Web Companion Removal Instruction

Web Companion is a program that pretends to be antivirus software for safe web browsing. However, a lot of signs show that this program is likely a virus, rather than a legit security tool. In this article, you will see the explanation why this program is potentially unwanted, and how to remove it from your PC.

What is a Web Companion?

This program is not a thing you are expected to have on your PC. It appears spontaneously, and offers you to specify the browser and search engine you use everyday. Since this program is distributed as a part of the bundle, you may suppose that this window belongs to the legit app you have installed. After that, Web Companion integrates into the browser you specified and makes there several changes you don’t likely need.

The visible effects of Web Companion activity are changed search engine and modified Home page. These days, the unwanted program alters your search engine to Bing, Yahoo and Yandex. And no one knows which one will be in future – it depends on who will pay this “antivirus vendor”. Home page is changed to one which will surely inform you, what kind of unwanted app you have got:

Exactly, because of these unwanted changes, as well as a great pack of undeclared functions, this program is classified as a potentially unwanted program (PUP). This class of malware was constantly active, and from the beginning of 2021, it became even more active.

How did Web Companion installed on my PC?

As I have mentioned, it arrived on your computer as a part of a software bundle. Software bundling is a very popular practise among the developers of free software. They want to have something for dinner, too. And bundling allows them to get several dollars for each time added programs are installed. Same scheme with the same targets is used by hackers who crack the license checking mechanisms of different apps and then release them. But not all free software developers/hackers are benevolent, so you can easily get a virus, or such PUA as Web Companion, within this bundle.

In very rare cases, Web Companion is distributed through the disruptive ads. They look like a scary notification stating something like “YOUR PC IS IN DANGER!” or “Make your browsing safe!”. Clicking on such an advertisement will lead to the installation of this PUA. And it is not recommended to click such ads wherever they are and whatever they have inside. The risk to get something more dangerous or unwanted, like SAntivirus, for example, is still high.