A program to remove ads from your computer. The best programs to remove ads, viruses and malware

A program to remove ads from your computer.  The best programs to remove ads, viruses and malware
A program to remove ads from your computer. The best programs to remove ads, viruses and malware

The free AdwCleaner program is designed to remove adware and potentially unwanted software from your computer. After removing such software, the security of your computer will increase.

Many users have often encountered the implicit installation of various unnecessary software on their computer. Toolbars and browser add-ons, advertising modules and banners, toolbars, and similar programs penetrate the computer during installation or after launching programs downloaded from the Internet.

The user expects to install a specific program on his computer, but in the end receives an unexpected “gift” that he will not be happy with at all. In some cases, the user himself allows such programs to appear on his computer without unchecking the appropriate boxes, and without paying attention to this when installing the program. In other cases, such unwanted software penetrates the computer secretly, without any notification to the user.

To prevent the installation of unnecessary programs, you can use a program that will warn you about an attempt to install such unwanted software on your computer.

Often, such unwanted software, once installed on a computer, behaves quite aggressively. Home pages in browsers change, new search engines appear, for example, such as the notorious Webalta, advertising banners, etc. Webalta secretly penetrates the computer, changes the start page in the browser, makes itself the default search engine, changes the properties of the shortcut for opening your page in the browsers installed on your computer.

To combat such unwanted programs, you can use the AdwCleaner program. AdwCleaner will scan your computer for adware and potentially dangerous software. Then you will receive a report, then you will be asked to remove the found adware, malware, and other potentially unwanted programs after restarting your computer.

AdwCleaner successfully removes toolbars, toolbars, ad units, hijacker programs that change the browser home page, and other similar software. Once the cleanup is complete, your computer will be safer.

AdwCleaner does not require installation on your computer. It can be launched from anywhere on the computer, from a connected disk or flash drive. The AdwCleaner utility has Russian language support and is used in the Windows operating system.

AdwCleaner download

The AdwCleaner program was acquired by the famous antivirus company Malwarebytes. after that, changes occurred in the application interface and settings.

The article has been supplemented with a review of the new version of Malwarebytes AwdCleaner.

Malwarebytes AwdCleaner Settings

Launch Malwarebytes AwdCleaner. In the main window of the application, there are several sections in the sidebar: “Control Panel”, “Quarantine”, “Report Files”, “Settings”, “Help”.

To change application settings, open the “Settings” section. The Settings section has three tabs: Application, Exception, Details.

The “Application” tab contains options for applying certain program parameters when restoring during a basic system cleanup. Here you can set more strict rules for scanning and cleaning the system, depending on the degree of problems encountered on a given computer. From here you can remove AdwCleaner.

In the “Exceptions” tab, the user adds applications to exceptions so that AdwCleaner ignores this data when scanning and cleaning.

The Quarantine section contains quarantined files.

From the “Report Files” section, you can copy the report to Notepad for saving on your computer, or for transferring to others.

Find adware and unwanted programs in Malwarebytes AwdCleaner

In the main window of Malwarebytes AwdCleaner, in the “Control Panel” section, click on the “Scan” button to start searching for unwanted and adware software on your PC.

After scanning your computer, the AdwCleaner window will display information about detected threats.

First, click on the “View scan report” button to obtain detailed information about the detected objects. I advise you to read the report, as the program lists unwanted applications associated with Mail.Ru.

Remove unwanted programs and adware with Malwarebytes AwdCleaner

In the main window of Malwarebytes AwdCleaner, you can uncheck the boxes next to the found files and folders that should not be deleted in your opinion.

After reviewing the information received, click on the “Clean and restore” button.

In the reboot warning window, click on the first button; the reboot will occur after the system is cleaned of unwanted software.

Then another window will open in which you need to click on the “Restart” button.

After Windows starts, the Malwarebytes AwdCleaner window will open with information about the cleaning results. If necessary, you can repeat the search and removal of unwanted applications again.

Removing unwanted programs in AdwCleaner (old version)

After downloading to your computer, run the AdwCleaner executable file. In the window that opens, you will need to click on the “J’accepte/I Agree” item to accept the terms of the license agreement.

Immediately after launch, the main window of the AdwCleaner program will open. The program is already running and is in the “Waiting for action” mode.

To start searching for potentially unwanted and malicious programs, in the AdwCleaner program you will need to click on the “Scan” button. The program will begin the process of searching for unwanted software, scanning services, folders, files, modified shortcuts, the registry, and browsers.

After the scanning process is completed, you will be able to look at the search results for the threats found. To do this, you will need to open the “Services”, “Folders”, “Files”, “Shortcuts”, “Registry”, “Internet Explorer” and other installed browsers tabs in turn in order to familiarize yourself with the detected data.

Carefully review the scan result in each tab. The program may suggest folders and files for deletion that should not be deleted from the computer. This mainly applies to services, programs and extensions of Yandex and Mail.Ru.

In the AdwCleaner program, the settings are made in such a way that, along with the removal of unnecessary toolbars, panels and add-ons, other software related to Yandex and Mail.Ru will be offered for removal. For example, the Yandex.Disk client program or the visual bookmarks extension from Yandex.

