Webcrawler.com Hijacker - How to remove

Webcrawler.com is a controversial search engine used by a lot of users. Some of them believe that this website is a better alternative to main search engines like Google or Yahoo. However, it doesn’t take much to realise that Webcrawler is not that good – developers of this tool prioritise making money from advertisements over factors like user experience or enhanced search results.

Details on Webcrawler.com:

Type of threat	Adware, browser hijacker.
How it spreads	Bundled with free programs, advertised online, installed with malicious browser extensions.
How dangerous Webcrawler.com is	Too many ads, low-quality ads, redirected searches, browsing data used for ads, shady browser extensions installed.
How to remove Webcrawler.com	Uninstall suspicious browser extensions, remove malware with antivirus apps (Spyhunter for PC, Combo Cleaner for Mac, others).

How Webcrawler.com spreads

While we can’t say that it is a virus, we definitely can say that Webcrawler.com is a PUP – potentially unwanted program. It features some traits that are common to browser hijackers and adware infections, therefore we do not recommend using it or keep installed on your web browser.

By saying “installed” we have an add-on in mind – Webcrawler.com operates as a malicious add-on that can be installed on various web browsers and then change settings on a web browser.

The add-on may not have Webcrawler in its name. For example, we know of websites such as Searches.cloud, Search.streamfacts.today, and others that spread through deceptive browser add-ons like Stream Facts. The add-ons replace the new tab, and then intercept searches to send them to Webcrawler.com.

As far as we know, most major web browsers are compatible with this add-on, i.e. it can infect Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox.

According to the data from Similar web on Webcrawler.com, this website used to get around 20M monthly visits a couple of years ago. Now, it only gets less than 1M. Nevertheless, it continues to be relatively popular.

Problems and issues with Webcrawler.com

Let’s talk why we don’t trust Webcrawler.com and what are possible dangers you might face by using this tool.

There are several reasons why we consider it to be a malware or at least potentially unwanted program:

• Distributed using deceptive methods;
• Difficult to remove;
• Displays advertisements;
• Might offer to install other questionable tools.

First of all, like most other malware, Webcrawler.com add-on is distributed as a bundle to free software. That means when you download and install some free software from the Internet, this tool can come as an additional feature and if you don’t cancel the installation, it will be automatically installed.

Now, when installed on a web browser, it will change settings without even warning you about that – both the homepage and the default search engine will be set to www.webcrawler.com or another dubious site. From now on, Webcrawler.com will appear every time you open your web browser or try to search for something.

The website itself looks clean and well designed, therefore a lot of users just ignore the fact that something has changed and continue using it for daily searches. However, you should know that regardless of what you are looking for, results provided by this website won’t be that accurate and you will also receive an additional dose of advertisements.

In this case, Webcrawler.com is similar to browser hijackers like boost.ur-search.com or nowsearch.info virus, because they all promote the Zapmeta website and display it above other search results. Such ads are even more worthless than normal ads and do nothing but waste the user’s time – there’s a reason Google and other reputable search engines have banned the practice.

Moving forward – other unwanted applications might be installed on your computer due to Webcrawler.com’s low-quality ads. Therefore keeping it installed might lead to more serious cybersecurity problems.

How to get rid of Webcrawler.com

When we said that it might be difficult to remove Webcrawler.com. it’s because it is installed on a computer as a legitimate application with another name. I.e. it can be found on your control panel as “Yahoo update” or something similar. So if you don’t know the name of the virus, it is more than complicated to detect and remove it manually.

On the other hand, it’s not a big deal for a reliable anti-malware program – most of those programs have big virus databases that include various versions of Webcrawler.com. So just scan your hard drive with Spyhunter for Windows, Combo Cleaner for macOS, or another program, and the virus should be gone for good.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Uninstall unwanted browser extensions

TopRemoving Webcrawler.com Hijacker from Chrome

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Google Chrome window. Select “Settings”.
  
• Click “Extensions” on the left menu bar.
• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to Webcrawler.com hijacker. Click on the trash bin icon next to Webcrawler.com Hijacker or other add-ons you want to remove.
  
• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.
  
• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.
  
• Restart Chrome.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

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

• Click on Chrome’s menu button (three horizontal lines) and select Settings.
  
• Scroll to the end of the page and click on the Reset 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 Webcrawler.com Hijacker from Microsoft Edge:Top

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

• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to Webcrawler.com Hijacker. Click on the "Remove" icon next to Webcrawler.com hijacker or other add-ons you want to remove.

• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.

• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.

• Restart Microsoft Edge.

TopRemoving Webcrawler.com Hijacker from Firefox

• 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 Webcrawler.com hijacker 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.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to Webcrawler.com Hijacker, 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.
  
• Choose Troubleshooting Information on the Help menu.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button on the confirmation box. Mozilla Firefox will close and change the settings to default.
  

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