Webalta.ru Virus
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What is Webalta.ru?
The Webalta.ru website is promoted using a deceptive browser hijacker. Internet users are redirected to this website following installation of free software downloaded from the Internet. Redirects to this website are often applied by 'download clients', which are employed by some free software download websites.
This browser hijacker affects Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox. Download clients are used to monetize the downloads (incoming web traffic) and offer installation of promoted software within the download steps of free software.
Note that browser redirects to webalta.ru are a direct consequence of reckless freeware installation, and thus, to avoid these issues, pay close attention to the downloading and installation steps of free software.
When installing freeware, choose the 'Customized' or 'Advanced' installation options, rather than 'Typical' or 'Quick'. Disallow any changes to your Internet browser settings (homepage, default search engine, etc.) and decline installation of any additional software (browser plug-ins, toolbars, etc.).
Note that browser redirect issues to webalta.ru are commonly caused by browser add-ons and toolbars, however, in this case, redirects are a result of changes made to the Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox desktop shortcut targets (by adding 'start.webalta.ru' entries).
Webalta.ru is a deceptive website promoted using browser hijackers. The following are some examples of other websites promoted using the same browser hijacker: portaldosites.com, delta-homes.com, and awesomehp.com
Internet users visit Webalta.ru unwillingly having been redirected to it. Using this website for your daily Internet searches is not recommended, since this may lead to installation of additional unwanted software or even malware. If your Internet browsers redirect you to webalta.ru, your computer is infected with a browser hijacker - use this removal guide to eliminate redirect issues from your Internet browser/s.
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Quick menu:
- What is Webalta.ru?
- STEP 1. Uninstall Webalta Toolbar applications using Control Panel.
- STEP 2. Remove Webalta.ru redirect from Internet Explorer.
- STEP 3. Remove Webalta.ru browser hijacker from Google Chrome.
- STEP 4. Remove Webalta.ru homepage and default search engine from Mozilla Firefox.
- STEP 5. Remove Webalta.ru redirect from Safari.
- STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.
Webalta.ru virus 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 "Webalta Toolbar", select this entry and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".
After uninstalling the potentially unwanted program (which causes browser redirects to the webalta.ru website), scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.
Webalta.ru homepage and default search engine removal from Internet browsers:
Video showing how to remove browser hijackers:
Remove malicious add-ons from Internet Explorer:
Fix Internet Explorer shortcut target:
This browser hijacker changes the "Target" field of the Internet Explorer shortcut. To fix this, locate the Internet Explorer shortcut on your Desktop and click the right mouse button over it. In the opened menu choose "Properties". In the opened window locate the Target field and eliminate the text (hxxp://start.webalta.ru/...), which is entered after "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe".
Change your homepage:
Click on the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer) select "Internet Options", in the opened window remove hxxp://start.webalta.ru and enter your preferred domain, which will open each time you launch 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, then remove "Webalta Search".
Optional method:
If you continue to have problems with removal of the webalta.ru redirect, 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:
Fix Google Chrome shortcut target:
This browser hijacker changes the "Target" field of the Google Chrome shortcut. To fix this, locate the Google Chrome shortcut on your Desktop and click the right mouse button over it. In the opened menu choose "Properties". In the opened window locate the Target field and eliminate all text (hxxp://start.webalta.ru/...), which is entered after "C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe"
Change your 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 hxxp://start.webalta.ru and click on the x symbol. Now you can add any preferred website as your homepage (for example Google.com).
Change the 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 "Webalta" then add or select your preferred Internet search engine.
Optional method:
If you continue to have problems with removal of the webalta.ru redirect, 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:
Fix Mozilla Firefox shortcut target:
This browser hijacker changes the "Target" field of the Mozilla Firefox shortcut. To fix this, locate your Mozilla Firefox shortcut on your Desktop and click the right mouse button over it. In the opened menu choose "Properties". In the opened window locate the Target field and eliminate all text (hxxp://start.webalta.ru/...), which is entered after "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe"
Remove webalta.ru related browser extensions:
Click on the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window) select "Add-ons". Click on "Extensions", in the opened window remove "WebAlta Toolbar".
Change your homepage:
Click on the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window) then select "Options", in the opened window remove hxxp://home.webalta.ru 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: "webalta.ru"
Right-click on the found preferences and select "Reset" to restore default values.
Optional method:
Computer users who have problems with webalta.ru redirect 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 and click Safari menu, then select Preferences...
In the preferences window select the Extensions tab. Look for any recently installed suspicious extensions and uninstall them.
In the preferences window select General tab and make sure that your homepage is set to a preferred URL, if its altered by a browser hijacker - change it.
In the preferences window select Search tab and make sure that your preferred Internet search engine is selected.
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 top right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Extensions". Locate any recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons, and remove them.
Change your homepage and new tab settings:
Click the Edge menu icon (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Settings". In the "On startup" section look for the name of the browser hijacker and click "Disable".
Change your default Internet search engine:
To change your default search engine in Microsoft Edge: Click the Edge menu icon (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Privacy and services", scroll to bottom of the page and select "Address bar". In the "Search engines used in address bar" section look for the name of the unwanted Internet search engine, when located click the "Disable" button near it. Alternatively you can click on "Manage search engines", in the opened menu look for unwanted Internet search engine. Click on the puzzle icon near it and select "Disable".
Optional method:
If you continue to have problems with removal of the webalta.ru redirect, 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:
A browser hijacker is a type of adware infection that modifies Internet browser settings by assigning the homepage and default Internet search engine settings to some other (unwanted) website URL. Commonly, this type of adware infiltrates operating systems through free software downloads. If your download is managed by a download client, ensure that you decline offers to install advertised toolbars or applications that seek to change your homepage and default Internet search engine settings.
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