Sarthaks.club is an insecure site that offers to generate a free digital postcard for the new year celebration

Sarthaks.club is a website that promotes a free service that allows visitors to create a greeting card for the New Year celebration and send it to their friends or family. The postcard contains a variety of flashing animations and text, poor-quality pictures, and other components that look like they were compiled back in the 2000s. Users are asked to enter the name of the recipient and press “Go” which completes the creation of the Sarthaks.club greeting card.
Users are then asked to share the card via WhatsApp – a popular chat application used by millions of people worldwide. Once the “Share on Whatsapp” link is clicked, a “whatsapp://send?text=👌 Happy New Year wishes by **! %0A*->* Read Here.👇%0D%0Asarthaks.club/?u=” script is sent out, which consequently gains access to the sender's account. This might result in a WhatsApp account compromise.
Besides, those who encounter redirects to Sarthaks.club site might be infected with adware or a browser hijacker. These potentially unwanted programs [1] usually get installed together with other programs in a software bundle; thus, users rarely notice the entry point. Nevertheless, the symptoms of infection may include redirects to suspicious sites, intrusive ads, sponsored links in search results, and other suspicious activity on Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, or another browser.
| Name | Sarthaks.club |
|---|---|
| Type | Site that offers a free postcard creation service; frequent redirects might indicate adware infection |
| Related script | whatsapp://send?text=👌 Happy New Year wishes by **! %0A*->* Read Here.👇%0D%0Asarthaks.club/?u= |
| Category | Potentially unwanted program |
| Symptoms | Delivers intrusive advertisements, causes malicious redirects |
| Distribution | Software installations, deceptive ads, and websites |
| Main danger | Tracks and collects information about users' online habits |
| Removal | If you suspect that your machine might be infected with adware or a browser hijacker, it is a good idea to eliminate it either with anti-malware software or by using our manual removal guide below |
| Fix | In case your system is sluggish and returns errors or crashes, you should perform a scan with PC repair tool FortectIntego |
Sarthaks.club pop-ups frustrate users as they may cover up the background of legitimate websites. Also, when clicked, these pop-ups might redirect users to phishing or even malware-laden sites. Therefore, it is vital not to explore any of the encountered promotions or ads, and close down the browser immediately. Also, Sarthaks.club may use tracking cookies[2] that are implemented into the browser and collect the information about web browsing history. This is done to use targeted advertisement for more profits.
When you visit Sarthaks.club you are greeted with the colorful message that encourages to touch the gift. This interactive button then activates a New Year message on the screen:
Wishing You
Happy New Year
2019Let this New Year be the one,
where all your dreams come true,
so with a joyful heart,
put a start to this year anew.
Wishing you a prosperous and happy New Year 2019!

Sarthaks.club also provides a different message in 2020:
May the New Year brings lots of good news to you!
May this new year bring you much joy and fun.
New Year is the time
to touch every heart
with love and care.
New Year is the time to
receive and send blessings.
It is the time to
breathe the magic in the air.!! Wish you a very Happy New Year 2020 !!
You are suggested to enter your name and make this message personal. While the cheesy message might appeal to some, the minimal effort that was put to create this site should create an opposite effect for most. More ever, the presence of adware might lead to more serious infections. Therefore, you should remove Sarthaks.club pop-ups from your computer as soon as possible.
Sarthaks.club adware can affect the machine in various ways:
- deliver intrusive advertisements;
- redirect to suspicious websites;
- deliver promotional content that contains automatic installs;
- affect the performance of Chrome, Firefox, Explorer browsers.
Researchers[3] note that Sarthaks.club removal should be performed by either using reputable security software or our instructions below. After adware elimination, we suggest you scan your device with FortectIntego to make sure that it works just as well as it did before the infection.

PUPs are hidden in software bundles
You need to pay more attention to the installation procedure of free software. Typically, users do not think that it is worth spending time on the process and do want to be done with it as soon as possible. Unfortunately, such activities might result in various potentially unwanted program infiltration on the PC. Luckily, there are several steps you can take to reduce the probability of such an outcome.
Make sure to install your software from a reputable source or the official website because this way you know exactly what type of program is going to be installed on your machine. You can also avoid PUPs by choosing Advanced or Custom options during installation instead of Recommended ones. This way, you can deselect unwanted programs from the list and install the applications you intended to.
Terminate Sarthaks.club from the system and clean the device thoroughly
For full Sarthaks.club removal, you should employ a reputable anti-malware tool. A thorough system scan can indicate if there are several infections hidden inside the computer, and eliminate them all. This method is simple and only requires a few minutes of your time.
Alternatively, you can also remove Sarthaks.club virus manually. You can simply follow our step-by-step guide below, and then refresh each of the affected browsers. However, be aware that this method requires some basic computer knowledge and might be too complicated for some. In such a case, we recommend using anti-malware software instead.
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.
Reset Internet Explorer
Remove dangerous add-ons:
- Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
- Pick Manage Add-ons.
- You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.

Change your homepage if it was altered:
- Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
- Select Internet Options.
- In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
- Click Apply and then select OK.

Delete temporary files:
- Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
- Under Browsing history, click Delete...
- Select relevant fields and press Delete.

Reset Internet Explorer:
- Click on Gear icon > Internet options and select Advanced tab.
- Select Reset.
- In the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset.

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.

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