home.mywebsearch.com Hijacker

Last Update: February 28, 2013 webmaster 0

Mywebsearch is a browser hijacker and Toolbar that may enter the computer packed with another program. It requires user’s execution in order to be installed. However, most of the time, user is not aware of the process. Mywebsearch usually runs alongside the preferred program. It is installed as bundled software commonly known as adware.

When Mywebsearch is installed, there are some changes it needs to carry out in order to manipulate some aspects of your browser. This adware modifies the home page settings and redirect it to a URL http://home.mywebsearch.com, which contains an unknown search box. Additionally, the page has shortcut links for widely used services like Gmail, Yahoo, Facebook, Youtube, Amazon, and others. If not only for the reported malware activities from this adware, Mywebsearch could be a useful tool for searching and browsing.

During our testing, we didn’t find anything suspicious with the adware. However, judging from the Mywebsearch removal Google search queries, it is compelling that this search page is an unwanted tool. Thus, we create a simple removal procedure to uninstall Mywebsearch from your computer and stop your home page from being redirected to http://home.mywebsearch.com. You can read the rest of the guide below.

Type	Hijacker
Sub-Type	Adware
OS Affected	Windows

What are the Symptoms of Mywebsearch.com Hijacker and Toolbar?

Presence of Mywebsearch.com search box on your home page confirms that the adware is currently manipulating your web browser. You will also see Mywebsearch Toolbar and shortcut icons blended with the browser’s default ones.

Follow these Procedures to Remove home.mywebsearch.com

Procedure 1: Uninstall home.mywebsearch.com from Windows Control Panel

1. To adjust computer settings, please click Start button located on the left part of taskbar. Select Control Panel from the list of programs.

2. Under Programs, click on Uninstall a program. It will open a program and features window where-in you can uninstall, change, or repair installed software. Please refer to the image below.

3. Look for the name home.mywebsearch.com or any related term. Please note that the adware may change the title anytime. In such cases, locate any suspicious name from the list. Once found, please select the item you wanted to remove.

4. Click on Uninstall button to remove the program automatically.
5. If it prompts for confirmation, please click OK to proceed.

Procedure 1: Start Windows in Safe Mode with Networking

Restart your computer in Safe Mode with Networking

- After turning On the power of the computer, just before Windows start, press F8.
- From the selections, choose Safe Mode with Networking. Please use keyboard's arrow up/down to navigate between selections and press Enter to proceed.

Procedure 2: Scan and remove home.mywebsearch.com files with MalwareBytes Anti-Malware

To remove home.mywebsearch.com, download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware by clicking on the button below. This tool is effective in getting rid of Trojans, viruses and malware.

1. After downloading, please install the program using the default settings.
2. At the end of the installation, please make sure that it will download necessary updates.
3. Once update has completed. The tool will launch.
4. Thoroughly scan the computer and remove all threats detected by this anti-malware program.

Procedure 3.A : INTERNET EXPLORER - home.mywebsearch.com removal procedure

If the hijacker was not removed properly during the scan, you can use this guide to uninstall it from the computer. We prepared procedures to remove this unknown search program from various Internet browsers including Internet Explorer 8/9, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.

Instructions for Internet Explorer 8:

1. Launch the program Internet Explorer 8.
2. On top menu, please navigate to Tools > Internet Options.

3. It will open the options window; make sure that you are viewing the General tab. Look for the area that says "Search" and click the Settings button.

4. You will see a list of search providers. Select your preferred search provider and click the button Set as default to replace home.mywebsearch.com.

5. You may now remove home.mywebsearch.com from the list. Highlight the item and click on Remove button.

Instructions for Internet Explorer 9:

1. Launch the program Internet Explorer 9.
2. On top menu, please navigate to Tools > Internet Options.
3. On General tab, proceed to Change search defaults and click the Settings button.
4. You will see a list of search providers. Select your desired search provider and click the button Set as default to replace home.mywebsearch.com.
5. You may now remove home.mywebsearch.com from the list.

Guide to remove home.mywebsearch.com Add-ons and Extensions from Internet Explorer

1. Launch the program Internet Explorer.
2. On top menu, please navigate to Tools > Manage add-ons. It will open a window where in you can view and manage Internet Explorer add-ons.
3. Select Toolbars and Extensions on left panel. Go to right panel and look for home.mywebsearch.com related item.

4. Select the unwanted toolbar and extensions and click on Disable.
5. Close the existing window and restart Internet Explorer.

Procedure 3.B : MOZILLA FIREFOX - home.mywebsearch.com removal guide

1. Launch the program Mozilla Firefox.
2. On Google's Search box, click the arrow down sitting right beside the 'G' logo.

3. Click on Manage Search Engines... from the drop-down list to see all search engines installed in Firefox.
4. Choose your preferred default search provider by placing it at the top most position. Highlight the item and click on Move up until it reaches the first spot.

