Webdown-loader.com

What is Webdown-loader.com?

Webdown-loader.com does not have any Privacy Policy, End User License, or Terms of Use documents, so we would advise you to be careful with this search tool. Especially, when it is categorized as a browser hijacker. Moreover, the research shows it could be distributed through malicious pop-up ads shown by other threats, and it could introduce users to potentially harmful third-party advertisements. Therefore, we do not think any user who cares about the computer’s safety would like to keep such a suspicious tool in his system. If you do not plan on taking any chances with Webdown-loader.com either, we encourage you to have a look at the removal instructions added at the end of the text. Also, in order to get to know this threat a little better, we advise reading the rest of the article as well.

How does Webdown-loader.com work?

Our computer security specialists at Anti-spyware-101.com confirm that the application may hijack the browser by changing both user’s default search engine and homepage to Webdown-loader.com. This would mean the unreliable search engine should be loaded every time you submit a search query or launch the browser. However, if you insert any keyword the threat might redirect you through another browser hijacker called search.Securefindersearch.com; it is also reviewed on our web page. Then the user should get redirected to search.yahoo.com. There you should see results matching the used keyword, but besides them, there might be additional links or to be more precise third-party advertisements. This content could be injected while you are being redirected through the other suspicious browser hijacker we just mentioned (search.Securefindersearch.com).

Not every user invests his time in reading software’s Privacy Policy, End User License Agreement, or other similar documents. They might seem all the same for some of you, but they are extremely important when dealing with suspicious applications. For instance, such statements might reveal the program can gather and share particular information you would not like to be collected with third-party, or it might appear it may download other tools without your permission, and so on. In other words, in some cases, they may help determine if the application can be trusted or if it will work according to your expectations. The fact Webdown-loader.com does not even bother providing such data raises a suspicion and naturally makes us question the tool's reliability. Without these documents, we do not know where the mentioned advertising content could come from, so there is a possibility it might be potentially harmful. For example, the ads could redirect to sites distributing threats like the browser hijacker, containing malware, offering participate in fake surveys, etc. Under such circumstances, we strongly advise removing this search engine from the browser.

How to erase Webdown-loader.com?

If you decide not to keep Webdown-loader.com as your default search engine and homepage anymore, you could try to get rid of it by following the instruction located below. These steps will show you how to erase or restore files belonging to the hijacked browser since the threat might have modified them. Afterward, it might be a good idea to additionally scan the system with a legitimate antimalware tool. As it was said at the beginning of the report, the search engine might be distributed with malicious pop-ups shown by other doubtful applications, which means there could be more unreliable software on the system. The antimalware tool would help you both detect and remove potentially harmful applications. Plus, if you keep it up to date it could guard the system against threats.

Eliminate Webdown-loader.com

Internet Explorer

1. Press Windows key+R.
2. Insert Regedit and tap OK.
3. Search for a value name titled Start page in this particular directory: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
4. Right-click the Start Page and press Modify.
5. Instead of http://webdown-loader.com insert a link you prefer.
6. Select OK.
7. Exit the Registry Editor.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Tap Windows key+E.
2. Find a file named Prefs.js in this specific location: C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{unique user ID}
3. Open Prefs.js with Notepad.
4. Edit the provided line: user_pref(“browser.startup.homepage”, “http://webdown-loader.com”).
5. Instead of http://webdown-loader.com insert a link you like.
6. Save these changes by clicking Ctrl+S.
7. Close Prefs.js.

Google Chrome

1. Press Windows key+E.
2. Get to this particular path: C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default
3. Find listed data:
   Preferences
   Secure Preferences
   Web Data
4. Right-click the provided files separately and press Delete.
5. Exit File Explorer. Download Removal Tool100% FREE spyware scan and
   tested removal of Webdown-loader.com*