MyStart.com redirect (Removal Guide) - Aug 2017 update
MyStart.com redirect Removal Guide
What is MyStart.com redirect?
MyStart.com search engine offers questionable links in results' pages
MyStart.com offers web search services, however, most cyber security experts classify it as a “browser hijacker[1]” and a “potentially unwanted program.” It can appear in your browser after installation of IncrediBar Toolbar, which is also known as IncrediBar – Games EN Toolbar. If you install this software on your computer, you might find it hard to remove MyStart search engine from your browser.
Unfortunately, but we do NOT recommend keeping MyStart.com homepage or the default search engine on your computer. In fact, you might be looking for information on how to remove Mystart.IncrediBar.com, too – we can tell that these search tools are closely related. For several years, both of these search sites have been in a “browser hijacker” category, and it seems that nothing has changed since our first research on these programs. At the moment, this hijacker is extremely prevalent in China (according to Wubingdu.cn[2]).
No matter that “MyStart virus” claims that it is capable of improving people's browsing experience on the Internet, it can also be involved in particular revenue-making scheme which is known as “pay-per-click.” This scheme helps the developers of various programs earn the money every time people click ads that are displayed thru their programs.
That's why they seek to show people search results that are slightly altered. Also, MyStart.com search may cause redirects to unknown websites that are trying to increase their traffic. No matter that this activity is still considered legitimate, you should always pay attention to the fact that there is no guarantee that each of sites that you may be redirected to is harmless.
It has always been suspicious websites that are using such scheme for promoting themselves. To prove you that, we provide this quote from the Privacy Policy of Mystart:
[…]Please be advised that aside from allowing advertising providers to place such ads on our Site, we do not control nor have access to the information contained in or generated from the cookies placed on your computer by our advertising providers. […]
By its very nature, our Site contains links to third-party Web sites. Please be aware that we cannot control and are not responsible for the information collection practices of third-party Web sites. We encourage you to review and understand the privacy policies of these Web sites before visiting them or providing any information to them.
As you can see, this search engine cannot be trusted and the easiest way to prevent the damage that it may cause to you is to remove this search engine from the system.
Although it might look as an easy task, you may notice mystart.com redirect issue right after removing it from your computer. In this case, it might be that you are dealing with its updated version and the easiest way to fix your computer is to use FortectIntego or other reputable anti-spyware.
NOTE. Keep in mind that the program described in this article is NOT a virus. The term “virus” is used in general form because many users refer to this program in such way. It belongs to potentially unwanted programs' category and initiates various unpleasant activities that users complain about. However, as far as we know, the activity of the hijacker isn't illegal.
Due to problems it causes for computer users, we recommend deleting it from the system. Again, we would like to remind you that links provided in search results delivered by My Start might land you on dubious Internet sites. Be careful!
MyStart.com browser hijacker is a highly annoying program that you should uninstall without hesitations. Once installed on the system, it can become a real problem and you might not find a way to remove it for a while.
Avoid installing IncrediBar Toolbar to keep your PC secure
In most of the cases, browser hijackers are noticed after the installation of another free program. Usually, software that carries the suspicious add-on is distributed via third-party download websites, such as Cnet, Softonic, Soft, Download[3], etc. since their executors earn the money from software installers that suggest adding extra programs alongside the main download.
However, experts agree that the program that is tightly wrapped to this suspicious search site and its promotion is IncrediBar Toolbar. If you accidentally installed it on your computer, follow the instructions provided by our expert team to eliminate it from your system.
Moreover, you should also keep in mind that MyStart.com redirect virus may also be bundled with a well-known free software, such as Java, VLC or Flash Player. Therefore, if you want to prevent installing software packages accidentally, you should carefully select freeware's download source (preferably the official website).
Besides, make sure that you look through Advanced/Custom settings because otherwise you may not even receive notifications about 'additional components' and unconsciously agree to install them by default. If it has already happened to you, then do not waste your time and take corresponding actions to remove MyStart.com virus from your machine.
Suspicious software related to MyStart
There are a lot of browser extensions that are closely related to the said browser hijacker. We strongly recommend you to check your system for these programs if MyStart IncrediBar was installed on it:
MyStart virus. It is a general term to describe browser-hijacking tools meant to promote the suspicious search engine. Security experts recommend deleting such programs and browser extensions from the system because My Start redirect issue can eventually become unbearable. You can find more programs related to this search hijacker down below.
