Stage.aboveresults.com virus. How to remove? (Uninstall guide)
Stage.aboveresults.com redirect issue quickly becomes intolerable and forces users to look for the problem in their computers
The appearance of Stage.aboveresults.com URL in your browser’s address box is not a good sign, and it means that your browser has been hijacked by a potentially unwanted program (PUP). Once installed, such shady programs start tracking user’s online activities and delivering suspicious sponsored content in numerous forms such as search results, banners or pop-up ads.
Not only content delivered by Stage.aboveresults.com virus is annoying, but dangerous as well. You can never predict where these ads will lead you, what offers you may receive or what is the possible outcome going to be. In the worst case, you can unknowingly compromise your computer system by adding some questionable browser extensions, applications or fileless infections as well as malware[1] such as Trojans or even more severe threats.
However, the infection cannot start without user’s interaction; therefore the victim has to carelessly click on provided search results as well as on ads and links in the external websites in order to get infected. As you may have understood, the adware isn’t malicious itself[2], but it can provide not-so-trustworthy sponsored search results and ads to you.
All that it does is tracks your online activities and then generates sponsored search results based on collected data (including search queries, IP address, geolocation and similar information). Our research shows that the described hijacker mainly targets US and UK users, but many people from France have been affected, too (according to Lesvirus.fr report[3]).
No matter what, we cannot guarantee that data collected by this suspicious AboveResults.com virus is going to be stored in a secure form. The Privacy Policy document states:
You are surfing a dynamically generated website that includes third-party advertising. Placement of tracking technologies such as and not limited to cookies and or web beacons is permitted to third-party advertising companies. These 3rd-party advertising companies may use such technologies to gather anonymous website statistics about your visits to this and other websites. These statistics are used by these third-party advertising companies to provide ads of relevance to you.
We recommend you to think about your security and choose a software that does not promote AboveResults.com. Besides, you will shortly find out that it is not so easy to get rid of it – the adware places itself on your computer not to be removed quickly, so it might require some time and patience to remove Stage.aboveresults.com entirely.
You can delete this potentially unwanted program manually using instructions we prepared, or use anti-malware software like Reimage for a quick Stage.aboveresults.com removal.
Click 'Start -> Control Panel -> Programs and Features' (if you are 'Windows XP' user, click on 'Add/Remove Programs').
If you are 'Windows 10 / Windows 8' user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once 'Quick Access Menu' shows up, select 'Control Panel' and 'Uninstall a Program'.
Right click on each of suspicious entries and select 'Uninstall'
Right click on browsers' icon and select 'Properties'
Select 'Shortcut' tab and delete 'http://isearch.babylon.com...' or other suspicious URL
Cick 'Go' and select 'Applications'
Click on every malicious entry and select 'Move to Trash'
Click on menu icon and select 'Manage add-ons'
Right click on each of malicious entries and select 'Disable'
Delete malicious URL, enter your desired domain name and click 'Apply' to save changes
Go to 'Advanced' tab and click on 'Reset' button. Now select 'Delete personal settings' and click on 'Reset' button again
Go to Settings and select 'Choose what to clear'
Select 'Clear' button
Open the start menu and select 'Task Manager'
Right-click 'Microsoft Edge' and select 'Go to details'
Select 'More details' if 'Go to details' option fails to show up
Find Microsoft Edge entries and select 'End Task'
Go to Microsoft Edge folder on your computer, right-click every entry and click 'Delete'
Find Windows PowerShell, right-click it and select 'Run as administrator'
Copy and paste a required command and press 'Enter'
Click on menu icon and select 'Add-ons'
Select 'Extensions' and look for malicious entries. Click 'Remove' to get rid of each of them
When in 'General' tab, delete malicious URL from 'Home Page' section or click on 'Restore to Default' button. Click 'OK' to save changes
Click on menu icon and then on '?'. Select 'Troubleshooting Information'
Click on 'Reset Firefox' button for a couple of times
Click on menu icon. Select 'Tools' and 'Extensions'
Look for malicious entries and delete each of them by clicking on the Trash bin icon
After clicking on menu and 'Settings', select 'Set pages'
Click 'X' to remove malicious URLs
When in 'Settings', select 'Manage search engines...'
