Why is the browser hijacker Vosteran listed in the search engine drop down menu?
New download of Firefox 33.1 has a known browser hijacker listed in the drop down menu. It took me several hours to remove it's damaging files and get any browser to work correctly again. This is insane!
Chosen solution
Firefox is not built with a Vosteran search plugin, but if it is found on your system in one of the folders for search plugins, then Firefox will add it to your list. Similarly, if Firefox finds and add-on on your system, it will add it to the Add-ons page; you may see an approval screen from time to time asking whether it should be enabled.
It would be helpful if you could check your history from around the time you downloaded the last Firefox update to see what sites are listed in case there is a malicious download site that needs to be shut down.
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Chosen Solution
Firefox is not built with a Vosteran search plugin, but if it is found on your system in one of the folders for search plugins, then Firefox will add it to your list. Similarly, if Firefox finds and add-on on your system, it will add it to the Add-ons page; you may see an approval screen from time to time asking whether it should be enabled.
It would be helpful if you could check your history from around the time you downloaded the last Firefox update to see what sites are listed in case there is a malicious download site that needs to be shut down.
Sorry, that was not installed as part of Firefox or via a Firefox update. Firefox 33.1 did get a new Search plugin, for DuckDuckGo.
Make sure that you got rid of everything that was installed. http://malwaretips.com/blogs/remove-vosteran-search/
Besides affecting Firefox with an unwanted homepage change and installing that search engine, it looks like it installs a Windows "service" that runs upon startup of Windows and can affect Chrome & Internet Explorer, too.
Yes it does. Still trying to remove corrupt ver. of IE. Thanks for both replies.
stanrhon said
New download of Firefox 33.1 has a known browser hijacker listed in the drop down menu. It took me several hours to remove it's damaging files and get any browser to work correctly again. This is insane!
Use free Avast Browser Cleanup. Go to Firefox tab and click Reset Settings
Also, you can use free Malwarebytes Anti-Malware before resetting to remove any persistent module that will prevent you from changing settings.
Modified by NoahSUMO
stanrhon said
New download of Firefox 33.1 has a known browser hijacker listed in the drop down menu. ...
I got infected with Vosteran via a download of DownloadHelper, thinking that DownloadHelper would run on IE. Instead, Vosteran installed itself on my IE, Chrome and Firefox browsers. I ran CCleaner, followed by my AVG Free antivirus, but still found remnants of Vosteran, so I did a Restore operation on my Windows 7 64bit. (!Don't forget to exit your anti-virus program before running Restore; Restore will fail if you don't!)
But a few days ago I discovered the default Search in my Firefox browser is STILL Vosteran! I discovered that after upgrading Firefox to version 35, and seeing an (unwanted) change in the Firefox Search window. I unchecked Vost. as a choice in my search window, but I'm still looking for a way to totally wipe out all vestiges of Vosteran from my computer.
Hi mach37, can you delete the Vosteran search engine by highlighting it on the Search panel of the Options dialog and using the Remove button?
If it comes back: I would suspect a bad add-on. Here's my suggested procedure for tracking down and cleaning those up:
(1) Open the Windows Control Panel, Uninstall a Program (on XP: Add/Remove Programs). After the list loads, click the "Installed on" column heading to group the infections, I mean, additions, by date. This can help in smoking out undisclosed bundle items that snuck in with some software you agreed to install. Take out as much trash as possible here.
(2) Open Firefox's Add-ons page using either:
- Ctrl+Shift+a
- "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons
In the left column, click Plugins. Set nonessential and unrecognized plugins to "Never Activate".
In the left column, click Extensions. Then, if in doubt, disable (or Remove, if possible) unrecognized and unwanted extensions.
Often a link will appear above at least one disabled extension to restart Firefox. You can complete your work on the tab and click one of the links as the last step.
Any improvement?
(3) You can search for remaining issues with the scanning/cleaning tools listed in our support article: Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware. These on-demand scanners are free and take considerable time to run. If they finish quickly and especially if they require payment, you may have a serious infection. I suggest the specialized forums listed in the article in that case.
Success?
Well, that "Remove" button was pretty inconspicuous, I didn't notice it before. Yes, it got rid of the unwanted search engine choices - at least so far, through a Firefox restart. I'll wait for a cold boot of my computer to see if the fix sticks. Thanks.
Modified by mach0017
Well where ever you get it from it is the latest in geeks grinning about there ability to get people upset. Cowards.