A number of website URLs linking to Semalt Media’s website have been reported to be associated with numerous referral spam messages sent out all across the globe on various websites. The spam affects predominantly websites which do not have adequate spam protection and which are not monitored to often. All users, as well as website publishers, should be aware that this spam can quickly devaluate Google Analytics data of a site and infect the ones who open the spammed web links with malware and unwanted programs as well as involve them in various scams.
Threat Summary
Name | Semalt |
Type | Referral Spam. |
Short Description | Software which spams different URLs to boost traffic to them and to quickly devaulate the statistics on targeted sites.. |
Symptoms | Spams contain several specific spammed URLs which redirect to third-party sites. The default domains of those URLs redirect to Semalt’s web page. |
Distribution Method | Web Crawlers and Ghost Referrals |
Detection Tool |
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User Experience | Join our forum to Discuss Semalt Spam Campaings. |
How Do Semalt Spam Links Distribute
Since the spammers behind Semalt have used a massive spam campaign, according to Incapsula researchers, the spammers may have used two types of spamming software:
Web Crawlers or Spiders
This type of spamming software “crawls” though different pages to collect information about how often are the sites of those pages modified by administrators and other criteria. After it has gathered enough data, it may initiate a massive spam campaign on certain URLs, previously assigned to it from a specific “hitlist”. And what is worse is that reports by Incapsula indicate that when official Google bots crawl to scan for web links they begin to index the referral spammed web links and therefore boost the SEO of the spammed web site, in this case, Semalt.
Ghost Referral Spam
Even though it has not been officially confirmed, Semalt Referral Spam may also be redistributed via ghost referrals. Such spam is more sophisticated and more targeted than massive. It takes advantage of the free HTTP protocol to connect remotely to the website and spam while not even being on the website itself. It is extremely effective and is very hard to be removed.
Both off those spam methods can be utilized via very expensive spam campaigns, and they are something you DO NOT want to have on your website. Besides regular checks for spam, they should be permanently blocked on your web server because they have the potential to quickly devaluate the data of Google Analytics websites. And the damage done by such spammed URLs may even be more. For example, Ghost Referrals can target specific aspects of Google Analytics data to devaluate. And not only this, but it may also lead to malicious web pages that may infect the users of the website with malware, and make them never come back to your site again.
More Information About the Semalt Referral Spam
As soon as the spam is initiated, it may be in messages that contain web links which originate from the following domains:
- https://semalt.semalt(.)com
- HTTP:// keywords-monitoring-your-success.com
- HTTP:// free-video-tool.com
Also, researchers have identified that the following IP addresses were belonging to spam bots spreading web links redirecting to Semalt’s main web page:
- 186.214.178.98
- 24.218.171.58
- 79.49.195.113
- 187.112.50.169
In addition to that, the spammers are reported to use a very dangerous software, called QtWebKit, which allows them to perform different activities, like executing different JavaScript. Also, further reports indicate that these spam bots may be doing the spamming from infected machines and hence be spread via different malware, like botnet malware, for example. Malware researchers report that Semalt may have used the Soundfrost botnet which might have allowed them to infect hundreds of thousands of computers all over the world, primarily in South America.
More Information on Semalt
The website itself appears to be a website that offers a variety of services to users as well as websites:
Besides the products it offers, Semalt’s website also pretends to offer to analyze a website’s potential for free by scanning for keywords and other statistics:
However, the website wants money from users to show the report for its analysis. It offers various SEO tools and even to create websites for its clients.
Stop Semalt Referral Spam from Your Computer
Since referral spam associated with Semalt may link to many third-party websites, trying to boost their traffic by using spamming methods, users can never be too sure what type of websites the web links will lead them to. Not only this, but such spam is mainly a menace for website publishers since it devaluates their analytics data quickly and makes research based on it impossible. This is why we advise you to use some of the following instructions and hopefully block this spam and protect yourself in the future as a user.
- Guide 1: How to Remove Semalt from Windows.
- Guide 2: Get rid of Semalt from Mac OS X.
- Guide 3: Remove Semalt from Google Chrome.
- Guide 4: Erase Semalt from Mozilla Firefox.
- Guide 5: Uninstall Semalt from Microsoft Edge.
- Guide 6: Remove Semalt from Safari.
- Guide 7: Eliminate Semalt from Internet Explorer.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
How to Remove Semalt from Windows.
Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove Semalt





