Startpage-home.com

Have you ever heard of Startpage-home.com? You probably think this is a genuine search engine, but that could not be further from the truth. While the domain tries to function as one, in the greater scheme of things, this program is nothing but a browser hijacker. A browser hijacker is a computer security threat that may unwittingly expose you to an entire range of security issues without really meaning to. Whichever it might be, you should remove Startpage-home.com immediately. Protecting your computer from harm should be one of your top priorities, so you cannot allow unwanted intruders to remain on your PC.

This browser hijacker was modified a few times over the course of our research. At first, it used to use custom Google Search engine to provide users with search results. However, after the update, it employs Yahoo! Search now. Also, the main page now has the Terms and About sections, where users can read more about the Privacy Policy employed by the program. Also, it should be pointed out that the Privacy Policy document redirects users to bontiomedia.com, which would allow us to assume that BontiMedia has something to do with the entire development process, although we cannot say for sure unless we carry out more in-depth research on it.

For now, it is clear that Startpage-home.com is associated with stg-234i23r9-hpw.com, stg-234i23r9-sph.com, webhome-page.com, and so on. Therefore, the program comes from a group of search engines that are clearly being used for browser hijacker infections. These domains are set as default homepages and search engines by security threats, and they cannot really do anything about it because they need this exposure to make money. After all, the main reason browser hijackers are brought to life is financial profit. They infect millions of browsers worldwide to make their developers rich.

Fortunately, browser hijackers are not as dangerous as keylogger Trojans, ransomware infections, and other malicious programs. It is true that they can be annoying, but they are not inherently malicious. The main security concern associated with browser hijackers is their lack of security actually. We mean it in a sense that the search engine can be used by almost anyone to promote commercial and sometimes even malicious content. Content promotion is one of the main methods employed to generate monetary profit by multiple browser hijackers. Yet they leave a lot of security loopholes that can be easily exploited by cyber criminals.

For instance, Startpage-home.com makes money by advertising third-party content. The content at first might be random, but the longer this hijacker remains on your PC, the more customized the ads will become. The hijacker will be able to customize commercial ads because it tracks your online activity. With the ads customized, it is very likely that users will feel inclined to click particular search results or certain ads they see on their browser’s window. And while the browser hijacker does not intend to infect you with malware, it does not review the outgoing links you click, so you could be up for a nasty surprise here.

All the more so that cyber criminals often make use of such applications to embed and promote their content. Of course, malicious infection is the worst-case scenario that does not occur too often, but you have to understand that with this program on your PC, you will also be exposed to undesirable commercial content, your web browsing sessions will be interrupted, and your personally non-identifiable data could be leaked and used for various online marketing schemes. So it is up to you right now to say no to this exploitation.

Remove Startpage-home.com by restoring your browser settings to default. It is not possible to uninstall the application via Control Panel, but you may need to delete other unwanted applications that could be there on the list.

To be absolutely sure that your computer is safe and sound, after manual removal, scan the system with a security tool of your choice. If there are remaining unwanted programs, you can terminate them with the security tool. It will be a lot faster and more efficient than uninstalling them all one by one. Finally, to avoid similar problems in the future, visit only the websites you know and trust, and avoid clicking unfamiliar pop-ups.

How to Remove Startpage-home.com

Internet Explorer

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

Firefox

1. Press Alt+H and select Troubleshooting information.
2. Click Refresh Firefox at the top right of the new tab.
3. Press the Refresh Firefox button confirm and click Finish.

Chrome

1. Press Alt+F and select Settings.
2. Scroll down and click Show advanced settings.
3. At the bottom of the page, click the Reset settings button.
4. Press Reset.