Remove Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com virus (Free Instructions)
Should you trust Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com search engine and results that it delivers to you?
Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com virus is a potentially unwanted program (PUP) that cyber security experts often identify as a browser hijacker or a redirect virus[1]. If you’re wondering where does this program get such label from, we want to explain how it acts once it gets into the system. This program might come in the form of a browser extension or a simple program, and once it enters the computer system, it gets on user’s nerves and starts causing redirects to Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com. It also sets this domain as default search engine, homepage, and new tab page address. This site looks like a copy of Google at first sight, but actually, it hides an untrustworthy search engine that delivers sponsored search results. There is no point in trusting such search engine because it presents search results that it wants you to click on, not the ones that you need to find. In other words, results delivered by Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com redirect virus can be irrelevant or point to insecure websites. We believe that you should not use this search engine under no circumstances. Even its URL looks untrustworthy. What we have also dig up is that this browser hijacker has been developed by Bontio, Inc, a company that is related to many other browser hijackers. If you do not want to let this virtual parasite to ruin your browsing experience, better remove Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com hijacker from the system. It is clear that it focuses on pay-per-click revenue[2] more than it cares about your satisfaction, so Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com removal should be a top-priority task for you. It is highly recommended to do it with a help of special software such as ReimageIntego.
Questions about Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com virus
Another worrying fact about this search tool is that it collects certain data about your activity online and uses it for vague purposes. Our team has discovered that it captures and stores data accessible via your computer and browser, including your OS type, browser, IP address, pages that you have visited, average time you spent on them, search queries, and similar data[3]. Although Bontio claims to be using this information only to improve its services, it might use it to display “more relevant ads” to you, which can lure you to enter suspicious third-party websites. As we have mentioned before, these can be untrustworthy as their Privacy Policies may differ from Bontio’s.
When did I infect my computer with this hijacker?
Browser hijackers, just like the rest of potentially unwanted programs typically enter victim’s computer silently. What is surprising is that it doesn’t mean that Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com hijack happens in an illegal way. Absolutely not – this program is considered legal, no matter how annoying it is. You can accidentally agree to install it when installing another free program you have downloaded from the Internet[4]. This can happen in case you tend to ignore installation settings when installing software. These settings are extremely important. Did you know that Advanced/Custom settings are more reliable than Default/Standard ones? If not, you should start giving priority to the Advanced and Custom settings because these allow you to install the new product the way you want. It also means that you will become capable of seeing what’s inside your download, and also you will become able to modify these contents. So if you see any suspicious entries such as “Yes, I agree to set Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com as my search engine and new tab page,” deselect them and proceed with the installation. Also, do not forget to scan provided legal documents (EULA and Privacy Policy) for any mentions of bundled additional third-party software[5].
Ways to get rid of Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com
If you’re concerned about Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com removal, you should get familiar with two different options to remove it. First of all, do not worry if you do not have antivirus or antimalware program. You can download one of the ones we suggest using (for instance, ReimageIntego), or remove Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com manually using instructions presented below. If you have any questions regarding this mid-level browser infection, do not hesitate to ask us via “Ask Us” page or write your thoughts in the comments section below.
You may remove virus damage with a help of ReimageIntego. 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.
To remove Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com virus, follow these steps:
Delete Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com from Windows systems
Open Start Menu, and use Windows Search to open Control Panel. You can also access it by clicking the Start Menu button with a right-mouse click and choosing Control Panel from the menu that appears. In the Control Panel, access Add/Remove programs section and Uninstall all suspicious entries that you can find. You should remove all programs developed by Bontio, Inc, Pokki or SweetLabs.
To remove Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com virus from Windows 10/8 machines, please follow these steps:
- 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 entries related to Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com virus (or any other recently installed 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.
Get rid of Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com from Mac OS X system
If your macOS is displaying some infection symptoms, proceed with the following guide:
Remove Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com virus from Applications folder:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com virus-related entries.
- Click on the app and drag it to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash)
To fully remove Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com virus, 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 related to Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com virus and then delete them.
- Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com virus-related entries.
Uninstall Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com from Internet Explorer (IE)
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 Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com virus and other 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 again to complete Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com virus removal.
Erase Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com virus 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 Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com virus-related 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.
Reset MS Edge if that 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 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.
Eliminate Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com 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 plugins that are related to Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com virus and click Remove.
Clear cookies and site data:
- Click Menu and pick Options.
- 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.
In case Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com virus did not get removed after following the instructions above, 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 – this should complete Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com virus removal.
Remove Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com from Google Chrome
Open Chrome and, using instructions provided below, delete all extensions published by Pokki, SweetLabs, or Bontio. In addition, get rid of suspicious extensions such as Web-Start and similar shady-looking ones.
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 Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com virus 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.
If the above-methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com virus-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 to complete Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com virus removal.
Delete Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com from Safari
Remove unwanted extensions from Safari:
- Click Safari > Preferences…
- In the new window, pick Extensions.
- Select the unwanted extension related to Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com virus 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 Stg-234i23r9-hpw.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: ReimageIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes.
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.
- ^ Gabriel E. Hall. Browser hijacker. NoVirus. How to get rid of computer viruses.
- ^ Pay-per-click. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
- ^ Bontio Privacy Policy (The link of the virus described in the post, use it for informational purposes at your own risk). Bontio, Inc..
- ^ Here’s What Happens When You Install the Top 10 Download.com Apps. How-To Geek. For Geeks, by Geeks.
- ^ How to Avoid Malware. PCWorld. News, tips and reviews from the experts on PCs, Windows, and more.
Your opinion regarding Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com virus
You must be logged in to post a comment.
December 13th, 2016 at 10:58 am
I cant understand how this virus got on my PC… Im so confused
December 13th, 2016 at 11:01 am
Stg-234i23r9-hpw.com has been bothering me for the past few days. Thank you for providing these instructions – they were seriously so useful. I have detected and removed about 5 suspicious browser extensions that I have never installed!
December 13th, 2016 at 11:02 am
I managed to remove it… But gotta scan the system to make sure there are no more viruses
December 13th, 2016 at 11:03 am
I wonder who would like to use search engine that is located on such a suspicious domain… oh god.
December 13th, 2016 at 11:03 am
Right….