MyStartShield.com virus. This suspicious search site might hijack your browser and make hxxp://mystartshield.com/ your default homepage after installing a specific extension called MyStart Shield. In fact, this suspicious extension is advertised by the main browser hijacker – myStart.com. When infected with this suspicious program, you might receive a notification suggesting you to get “web protection” and “protect your computer from malicious websites.”
Protection is always good, but make sure you use trustworthy tools for it. We can't find a reason why such protective tool would change your browser's homepage and search settings. Probably for inserting ads in search results and generating pay-per-click revenue. We do not find this extension trustworthy, so you may want to remove MyStartShield for good.
MyStart Toolbar virus. This toolbar is yet another Visicom Media's creation designed to trigger unwanted URL redirections, silently collect information about user's browsing habits, transmit it to its servers and serve interest-based ads. After installing it on your system, you might notice mystart.com or similar address launching automatically as soon as you run one of your web browsers.
The existence of this toolbar shouldn't be tolerated. The fact that it mostly infiltrates systems via bundled software packs is simply intolerable. We strongly recommend that you delete the hijacker using instructions added to this article or, ideally, anti-malware software.
MyStart Search Protection virus. MyStart Search Protection is a highly suspicious program that usually runs as a process called SearchProtection.exe. This process is part of MyStart Toolbar, and it is meant to secure changes in your browser's settings so that you couldn't remove http://mystart.com/ value from your browser's homepage and default search settings.
The suspicious program is developed by Spigot and is known to be highly annoying. If the victim attempts to change browser's settings, it might display a notification saying “An attempt has been made to switch your default search away from Search The Web.” In addition, the potentially unwanted program also blocks other potentially unwanted programs to keep the position of default search provider.
Mystartbyincredimail.com virus. It is an older version of the described search hijacker, which seems to be inactive at the moment. The search site is currently taken down. However, it may be restored at any time and keep attacking unsuspecting computer users again.
Mystart.incredibar.com virus. The Incredibar search site is closely related to the main hijacker and is also known to be distributed via software bundling. Once installed, it inserts unwanted toolbars into the browser and changes search settings to mystart.incredibar.com.
As a consequence, the user has to suffer from repetitious browser redirects, annoying pop-ups, browser slowdowns and other issues that nobody wants to run into. The hijacker can be eliminated by deleting IncrediBar Toolbar and other spyware-type programs from the computer. The easiest way to do it is to employ an anti-malware software such as FortectIntego.
Find.mystart.space virus. This bogus search engine appears to be highly suspicious since it doesn't provide any legal documents – you won't get access to Privacy Policy nor Terms of Use documents. Besides, it might hijack your browser's settings silently and set hxxp://find.mystart.space/ as default search page as well as homepage address.
We highly recommend you to stay away from MyStart Space because it looks like a typical money-making search tool that hardly provides useful services for the user. Clicking on search results brought by it can force you to enter highly dangerous Internet sites. Although this hijacker isn't related to the MyStart virus, its name is closely associated with it. To keep your computer protected, remove find.mystart.space without hesitating for a minute.
Remove MyStart.com browser hijacker today
If you have been dealing with any of these issues, you should check your computer and remove MyStart.com virus:
- changes in your start page and the default search engine;
- commercial pop-up ads, banner ads and links in your search results;
- redirects to unknown websites;
- slow downs and browser crash.
If any of these problems is known to you, you should consider scanning your computer with the reliable anti-spyware and removing everything what it manages to detect.
Manual mystart.com removal is also acceptable if you have been suffering from its redirects to unknown sites. However, you must be careful when performing each of steps because doing that in different order may not work for you.
You may remove virus damage with a help of FortectIntego. SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner and Malwarebytes are recommended to detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.
Getting rid of MyStart.com redirect. Follow these steps
Uninstall from Windows
Uninstall Incredibar, MyStart, Spigot and other suspicious programs using Control Panel's section called Add/Remove Programs or Programs and Features.
Then, open Registry Editor (press Windows Key + R, then type regedit and hit OK). Check HKEY_CURRENT_USER and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE folders for the following keys and delete them:
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Conduit\RevertSettings http://mystart.Incredibar.com
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Incredibar
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\IM\38 “PPD”
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ImInstaller\Incredibar
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Incredibar-Games_EN
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main StartPage “http://mystart.Incredibar.com”
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Conduit\Toolbars “Incredibar-Games EN Toolbar”
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Incredibar-Games_EN\toolbar
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Incredibar-Games EN Toolbar
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar “Incredibar-Games EN Toolbar”
In addition, you may want to go to Edit > Find and search for entries associated with mystart.com or just mystart keywords.
