Vosteran.com Virus - How to remove

Vosteran.com virus is a browser hijacker that replaces the homepage and search engine on the compromised browser. It attacks all major browsers. It is not a reliable search engine as it only tries to advertise sponsored websites – it includes them in your search results and tries to get you to click on them. If you have noticed the Vosteran.com virus on any of your browsers you should immediately get rid of it, because having such a program will eventually result in visiting malicious websites, catching more viruses, and even giving out personal information to the crooks.

About the Vosteran.com virus:

Classification	Browser hijacker.
Problems and issues	Vosteran.com doesn’t protect its users’ privacy as well as it should, it shows too many ads in search results, it may be installed without permission.
How browser hijackers are installed	Bundled with free programs, installed together with other adware programs.
How to delete the Vosteran.com virus	Remove all malware manually and with antivirus tools (Spyhunter for PC, Malwarebytes, Spyhunter for Mac, or Combo Cleaner for Mac).

Vosteran.com should not be mistaken for another, more persistent, virus (WSE_Vosteran), which changes the default internet browser completely to Google Chrome. (More about it on Microsoft.com. The Vosteran we are talking about is only capable of altering the browser’s setting but not the default browser itself. Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean that it is less malicious and should be kept on your PC.

What is the Vosteran.com virus?

Vosteran.com fills web search results with ads

Vosteran, which is incredibly similar to Dregol.com, acts more than just as a typical browser hijacker like Online Game Zone New Tab or Launchpage.org. Besides changing the default search engine settings and modifying the browsing experience, it also has some adware tendencies, displaying various pop-ups, redirects with sponsored promotions.

One of the main purposes of the Vosteran.com virus is advertising sponsored websites and increasing their traffic as well as page ranking in search results. It can also work with some third-party advertisers. (More about online marketing secrets on Kaspersky.com.)

Just take a look at the picture below and see how results page on Vosteran looks like and what’s wrong with that:

We tried to search for our website, and, as you can see, two huge blocks with advertisements appeared in front of the actual result we were looking for. What’s even worse is that most of those advertisements are not even relevant to the topic we are looking for, as there are results leading to websites such as HansAutoParts or the place to buy vitamins. By the way, we have discovered that regardless of the search query, you can find a link to Netfind.com website among those sponsored results.

It is bad for privacy

The business model here is simple – the Vosteran virus attempts to infect as many users as possible and build an audience this way. Every time the user searches for something, a lot of sponsored results are displayed. Every time someone clicks on one of those sponsored links, the company behind Vosteran gets paid. (What is PPC - Pay Per Click.)

Later it can send this data to third parties who use it to generate personalized ads. Although at first glance, Vosteran.com looks like any other search page, if you investigate the website a little bit more, you will see that it is not reliable at all. Constant redirection to unknown pages is not only annoying but also poses risk to end up visiting malicious pages and get your computer infected.

Vosteran.com collects user browsing data, including search terms. It admits in its privacy policy that search terms can include personal information.

Another problem is that Vosteran.com loads the unencrypted version of its website by default (check the address box above, the padlock icon shows whether the site you’re on is encrypted or not). Sending unencrypted traffic is a big problem for a search engine like Vosteran.com, as unencrypted data can be seen by outsiders (such as your internet service provider) and our search queries may include very personal information.

How do computers get infected with the Vosteran parasite?

Vosteran.com gets installed without permission

We should break down the Vosteran virus into two separate pieces – two websites with different intentions. There is Vosteran.com and Vosteransearch.com. The first one is the homepage, the front seen on the infected computer. The second one serves as a representative website for Vosteran.

While Vosteransearch.com doesn’t seem to be active, is still going strong. The virus was first detected back in 2014 but it is still creating problems. Users are still posting on Microsoft help forums asking for a solution to this virus.

A major red flag is that you cannot download and install this application from Vosteransearch.com, its official website. This means Vosteran.com is being distributed in a less straightforward way, gets installed without user intention or knowledge.

How to protect yourself from malware

There are many ways to spread malware like this. It’s important to protect your system with reputable security tools and to follow safe browsing tips.

In addition, be very careful whenever you download and install free software from the internet. Choose custom installation settings, read every page, uncheck all checkboxes that offer to install additional items. Adware bundlers like OfferCore often try to sneak optional offers like Vosteran.com, browser hijackers, potentially unwanted programs, adware, etc. into our computers.

