Flash Media Start - How to remove

Flash Media Start is presented by its developers as a useful extension giving you quick access to popular movies directly through the home page. The service is supposed to provide with the most popular movies that are most often watched by the audience. There is an option to choose specific movie categories, such as animation, comedy, romance and so on. Flash Media Start extension also provides users with links that render quick access to popular websites, for example, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.

The first impression of Flash Media Start is definitely positive. However, when undertaking the deeper analysis of the extension it becomes certain that it additionally introduces a lot of other unwanted browser modifications. While active, the extension performs specific activities that affect your privacy and literally prevent you from obtaining the required information faster. There are many other valid reasons why Flash Media Start is not a good choice. This guide will furnish you with ways to remove the extension both manually and automatically.

Browser amendments by Flash Media Start

There is no substantial difference between Flash Media Start and other third-party browser extensions previously reviewed by us, for example, PDF Converter by Safely, Incognito Private Shield and Sport Reminder Search. What the extension does with the browser is quite predictable:

• changing the default home page;
• replacing your current search engine with the third-party search provider;
• modifying the ‘new tab’ functionality with the intention to launch the Flash Media Start new tab instead.

So, why does Flash Media Start perform the aforesaid amendments? Answering this question will lead us to the exact purpose of the extension and will help us fully understand its impact on the browser. There are certain advertising companies that stand behind the extension. They aim to promote the great number of third-party websites through the extension. Logically, the more browsers are contaminated by Flash Media Start, the more chances are that people will click on the ads integrated into the extension. By the way, there will be a lot of advertisement banners and sponsored links integrated into your browser as long as Flash Media Start remains active. The supported content will be placed on top of the pseudo search results instead of the relevant data, plus you may face the great number of banners, coupons, deals and discounts that will be displayed on top of other essential information. These ads will not be related to the websites you visit, so you will not be able to properly perceive the information when visiting the legitimate websites through your browser.

Clicking on the ads promoted through the Flash Media Start extension is not a good idea. In fact, we strongly advise you to stay away from paying attention to any information delivered by it. Why is it so? Well, the research shows that the extension is interconnected with a lot of shady websites that may infect your computer with the following unwanted utilities:

• fake system optimization tools (primitive registry cleaners, bogus driver-updating apps, etc.);
• rogue security programs;
• third-party browser extensions similarly involved in search hijacking;
• fake Adobe Flash Player or Java installers integrated with malware.

How to remove Flash Media Start

The facts stipulated above concerning the Flash Media Start extension definitely are sufficient enough to make the right decision to delete the hijacker at once. The first important step is to remove the suspicious programs that could lead you to the hidden installation of the extension. Check your available applications and delete the ones that do not look familiar, especially when you don’t recall installing them directly. Another step is to inspect your available browser settings in order to disable and delete the Flash Media Start extension. This step is quite simple, you need to open the Google Chrome menu, then click on “More Tools” where you will find “Extensions”. Locate Flash Media Start and get rid of it.

The reports by our customers indicate that the manual steps mentioned above work well, however, the problem is that there is no absolute guarantee that the system is free of other malware. Currently, the adware is very smart and may leave a lot of its remnants that may easily ‘resurrect’ infections even after you successfully delete them. To completely neutralize the negative activity of adware in your system we recommend scanning it with Spyhunter to detect all hidden threats and delete them automatically.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Flash Media Start Hijacker

How to remove Flash Media Start using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like Flash Media Start install some of their components as regular Windows programs as well as additional software. This part of malware can be uninstalled from the Control Panel. To access it, do the following.

• Start→Control Panel (older Windows) or press Windows Key→Search and enter Control Panel and then press Enter (Windows 8, Windows 10).
• Choose Uninstall Program (if you don't see it, click in the upper right next to "View by" and select Category).
• Go through the list of programs and select entries related to Flash Media Start . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make Flash Media Start easier to find.
• Click the Uninstall button. If you're asked if you really want to remove the program, click Yes.
• In many cases anti-malware programs are better at detecting related parasites, thus I recommend installing Spyhunter to identify other programs that might be a part of this infection.

How to remove Flash Media Start from macOS

Delete Flash Media Start from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the Flash Media Start app.
5. Select it and right-click it (or hold the Ctrl and click the left mouse button).
6. In the dropdown, click Move to Bin/Trash. You might be asked to provide your login password.

TopHow To remove Flash Media Start from Google Chrome:

• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select More Tools→Extensions
  
• Select all malicious extensions and delete them.
  
• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select Settings
  
• Select Manage Search engines
  
• Remove unnecessary search engines from the list
  
• Go back to settings. On Startup choose Open blank page (you can remove undesired pages from the set pages link too).
• If your homepage was changed, click on Chrome menu on the top right corner, select Settings. Select Open a specific page or set of pages and click on Set pages.
  
• Delete malicious search websites at a new Startup pages window by clicking “X” next to them.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to Flash Media Start, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on a Chrome’s menu button (three horizontal lines) and select Settings.
• Scroll to the end of the page and click on theReset browser settings button.
  
• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How To remove Flash Media Start from Firefox:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla window and select the “Add-ons” icon (Or press Ctrl+Shift+A on your keyboard).
  
• Go through Extensions and Addons list, remove everything Flash Media Start related and items you do not recognise. If you do not know the extension and it is not made by Mozilla, Google, Microsoft, Oracle or Adobe then you probably do not need it.
  
• If your homepage was changed, click on the Firefox menu in the top right corner, select Options → General. Enter a preferable URL to the homepage field and click Restore to Default.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to Flash Media Start, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla Firefox window. Click on the Help button.
  
• ChooseTroubleshooting Information on the Help menu.
  
• Click on theReset Firefox button.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button on the confirmation box. Mozilla Firefox will close and change the settings to default.
  

If the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program to identify malicious entries.

How to remove Flash Media Start from Microsoft Edge:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Microsoft Edge window. Select “Extensions”.

• Select all malicious extensions and delete them.

• Click on the three-dot menu on the browser toolbar and Select Settings

• Select Privacy and Services and scroll down. Press on Address bar.

• Choose Manage search engines.

• Remove unnecessary search engines from the list: open the three-dot menu and choose Remove.

• Go back to Settings. Open On start-up.
• Delete malicious search websites at Open specific page or pages by opening the three-dot menu and clicking Delete.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to Flash Media Start, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings

• Click on Edge's menu button and select Settings. Click on the Reset Settings button on the left.
• Press the Restore settings to their default values option.

• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How to remove Flash Media Start from Safari:Top

Remove malicious extensions

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences.
  
• Select Extensions and uninstall Flash Media Start and other suspicious extensions.
  
• If your homepage was changed, click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences and choose General tab. Enter preferable URL to the homepage field.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings(older versions) If you are still experiencing any issues related to Flash Media Start, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Reset Safari…
  
• Select which options you want to reset (usually all of them come preselected) and click on the Reset button.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.