Click 'X' to remove malicious URLs
When in 'Settings', scroll down to 'Reset browser settings' button and click on it
Click on 'Reset' button to complete your removal
Click on 'Safari' and select 'Preferences'
Go to 'Extensions' and uninstall malicious add-ons
When in 'General', delete malicious URL and enter your desired domain name
Click on 'Safari' and select 'Reset Safari...'
Select all options and click on 'Reset' button
Things to do to keep spyware programs away
Nobody wants to deal with interferences during browsing sessions and hardly anyone wants to see millions of ads on their computer screens daily. Such unpleasant effects can start showing up right after installing some free programs using default or standard installation settings that are often marked as “recommended.”
- Do not let this word trick you into choosing setup option that contains agreements to install every “recommended” program you do not need or want.
- Select Custom or Advanced option to expand the list of extra items bundled with your download. Additionally, you will need to deselect these additions.
- Try to avoid software offered by suspicious Internet pages, especially those overloaded with ads that pretend to be “download” buttons. If you see aggressive ads suggesting that you need to “check” your computer status immediately, avoid clicking on them as well.
- Finally, protect your computer with anti-spyware software to prevent unwanted programs from sneaking into your computer silently.
Remove Stage.aboveresults.com virus and start enjoying your browsing sessions
There is no better way to remove Stage.aboveresults.com virus than doing it automatically. However, if you study the guide provided below the article and carry out the given instructions with caution, you can eliminate the virtual annoyance by yourself. We strongly suggest reading the given instructions carefully and without rush.
Even if you decide to perform manual Stage.aboveresults.com removal, you can still check your computer with a free system scan afterward. Such system scan will reveal remaining threats and virus’ files (in case there are any).
You can remove virus damage automatically with a help of one of these programs: Reimage, Malwarebytes. We recommend these applications because they can easily delete potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.
To remove Stage.aboveresults.com virus, follow these steps:
Uninstall Stage.aboveresults.com from Windows systems
The provided tutorial explains how to remove AboveResults.com virus and delete the suspicious URL from browser shortcuts so that Chrome, Firefox and other web browsers would stop opening that page on browser's startup.
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Click Start → Control Panel → Programs and Features (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
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If you are Windows 10 / Windows 8 user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once Quick Access Menu shows up, select Control Panel and Uninstall a Program.
- Uninstall Stage.aboveresults.com and related programs
Here, look for Stage.aboveresults.com or any other recently installed suspicious programs. -
Uninstall them and click OK to save these changes.
- Remove Stage.aboveresults.com from Windows shortcuts
Right click on the shortcut of Mozilla Firefox and select Properties. -
Go to Shortcut tab and look at the Target field. Delete malicious URL that is related to your virus.
Repeat steps that are given above with all browsers' shortcuts, including Internet Explorer and Google Chrome. Make sure you check all locations of these shortcuts, including Desktop, Start Menu and taskbar.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariEliminate Stage.aboveresults.com from Mac OS X system
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If you are using OS X, click Go button at the top left of the screen and select Applications.
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Wait until you see Applications folder and look for Stage.aboveresults.com or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash.
Remove Stage.aboveresults.com from Internet Explorer (IE)
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Remove dangerous add-ons
Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top right corner of the browser and choose Manage Add-ons. -
You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for Stage.aboveresults.com and other suspicious plugins. Disable these entries by clicking Disable:
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Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Click on the gear icon (menu) on the top right corner of the browser and select Internet Options. Stay in General tab. -
Here, remove malicious URL and enter preferable domain name. Click Apply to save changes.
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Reset Internet Explorer
Click on the gear icon (menu) again and select Internet options. Go to Advanced tab. - Here, select Reset.
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When in the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset again to complete Stage.aboveresults.com removal.
