Video Backgrounds browser hijacker removal instructions

Written by Wilbur Woodham
The Video Backgrounds search hijacker is an illustration of a typical unwanted program; such applications are distributed enormously nowadays. In this article you will see the comprehensive instructions of “Video Backgrounds” hijacker elimination in different ways: using anti-malware programs and hand-operated removal procedure.
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Video Backgrounds – What is it?

“Video Backgrounds” search hijacker is a potentially unwanted application (PUA)1, that is spread as a plugin for your web browser. It is typically promoted as an add-on for Chrome or Firefox, that aids to search some particular details, for instance, about sport events, make your web browser far more secure, enable downloading of any video clip, and so on. Also, this app adds the “Managed by your organization” feature (on Chrome browsers).

Nevertheless, the “Video Backgrounds” plugin is rather pointless due to the fact that all such functions are already built-in to your browser and/or Windows. Such marketing mottos are targeted at low-skilled computer users, like pensioners or schoolchildren. But in some cases even expert users are getting caught on such an appeal. In specific situations, this hijacker is dispersed together with free programs.

Video Backgrounds hijacker - Start.xyz

Video Backgrounds Search Hijacker

Here is a info for the Video Backgrounds hijacker
NAME Video Backgrounds
Site Start.xyz
Hosting AS13335 Cloudflare, Inc.
United States, San Francisco
Infection Type Browser Hijacker, Unwanted Application
IP Address 104.26.10.191
Symptoms Changed search engine; search queries redirection
Similar behavior Clickstreamsearch, Search, Secure
Fix Tool
To remove possible virus infections, try to scan your PC

How harmful is Video Backgrounds hijacker?

Besides its uselessness, Video Backgrounds hijacker is additionally pretty hazardous for web browser use. It transforms your search engine to its particular – Start.xyz, and also alters your background, adding its watermark on your background image (or, in some cases, changing it to default with the mentioned symbol).

Besides visual modifications done by Video Backgrounds hijacker, you may discover that some of your search questions are redirecting to the unfamiliar websites, full of web links and ads – so-called doorway sites. Such sites can have links for malware downloads. The chance of redirecting rises if you attempt to launch Google search page forcibly.

However all these actions are far more irritating than truly harmful. The largest danger, primarily for people who have a huge amount of confidential information in their browsers, is embedded in data gathering functionalities. Cookie files, chats, often-visited websites, as well as various other activities are simply collected by Video Backgrounds hijacker.

How to remove Video Backgrounds search hijacker?

  • Download and install GridinSoft Anti-Malware.
  • Open GridinSoft Anti-Malware and perform a “Standard scan“.
  • “Move to quarantine” all items.
  • Open “Tools” tab – Press “Reset Browser Settings“.
  • Select proper browser and options – Click “Reset”.
  • Restart your computer.

Browser hijackers are usually rather easy to delete. Usually, they have a separate app that can be spotted in the list of installed apps. Due to the particular distribution method of Video Backgrounds hijacker, it can be easily tracked and erased by hand. Nevertheless, if you got Video Backgrounds in the bundle with a free applications, your personal computer can be contaminated with a lot more harmful malwaretrojans, spyware or perhaps ransomware. That’s why I’d recommend you use anti-malware tools to delete the Video Backgrounds PUA and all various other malware.

You can utilize Microsoft Defender2 – it is capable of discovering and eliminating a wide range of malware, including mentioned hijacker. However, serious malware, that can exist on your PC in the mentioned case, can disable the Windows antivirus program by modifying the Group Policies. To prevent such circumstances, it is better to make use of GridinSoft Anti-Malware.

To detect and delete all unwanted applications on your computer with GridinSoft Anti-Malware, it’s better to utilize Standard or Full scan. Quick Scan is not able to find all the malware, because it checks only the most popular registry entries and folders.

Main screen in GridinSoft Anti-Malware

You can see the detected viruses sorted by their possible hazard simultaneously with the scan process. But to perform any actions against malicious apps, you need to wait until the scan is over, or to stop the scan.

GridinSoft Anti-Malware during the scan

To set the action for every detected virus or unwanted program, click the arrow in front of the name of the detected malware. By default, all the viruses will be removed to quarantine.

List of the detected malware after the scan

Reset browser settings to original ones

To revert your browser settings, you are required to use the Reset Browser Settings option. This action cannot be counteracted by any malicious program, hence, you will surely see the result. This action can be found in the Tools tab.

Tools tab in GridinSoft Anti-Malware

After choosing the Reset Browser Settings option, the menu will be shown, where you can choose, which settings will be reverted to the original.

Reset Browser Settings options

Deleteing Video Backgrounds hijacker manually

Besides using anti-malware software for browser restoration, you may choose the “Reset browser settings” function, which is usually embedded in all popular browsers.

To reset Edge, do the following steps :
  1. Open “Settings and more” tab in upper right corner, then find here “Settings” button. In the appeared menu, choose “Reset settings” option :
  2. Reseting the Edge browser

  3. After picking the Reset Settings option, you will see the following menu, stating about the settings which will be reverted to original :
For Mozilla Firefox, do the next actions :
  1. Open Menu tab (three strips in upper right corner) and click the “Help” button. In the appeared menu choose “troubleshooting information” :
  2. The first step to revert Mozilla Firefox

  3. In the next screen, find the “Refresh Firefox” option :
  4. The second step of Firefox restoration
    After choosing this option, you will see the next message :
    The last step for Firefox

If you use Google Chrome
  1. Open Settings tab, find the “Advanced” button. In the extended tab choose the “Reset and clean up” button :
  2. In the appeared list, click on the “Restore settings to their original defaults” :
  3. Finally, you will see the window, where you can see all the settings which will be reset to default :
Opera can be reset in the next way
  1. Open Settings menu by pressing the gear icon in the toolbar (left side of the browser window), then click “Advanced” option, and choose “Browser” button in the drop-down list. Scroll down, to the bottom of the settings menu. Find there “Restore settings to their original defaults” option :
  2. After clicking the “Restore settings…” button, you will see the window, where all settings, which will be reset, are shown :

As an afterword, I want to say that time plays against you and your PC. The activity of browser hijacker must be stopped as soon as possible, because of the possibility of other malware injection. This malware can be downloaded autonomously, or offered for you to download in one of the windows with advertisements, which are shown to you by the hijacker. You need to act as fast as you can.

I need your help to share this guide.

Browser hijackers are among the largest and also disruptive kinds of malware. I published this article to help you, so I wish you will help me to make the computer world completely clean of malware. Please, share this article in the social networks you use – Twitter, Reddit, Facebook – wherever.
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Wilbur Woodham
How to Remove Video Backgrounds?

Name: Video Backgrounds

Description: Video Backgrounds - a lot of users became a victim of browser hijacker. I have a lot of friends who literally bombed me with the questions like “how to remove Video Backgrounds?”. In this article we will show you how to deal with Video Backgrounds (Start.xyz), which may corrupt your browser’s correct performance, and create a lot of troubles while you are working.

Operating System: Windows

Application Category: Browser Hijacker

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References

  1. More information about PUAs
  2. Detailed review of Microsoft Defender

About the author

Wilbur Woodham

I was a technical writer from early in my career, and consider IT Security one of my foundational skills. I’m sharing my experience here, and I hope you find it useful.

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