iStart123.com

iStart123.com is a search site that redirects its traffic to Google, with the additional insertion of third-party links that may include advertising and other, affiliated content. While iStart123.com's administrators describe the site as a benefit to your Web searches, iStart123.com provides no beneficial functions that worth speaking of, and malware experts also have linked this website to a campaign distributing browser hijackers. Browsers that redirect to iStart123.com automatically should be disinfected by proper PC security tools, and contact with iStart123.com, while not necessarily harmful, is discouraged for your PC's safety.

Starting Your Browser Off with a New Hijacking Campaign

Besides a search bar that redirects visitors to Google results, iStart123.com has no meaningful Web content, although its additional results have the potential to expose you to hazardous Web content, such as information-collecting tactics. These characteristics may not recommend iStart123.com for casual browsing, but iStart123.com only became a domain of interest to malware experts in the past few months, when they saw early iStart123.com hijacking incidents.

Victims were forced to use iStart123.com as their homepages and new tab pages for various browsers, including Internet Explorer, which may be targeted by threat authors, as a result of its widespread usage rates for Windows owners. iStart123.com hijackers failed to display any controls or components that would allow the PC's users to remove them, or disable their symptoms. Distribution methods are still being identified, but malware experts see reason to suspect that the process is non-consensual.

Simultaneously, this campaign also benefited the DynamicPricer adware, which most likely was installed in bundles along with iStart123.com. Symptoms of this PC threat include advertisements, which may be inserted into other Web pages or loaded as pop-up windows automatically.

A Fresh Start Away from iStart123.com

Both of the two programs associated with the iStart123.com hijacking campaigns have been found to be unresponsive to standard software-deletion techniques, which should be adequate for any legitimate browser add-on. To compensate for this deficiency, you can use anti-adware or general PC security tools to detect and delete all threats associated with iStart123.com. A comprehensive system-scanning solution especially is recommended in light of the lack of visible files or other components associated with the iStart123.com hijacker.

While iStart123.com does not conduct any illegal activities on its actual domain, the suspicious history and business practices surrounding iStart123.com make iStart123.com an unlikely source of safe advertising content. Interactions with iStart123.com-sponsored content, including its advertisements and search results, should be examined carefully for telltale signs associated with online hoaxes and threats. Malware experts also might encourage using PC security tools that provide improved browser security to block potentially unsafe content from an iStart123.com hijack, pop-ups from related adware and other security problems that may be linked to these Potentially Unwanted Programs.