Search-startpage.com Removal Guide

Search-startpage.com is a search engine that can be used by third parties for a browser hijacker infection. A browser hijacker will modify your browser settings with the intention to make a profit. Although this is not an extremely dangerous security issue (especially as a browser hijacker cannot log your key strokes), it is still something you cannot take lightly. If you happen to have this infection on your PC, you should remove Search-startpage.com as soon as possible and run a full system scan with a licensed security application to look for other potential threats. Please bear in mind that such programs seldom come alone.

In fact, if your homepage is changed to Search-startpage.com, it is very likely that several other applications were installed on your system without your permission. Our research team says that this search engine usually comes bundled in a software package. Have you ever downloaded a software package before? You probably have, but you were not aware of that. For instance, it is possible to download a software package from a file-sharing site. If you often download applications from various third-party sites, you should not be so surprised to find Search-startpage.com on your browser one day. This is just bound to happen if you go through third-party installation without reading the installation wizard.

Now that this search engine is already on your system, what does it do? As you can already tell, the search engine will change your default homepage. You can also expect your online activity to be tracked by tracking cookies. Usually, browser hijackers collect this information for online marketing purposes. So that later on, whenever you access the Internet, you will see various commercial advertisements. These commercial advertisements will be related to your likes and preferences because by monitoring your online activity, the infection can process your latest search history and check the sites you have visited. So the commercial ads will look more appealing to you, and it will be up to you to avoid clicking them.

What is dangerous about this search engine? Perhaps the lack of obvious threat is the most dangerous thing about it. At first glance, Search-startpage.com looks like a regular search engine, but the problem is that it is too vulnerable to third-party exploitation. It does not review the content of the commercial ads it displays. It does not check what kind of links is embedded in the search results it delivers. In other words, the search engine is more of a vehicle for information delivery, and it is not responsible for the legitimacy of that information.

So there is a chance that cyber criminals could make use of this search engine to promote their malicious content. If that happens, you would be only one step away from a malware infection, and then you would really have to fight hard with it.

Save yourself the trouble of dealing with severe security threats by taking on the small fries today. Remove Search-startpage.com by resetting your browsers to default, and then scan your PC with the SpyHunter free scanner. It will help you determine just how many programs need to be deleted from your system, and you will be able to achieve that in no time.

How to Remove Search-startpage.com

Internet Explorer

1. Press Alt+T and go to Internet options.
2. Open the Advanced tab and click Reset.
3. Select Delete personal settings and click Reset.
4. Press Close.

Firefox

1. Press Alt+H and click Troubleshooting information.
2. On the new tab, press Refresh Firefox.
3. Click Refresh Firefox and click Finish.

Chrome

1. Press Alt+F and go to Settings.
2. Click Show advanced settings at the bottom of the page.
3. Scroll down and press Reset settings.
4. Click Reset.