part. Not by a long shot. Do yourself a favor, and get rid of the hijacker the first chance you get. It’s the best course of action you can take. Avoid the trouble. Delete the hijacker threat.

How did I get infected with?

Startwebsearch.com shows up because a hijacker forces it on you. So, the question becomes, how did you end up with a hijacker? Those don’t pop up out of the blue. It may seem like they materialize out of thin air, but it’s not the case. In actuality, they ask for your permission before they enter. They need your consent on their installment. They must ask for it, and receive it, before entering your PC. In other words, you gave the green light to a malicious infection. You agreed to allow it into your system. But don’t beat yourself up too hard. At the time the exchange took place, odds are, you had no idea. That’s because the hijacker doesn’t ask outright. If it did, it’d get a rejection. So, to avoid denial, it turns to deceit. The infection turn to the trickiest ways to seek consent. It turns on the old bug gold methods to sneak past you. It hides behind freeware or fake updates. Uses corrupt links or sites as a shield to conceal its presence. And, of course, spam email attachments, as well. There’s an entire array of methods, the tool can use, so it sure has its pick. But, whichever one it chooses, it needs one key ingredient for success. Your carelessness. The hijacker needs you to throw caution to the wind. It needs you to give into naivety and haste, and rely on luck instead of due diligence. Do not make that colossal mistake. When allowing something into your system, be thorough. Read the terms and conditions, and take everything with a grain of salt. Even a little extra attention goes a long, long way.

Why is this dangerous?

The Startwebsearch.com page acts as a front. It’s the face of the hijacker tool. So, when you spot it pop up, you best take note. There’s a hijacker, somewhere on your computer. Find its exact hiding place as soon as you can. Then, once you do, delete it! Hijackers are not to be messed with. They’re dangerous. The longer they stay, the worse your situation becomes. The worst part, of dealing with such a program, is the privacy issue. Hijackers are designed a certain way. They are to keep close track of your browsing activities. And, catalog every move, you make. Once, they deem they have enough data from you, they send it. To whom, you wonder? Well, to the malicious cyber criminals that unleashed it onto the web. The unknown third parties behind the program get their hand on your private data. They have your personal and financial details at their disposal. Do you think that ends well? Don’t fool yourself. Protect yourself! Protect your system. Don’t stand by as your information gets stolen and exposed. The display of Startwebsearch.com is your clue. It’s your sign to urge you into action. Heed it, and act on it. Discover the hijacker’s hiding place. Then, remove. The sooner it’s gone from your computer, the better. Its prompt removal means you can breathe a sigh of relief.

How to Remove Startwebsearch.com virus

The Startwebsearch.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 Startwebsearch.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 Startwebsearch.com infection, you need to purchase its full version.

STEP 1: Track down Startwebsearch.com related processes in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate Startwebsearch.com startup location

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

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

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

• Open Google Chrome

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