Newstartsearch.com Removal Guide

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Category: Browser Hijackers

If Newstartsearch.com has somehow replaced your browser’s homepage address, then be warned that it has been infected with a browser hijacker. Due to its malicious nature, you ought to remove it at your earliest convenience. However, apart from hijacking the browser, it was also set to collect non-personally identifiable information about you that is used for advertising and marketing purposes because our research has revealed that this hijacker can feature promotional links and ads in its search results. In short, this search engine is good for nothing because it can only serve to jeopardize your PC’s security with its potentially malicious ads, so the sooner you get rid of it, the better.

Newstartsearch.com is a functional search engine, so it may give you the impression that it is completely legitimate and there is nothing wrong with it. However, the reality is that it is a browser hijacker because it is distributed through malicious software bundles that inject it into your browser secretly. The bundled installers can do that if you use Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. Its creators want you to use it as a regular search engine. However, you may not be aware of the fact that its search results feature many promotional links and advertisements. As if that was not bad enough, some of them can redirect you to malicious websites such as phishing and scam websites or infected websites that feature malware downloads, so using it for searching the web is a bad idea.

Our research has also revealed that this search engine was configured to collect information about you. It can collect both personally identifiable and non-personally identifiable information. Personally identifiable information is collected when you log into the services provided by Hopebest (the company that published Newstartsearch.com) through social media networks such as Facebook. However, its privacy policy does not disclose the particular information that is collected. According to the privacy policy, the non-personally identifiable information includes “your IP address, data about the pages you access, mobile network information, search history, and a time-stamp” as well as “your link clicks, page views, and login times.” All of this information can also be shared with third parties that include authorized service providers, advertising companies, and affiliated companies.

This information can be used for all kinds of purposes. However, the main reason this hijacker collects information is web monetization. Information is collected via web beacons and browser cookies. We are confident that this information is collected for geotargeting purposes, mainly. The ads and links in the search results are customized according to the collected information to present you with clickbait search results that generate revenue for the developers as they probably use a pay-per-click system.

Now let us take a look at how this hijacker is being distributed. Our research has shown that it is likely that Newstartsearch.com is bundled with third-party installers that can feature legitimate software and add this hijacker to the installer which is set to install it on your PC secretly. Indeed, the installers may not disclose the presence of this hijacker and inject into your browser without your consent. The bundled installers can be found on websites such as Filewon.com, Filewin.com, Malavida.es, Descargar.es as these sites are known to feature malicious bundles.

In closing, Newstartsearch.com is no picnic. It is a real malicious search engine that can replace your browser’s homepage address secretly and then subject you to ad-supported search results that can feature links to malicious websites. Therefore, you should not hesitate and remove this hijacker from your PC as soon as possible. Please see the guide below for more information.

How to replace the homepage address

Microsoft Internet Explorer

  1. Lunch the browser.
  2. Press Alt+T and click Internet Options.
  3. Erase http://newstartsearch.com/
  4. Enter a new URL.
  5. Click OK.

Google Chrome

  1. Lunch the browser.
  2. Press Alt+F keys.
  3. Select Settings.
  4. Click Set pages.
  5. Erase http://newstartsearch.com/
  6. Enter a new URL.
  7. Click OK.

Mozilla Firefox

  1. Lunch the browser.
  2. Press Alt+T.
  3. Click Options and select General.
  4. Erase Newstartsearch.com and enter a new address.
Download Remover for Newstartsearch.com *
*SpyHunter scanner, published on this site, is intended to be used only as a detection tool. To use the removal functionality, you will need to purchase the full version of SpyHunter.

Newstartsearch.com Screenshots:

Newstartsearch.com

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