Delete WebSearchStreams browser hijacker

WebSearchStreams is a browser hijacker that will set websearchstreams.com as your homepage and nearbyme.io as your default search engine. The hijacker will not directly harm your computer so it’s not considered to be a particularly harmful infection. However, in addition to the changes, it will also attempt to redirect you to sponsored websites to generate traffic and revenue. The redirects will not necessarily be harmless because you could be led to dangerous websites promoting scams and hiding malware.

 

 

Like all hijackers in this family, WebSearchStreams is very generic and does not offer much in terms of features. Other hijackers that belong to this family are SportSearchNow, WebMusicSearch, VideoSearchCenter, and ProSportSearch. They are supposed to appear like useful extensions that would supposedly help improve the browsing experience. However, they are quite basic and easily detectable as browser hijackers.

If you notice that your browser loads websearchstreams.com as your homepage and all your searches show nearbyme.io search results, you definitely have a browser hijacker installed on your computer. These changes are the first and most obvious signs of a browser hijacker infection. It’s likely obvious already that these changes were done without your explicit permission. The changes can also affect all popular browsers, including Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. It should further be mentioned that you will not be able to undo these setting changes unless you first remove WebSearchStreams from the computer.

The webaearchatreams.com site is identical to the other sites pushed by hijackers in this family. It has shortcuts to a PDF converter, cryptocurrency and currency converters, and a calculator. It also has a search box. If you use the box or your browser’s address bar to do a search, you will be shown altered results by nearbyme.io. It’s a very questionable search engine that inserts sponsored content among legitimate search results. This is done to redirect you to sponsored websites and generate traffic/revenue. You will quickly notice that the results have little to do with what you were searching for and will mostly be advertisements. We don’t recommend interacting with any of those results because you could be redirected to dangerous sites that hide malware and/or promote scams. It’s strongly recommended that you remove WebSearchStreams, preferably as soon as possible.

You should also know that browser hijackers collect information about your browsing, including what sites you visit, what your search for, what content you click on, your IP address, etc. It won’t collect personal information but WebSearchStreams’s data collection practices are still intrusive enough to warrant removal. There’s really no reason to put up with this kind of behavior when you get nothing in return. Especially because the hijacker will share the information with unknown third parties.

In case you’re confused about how browser hijackers are installed, you allowed it yourself, albeit without even knowing. These kinds of infections install via free software bundling, a rather deceptive installation method that allows infections like browser hijackers and adware to come attached to free software as extra offers and install alongside. To keep your computer free of junk, you need to learn how to install free software correctly.

How do browser hijackers install

Minor infections like adware, browser hijackers, and potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) install using software bundling, quite a sneaky installation method that is usually controversial. To put it simply, those infections can come attached to free software as extra offers and install alongside without requiring additional permission from you. If your computer is infected with WebSearchStreams browser hijacker, you probably recently installed a free program that had it attached to it. This happens very often, particularly because the freeware you download from non-official websites often has offers attached to it.

The offers that come with freeware are optional so you can prevent their installation. However, because the offers are hidden, many users simply do not notice them, thus allowing their installation without even knowing. If you want to avoid unwanted installations, you need to pay attention when installing programs. Most importantly, opt for Advanced (Custom) settings instead of Default when given the option. If you choose Default settings, the offers will be permitted to install alongside without you even knowing. Interestingly enough, Default settings are what the installation window will recommend you use. Nonetheless, you should opt for Advanced settings. Those settings will make all added offers visible, and you will have the option to deselect all of them. If those settings show that something has been added to the program you are installing, deselect the offer(s). They may appear useful at first sight but do not install them. Software bundling is not a reliable installation method, and programs that use it should not be permitted to install. If you allow these installations, your computer will quickly fill up with junk. And it’s much easier to uncheck a couple of boxes than it is to later uninstall persistent browser hijackers or adware.

Browser hijackers such as WebSearchStreams can also be promoted as legitimate extensions that would supposedly help improve your browsing experience. Because many extensions/programs advertised as legitimate are actually fraudulent, you need to do extensive research before installing programs. A simple Google search would be enough as it would show results recommending its removal if a program is deemed malicious or unreliable. A quick search of WebSearchStreams would have shown plenty of results indicating that you should not allow its installation.

WebSearchStreams removal

You can remove WebSearchStreams both manually and using anti-virus software. Because it’s not a serious infection, even manual WebSearchStreams removal should not cause too many issues. However, if you don’t have a lot of experience when it comes to removing programs, it would be better to use an anti-virus program such as WiperSoft. The program would not only uninstall WebSearchStreams for you but also undo all settings changes without you needing to do anything.