What is WeatherBug?
WeatherBug is an untrustworthy application created by Earth Networks, Inc., which claims that it is able to display reliable weather forecasts. However, it seems that this program is similar to LookThisUp, ArcadeGiant, WalletBee, and many other potentially unwanted programs that can easily initiate undesired activities on the system. WeatherBug add-on is mostly installed manually. However, it may also show up on your computer after installation of other free software. That’s why people keep calling it a virus. As it’s promised, as soon as this program enters computer, it drops a widget on your desktop and displays weather forecasts. However, it may appear not only on your desktop. It may also hijack each of web browsers, including Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, and then start displaying various commercial advertisements. It is highly recommended not to click on these pop-ups, banners, inter-text and other form of ads that are displayed by WeatherBug virus because they may be used for redirecting you to phishing websites. As you may already know, phishing websites are created by online scammers in order to infect computers with viruses or malware, or gather people’s personal information. Moreover, WeatherBug may also start tracking your browsing habits because it is usually installed together with tracking software that starts accumulating such data as browsing history, IP addresses, search queries as soon as it is launched. Keep in mind that this information is mostly used by third parties for improving their services but it may also be sent to unreliable people who may use it for dangerous activities. Having this in mind, we highly recommend avoiding this application.

How can WeatherBug hijack my computer?
WeatherBug is labeled as an adware, therefore it has no real value. As we have mentioned, it works perfectly on every browser that you have on your computer. However, all what it does is showing annoying pop-up ads and similar notifications. Besides, you should keep in mind that this program usually travels bundled with other free software and may get installed without your permission asked. For instance, when you download and install some application for free, such as download manager, PDF converter, video converter and so on, there is a chance that WeatherBug will be installed alongside with it without your awareness. That’s why you need to be very attentive during the installation of free programs. It is always advisable to look for reliable official website of the program and install programs attentively. However, if you cannot manage to find the official site, read end-user license agreement of the program and find out as much information as possible. Moreover, do not simply click on the ‘next’ or ‘I agree’ buttons to finish the installation because it is a big mistake that may lead you to the infiltration of various browser extensions and plugins. If you have already noticed ‘Ads by WeatherBug’ and similar notifications on your desktop, do not wait longer and eliminate this application from your system.
How to remove WeatherBug from my computer?
If you have decided to eliminate WeatherBug virus from your computer, we recommend using FortectIntego or SpyHunterCombo Cleaner. These programs are able to find and remove adware and viruses automatically. If you think that you can remove WeatherBug manually, follow the step-by-step removal guide below.
Uninstall from Windows
Uninstall from Windows 10/8:
- Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.

Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:
- Click on Windows Start > Control Panel (Windows XP users should click on Add/Remove Programs).
- In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.

Remove the unwanted program:
- In the Programs and Features window, look for any recently installed suspicious entries, select them, and click Uninstall.
- If User Account Control appears, click Yes to confirm, then complete the removal.

Delete from macOS
Remove the unwanted application:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).

Delete leftover files and folders:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
- Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.

- Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.
Remove from Microsoft Edge
Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:
- Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
- From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
- Click Remove.

Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Select Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files. (apart from passwords, although you might want to include Media licenses as well, if applicable) and click on Clear.

Restore new tab and homepage settings:
- Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
- Then find On startup section.
- Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.
Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:
- Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
- Select Details tab.
- Now scroll down and locate every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right-click on each of them and select End Task to stop MS Edge from running.

Instructions for Chromium-based Edge
Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):
- Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
- Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.

Clear cache and site data:
- Click on Menu and go to Settings.
- Select Privacy, search and services.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Under Time range, pick All time.
- Select Clear now.

Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- On the left side, pick Reset settings.
- Select Restore settings to their default values.
- Confirm with Reset.
- This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
- Select Add-ons.
- In here, select the unwanted extension and click Remove.

Reset the homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Settings.
- Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.
Clear cookies and site data:
- Click Menu and pick Settings.
- Go to Privacy & Security section.
- Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
- Click on Clear Data...
- Select Cookies and Site Data and Temporary cached files and pages, then click Clear.

Reset Mozilla Firefox
If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
- Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.

- Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox...
- Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.

Remove from Google Chrome
Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:
- Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
- In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all suspicious extensions related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.

Clear cache and web data from Chrome:
- Click on Menu and pick Settings.
- Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
- Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
- Click Clear data.

Change your homepage:
- Click menu and choose Settings.
- Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
- Click on Open a specific or set of pages and click on three dots to find the Remove option.
Reset Google Chrome:
If the previous methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the unwanted components:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
- Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
- Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
- Confirm with Reset settings.

Delete from Safari
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
- Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.

Clear history and website data:
- Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
- Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.

Reset Safari:
- Click Safari in the menu and select Preferences > Advanced.
- Enable Show Develop menu in menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop and select Empty Caches.

Was this guide helpful?
Be the first to comment