Beware that the Vosteran.com virus may be installed with other potentially unwanted programs, like trojans and spyware that can track your browsing habits.

How to get rid of the Vosteran virus

For the sake of your privacy and security, it’s good to quickly remove the Vosteran virus. You can delete it by running a full system scan with a reputable anti-spyware program (for example, Spyhunter for PC, Malwarebytes, Spyhunter for Mac, or Combo Cleaner for Mac). These programs can detect and remove the hijacker and warn you if any other threats are found on your device.

The Vosteran virus can be removed manually, as described below. It’s still helpful to employ an antivirus tool, since some malicious files can be hard to find, lurking in hidden folders on your computer.

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to stop the Vosteran virus yourself

How to remove Vosteran.com virus using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like Vosteran.com Virus install some of their components as regular Windows programs as well as additional software. This part of malware can be uninstalled from the Control Panel. To access it, do the following.

• Start→Control Panel (older Windows) or press Windows Key→Search and enter Control Panel and then press Enter (Windows 8, Windows 10).
• Choose Uninstall Program (if you don't see it, click in the upper right next to "View by" and select Category).
• Go through the list of programs and select entries related to Vosteran.com virus . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make Vosteran.com Virus easier to find.
• Click the Uninstall button. If you're asked if you really want to remove the program, click Yes.
• In many cases anti-malware programs are better at detecting related parasites, thus I recommend installing Spyhunter to identify other programs that might be a part of this infection.

How to remove Vosteran.com virus from macOS

Delete Vosteran.com Virus from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the Vosteran.com virus app.
5. Select it and right-click it (or hold the Ctrl and click the left mouse button).
6. In the dropdown, click Move to Bin/Trash. You might be asked to provide your login password.

TopHow To remove Vosteran.com Virus from Google Chrome:

• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select More Tools→Extensions
  
• Select all malicious extensions and delete them.
  
• Click on the 3 horizontal lines icon on a browser toolbar and Select Settings
  
• Select Manage Search engines
  
• Remove unnecessary search engines from the list
  
• Go back to settings. On Startup choose Open blank page (you can remove undesired pages from the set pages link too).
• If your homepage was changed, click on Chrome menu on the top right corner, select Settings. Select Open a specific page or set of pages and click on Set pages.
  
• Delete malicious search websites at a new Startup pages window by clicking “X” next to them.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to Vosteran.com Virus, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on a Chrome’s menu button (three horizontal lines) and select Settings.
• Scroll to the end of the page and click on theReset browser settings button.
  
• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How To remove Vosteran.com Virus from Firefox:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla window and select the “Add-ons” icon (Or press Ctrl+Shift+A on your keyboard).
  
• Go through Extensions and Addons list, remove everything Vosteran.com Virus related and items you do not recognise. If you do not know the extension and it is not made by Mozilla, Google, Microsoft, Oracle or Adobe then you probably do not need it.
  
• If your homepage was changed, click on the Firefox menu in the top right corner, select Options → General. Enter a preferable URL to the homepage field and click Restore to Default.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to Vosteran.com virus, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla Firefox window. Click on the Help button.
  
• ChooseTroubleshooting Information on the Help menu.
  
• Click on theReset Firefox button.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button on the confirmation box. Mozilla Firefox will close and change the settings to default.
  

If the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program to identify malicious entries.

How to remove Vosteran.com Virus from Microsoft Edge:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Microsoft Edge window. Select “Extensions”.

• Select all malicious extensions and delete them.

• Click on the three-dot menu on the browser toolbar and Select Settings

• Select Privacy and Services and scroll down. Press on Address bar.

• Choose Manage search engines.

• Remove unnecessary search engines from the list: open the three-dot menu and choose Remove.

• Go back to Settings. Open On start-up.
• Delete malicious search websites at Open specific page or pages by opening the three-dot menu and clicking Delete.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to Vosteran.com Virus, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings

• Click on Edge's menu button and select Settings. Click on the Reset Settings button on the left.
• Press the Restore settings to their default values option.

• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How to remove Vosteran.com Virus from Safari:Top

Remove malicious extensions

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences.
  
• Select Extensions and uninstall Vosteran.com virus and other suspicious extensions.
  
• If your homepage was changed, click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Preferences and choose General tab. Enter preferable URL to the homepage field.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings(older versions) If you are still experiencing any issues related to Vosteran.com Virus, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Reset Safari…
  
• Select which options you want to reset (usually all of them come preselected) and click on the Reset button.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.