Get rid of Stage.aboveresults.com virus from Microsoft Edge
Reset Microsoft Edge settings (Method 1):
- Launch Microsoft Edge app and click More (three dots at the top right corner of the screen).
- Click Settings to open more options.
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Once Settings window shows up, click Choose what to clear button under Clear browsing data option.
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Here, select all what you want to remove and click Clear.
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Now you should right-click on the Start button (Windows logo). Here, select Task Manager.
- When in Processes tab, search for Microsoft Edge.
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Right-click on it and choose Go to details option. If can’t see Go to details option, click More details and repeat previous steps.
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When Details tab shows up, find every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right click on each of them and select End Task to end these entries.
Resetting Microsoft Edge browser (Method 2):
If Method 1 failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method.
- Note: you need to backup your data before using this method.
- Find this folder on your computer:
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe. -
Select every entry which is saved on it and right click with your mouse. Then Delete option.
- Click the Start button (Windows logo) and type in window power in Search my stuff line.
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Right-click the Windows PowerShell entry and choose Run as administrator.
- Once Administrator: Windows PowerShell window shows up, paste this command line after PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> and press Enter:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml -Verbose}
Once these steps are finished, Stage.aboveresults.com should be removed from your Microsoft Edge browser.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariErase Stage.aboveresults.com from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
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Remove dangerous extensions
Open Mozilla Firefox, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Add-ons → Extensions. -
Here, select Stage.aboveresults.com and other questionable plugins. Click Remove to delete these entries.
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Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Click on the menu (top right corner), choose Options → General. - Here, delete malicious URL and enter preferable website or click Restore to default.
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Click OK to save these changes.
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Reset Mozilla Firefox
Click on the Firefox menu on the top left and click on the question mark. Here, choose Troubleshooting Information. -
Now you will see Reset Firefox to its default state message with Reset Firefox button. Click this button for several times and complete Stage.aboveresults.com removal.
Delete Stage.aboveresults.com from Google Chrome
Use the given instructions to locate and delete Stage.aboveresults.com virus from Chrome.
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Delete malicious plugins
Open Google Chrome, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Tools → Extensions. -
Here, select Stage.aboveresults.com and other malicious plugins and select trash icon to delete these entries.
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Change your homepage and default search engine if it was altered by your virus
Click on menu icon and choose Settings. -
Here, look for the Open a specific page or set of pages under On startup option and click on Set pages.
- Now you should see another window. Here, delete malicious search sites and enter the one that you want to use as your homepage.
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Click on menu icon again and choose Settings → Manage Search engines under the Search section.
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When in Search Engines..., remove malicious search sites. You should leave only Google or your preferred domain name.
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Reset Google Chrome
Click on menu icon on the top right of your Google Chrome and select Settings. -
Scroll down to the end of the page and click on Reset browser settings.
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Click Reset to confirm this action and complete Stage.aboveresults.com removal.
Uninstall Stage.aboveresults.com from Safari
- Remove dangerous extensions
Open Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu at the top left of the screen. Once you do this, select Preferences. -
Here, select Extensions and look for Stage.aboveresults.com or other suspicious entries. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid each of them.
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Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Open your Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu section. Here, select Preferences as it was displayed previously and select General. -
Here, look at the Homepage field. If it was altered by Stage.aboveresults.com, remove unwanted link and enter the one that you want to use for your searches. Remember to include the "http://" before typing in the address of the page.
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Reset Safari
Open Safari browser and click on Safari in menu section at the top left of the screen. Here, select Reset Safari.... -
Now you will see a detailed dialog window filled with reset options. All of those options are usually checked, but you can specify which of them you want to reset. Click the Reset button to complete Stage.aboveresults.com removal process.
About the author
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References
- ^ Ben Woods. Viruses, trojans, malware, worms - what's the difference?. WIRED UK. Future Science, Culture & Technology News and Reviews.
- ^ Olivia Morelli. Adware. NoVirus. Malware Definitions, Removal Guides.
- ^ LesVirus. LesVirus. Malware and Spyware Removal Guidelines, Security Tips.