How I Resolved the Startup Browser Redirect to an Unsafe Site

If you’ve ever experienced a situation where your browser unexpectedly opens to a suspicious website upon startup, you’re not alone. I recently encountered this exact problem, specifically with a site labeled “ururgisha[.]net.” Fortunately, I found a way to resolve the issue effectively. Below, I’ll share a step-by-step guide on how I tackled the problem.

Step 1: Inspecting the Windows Registry for Startup Entries

The first step in addressing this issue was to examine the Windows Registry for any suspicious startup entries. Here’s how I did it:

1. Pressed Win + R to open the Run dialog, then typed regedit and pressed Enter to access the Registry Editor.
2. Navigated to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run.
3. In this section, I located an entry associated with my username that pointed to a command: cmd.exe /c start www[.]dongdonger[.]org.
4. To eliminate the threat, I right-clicked on the entry and selected Delete.

Step 2: Examining Task Scheduler for Unwanted Tasks

The next step was to check the Task Scheduler for any suspicious tasks that could be triggering the unwanted behavior. Here’s what I did:

1. Opened the Task Scheduler by pressing Win + R, typing taskschd.msc, and hitting Enter.
2. Searched through the list under “Task Scheduler Library” for any unusual tasks.
3. I found a task named after my username, which raised a red flag.
4. Upon opening the task properties, I discovered it was also set to run the same command: cmd.exe /c start www[.]dongdonger[.]org.
5. I swiftly deleted the task by right-clicking on it and selecting Delete.

Step 3: Restarting My Computer

Once I had completed the necessary deletions, I decided to restart my computer to see if the issue had been resolved. Upon rebooting, I was relieved to find that my browser no longer redirected to the strange site during startup!

Conclusion

This troubleshooting method proved successful for me, and I hope my experience can assist anyone else dealing with a similar annoyance. If you ever find yourself in a situation where your browser opens to a potentially harmful website at startup, follow these steps to regain control of your