Woodsell.net Virus

Browser Hijacker
by Violet George
April 11, 2023

Woodsell.net

Woodsell.net is a potentially unwanted software that could get installed on your device through file-bundling, attach itself to the main browser in the system, and make unwanted changes to it. Woodsell.net modifies the homepage of the browser, causes page-redirects, and changes the default search engine.

Woodsell.net

Woodsell

Software like Woodsell is usually related to undesired and unauthorized changes in the default browser. The undesired changes may include the replacement of the current homepage (Woodsell), the installation of a new search engine or a toolbar, as well as the initiation of automatic page-redirects to different websites full of aggressive ads, pop-ups, banners and flashy offers.

Popular browsers such as Chrome, Firefox and Edge are usually the most affected by the activity of Woodsell.net but other browsing programs may also get hijacked. 

If you are on this page, we assume that you are most probably are facing some of the above-mentioned issues with your default browser and you are searching for effective methods to solve them. That’s why, in the next lines, we will provide you with the exact instructions on how to remove Woodsell.net from your PC and how to uninstall its search engine, its toolbar and any other changes imposed on your browser.

SUMMARY:

NameWoodsell.net
TypeBrowser Hijacker
Danger LevelMedium (nowhere near threats like Ransomware, but still a security risk)
Detection Tool

Please follow all the steps below in order to remove Woodsell.net!

How to remove Woodsell.net

  1. First, click the Start Menu on your Windows PC.
  2. Type Programs and Settings in the Start Menu, click the first item, and find Woodsell.net in the programs list that would show up.
  3. Select Woodsell.net from the list and click on Uninstall.
  4. Follow the steps in the removal wizard.

If you have a Mac virus, please use our How to remove Ads on Mac guide.

If you have an Android virus, please use our Android Malware Removal guide.

If you have an iPhone virus, please use our iPhone Virus Removal guide.

What we suggest you do first is, check the list of programs that are presently installed on the infected device and uninstall any rogue software that you find there:

  • From the Start Menu, navigate to Control Panel ->>> Programs and Features ->>> Uninstall a Program.
  • Next, carefully search for unfamiliar programs or programs that have been installed recently and could be related to Woodsell.net.
  • If you find any of the programs suspicious then uninstall them if they turn out to be linked to Woodsell.net.
  • If a notification appears on your screen when you try to uninstall a specific questionable program prompting you to just alter it or repair it, make sure you choose NO and complete the steps from the removal wizard.

Remove Woodsell.net from Chrome

  1. Click on the three dots in the right upper corner
  2. Go to more tools
  3. Now select extensions
  4. Remove the Woodsell.net extension
  • Once you open Chrome, click on the three-dots icon to open the browser’s menu, go to More Tools/ More Options, and then to Extensions.
  • Again, find the items on that page that could be linked to Woodsell.net and/or that might be causing problems in the browser and delete them.
  • Afterwards, go to this folder: Computer > C: > Users > *Your User Account* > App Data > Local > Google > Chrome > User Data. In there, you will find a folder named Default – you should change its name to Backup Default and restart the PC.
  • Note that the App Data folder is normally hidden so you’d have to first make the hidden files and folders on your PC visible before you can access it.

How to get rid of Woodsell.net on FF/Edge/etc.

  1. Open the browser and select the menu icon.
  2. From the menu, click on the Add-ons button.
  3. Look for the Woodsell.net extension
  4. Get rid of Woodsell.net by removing it from extensions

If using Firefox:

  • Open Firefox
  • Select the three parallel lines menu and go to Add-ons.
  • Find the unwanted add-on and delete it from the browser – if there is more than one unwanted extension, remove all of them.
  • Go to the browser menu again, select Options, and then click on Home from the sidebar to the left.
  • Check the current addresses for the browser’s homepage and new-tab page and change them if they are currently set to address(es) you don’t know or trust.

If using MS Edge/IE:

  • Start Edge
  • Select the browser menu and go to Extensions.
  • Find and uninstall any Edge extensions that look undesirable and unwanted.
  • Select Settings from the browser menu and click on Appearance.
  • Check the new-tab page address of the browser and if it has been modified by “Woodsell.net” or another unwanted app, change it to an address that you’d want to be the browser’s new-tab page.

