How to Remove istart123.com Redirect Virus (Removal Guide)

istart123.com redirect virus attacks my web browser but I have no ideas how to remove it. I used to clear the cookies and history records when the web browser ran slowly due to some phishing websites. Hence, I cannot stop the attacks from istart123.com even if I have reinstall the browser this time. What is the best way to get rid of this threat and get my browser back to normal? I need your help!

What is istart123.com?

istart123.com is a vicious browser hijacker which disguises as a legal web site to attract people to click the ads or use the search bar to search information on that page. When you first take a glance at it, you will think that it is a legitimate website just like google.com or bing.com. Its search box is in the center. You can also type keywords to search the relevant information. However, the search results may be a little different from Google’s. The search results it offers are often websites with advertising or unhealthy contents. So the search results are not real. If you click those search results, you might get infected with some other viruses. It may leave the browser stay in danger. Under such circumstance, you should be aware of your privacy for malware usually attempts to introduce on the system. In this case, other malware can take the chance to break into your computer and further steal your private information like banking account details if you make online payment during the infection session. The personal files stored in your computer will also be stolen. Moreover, some personal files may be encrypted, but you don’t know how to decrypt them. Those troubles really damage your system to instable and vulnerable.

In general, you may experience the hijack virus when you are launching some web pages. Often it goes like this: a window pops up within the webpage, suggesting you to make this website as your default homepage. But once you click infected links when curiously, the virus or malicious codes will automatically download into system forcibly. Once you modify homepage setting and replace the previous one by istart123.com, the hijacker may get a chance to take over your browser. Some redirect viruses can even infect your browsers without notice when you visit the websites that have been hacked. Some other malicious redirect virus can hijack your browser as long as you visit malicious website. Actually, not all websites are safe to browse and not all files are safe to open, either. Since antivirus programs cannot detect and remove the browser hijacker currently, it is suggested that you delete the threat manually. You can follow the instructions to remove the hijacker manually. Please follow the guide given below to manually get rid of the redirect virus. Don’t think that it is ok to keep it on your PC, for it may cause great damage to your system!

Guide to Manually Remove istart123.com Redirect Virus

Note: The manual way is to complete change some old system settings to a totally new one, including deleting unnecessary files, resetting browser configurations and adding essential missing parts. The most difficult part for most users is that the files of the threat change randomly and they can’t identify them. You may face the risk of errors or data loss caused by wrong removal of the files. Therefore, it requires you to have sufficient computer expertise to perform the manual removal. If you are not sure about it, using a specialized tool to deal with it is the best choice.

1. Remove all istart123.com related add-ons and extensions.

Google Chrome: Wrench Icon > Tools > Extensions

Mozilla Firefox: Tools > Add-ons (Ctrl+Shift+A)

Internet Explorer: Tools > Manage Add-ons

2. Open Control Panel from Start menu; then find Folder Options and under View tab, tick Show hidden files and folders and non-tick Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) then click OK.

3. Find out and delete the files related to the adware.

4. Press Windows + R keys to open the Run window and then type in regedit to open Registry Editor.

5. Delete any registry entries associated with the adware.

Conclusion：

istart123.com redirect virus is a harmful computer virus that can mess up your browsers. Sometimes, only relying on antivirus programs doesn’t work. Don’t hesitate to remove it from system or it will be too late. And this also brings in more viruses to your system. Before you start to remove the browser hijacker, you may need to think twice for the solutions. So, you should think twice before you get down to the manual removal activity, especially if you are a novice user. The instructions above are for the common infection situation. istart123.com appears to be different among infested machine world- wide. And if this redirect virus stays for a long time, it could begin to vary to other form. As the above has mentioned, the browser hijacker is a cascaded virus. The quicker you remove it, the quicker the PC will perform. Don’t use the manual removal unless you have much knowledge about this virus and you are an advanced computer user.