5. To remove home.mywebsearch.com from Firefox, highlight on its name and click the Remove button. Then, click OK.
6. Back at Firefox main screen, type about:config in the address bar. If it shows a warning, "This might void your warranty!" please click "I'll be carefull, I promise!"
7. Firefox will display a list of entire preferences including those that were modified by home.mywebsearch.com.

8. In the Search field, type the name of malware. Then, right-click and Reset values for found Preferences.

9. Navigate to top menu and click on Tools, the click Options.
10. On General Tab, under Home Page, type the desired address or simply click Restore to Default. Click OK to save the settings. This will reverse the changes made by home.mywebsearch.com on your home page.

Procedures to delete home.mywebsearch.com Extensions from Firefox

1. Open Mozilla Firefox Internet browser.
2. On top menu, click on Tools and select Add-ons from the list. You can also press CtrlShift+A on your keyboard to access this option.
3. Once the Add-ons manager is open, select Extensions from the sidebar.

4. Find the unknown add-on and click on Remove button. Click OK to save the settings.
5. Please restart Firefox to complete the process.

Procedure 3.C : GOOGLE CHROME - home.mywebsearch.com removal procedure

1. Launch the program Google Chrome.
2. Click on the Wrench or 3-Bars icon on top right corner of the browser.

3. Choose Settings from the drop down list. It will open a window containing Google Chrome settings.
4. Find the area that says "Search". This is located in the middle part of the page.

5. Click on Manage search engines. It will show a list of Search engines including the default one.
6. Mouse-over to your preferred search engine and click Make default.

7. Then, to remove home.mywebsearch.com from Google Chrome, mouse-over to that item and click on the X mark.

Delete home.mywebsearch.com extension from Google Chrome:

1. Launch the program Google Chrome.
2. Click on the Wrench or 3-Bars icon on top right corner of the browser.
3. Choose Settings from the drop down list. It will open a window containing Google Chrome settings.
4. Click on Extensions of the left side bar to display all installed extensions.

5. On the right panel of the window, Disable/Delete (Trash) home.mywebsearch.com extensions.
6. Close the current window and restart Google Chrome.

Remove home.mywebsearch.com from Google Chrome's home page:

1. Open Google Chrome Internet browser.
2. Click on the Wrench or 3-Bars icon on top right corner of the browser.
3. Choose Settings from the drop down list. It will open a window containing Google Chrome settings.
4. Navigate to On startup area and click on Open a specific page or set of pages.

5. On Add a new page box, please type your desired home page address if you wishes to.

6. Remove home.mywebsearch.com startup page by highlighting the item, then click on the X mark beside it. Click OK.
7. On the same page, go to Appearance section. Check the settings on New Tab page, click Change to display the default home page address. Then, click OK to save the setting.

8. Remove the malware entry in 'Open this page' box. You can replace it with any desired home page address. See the image for your reference.

Protect your PC from home.mywebsearch.com or Similar Attack

Turn On Safe Browsing Features

Internet Explorer - Activate SmartScreen Filter

Internet Explorer versions 8 and 9 has this feature called SmartScreen Filter. It helps detect phishing web sites and protect you from downloading malicious files online. To turn on SmartScreen Filter, follow these steps:

1. Please open Internet Explorer.
2. On top menu, select Tools (IE 9). For IE 8, please look for Safety menu.
3. Select SmartScreen Filter from the drop-down list and click on Turn on SmartScreen Filter.

4. Please restart Internet Explorer.

Google Chrome's Enable Phishing and Malware Protection

With Google Chrome's Phishing and Malware Detection feature, you will have lesser risks browsing the web. It will display a warning when the site you are trying to visit is suspicious. To enable Phishing and Malware Protection, please do these steps:

1. Open Google Chrome.
2. Click on the Customize and control Google Chrome (3-Bars Icon) located on top right corner of the browser.
3. Select Settings from the drop-down list.
4. Once on the settings page, click on Show advanced settings... at the bottom of the page to see the rest of the Chrome setup.
5. Locate Privacy section and mark 'Enable phishing and malware protection'.

6. Please restart Google Chrome. New settings keep your browser safe while surfing the web.

Mozilla Firefox - Block Attack Sites and Web Forgeries

Phishing and Malware Protection is a built-in feature on Firefox version 3 or later. It warns you when a page you are trying to visit contains phishing content or an attack site designed to drop threats on the computer. To help you keep safe while browsing the Internet using Firefox, please follow this guide:

1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser.
2. On top menu, click on Tools. Then select Options from the list.
3. Select Security and put a check mark on the following items:

• Warn me when sites try to install add-ons
• Block reported attack sites
• Block reported web forgeries

My TotalSearch Hijacker (www.mytotalsearch.com) JS:ScriptSH-inf [Trj]