I thought my Firefox was infected. When I opened Firefox, it redirected to Start.search.us.com. I have tried several methods to get rid of it. I have gone into extensions and deleted anything that looked like it. I have gone into ‘uninstall programs’ and un-installed anything that was to do with it. But problem still persisted. I. How do I get rid of Start.search.us.com redirect completely?
Start.search.us.com is another browser hijacker that will install additional programs on your computer system, such as unwanted toolbars, add-ons or some start-up processes, which could lead to annoying website diversions. It infects a target computer by exploiting security vulnerabilities and then takes control of the browser completely. Once running, it is able to modify settings on all browsers you have installed which include: IE, Firefox and Google Chrome. Thus, every time you open your browser or click on any search results, you will get Start.search.us.com redirect showing up as your homepage or new tab that typically interrupts every search session of the user.
The main purpose of this threat is to reroute infected Internet users to corrupt web pages so that hackers can use the artificial traffic to boost affiliate payments. This domain may look like a friendly website, with its search box and provide a few icons to let you quickly link to Facebook, Twitter. But don’t be taken in by the juvenile tactics. This is just a spam engine that does nothing but delivers ads. Also using this bogus search engine will pose serious hidden danger for your privacy as well as your computer security as this redirect virus may be free to collect your sensitive information without your permission. Since this hijacker can pose a serious risk to your personal and financial data, it is suggested users to remove Start.search.us.com as quickly as possible.
Homepage is changed without any permission.
Desktop background is gone somehow.
Browser setting is modified.
Browsers like IE and Firefox works slowly.
Registry files are corrupted.
Considering this redirect issue can’t be fixed by any security tools, uses can use the manual guide below to fix this issue without any risk.
1. Clear all the cookies of your affected browsers.
Since tricky hijacker virus has the ability to use cookies for tracing and tracking the internet activity of users, it is suggested users to delete all the cookies before a complete removal.
Google Chrome:
Click on the “Tools” menu and select “Options”.
Click the “Under the Bonnet” tab, locate the “Privacy” section and click the “Clear browsing data” button.
Select “Delete cookies and other site data” to delete all cookies from the list.
Internet Explorer:
Open Internet explorer window
Click the “Tools” button
Point to “safety” and then click “delete browsing history”
Tick the “cookies” box, then click “delete”
Mozilla Firefox:
Click on Tools, then Options, select Privacy
Click “Remove individual cookies”
In the Cookies panel, click on “Show Cookies”
To remove a single cookie click on the entry in the list and click on the “Remove Cookie button”
To remove all cookies click on the “Remove All Cookies button”
2. End the malicious process from Task Manager.
Once this hijacker is installed, computer user may notice that CPU usage randomly jumps to 100 percent, slowing down the computer. If your system’s CPU spike is constant, users should check from Task Manager and see if there is a suspicious process occupying the system resources and then end it immediately.
(The name of the virus process can be random.)
Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc at the same time and it will open up task manager directly. Then change to “Processes” tab.
3. Show hidden files and folders.
Open Folder Options by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Appearance and Personalization, and then clicking Folder Options.
Click the View tab.
Under Advanced settings, click Show hidden files and folders, uncheck Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) and then click OK.
4. Remove all the malicious files manually.
%AppData%Local[random].exe
%AllUsersProfile%\Programs\{random}\
C:\Documents and Settings\LocalService\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\*.exe
HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Settings\{.exe}
HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Temp
Obviously, Start.search.us.com redirect is an unwanted thing for PC users as it is able to initiate annoying activity on victim’s computer and cause such problems, like browser redirections, annoying pop-up advertisements and slow PC performance. By altering the browser settings and changing browser settings without any consent, computer users must have a hard time while browsing online. It is often downloaded to computers together with freeware software, scamware tools, spam email attachments and other files with a questionable reputation. No matter how you get this hijacker installed, you must remove all the things related to this hijacker as soon as possible and make sure your browser is running fine and your computer is clean enough in case more and more viruses attack your computer as a result.
Note: If you are not knowledgeable enough to be able to distinguish the location of this virus, or you are afraid of making mistake during the manual removal, please contact experts from YooCare Online Tech Support for further help.
Published by on June 28, 2013 10:01 am, last updated on June 28, 2013 10:03 am
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