How to Delete Woodsell.net

  1. Open task manager
  2. Look for the Woodsell.net process
  3. Select it and click on End task
  4. Open the file location to delete Woodsell.net
  • Access the Task Manager by pressing together the Ctrl + Alt + Del keys and then selecting Task Manager.
  • Open Processes and there try to find a process with the name of the unwanted software. If you find it, select it with the right button of the mouse and click on the Open File Location option.
  • If you don’t see a “Woodsell.net” process in the Task Manager, look for another suspicious process with an unusual name. It is likely that the unwanted process would be using lots of RAM and CPU so pay attention to the number of resources each process is using.
  • Tip: If you think you have singled out the unwanted process but are not sure, it’s always a good idea to search for information about it on the Internet – this should give you a general idea if the process is a legitimate one from a regular program or from your OS or if it is indeed likely linked to the adware.
  • If you find another suspicious process, open its File Location too.
  • Once in the File Location folder for the suspicious process, start testing all of the files that are stored there by dragging them to our free online scanner available below.
  • Each file will be scanned with up to 64 antivirus programs to ensure maximum accuracy
    This scanner is free and will always remain free for our website's users.
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    • If the scanner finds malware in any of the files, return to the Processes tab in the Task Manager, select the suspected process, and then select the End Process option to quit it.
    • Go back to the folder where the files of that process are located and delete all of the files that you are allowed to delete. If all files get deleted normally, exit the folder and delete that folder too. If one or more of the files showed an error message when you tried to delete them, leave them for now and return to try to delete them again once you’ve completed the rest of the guide.

    How to Uninstall Woodsell.net

    1. Click on the home button
    2. Search for Startup Apps
    3. Look for Woodsell.net in there
    4. Uninstall Woodsell.net from Startup Apps by turning it off
    • Now you need to carefully search for and uninstall any Woodsell.net-related entries from the Registry. The easiest way to do this is to open the Registry Editor app (type Regedit in the windows search field and press Enter) and then open a Find dialog (CTRL+F key combination) where you have to type the name of the threat. 
    • Perform a search by clicking on the Find Next button and delete any detected results. Do this as many times as needed until no more results are found. 
    • After that, to ensure that there are no remaining entries lined to Woodsell.net in the Registry, go manually to the following directories and delete them:
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Random Directory. 
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Run/Random
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Internet Explorer/Main/Random

    What problems may applications like Woodsell.net cause and how serious can they be?

    System corruption, data theft, espionage and file encryption is NOT something to be expected if you have a browser hijacker on your computer. These activities are actual cyber crimes typical for viruses like ransomware, Trojan horses or spyware. A browser hijacker, on the other hand, is generally harmless and is generally supposed to display different sponsored ads, pop-ups, banners and page-redirect links on your screen rather than causing you harm.


    Is Woodsell.net dangerous?

    Still, many users who end up with applications like Woodsell.net and Rockdriller on their devices start to complain about losing control over the settings of their default browser and about having their screens flooded with various aggressive and unwanted promotional messages. Most people don’t really enjoy it when their favorite browser suddenly greets them with a changed homepage or with a replaced search engine. They also tend to get panicked when the hijacked browsing app automatically starts to display some pay-per-click messages and lands them on unfamiliar web locations without their approval. This is the main reason why such software is regarded as potentially unwanted and is often uninstalled from the system without being a direct threat to the machine’s safety.


    How to remove Woodsell.net?

    Don’t worry if you are not an experienced user because dealing with browser hijackers is not as complicated as handling ransomware, spyware or Trojan horse infections. Should you follow the steps in the removal guide, you will most probably be able to successfully detect and eliminate the unwanted application. If, in any case, you need some extra help, feel free to use the professional Woodsell.net removal tool on this page or leave us a message in the comments section at the end of the article. Before you proceed to the instructions, however, please scroll down and make sure you familiarize yourself with all the details about the browser hijackers and their nature in order to keep them away from your computer in the future.


    About the author

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    Violet George

    Violet is an active writer with a passion for all things cyber security. She enjoys helping victims of computer virus infections remove them and successfully deal with the aftermath of the attacks. But most importantly, Violet makes it her priority to spend time educating people on privacy issues and maintaining the safety of their computers. It is her firm belief that by spreading this information, she can empower web users to effectively protect their personal data and their devices from hackers and cybercriminals.

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