Spigot Virus

What is Spigot?

'Spigot virus' is a term used to describe potentially unwanted applications developed by Spigot Inc. Adware created by this company installs together with free software using a deceptive software marketing method called 'bundling'. Commonly, computer users install such unwanted applications whilst downloading free software.

Today, most freeware download websites (including download.com, soft32.com, softonic.com, etc.) use deceptive 'download clients', which manage the download process of free software - these small programs are also used to monetize the free downloads by offering installation of promoted browser plugins.

At time of research, free software download clients were promoting Bling Toolbar by Spigot, Slick Savings, Domain Error Assistant, eBay, and Amazon Assistants.

These potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) cause browser redirects to Yahoo.com (homepage and default search engine), display coupon ads when visiting online shopping websites, and generate various unwanted pop-up and in-text ads.

Having this adware installed on your Internet browsers (Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox) can lead to malware and virus infections. Moreover, clicking dubious ads displayed by these browser plugins can lead to privacy issues.

Whilst developers of these browser extensions state that they enhance the user's Internet browsing experience, in fact, they cause various issues (browser redirects, unwanted ads, etc.), and therefore, you are advised to eliminate it from your computer.

PUPs by Spigot are similar to Wajam, Zoom Downloader, and many others. To avoid installation of adware such as this, Internet users should be attentive when downloading free software. If your download is managed by a download client, opt-out of installation of advertised browser plugins by clicking on the 'decline' button.

When installing the downloaded program, choose the 'Advanced' or 'Custom' installation options, rather than 'Typical' or 'Quick' - this will reveal any suggested installations of bundled software.

Note that at time of testing, Spigot adware caused browser redirects to Yahoo.com, however, each case can be different, thus, when using this removal guide, also check for other browser extensions published by Spigot.

Deceptive free software installers used in Spigot adware distribution:

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Quick menu:

• What is ?
• STEP 1. Uninstall "Browser Extensions" and "Search Protection" applications using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove Spigot adware from Internet Explorer.
• STEP 3. Remove Spigot potentially unwanted applications from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove Spigot related applications from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 5. Remove Spigot extension from Safari.
• STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.

Spigot adware removal:

Windows 11 users:

Right-click on the Start icon, select Apps and Features. In the opened window search for the application you want to uninstall, after locating it, click on the three vertical dots and select Uninstall.

Windows 10 users:

Right-click in the lower left corner of the screen, in the Quick Access Menu select Control Panel. In the opened window choose Programs and Features.

Windows 7 users:

Click Start (Windows Logo at the bottom left corner of your desktop), choose Control Panel. Locate Programs and click Uninstall a program.

macOS (OSX) users:

Click Finder, in the opened screen select Applications. Drag the app from the Applications folder to the Trash (located in your Dock), then right click the Trash icon and select Empty Trash.

In the uninstall programs window: look for "Browser Extensions" and "Search Protection", select this entry and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

After uninstalling PUPs (which cause unwanted ads and browser redirects to Yahoo.com), scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software. Remove all entries that this program detects to ensure your computer is clean from any possible spyware and malware infections.

Spigot adware removal from Internet browsers:

Video showing how to remove potentially unwanted browser add-ons:

Remove malicious add-ons from Internet Explorer:

Click on the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer) select "Manage Add-ons". Look for "Browser Extensions", select this entry and click "Remove".

Change homepage:

Click on the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer) select "Internet Options", in the opened window remove search.yahoo.com and enter your preferred domain, which will open each time you launch Internet Explorer. You can also enter about:blank to open a blank page when you start Internet Explorer.

Change default search engine:

Click on the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer) select "Manage Add-ons". In the opened window select "Search Providers", set "Google", "Bing" or any other preferred search engine as your default and then remove "Yahoo".

If you continue to have problems with redirects to search.yahoo.com, reset your Internet Explorer settings to default.

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the spigot toolbar, reset your Internet Explorer settings to default.

Windows XP users: Click Start, click Run, in the opened window type inetcpl.cpl In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 users: Click the Windows logo, in the start search box type inetcpl.cpl and click enter. In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows 8 users: Open Internet Explorer and click the gear icon. Select Internet Options.

In the opened window, select the Advanced tab.

Click the Reset button.

Confirm that you wish to reset Internet Explorer settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome) select "Tools" and click on "Extensions". Locate "Amazon Shopping Assistant by Spigot", "Domain Error Assistant", "eBay Shopping Assistant by Spigot", and "Slick Savings", select these entries and click the trash can icon.

Change homepage:

Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome) select "Settings". In "On startup" section click "set pages", hover your mouse over search.yahoo.com and click the x symbol. Now you can add your preferred website as your homepage.

Change default search engine:

To change your default search engine in Google Chrome: Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome) select "Settings", in the "Search" section click "Manage Search Engines...", remove "Yahoo" and add or select your preferred domain.

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the spigot toolbar, reset your Google Chrome browser settings. Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome) and select Settings. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen. Click the Advanced… link.

After scrolling to the bottom of the screen, click the Reset (Restore settings to their original defaults) button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Google Chrome settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Remove malicious plugins from Mozilla Firefox:

Click on the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window) select "Add-ons". Click on "Extensions" and remove "Ebay Shopping Assistant by Spigot", "Slick Savings" and "Start Page".

Change homepage:

To reset your homepage, click on the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window) then select "Options", in the opened window remove search.yahoo.com and enter your preferred domain, which will open each time you start Mozilla Firefox.

Change default search engine:

In the URL address bar, type about:config and press Enter.
Click "I'll be careful, I promise!".
In the search filter at the top, type: "yahoo"
Right-click on the found preferences and select "Reset" to restore default values.

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with spigot toolbar removal can reset their Mozilla Firefox settings.

Open Mozilla Firefox, at the top right corner of the main window, click the Firefox menu, in the opened menu, click Help.

Select Troubleshooting Information.

In the opened window, click the Refresh Firefox button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Mozilla Firefox settings to default by clicking the Refresh Firefox button.

Remove malicious extensions from Safari:

Make sure your Safari browser is active, click Safari menu, and select Preferences....

In the opened window click Extensions, locate any recently installed suspicious extension, select it and click Uninstall.

Optional method:

Make sure your Safari browser is active and click on Safari menu. From the drop down menu select Clear History and Website Data...

In the opened window select all history and click the Clear History button.

Remove malicious extensions from Microsoft Edge:

Click the Edge menu icon  (at the upper-right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons and click "Remove" below their names.

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the spigot toolbar, reset your Microsoft Edge browser settings. Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge) and select Settings.

In the opened settings menu select Reset settings.

Select Restore settings to their default values. In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Microsoft Edge settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

• If this did not help, follow these alternative instructions explaining how to reset the Microsoft Edge browser.

Summary:

Commonly, adware or potentially unwanted applications infiltrate Internet browsers through free software downloads. Note that the safest source for downloading free software is via developers' websites only. To avoid installation of adware, be very attentive when downloading and installing free software. When installing previously-downloaded free programs, choose the custom or advanced installation options – this step will reveal any potentially unwanted applications listed for installation together with your chosen free program.

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