Websearch.com virus (Removal Guide) - updated Mar 2021
Websearch.com virus Removal Guide
What is Websearch.com virus?
WebSearch.com is the app that promotes shady toolbar and spies on users
WebSearch.com virus is an annoying browser hijacker [1] which pretends to be a legitimate search engine, tricks people into using it for their web search and collects data about their browsing. To be able to execute its predetermined plan, the Web Search malware replaces the infected browser’s homepage and assigns search.yahoo.com as the default search engine.
Then these platforms can be used to promote affiliate products and services [2]. In particular, the virus pushes users into downloading the WebSearch Toolbar extension. The Newark-based software developers praise this freely downloadable browser helper for its wide selection of useful features, including “thematic buttons, video downloader, weather plugin, RSS feed reader, route planner” and others.
Unfortunately, the users who expect to make use of these functionalities are left disappointed. The toolbar as well as the Web Search engine are primarily designed to spy on the users, collect information about their browsing habits and then target them with ads and redirects, tailored to their interests.
Luckily, at the moment of writing the virus seems to be focusing on Mozilla Firefox, Chrome Chrome and Internet Explorer browsers. Nevertheless, it would be naive to consider yourself safe if you use Microsoft Edge or if your computer runs Mac OS X and you browse through Safari.
It only takes a few alterations in the virus code for it to be able to infect them. Needless to say, you must take steps to prevent that from happening. SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes will do great for this purpose. Besides with the help of these utilities, you will also easily remove WebSearch.com from your infected device.
We should also mention that the extensive advertising may have some impact on the computer performance, too. The computer with a hijacker running on it may work times slower than their virus-free counterparts, which can disbalance system’s stability and may diminish the effectiveness security software. Do not forget about system issues and fix them with FortectIntego after WebSearch removal.
Besides, if the virus stays on the computer for too long, WebSearch.com uninstall may not be enough to banish all malicious components from the system. You should remember that other unwanted software and BHO's [3] may have entered your computer along with the virus, so you will have to banish this component from your computer too, in order to achieve a thorough removal.
WebSearch.com is a legitimate looking website with a nasty purpose -- user tracking. Do not trust its neat design and remove the program from your browser right away.
Hijacker employs bundling to install on the targeted computer
Technically speaking, WebSearch.com is not a virus but a potentially unwanted program which does not need intricate techniques to infiltrate computers. It can be easily hidden within any freeware or shareware installation settings and install alongside these programs without asking additional permission.
This typically happens when users don’t bother going through the advanced settings when installing new software on their computers and keep on mindlessly pressing the “Next” button to finish the whole process quicker. Such behavior is typical to the less tech-savvy users, whereas more technically advanced people know that software bundling is one of the main ways malware infiltrates computers [4] and thus are careful with new software installation.
Benefits of manual and automatic WebSearch.com removal approaches
Everyone who wants to remove WebSearch.com virus from their infected devices has two basic options to go for. They can either get rid of the hijacker manually, i.e. follow a professional removal tutorial at the end of the article, or scan the computer automatically with professional malware detection software.
The benefit of manual WebSearch.com removal is the fact that the users can eliminate the virus for free, without having to install additional software on their computers. Nevertheless, automatic scan offers a quicker and more precise malware elimination.
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 Websearch.com virus. Follow these steps
Uninstall from Windows
As promised, we present you with the manual hijacker removal tutorial. Here is where you should start:
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)
Browser reset is an important step when it comes to browser hijacker removal. Before you roll back your browser's default settings, delete any suspicious extensions that may be installed on it.
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
Reset Google Chrome following the instructions below:
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 Websearch.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 browser plugins
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.
- ^ Fix your hijacked web browser. Microsoft. Microsoft support page.
- ^ Loren Baker. Earning from PPC search engine affiliate programs. SearchEngineJournal. SEO, search marketing news and tutorials.
- ^ Difference between BHO and a browser extension. Microsoft. Official Microsoft support page.
- ^ Liam Tung. Google: Unwanted bundled software is way more aggressive than malware. ZDNet. Technology News, Analysis, Comments and Product Reviews for IT Professionals.