Step 2: Uninstall Semalt and related software from Windows
Here is a method in few easy steps that should be able to uninstall most programs. No matter if you are using Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP, those steps will get the job done. Dragging the program or its folder to the recycle bin can be a very bad decision. If you do that, bits and pieces of the program are left behind, and that can lead to unstable work of your PC, errors with the file type associations and other unpleasant activities. The proper way to get a program off your computer is to Uninstall it. To do that:



Step 3: Clean any registries, created by Semalt on your computer.
The usually targeted registries of Windows machines are the following:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
You can access them by opening the Windows registry editor and deleting any values, created by Semalt there. This can happen by following the steps underneath:



Before starting "Step 4", please boot back into Normal mode, in case you are currently in Safe Mode.
This will enable you to install and use SpyHunter 5 successfully.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Get rid of Semalt from Mac OS X.
Step 1: Uninstall Semalt and remove related files and objects
1. Hit the ⇧+⌘+U keys to open Utilities. Another way is to click on “Go” and then click “Utilities”, like the image below shows:
- Go to Finder.
- In the search bar type the name of the app that you want to remove.
- Above the search bar change the two drop down menus to “System Files” and “Are Included” so that you can see all of the files associated with the application you want to remove. Bear in mind that some of the files may not be related to the app so be very careful which files you delete.
- If all of the files are related, hold the ⌘+A buttons to select them and then drive them to “Trash”.
In case you cannot remove Semalt via Step 1 above:
In case you cannot find the virus files and objects in your Applications or other places we have shown above, you can manually look for them in the Libraries of your Mac. But before doing this, please read the disclaimer below:
You can repeat the same procedure with the following other Library directories:
→ ~/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons
Tip: ~ is there on purpose, because it leads to more LaunchAgents.
Step 2: Scan for and remove Semalt files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as Semalt, the recommended way of eliminating the threat is by using an anti-malware program. SpyHunter for Mac offers advanced security features along with other modules that will improve your Mac’s security and protect it in the future.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Remove Semalt from Google Chrome.
Step 1: Start Google Chrome and open the drop menu
Step 2: Move the cursor over "Tools" and then from the extended menu choose "Extensions"
Step 3: From the opened "Extensions" menu locate the unwanted extension and click on its "Remove" button.
Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Google Chrome by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Erase Semalt from Mozilla Firefox.
Step 1: Start Mozilla Firefox. Open the menu window
Step 2: Select the "Add-ons" icon from the menu.
Step 3: Select the unwanted extension and click "Remove"
Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Mozilla Firefox by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Uninstall Semalt from Microsoft Edge.
Step 1: Start Edge browser.
Step 2: Open the drop menu by clicking on the icon at the top right corner.
Step 3: From the drop menu select "Extensions".
Step 4: Choose the suspected malicious extension you want to remove and then click on the gear icon.
Step 5: Remove the malicious extension by scrolling down and then clicking on Uninstall.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Remove Semalt from Safari.
Step 1: Start the Safari app.
Step 2: After hovering your mouse cursor to the top of the screen, click on the Safari text to open its drop down menu.
Step 3: From the menu, click on "Preferences".
Step 4: After that, select the 'Extensions' Tab.
Step 5: Click once on the extension you want to remove.
Step 6: Click 'Uninstall'.
A pop-up window will appear asking for confirmation to uninstall the extension. Select 'Uninstall' again, and the Semalt will be removed.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer
Eliminate Semalt from Internet Explorer.
Step 1: Start Internet Explorer.
Step 2: Click on the gear icon labeled 'Tools' to open the drop menu and select 'Manage Add-ons'
Step 3: In the 'Manage Add-ons' window.
Step 4: Select the extension you want to remove and then click 'Disable'. A pop-up window will appear to inform you that you are about to disable the selected extension, and some more add-ons might be disabled as well. Leave all the boxes checked, and click 'Disable'.
Step 5: After the unwanted extension has been removed, restart Internet Explorer by closing it from the red 'X' button located at the top right corner and start it again.