Resolving Startup Browser Issues: How I Eliminated the “Unsafe Site” Redirect

If you’ve ever experienced a mysterious browser redirect on startup, you know how frustrating it can be. Recently, I encountered an unusual problem wherein a Command Prompt window would flash on my desktop, quickly followed by my browser launching to a dubious website (in my case, “ururgisha[.]net”). Thankfully, after a few simple adjustments, I managed to eradicate this annoyance. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you tackle a similar issue.

Step 1: Investigate Windows Registry for Startup Entries

The first step to resolving this situation was checking the Windows Registry for any suspicious startup entries:

1. Open the Registry Editor: Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter.
2. Navigate to Startup Entries: Head over to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run.
3. Identify Malicious Entries: Look for entries that seem out of the ordinary—mine had my username and included “cmd.exe /c start www[.]dongdonger[.]org”.
4. Delete the Suspicious Entry: Right-click the entry and select Delete.

Step 2: Examine Task Scheduler for Unwanted Tasks

Once the registry cleanup was complete, the next phase involved investigating the Task Scheduler for any malicious tasks:

1. Open Task Scheduler: Use Win + R, type taskschd.msc, and hit Enter.
2. Explore the Task Scheduler Library: Look through the list of tasks and look for anything that resembles your username.
3. Review and Remove: Right-click on the suspicious task, select Properties, check under the Actions tab, and confirm if it’s set to run “cmd.exe /c start www[.]dongdonger[.]org”.
4. Delete the Problematic Task: If you find any unwanted tasks, right-click and select Delete.

![Task Scheduler](https://preview.redd.it/365llbgpkxee1.png?width=1506&format=png&auto=webp