Instructions for Windows 10/8 machines:
- Enter Control Panel into Windows search box and hit Enter or click on the search result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.
- From the list, find the entry of the suspicious program.
- Right-click on the application and select Uninstall.
- If User Account Control shows up, click Yes.
- Wait till uninstallation process is complete and click OK.
If you are Windows 7/XP user, proceed with the following instructions:
- Click on Windows Start > Control Panel located on the right pane (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
- In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.
- Pick the unwanted application by clicking on it once.
- At the top, click Uninstall/Change.
- In the confirmation prompt, pick Yes.
- Click OK once the removal process is finished.
Delete from macOS
Remove items from Applications folder:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for all related entries.
- Click on the app and drag it to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash)
To fully remove an unwanted app, you need to access Application Support, LaunchAgents, and LaunchDaemons folders and delete relevant files:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and click Go or press Enter.
- In the Application Support folder, look for any dubious entries and then delete them.
- Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the related .plist files.
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 on Uninstall at the bottom.
Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Privacy & security.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Select everything (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 Disable if you found any suspicious domain.
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.
If this solution failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method. Note that you need to backup your data before proceeding.
- Find the following folder on your computer: C:\\Users\\%username%\\AppData\\Local\\Packages\\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe.
- Press Ctrl + A on your keyboard to select all folders.
- Right-click on them and pick Delete
- Now right-click on the Start button and pick Windows PowerShell (Admin).
- When the new window opens, copy and paste the following command, and then press Enter:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\\AppXManifest.xml” -Verbose
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.
Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
Remove MyStart, IncrediBar, Search Privately, MyStartShield and other vague add-ons from Firefox.
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 unwanted plugin and click Remove.
Reset the homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Options.
- Under Home options, enter your preferred site that will open every time you newly open the Mozilla Firefox.
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, as well as Cached Web Content and press 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 IncrediBar Toolbar from Chrome, also delete MyStart Shield, Search Privately, and other unwanted extensions by Visicom Media or Spigot.
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 the suspicious plugins that might be 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 unwanted extensions from Safari:
- Click Safari > Preferences…
- In the new window, pick Extensions.
- Select the unwanted extension and select Uninstall.
Clear cookies and other website data from Safari:
- Click Safari > Clear History…
- From the drop-down menu under Clear, pick all history.
- Confirm with Clear History.
Reset Safari if the above-mentioned steps did not help you:
- Click Safari > Preferences…
- Go to Advanced tab.
- Tick the Show Develop menu in menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop, and then select Empty Caches.
After uninstalling this potentially unwanted program (PUP) and fixing each of your web browsers, we recommend you to scan your PC system with a reputable anti-spyware. This will help you to get rid of MyStart.com registry traces and will also identify related parasites or possible malware infections on your computer. For that you can use our top-rated malware remover: FortectIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes.
How to prevent from getting stealing programs
Stream videos without limitations, no matter where you are
There are multiple parties that could find out almost anything about you by checking your online activity. While this is highly unlikely, advertisers and tech companies are constantly tracking you online. The first step to privacy should be a secure browser that focuses on tracker reduction to a minimum.
Even if you employ a secure browser, you will not be able to access websites that are restricted due to local government laws or other reasons. In other words, you may not be able to stream Disney+ or US-based Netflix in some countries. To bypass these restrictions, you can employ a powerful Private Internet Access VPN, which provides dedicated servers for torrenting and streaming, not slowing you down in the process.
Data backups are important – recover your lost files
Ransomware is one of the biggest threats to personal data. Once it is executed on a machine, it launches a sophisticated encryption algorithm that locks all your files, although it does not destroy them. The most common misconception is that anti-malware software can return files to their previous states. This is not true, however, and data remains locked after the malicious payload is deleted.
While regular data backups are the only secure method to recover your files after a ransomware attack, tools such as Data Recovery Pro can also be effective and restore at least some of your lost data.
- ^ Liam Tung. Google: Unwanted bundled software is way more aggressive than malware. ZDNet. Technology News, Analysis, Comments and Product Reviews.
- ^ Wubingdu. Wubingdu. Malware Removal Guides.
- ^ Lowell Heddings. Here’s What Happens When You Install the Top 10 Download.com Apps. How-To Geek. For Geeks, By Geeks.