Remove GoWebSearch Redirect Virus

What is GoWebSearch

GoWebSearch is a browser hijacker that will make changes to your browser’s settings in order to redirect you to sponsored websites. While many users refer to browser hijackers as viruses because of their behaviour, they’re not actually malicious. Hijackers are more annoying than anything because they change your browser’s homepage, new tabs and search engine. By changing these settings, hijackers will be able to show you sponsored content and generate revenue. It’s not a good idea to interact with that sponsored content because it may be unsafe. Hijackers can redirect you to all kinds of websites, some of them safe, some not. So even if hijackers themselves are pretty harmless, the same cannot be said about the sites they redirect users to.

In most cases, users install hijackers via freeware bundles. They are attached to free software as extra offers, and if users fail to deselect them, they can install alongside. If you continue reading, we will explain how you can prevent these unwanted installations in the future.

If you notice that this browser hijacker is inhabiting your computer, you need to get rid of it as soon as possible. We recommend using anti-spyware software to delete GoWebSearch as that would be easiest.

How do hijackers install

In order to distribute their unwanted programs, developers attach adware, browser hijackers and potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) to free software as extra offers. These offers are optional but are set to install alongside the freeware automatically, unless users deselect them. However, because the offers are hidden, most users are unaware of them and are unable to deselect them. This is why this method of installation is quite frowned upon.

For future reference, when installing free program you need to pay attention to the process. In particular, you need to opt for Advanced (Custom) settings when the option is given to you. If you continue in Default settings, you will allow everything added to install. However, Advanced will not only make all offers visible but will also allow you to deselect everything. All you need to do is uncheck the offers, and you may then continue installing the program.

Whatever offers you encounter when installing freeware, we don’t recommend allowing them to install. While they may seem useful at first, no program that uses software bundling should be allowed to install onto your computer. By being careful with what you install, you won’t fill your computer with junk that’s difficult to delete afterwards.

Is GoWebSearch dangerous?

Since GoWebSearch is a browser hijacker, it will immediately change your browser’s settings. It will set its promoted website as your homepage and new tabs, as well as change your search engine. These changes will also be difficult to reverse while the hijacker is still installed. So until you get rid of it, every time you open your Internet Explorer, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox browsers, you’ll be redirected to a weird site.

Hijackers aim to redirect users to certain sponsored websites in order to generate revenue. They do that by altering search results and including sponsored content among legitimate results. So if you search for something via the search engine set by the hijacker, you’ll be dealing with a lot of sponsored results. You should be very careful with what results you click on because some of them could lead you to dangerous websites, which could be harbouring malware or promoting scams. Though most of those sponsored results will be very obvious because they’ll have little to do with what you were searching for.

Furthermore, browser hijackers spy on users and collect certain information about them, such as visited websites, what users search for, what ads they click on and what content they interact with, as well as their IP addresses. While it’s not personal information, it’s doubtful anyone will want a questionable hijacker to have it.

GoWebSearch removal

The easiest way to remove GoWebSearch would be to use anti-spyware software. The program would detect the threat and get rid of it without you needing to do anything. However, you can also uninstall GoWebSearch manually, as long as you can find the hijacker itself and all of its related files.