Content:
What makes it easy to tell a reputable web service enhancement from a potentially unwanted one is its mode of installation and whether or not it clearly asks for user authorization to amend browsing settings in one way or another. Based on these indisputable criteria, the add-on called Vosteran (or Vosteran New Tab) is definitely not on the trusted extensions list. First off, that’s because its setup follows a workflow which is too meandering for a normal app of its kind. Secondly, not a single permission request is generated while it alters the essential Internet preferences on the machine it installed to.
The most frustrating side effect of Vosteran’s activity is the unannounced replacement of the homepage, new tab page and default search settings in the web browser, be it Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome or Internet Explorer. While the above might sound vague to some, allow us to briefly elaborate on these consequences. When one of the affected browsers is launched using the respective shortcut, the vosteran.com web page opens up instead of the start page that was earlier configured. The same unwanted site pops up whenever a new tab is opened, too. To top it all off, vosteran.com is going to suddenly become the default search provider, whether you like it or not. At the end of the day, browsers end up getting completely hijacked by this bug. The causes underlying such pranks are pretty unequivocal: this is a typical implementation of web traffic exploiting for commercial purposes.
Let’s get back to the first criterion, namely the installation process. Unlike the regular browser extensions out there, the Vosteran app gets inside a computer in a sneaky way rather than a straightforward one. Its spreading model is based on bundling, a workflow where the bad payload is built into the setup packages for a different program. To ensure rapid distribution, the authors of this adware tend to take advantage of popular freeware listing thousands of customers. These might be free FTP solutions, video downloaders, system players, PDF related tools and the like. Whereas one of the installation screens does mention Vosteran as an extra, we’re sad to admit hardly anyone reads those lengthy terms of service as a rule.
It’s unfortunately not guaranteed that Vosteran will be listed amongst the add-ons on the respective browser settings dialog, which narrows the remediation effort down to alternative techniques. The latter are provided in an easy-to-follow form below, so you are a few minutes away from the long-awaited fix and the restoration of the correct browsing preferences.
CCleaner by Piriform is an efficient solution designed to automatically uninstall persistent malware such as DNS Unlocker and cease the ads injection activity.
System Requirements: Runs on Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 8.1, 10. Including both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
When the screen for program removal appears, look for Vosteran or WSE_Vosteran entry:
Images from http://scarybearsoftware.com/news/vosteran
If located on the list, the object should be uninstalled immediately as it is known to cause vosteran.com to show up in web browsers without user consent.
Scan your system with Bitdefender, the Privacy PC Gold Award winner in Internet security suites category, to make sure all registry entries and junk files added by the Vosteran hijacker have been cleaned up. This step will help you ascertain that no remainders of the infection are still there in case you missed something or if the adware has restored some of its components after manual removal.
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