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  • Active
  • Severity: High
  • Stealing programs
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Mar 2017

How to remove StartPageing123.com virus

A step-by-step removal guide for affected devices. Follow the verified procedure below — most readers complete it in under 10 minutes.

Julie Splinters · Anti-malware specialist

Defining functionality of StartPageing123.com virus

StartPageing123.com virus is an aggressive browser hijacker which is compatible with Firefox and Chrome web browsers. However, the amount of the affected PC users makes us wonder: how long will we have to wait for its appearance on Safari, IE and Microsoft Edge. Just like any other browser hijacker[1], it tends to hijack the browser without a direct permission asked. It can also add malicious processes to your computer’s Task Manager, add its tasks to Windows Task Scheduler, drop Registry keys, etc. Despite this fact, it still looks like an ordinary search engine that can be used for daily searches. However, if you are desperately looking for a new tool for your searches, you should not switch to it – cyber security specialists have already tested this search engine and found it to be almost identical to LuckySearch123.com, Mylucky123.com, and LuckyStarting.com hijackers. However, one can learn about annoying StartPageing123.com redirect tendency right after installing it on your computer.

As soon as this PUP gets into the target computer, it tends to change some of browser’s settings and replaces the homepage, new tab URL and the default search engine to force the user to use its services. Browser hijackers are quite harmless because they are not working on stealing financial information from their victims or encrypting their personal files. However, they can redirect their victims to malicious websites what results in infiltration of one of these viruses. In addition, when having StartPageing123.com virus on your computer, you can notice an excessive amount of commercial content. Unfortunately, the abundant advertising has already become an issue for the majority of the virtual community due to some changes made in marketing policies. Beware that the appearance of such ads can become a nerve-wracking routine[2] which can be stopped only by initiating StartPageing123.com removal on your computer. You can do it quickly with the help of FortectIntego. To make sure that the virus is fully removed from the system, you also need to perform some steps given in the end of this post.

The illustration of StartPageing123.com virus

While choosing a new search engine, you should always get acquainted with the privacy policy. Surprisingly, the Privacy Policy, End User’s Agreement and similar documents contain important facts describing what information is usually collected by the developer, how it is treated after the collection, and so on. The cases of data breaches[3] have encouraged companies to review their privacy policies[4] recently. It seems that the developers of StartPageing123.com have also decided to reveal their interests – beware that they collect data related to users’ name, gender, date of birth and country about their users. What is more, they have also been using tracking cookies to collect browsing-related information which they share with third-parties and business partners. The problem is that your personal data may be shared not only with advertising companies but, eventually, it might get into the hands of crooks. While trying to image the best-case scenario, you can notice that your computer’s screen is covered with sponsored advertisements. However, at worst-case scenario your personal information can be related to more severe outcomes such as PC hijack. To prevent such issues, we highly recommend you to remove StartPageing123.com from each of your web browsers.

Methods used for virus distribution

This pseudo-search has been spread using similar techniques as other PUPs. According to its “About” section, it exploits the chance to get into users’ computers along with free applications:

startpageing123 has partnered with some of the most popular software packages in world, giving you the option to install our search settings during setup and giving them the opportunity to offer you their products for free.

So, you might try to skip the installation wizard by clicking “Next” button all the time while trying to save some time. However, the result that you can get – StartPageing123.com hijack – can take even more time from you because the removal procedure of this hijacker is quite complicated. In order to escape such software packages, you should install new programs differently. First of all, you must choose “Custom” or “Advanced” installation mode to reveal additional elements of the software. Then, make sure you unmark all unnecessary add-ons, extensions and other components and only then proceed to end of the installation. Keep in mind that you must be in constant vigilance while surfing online.[5].

How to remove StartPageing123.com virus?

Depending on your tech-related experience, you can remove StartPageing123.com virus from your computer manually or automatically. If you are in a hurry, don’t wait for too long and remove this hijacker with the help of an anti-spyware application. Programs that are provided below can help you fix the system with only several clicks. Besides, they will protect your machine in the future. Next, you should perform some manual StartPageing123.com removal steps on your computer. For that you will be required to follow the instructions given below.

Note! Make sure you are very careful while using these steps to minimize all possible risks related to your computer.

BONUS:

This is a very aggressive browser hijacker, so it can drop malicious Processes in your Task Manager. To disable them, hit Ctrl+Alt+Del and End all processes with strange names. Don’t forget to check their directories and remove them as well.

Besides, make sure you check Windows Services for malicious services related to Startpageing123. For that, hit “Win+R”, enter: “services.msc” (without quotes) and hit OK button. You need to disable randomly-named services or the ones that have hijacker’s name in their descriptions.

Next, open Windows Task Scheduler by hitting “Win+R” and entering: “taskschd.msc”(without quotes). Click OK and remove all tasks related to Startpageing123.com virus.

To clean Windows Registry, enter “Win+R”, type in: “regedit.exe” (without quotes) and press OK button. You should remove all values related to Startpageing123.com.

Uninstall from Windows

Uninstall from Windows 10/8:

  1. Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
  2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.Uninstall from Windows 10/8

Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:

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

Remove the unwanted program:

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

Delete from macOS

Remove the unwanted application:

  1. From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
  2. In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).Uninstall from Mac

Delete leftover files and folders:

  1. Select Go > Go to Folder.
  2. Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
  3. Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.Delete leftover files from Mac
  4. Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.

Reset Internet Explorer

Remove dangerous add-ons:

  1. Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
  2. Pick Manage Add-ons.
  3. You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.Remove add-ons from Internet Explorer

Change your homepage if it was altered:

  1. Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
  2. Select Internet Options.
  3. In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
  4. Click Apply and then select OK.Reset IE homepage

Delete temporary files:

  1. Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
  2. Under Browsing history, click Delete...
  3. Select relevant fields and press Delete.Clear temporary files from Internet Explorer

Reset Internet Explorer:

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

Remove from Microsoft Edge

Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:

  1. Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
  2. From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
  3. Click Remove.Remove extensions from Edge

Clear cookies and other browser data:

  1. Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
  2. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  3. 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.Clear Edge browsing data

Restore new tab and homepage settings:

  1. Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
  2. Then find On startup section.
  3. Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.

Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:

  1. Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
  2. Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
  3. Select Details tab.
  4. 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.Reset MS Edge

Instructions for Chromium-based Edge

Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):

  1. Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
  2. Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.Remove extensions from Chromium Edge

Clear cache and site data:

  1. Click on Menu and go to Settings.
  2. Select Privacy, search and services.
  3. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  4. Under Time range, pick All time.
  5. Select Clear now.Clear browser data from Chroum Edge

Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:

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

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)

Remove dangerous extensions:

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

Reset the homepage:

  1. Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
  2. Choose Settings.
  3. Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.

Clear cookies and site data:

  1. Click Menu and pick Settings.
  2. Go to Privacy & Security section.
  3. Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
  4. Click on Clear Data...
  5. Select Cookies and Site Data and Temporary cached files and pages, then click Clear.Clear cookies and site data from Firefox

Reset Mozilla Firefox

If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
  2. Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.Reset Firefox 1
  3. Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox...
  4. Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.Reset Firefox 2

Remove from Google Chrome

Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

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

Clear cache and web data from Chrome:

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

Change your homepage:

  1. Click menu and choose Settings.
  2. Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
  3. 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:

  1. Click on Menu and select Settings.
  2. In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
  3. Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
  4. Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
  5. Confirm with Reset settings.Reset Chrome 2

Delete from Safari

Remove dangerous extensions:

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

Clear history and website data:

  1. Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
  2. Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.Clear history from Safari

Reset Safari:

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

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