[bannerTop]
In this article we are going to try and help you remove Chromestart.info “Virus”. Our instructions cover all Windows versions as well as most browsers – Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer etc.
The name of the program that we are going to discuss today is Chromestart.info “Virus”. This is a browser hijacker – software known for its intrusive advertisements, page redirects, and the changes that it may apply to the users’ homepage or search engine, once it gets installed on their browser. All of the popular browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, Edge and the others may get invaded by a browser hijacker like Chromestart.info “Virus”, but, fortunately, uninstalling it is not rocket science and it surely is not as difficult as removing a nasty virus or malware like a Trojan or Ransomware infection. That’s why, if you want to get rid of the annoyance that this program may be causing you, all you have to do is follow the instructions in the removal guide below. Our team has placed some free and detailed instructions on how to detect and manually delete the browser hijacker and all of its traces from your system. We would also give you a bit more information about the way this type of software operates, and the potentially negative effects that you may face if you don’t remove it from your machine.
What could a browser hijacker normally do to your machine?
If your computer has been invaded by a browser hijacker like Chromestart.info “Virus”, there are several things that may happen. Your default browser may receive some imposed changes in its settings, which usually concern your homepage or the search engine you are using. They may be substituted with some unfamiliar ones, and as a result of that, most of your searches may get automatically redirected to different web pages full of ads, pop-ups, promotional messages and sponsored notifications. The main purpose of this ad-generating invasion is to aggressively advertise specific products and services on your screen and make you click on their sponsored ads. When you do that, the browser hijacker developers usually earn some money for each of your clicks, which stimulates them to expose you to more of these ads. For you, however, there may hardly be any benefit from keeping a program like Chromestart.info “Virus” on your PC, and the chance is that, at some point, you may get really irritated with the constantly popping new tabs and blinking boxes on your screen.
How may Chromestart.info “Virus” get installed on your PC without your notice?
Usually, a program like Chromestart.info “Virus” may be found on various web locations, such as spam emails, torrent sites, free software installers, free application bundles, shareware platforms, ads, or direct downloads from the web. It basically happens that when you download a specific setup, (it could be an attractive free program, a game, video or audio player, or some optimization software), and run its installer, you will be automatically prompted to the “Standard” installation option where the setup will install all the bundled programs inside it as it is. You may not be clearly notified what kind of additional software may come along with the program you are installing, and unless you carefully read the EULA or manually select the “Advanced/Custom” option, you will not be able to have control over the installer. This is how most of the hijackers and other potentially unwanted software get installed on your PC and you would come to know about them only after they start to operate on your system.
Is Chromestart.info “Virus” similar to viruses or other malicious threats?
Fortunately, browser hijackers, and Chromestart.info “Virus”, in particular, have no intentions of harming to your PC, therefore they cannot be considered a danger to your system and security. In fact, the major difference between the malware and the browser hijackers is their aim. The viruses, like Trojans and Ransomware and other harmful threats are basically created with the sole aim to corrupt your system, destroy your files or encrypt them, blackmail you or steal your credentials and perform various criminal deeds. A program like Chromestart.info “Virus” is only interested in showing you advertisements and capturing your clicks for the profits of its developers thanks to the infamous Pay-Per-Click method. Due to this method, some people may consider the browser hijacker as a bit aggressive and intrusive program, but it still cannot match the harmfulness of malware from the rank of Ransomware, for example. However, the amount of irritation and the browsing interruptions that a program like Chromestart.info “Virus” may create, may still be enough for some users to decide to uninstall it from their computers. If you are one of them, then the removal guide below contains everything you need. Just closely follow the steps and soon you will be free from all the annoying ads, page redirects and the changes in your browser.
Chromestart.info “Virus” Removal
Many types of malware will restrict your access to their core files. It is highly recommended that you reboot your PC in safe mode before attempting to use this guide.
- To enable Safe Mode reboot you PC, then hit F8 repeatedly. When the corresponding menu opens please select Safe Mode with Networking.
WARNING! If you are using Windows 8,0 or later and/or your operating system is installed on a fast SSD drive this may fail to work. In this case click here to see how to start your PC in Safe Mode.
#1: Uninstall the malicious program from your control panel
[bannerMiddle]
Enter control panel to look for any suspicious programs, which may have installed on your PC. To do that:
- Navigate to your Desktop
- Press simultaneously the Win button together with the R button (Win+R)
- In the Run window that just opened type appwiz.cpl
- Go through the list of programs and find Chromestart.info “Virus” or anything else that may seem suspicious. Right-click on it and choose the uninstallation option
WARNING! Carefully read any confirmation messages that may be created in the process. Sometimes you may get offers to download more Adware applications and this can be linked to either the Yes or the No answer depending on the wording!
- Optional:
Go through the list of programs again and check online for any potentially unwanted programs. We have an article that covers this awesome free software that makes sure that your computer is free from bloatware and programs that you don’t need.
#2: Remove Chromestart.info “Virus” From Chrome
Now we’ll remove the extensions that the malware has attached to your browser.
- Open your Google Chrome browser.
- Type chrome://extensions/ in the URL address bar and press Enter.
- Click on “Developer Mode” on the top right and look for the extension installed by Chromestart.info “Virus” and anything that might be related to it. Copy their IDs (the string of letters), then remove them by clicking on the trash bin icon.
- Type Regedit in the Windows Start Menu and press Enter. Go in : HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Google\Chrome\Extensions and delete the entries corresponding to the suspicious IDs you recorded.
#3: Remove Chromestart.info “Virus” From Firefox
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser.
- Type “about:support” in the URL address bar and press Enter.
- Click on the “Refresh Firefox” button on the right and confirm.
#4 Remove Chromestart.info “Virus” From Internet Explorer
- Open your Internet Explorer internet browser.
- Click on the Gear icon on the up right, then on manage add-ons.
- Go through the list disable any suspicious extensions.
#5 Remove any leftover parasitic processes
[bannerMiddleSecond]
From the task manager:
- Use Ctrl + Shift + Esc and open the Task manager, then click on the Processes
- Go through the list of processes and look for unknown or otherwise suspicious entries.
- If you see anything suspicious right click on the process and shoes Open File Location, then terminate the process and delete any files you find in the directory.
WARNING! If the directory you open from this menu has no files inside of it it’s probably because the malware has hidden them. You need to reveal hidden files and folders in order to be able to see them. Click here if you don’t know how to do that.
From the start menu:
- Press simultaneously the Win button together with the R button (Win+R)
- In the Run window that just opened type msconfig
- Click on the Startup tab.
This menu controls which programs are loaded when windows starts after a reboot. Disable anything that seems suspicious. Optionally you can also disable any program that you don’t need and also has a high impact on your startup time.
Feel free to write to us in the comment section with any questions that you may have. Also if we have been helpful to you please share this article to help us reach more people like you.