Mystarting123.com virus (Removal Instructions) - Free Guide
Mystarting123.com virus Removal Guide
What is Mystarting123.com virus?
Mystarting123.com virus manipulates search results to redirect you to shady websites
Mystarting123.com is a page that can replace your previous homepage without asking for your permission[1]. The program that changes these browser settings is called a browser hijacker and belongs to potentially unwanted programs‘ (PUP) category.
Besides, cyber security experts believe that this domain is closely associated with Fireball malware, and that definitely does not create an image of a trustworthy search tool.
This suspicious and annoying program starts redirecting to hxxp:// Mystarting123.com/ every time the user attempts to use web search via browser‘s URL bar, opens a new tab, or new browser window. The website that the identified PUP promotes offers web search service that delivers modified search results.
These are usually filled with ads that look like regular search results, however, clicking them typically forces the victim to visit all kinds of third-party websites, and some of them can be really suspicious.
The variety of websites advertised via that search engine can provide all kinds of suspicious content that is not endorsed by developers of the search engine.
It seems that creators of the hijacker (which is believed to be related to MyLuckySite123.com, InitialSite123.com, or Mybeginning123.com) couldn‘t care less about users‘ security and privacy because they‘re focused on making money via pay-per-click scheme.
Therefore, if the user decides to use the described search engine, he risks facing repetitious and highly bothersome Mystarting123 redirects to external websites that might be potentially dangerous. Such activity shortly gets annoying; however, it soon becomes clear that it is not that easy to find and remove Mystarting123.
Because of that, we usually recommend users to run a system scan with a decent security software as it takes less time and saves some nerves in comparison to trying to remove this browser hijacker manually. Our suggested product is FortectIntego or Malwarebytes software.
Update June 2017: Recently, security researchers from CheckPoint revealed a high volume Chinese company operation that infected over 250 million devices on a global scale[2]. The suspected company, Rafotech, was using a malicious program called Fireball to infect the devices.
According to reports, the malware is capable of opening a backdoor on the target system and can allow the attacker to control the infected computer remotely. Although the malware is currently used only to drive web traffic to specific websites by changing victim's homepage and default search engine preferences, the malware could do much more.
The fake search engines tied to this malware are youndoo.com[3], startpageing123.com, luckysearch123.com and presumably MyStarting123.com. So if this suspicious hijacker emerged in your browser, you must check your system for Fireball and, if found, delete it ASAP. For this task, we suggest using anti-malware programs.
Mystarting123 might be spying on your activity online
Although it seems that the described hijacker mainly targets Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome users, others can be affected as well. Another problem of keeping this browser hijacker in the system is associated with your privacy, and you should carefully read legal documents provided by that shady search engine.
We were shocked to find out that this browser extension/software collects „personal information from online users in a variety of ways,“ for instance, when you enter such pieces of data through online forms.
The software also uses cookies[4], which keep track of your search queries, browsing history, and other little but important details about your preferences.
Collected data is usually used to pick targeted ads for you. After installing this potentially unwanted program, you might not only get ads within search results but also in pop-ups and banners placed on websites you visit. To avoid such annoyances, you have to start thinking about Mystarting123.com removal.
Infiltration strategy
Most of the PUPs travel in a bundle with other free programs and this way they can enter target systems with user‘s permission, although without one‘s knowledge (in most cases). The user falls in a trap if one tends to overlook statements provided in software installation settings.
Usually, below Default and Standard option there are a few statements saying that the user agrees to install „recommended“ programs along with the main piece of software.
To refuse to do this, one has to pick Custom or Advanced option and only then deselect the check mark next to these suggestions. It is also advisable not to download suspicious applications from third-party websites, no matter if it is a standalone program, browser‘s new tab, or browser extension.
Annoying ad-supported programs can be installed very easily, however, trying to remove them can become a really tiresome task. If you accidentally installed the described hijacker already, follow our instructions to get rid of it.
Remove Mystarting123 for good
Now that you already know what Mystarting123.com virus is, it is time to discuss its removal options. Mystarting123 can be deleted using anti-spyware software, but if you do not have it and do not plan to obtain one, you can test your computing skills and uninstall it manually.
To ease this task for you, we prepared a full tutorial on how to remove Mystarting123.com. The instructions are provided below.
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 Mystarting123.com virus. Follow these steps
Uninstall from Windows
Uninstall every program that entered your computer without your knowledge and is not part of operating system. Look for software developed by Rafotech.
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)
Firefox usually gets easily infected, therefore you must review extensions installed on it and delete the ones associated with MyStarting123 virus.
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 every add-on that found its way to Chrome browser without asking for your permission.
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 Mystarting123.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
Access your website securely from any location
When you work on the domain, site, blog, or different project that requires constant management, content creation, or coding, you may need to connect to the server and content management service more often. The best solution for creating a tighter network could be a dedicated/fixed IP address.
If you make your IP address static and set to your device, you can connect to the CMS from any location and do not create any additional issues for the server or network manager that needs to monitor connections and activities. VPN software providers like Private Internet Access can help you with such settings and offer the option to control the online reputation and manage projects easily from any part of the world.
Recover files after data-affecting malware attacks
While much of the data can be accidentally deleted due to various reasons, malware is one of the main culprits that can cause loss of pictures, documents, videos, and other important files. More serious malware infections lead to significant data loss when your documents, system files, and images get encrypted. In particular, ransomware is is a type of malware that focuses on such functions, so your files become useless without an ability to access them.
Even though there is little to no possibility to recover after file-locking threats, some applications have features for data recovery in the system. In some cases, Data Recovery Pro can also help to recover at least some portion of your data after data-locking virus infection or general cyber infection.
If this free guide helped you and you are satisfied with our service, please consider making a donation to keep this service alive. Even a smallest amount will be appreciated.
- ^ No slowdown in Launchpage.org virus activity as spring 2017 draws to a close. Virus Activity. News about Latest Computer Threats.
- ^ FIREBALL – The Chinese Malware of 250 Million Computers Infected. CheckPoint Blog. Threat Research, Security Insights.
- ^ Youndoo.com. 如何移除？ (卸载指南). Wubingdu. Remove Computer Viruses.
- ^ Tracking Cookie. F-Secure Spyware Description Database.