1startpage.com virus - How to remove

1startpage.com virus is a browser hijacker that attacks Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. It replaces your homepage and default search provider no matter what were your preferences before. The program is added without asking your permission and for this reason it is classified as potentially unwanted application. 1startpage.com virus is usually installed together with free programs that users decide to install by themselves. It is not clearly disclosed during the installation so most of the users don’t even know about it until they see the changes in the settings of the browsers.

1startpage.com looks like any other search page. It uses Bing search provider. However, it actually bases your search results on sponsored websites. This only proves that the program seeks to advertise certain pages and increase their traffic. Keep in mind that it can include links to compromised websites too and if you click on them you can install malware and other infections without your knowledge.

If you have noticed that a lot of your browser settings have been changed and your searches now depends on 1startpage.com, you have to remove this hijacker as soon as possible. You should never use any search providers that appear on your browser out of nowhere as most likely they will lead to potential threats. It is also very likely that these programs will generate various ads and interfere into your browsing activities.

To remove 1startpage.com virus, go to Control Panel, Add/Remove programs list and uninstall anything related to this domain from there. Some versions of this hijacker install software that blocks browser settings from changing. To identify them, scanning with Spyhunter or other reputable antispyware tool might be useful. Then you can uninstall the extensions and reset settings in your browsers.

Special Removal Instructions of 1startpage Virus

How to remove 1startpage.com virus  from Internet Explorer (older versions):

1. Click on the arrow on the right of the search box;
2. Do the following: on IE8-9 choose Manage Search providers, on IE7 click on Change search defaults;
3. Remove 1startpage.com from the list.

How to remove 1startpage.com virus from IE 11:

1. Click on the Settings icon (top right)->Manage Addons;
2. Select Search Providers;
3. Change the default search engine to Bing or Google;
4. If any of these search providers is not available, follow “Find more search providers” in the bottom of the screen and install Google.

How to remove 1startpage.com virus from Firefox:

1. Enter “about:config” in url bar. This will open settings page;
2. Type “Keyword.url” in the search box. Right click and reset it;
3. Type “browser.search.defaultengine” in the search box. Right click it and reset it;
4. Type “browser.search.selectedengine” in the search box. Right click it and reset it;
5. Type “browser.startup.homepage” in the search box. Right click it and reset;
6. Search for “browser.newtab.url”. Right-click and reset. This will make sure that the search page won’t launch on every new tab;
7. If the settings revert and scan with anti-malware programs are clean: close Firefox, open file explorer and enter %AppData% in the address bar. Enter user.js in the search box. If this file exists, rename it and start Firefox again. You will have to repeat the steps above.

How to remove 1startpage.com virus from Google Chrome:

1. Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on the browser toolbar;
2. Select Settings;
3. Select Basics ->Manage Search engines;
4. Remove unnecessary search engines from the list;
5. Go back to Settings. On Startup choose ‘Open blank page’ (you can remove undesired pages from the set pages link too);
6. If your New Tab page is hijacked, you will have to scan with anti-malware program or use New Tab Redirect extension from Chrome Store.

Remove shortcut hijack (all browsers) (optional):

If your browser opens 1startpage.com page on startup only, try this:

1. Right click on your browser icon. Choose Properties;
2. Open Short cut tab;
3. Delete 1startpage.com part from target field.

 

Automatic Malware removal tools

Manual removal