Chromestart.info

Chromestart.info is a problematic search tool users usually find set on all their browsers without permission. There is a possibility, according to researchers, that it might be primarily targeted at Russian users, but it is capable of setting itself on all browsers no matter where users live because it is distributed using illegal ways of distribution and, consequently, might enter any computer. In case you are reading this article because you have already become a victim of this malicious application, you should go to eliminate this dubious search provider as soon as possible because it is not a search tool that has been created to improve the web searching experience of users. More likely, it will cause you a number of problems instead. Further in this article, all those problems that might emerge if Chromestart.info is kept and used as a default search engine are listed. This information should help users to decide what to do with a new search tool set on their browsers.

Evidently, the developer of Chromestart.info has tried to create a trustworthy-looking search tool sharing similarities with Google (a reputable search engine). The main thing they have in common is the choice of colors. Even though Chromestart.info tries to look like Google, it is far from this legitimate search tool used by billions of people. Unlike Google, Chromestart.info might show untrustworthy search results to users, as recent research has shown. Specialists call search results “untrustworthy” when they notice that they might be quite dangerous. In the case of results shown by Chromestart.info, some of them might be simple ads promoting third-party websites rather than reputable search results. Chromestart.info is powered by Google Custom Search, so the developer might modify it to make sure that ads are shown together with reliable search results.

It might be dangerous to click on these advertisements – they can redirect to third-party websites that are not trustworthy. For example, these websites might contain bad software, links leading to corrupted web pages, or simply try to get information about users. The personally-identifiable information is extremely valuable, so bad people will definitely not miss an opportunity to sell the collected data to get some money. You can protect your privacy by getting rid of Chromestart.info. If you make it gone, your privacy will be safe. Go to set a new more trustworthy search tool after getting rid of Chromestart.info.

It is very important to know how untrustworthy search tools are spread in order not to see them set on browsers ever again. In the case of Chromestart.info, we are sure that users usually do not set it as their homepages and search tools themselves. This means that it is distributed in a different way. For example, it can be spread with freeware in software bundles and get installed with these applications on the computer, or it might be downloaded and installed by malware already performing activities on the system. These are only two the most common distribution ways, and it is known that browser hijackers might be very sneaky and find other ways how to enter computers too. Therefore, it is advisable to have a security tool enabled to prevent undesirable software from ending up on the computer.

Once the Chromestart.info browser hijacker is inside the system, it, of course, changes homepages and search tools on all browsers it finds installed on the computer, but these are not the only modifications applied by this threat. You will also notice that the Value data of the Start Page Value (it is located in HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main) has been replaced by Chromestart.info. Also, the string containing this untrustworthy URL will be placed inside the prefs.js (it is located in %AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\*) file containing information about preferences. Finally, more experienced users can notice three modified files Preferences, Secure Preferences, and Web Data belonging to Google Chrome. The only way to undo those changes applied is to fully delete the Chromestart.info browser hijacker. The last paragraph of this article is dedicated to the deletion process.

Users should not keep Chromestart.info set on their browsers because it is a browser hijacker rather than a trustworthy search engine, so do not let it stay any longer. Instructions you will find below this article should help you to delete this dubious search tool, but if it is still set on browsers after performing all removal steps, it would be best to scan the system with a reputable automatic scanner.

P.S A trustworthy automatic malware remover SpyHunter that can take care of Chromestart.info can be downloaded from pcthreat.com by clicking on the Download button.

Delete Chromestart.info manually

Internet Explorer

1. Press Win+R.
2. Enter regedit and press Enter.
3. Open HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main.
4. Locate the Start Page Value, right-click on it, and select Modify.
5. Select the Value data and delete Chromestart.info.
6. Move to HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchScopes\{0633EE93-D776-472f-A0FF-E1416B8B2E3A}.
7. Delete the data from the Value data field of these Values:

• FaviconURL
• FaviconURLFallback
• TopResultURL
• URL

Mozilla Firefox

1. Open the Windows Explorer (Win+E).
2. Open %AppData%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\* (*-symbols).
3. Open the prefs.js file located there with Notepad.
4. Delete the string user_pref("browser.startup.homepage", "http://Chromestart.info"); from this file.

Google Chrome

1. Press Win+E.
2. Open %LocalAppData%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default.
3. Locate three files Web Data, Preferences, and Secure Preferences.
4. Open them one after the other with Notepad and replace http://Chromestart.info inside them with the preferred website, e.g. http://www.google.com.