If you noticed that your browser has automatic pop-up ads or toolbars that you have not installed, then your computer has probably been infected with adware, which is primarily intended to display very intrusive ads.
Adware is usually installed unknowingly with various types of free software, so you should always pay attention to what programs will be installed additionally. Of course, there is always the option of skipping the installation of this type of malware, although you can easily just miss it.
Fortunately, in most cases we can easily get rid of intrusive ads and pop-ups from our browser, i.e. adware. And today I will show you a few ways that will help you in this.
Table of Contents
1 # Clean your computer with AdwCleaner
AdwCleaner is a small and fast program that does not even require installation. With it, you can easily get rid of various types of adware displaying unwanted ads, toolbars, as well as changes to your browser settings, such as the start page. Follow the steps below to clean your computer with AdwCleaner.
Step 1. Download AdwCleaner to your computer by clicking here . The program is ready to use immediately after downloading.
Step 2. Run AdwCleaner and then click ” Scan” . The scan will start, which should take no more than a few minutes.
Step 3. After scanning, all you have to do is click ” Clean “. The program will ask you to close all programs to properly remove the infection.
Step 4. The computer will restart after the cleaning process.
2 # Scan your computer with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is another completely free software that should be scanned your computer in case of detection of various types of malware, including adware. The program should be used as an add-on to an already installed anti-virus in a situation where our anti-virus has not been able to remove all viruses.
Unfortunately, adware is usually not detected by ordinary anti-viruses, so you should use this type of scanner that will scan all places where there may be malware.
Step 1. Download and install Malwarebytes Anti-Malware on your computer.
Step 2. After installing, run the program, and then we have 3 types of quick, accurate and custom scans to choose from. Of course, it’s best to choose a thorough scan that takes a bit longer, but we are sure that all viruses will be removed. By choosing a custom scan, you can choose a specific partition or even a file to be scanned.
Step 3. If you have already decided what type of scan you would like to perform, just click ” Scan “.
3 # Uninstall unknown programs and plugins from your browser
Carefully check the list of installed programs on your computer and uninstall the ones you do not recognize or do not use at all.
It is also worth looking through the list of installed plugins in the browser you are using. Very often when installing free programs, various types of toolbars are added to the browser that change the settings of our browser. You can find a list of the most common toolbars below:
- Ask.com Toolbar
- Yahoo! Toolbar
- Mail.ru toolbar
- Babylon Toolbar
- SweetPacks Toolbar
- Delta Toolbar
- Searchqu Toolbar
- Sweet IM Toolbar
- DealPly Toolbar
- Funmoods Toolbar
- Softonic Toolbar
- Yontoo Toolbar
- Snap.Do Toolbar
- IMinent Toolbar
- PriceGong Toolbar
To check the installed plugins in Google Chrome go to your browser settings and then to the Extensions tab , you can also enter the following link in the address bar: chrome://extensions/ . In Firefox, just use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + A. Uninstall any plugins you don’t recognize, especially the toolbars from the list above.
4 # Reset browser settings
As a last resort, if none of the above methods helped you to get rid of problems with pop-up ads, toolbars and changes made by adware in your browser, it remains to restore the browser to factory settings.
Restore default settings in Google Chrome
Step 1. Open Google Chrome settings
Step 2. Scroll to the bottom of the page, then click ” Show advanced settings “.
Step 3. At the very bottom of the page you will find the ” Reset settings ” button . After clicking it, the browser will be restored to the default settings.
Restoring default settings in Mozilla Firefox
Step 1. After starting the browser, click on the main menu button and then on the help button.
Step 2. From the help menu select ” Information for technical support “, you can also enter ” about:support“ in the address bar .
Step 3. Then, to restore Firefox to the default settings, just click ” Refresh Firefox “.
That’s all! I hope that the methods described above have helped you solve your problem, and if you know other methods how to remove unwanted ads and pop-ups from your browser, please share in the comment below.
