What is Web Companion? Should you remove Web Companion? What does it do?
Web Companion Adware
Web Companion is developed by Lavasoft, now known as Adaware and it is a legitimate application. However, in January 2011, the company was acquired by the same entrepreneurs who have been accused of selling software that is available for free to unwitting users under the disguise of premium support. Web Companion hijacks the homepage, new tabs and default search engine of all compatible browsers and changes them. If you install the software from the official website, you can choose the search engine, but not if you have installed it via a bundled software package.
App Profile
| Name | Web Companion |
| Type | Application |
| Short Description | Web Companion is a program, developed by Lavasoft. The homepage, new tabs and default search engine of all compatible browsers. |
| Symptoms | You will get redirected to different web pages and search results will go through search engines set by the program. You can see advertisements and experience redirects. |
| Developer | Adaware (formerly Lavasoft) |
| Detection Tool |
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Web Companion – Where Did I Get It and What Does It Do?
Web Companion is developed by Adaware, formerly known as Lavasoft and it is a legitimate application. However, the company was acquired in January 2011, as Lavasoft, by the Solaria Fund, a private equity fund – the same people behind UpClick and Interactive Brands. Lavasoft had been acquired by the same entrepreneurs who have been accused of selling software that is available for free to unwitting users under the disguise of premium support. Not to mention that in the past a security feature of Web Companion was implemented with the help of a company that was involved with the Lenovo and Microsoft Superfish incident.
You can see in the picture below, an installation setup that notifies users of changes that will be made by Web Companion with a very small font:
Web Companion makes the following changes to your browsers:
- Homepage
- New Tabs
- Search Engine
Web Companion itself is deemed as malware by many users and it is understandable as the people behind them have been involved in shady tricks for pushing their software. Some even suspect that the program might spy on its users and track data.
In case you worry about having a virus or other malware on your computer, or want to stop annoying browser redirects, you can always try scanning your system with an anti-malware tool that will detect and remove any threats that are found. With such a security tool, your computer will stay secure and threats will be stopped from infecting your system.
How to Remove Web Companion
In order to remove Web Companion along with all associated files that support its activities, you should complete several removal steps. The adware removal guide below will show you all the steps needed for the complete removal of Web Companion. Follow them sequentially as they should be fulfilled in the presented order. If you don’t feel comfortable with the manual steps then you could navigate to the download process of an advanced anti-malware tool that will enable you to remove all harmful files with a few clicks.
Tsetso Mihailov
Tsetso Mihailov is a tech-geek and loves everything that is tech-related, while observing the latest news surrounding technologies. He has worked in IT before, as a system administrator and a computer repair technician. Dealing with malware since his teens, he is determined to spread word about the latest threats revolving around computer security.
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- Guide 1: How to Remove Web Companion from Windows.
- Guide 2: Get rid of Web Companion on Mac OS X.
- Guide 3: Remove Web Companion in Google Chrome.
- Guide 4: Erase Web Companion from Mozilla Firefox.
- Guide 5: Uninstall Web Companion from Microsoft Edge.
- Guide 6: Remove Web Companion from Safari.
- Guide 7: Eliminate Web Companion from Internet Explorer.
- Guide 8: Disable Web Companion Push Notifications in Your Browsers.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups
How to Remove Web Companion from Windows.
Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove Web Companion
Step 2: Uninstall Web Companion 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:
Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall most programs.
Step 3: Clean any registries, created by Web Companion 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 Web Companion there. This can happen by following the steps underneath:
Tip: To find a virus-created value, you can right-click on it and click "Modify" to see which file it is set to run. If this is the virus file location, remove the value.
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 Stop Push Pop-ups
Get rid of Web Companion from Mac OS X.
Step 1: Uninstall Web Companion 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 Web Companion 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 Web Companion files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as Web Companion, 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 Stop Push Pop-ups
Remove Web Companion 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 Stop Push Pop-ups
Erase Web Companion 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 Stop Push Pop-ups
Uninstall Web Companion 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 Stop Push Pop-ups
Remove Web Companion 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 Web Companion will be removed.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups
Eliminate Web Companion 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.
Remove Push Notifications caused by Web Companion from Your Browsers.
Turn Off Push Notifications from Google Chrome
To disable any Push Notices from Google Chrome browser, please follow the steps below:
Step 1: Go to Settings in Chrome.
Step 2: In Settings, select “Advanced Settings”:
Step 3: Click “Content Settings”:
Step 4: Open “Notifications”:
Step 5: Click the three dots and choose Block, Edit or Remove options:
Remove Push Notifications on Firefox
Step 1: Go to Firefox Options.
Step 2: Go to “Settings”, type “notifications” in the search bar and click "Settings":
Step 3: Click “Remove” on any site you wish notifications gone and click “Save Changes”
Stop Push Notifications on Opera
Step 1: In Opera, press ALT+P to go to Settings
Step 2: In Setting search, type “Content” to go to Content Settings.
Step 3: Open Notifications:
Step 4: Do the same as you did with Google Chrome (explained below):
Eliminate Push Notifications on Safari
Step 1: Open Safari Preferences.
Step 2: Choose the domain from where you like push pop-ups gone and change to "Deny" from "Allow".
this thing has been attached to my browser, and even though it doesn’t seem bad in any way, it is just annoying me because I want to switch back to using google… and it doesn’t work… please help me? the usual steps don’t seem to work?