Therefore, carefully look at the list of what you found so as not to remove the add-ons or extensions that you use in your browser from your computer. Before deleting items, uncheck the boxes next to the appropriate items to prevent the programs you need from being deleted.

In this image you can see that I unchecked the boxes next to the corresponding items in order not to remove the “Alexa Toolbar” extension, which I myself installed in my Mozilla Firefox browser.

In order to view general information about the data found, you can click on the “Report” button.

Your computer's scan report will open in Notepad. If necessary, you can save this report on your computer. To do this, you will need to enter the “File” menu by selecting “Save as...” from the context menu.

To remove potentially unwanted programs, in the main window of the AdwCleaner program you will need to click on the “Clean” button.

Next, the “AdwCleaner – end programs” window will open. You will be prompted to close all running programs and save open documents on your computer. After completing the programs and saving the documents, click on the “OK” button.

The AdwCleaner - Information window will then open with information that will give you tips on how to prevent unwanted software from being installed on your computer. After reading this information, click on the “OK” button.

After this, the computer will shut down, and then the computer will restart. After starting the operating system again, a notepad will be opened with a report on the work done in the AdwCleaner program. If necessary, you can save this report on your computer.

The AdwCleaner program quarantines data deleted from the computer. If necessary, you can restore erroneously deleted data from quarantine.

Restoring data from quarantine

To restore data from quarantine, in the “Tools” menu, click on the “Quarantine Manager” item. After this, the “AdwCleaner – Quarantine Management” window will open.

To restore erroneously deleted items, you will first need to check the corresponding items, and then you will need to click on the “Recover” button.

You can remove AdwCleaner from your computer from the main program window with one click. To remove the program, you will need to click on the “Delete” button, after which the AdwCleaner program will be removed from your computer.

Conclusions of the article

Using the free AdwCleaner program, adware, malware, and potentially unwanted software will be removed from the user's computer. By removing unwanted applications, your computer's security will be increased.

The Internet is one of the wonders of modern communication. Only about thirty to forty years ago people had a vague idea of ​​what it was, but now our work and leisure time are connected with it. As we navigate the endless prairies of the World Wide Web, everything offered by browsers looks like a search boon and it seems that nothing can overshadow the indispensability of the Internet in our lives.

But, as Alfred Nobel said: “Any significant inventions are always overshadowed by something.”

The Internet offers us access to a huge amount of useful information, but if we are negligent about computer security, it will reward us with a couple of viruses that destroy the operating system and damage PC components. Among them may be a banner.

Banner and how it works

Internet surfing is a dangerous undertaking for those who naively believe that an antivirus will save them from all kinds of viruses. By neglecting to fully ensure the security of your computer, you can pick up such a malicious ransomware virus as Banner.

Banner is a Trojan program whose work is aimed at blocking or completely restricting access to the user’s PC data. If one day, after booting your computer, you see a window on the monitor screen where you are required to pay a fine for an offense that you did not commit, or for some other reason you are asked to transfer money to restore access, then, apparently, you have become a victim of a Trojan.

Virus writers who create banner programs are always driven by money. The principle of operation of the ransomware virus is simple: by creating such “mythological gifts” in the form of Trojans, hackers “play” with social engineering methods and try to influence the frightened and confused user psychologically. It all comes down to ensuring that you quickly transfer the amount indicated by the banner.

Ways a banner appears on a computer

A poorly protected computer rewards us with Trojan programs. But this is not the only way a virus gets onto a computer.

If your anti-virus databases are new and the protection is not at all outdated, it means that the banner was picked up in one of these ways:

  • when visiting and downloading a site with pirated content;
  • if you accidentally downloaded a file with the extension “e.exe” and it is not a program or a game (this extension only applies to this type of information);
  • if you tried to reinstall FlashPlayer not through the official website;
  • you went to a site about which your antivirus program warned you about an emanating threat.

Ways to remove banners for free on Windows

Having installed such an annoying beast as a “ransomware Trojan” on your computer, in no case do you need to run to the nearest self-service terminal or to the bank to pay its demands.

Windows OS offers the following absolutely free ways to get rid of the banner:

  • reinstalling the operating system;
  • through the “Safe Use” mode;
  • editing the registry;
  • through the AVZ antivirus utility;
  • using a special anti-banner program;

Everyone chooses the method that is convenient for him. But 100% results can only be guaranteed by using a special program.

Video: How to remove a banner from the Windows desktop

Program to remove banner from desktop to unlock Windows

The easiest and fastest way to remove ransomware from your computer is to use Anti-Banner. There are quite a lot of them, but it is preferable to choose such a program depending on the installed anti-virus software.

If the lock window has already appeared on your screen, you can use the following utilities:

  • kaspersky windows unlocker;
  • dr.web curelt;
  • kaspersky virus removal tool;

If your case is simpler: the system has just booted and the Trojan has not yet blocked access to data, then you can use the anti-banner program offered by your anti-virus protection provider. To do this, you just need to go to the official website.

Using Kaspersky Windows Unlocker

Kaspersky Lab has developed a special service to combat Winlocker Trojans. The KasperskyWindowsUnlocker program can be called the No. 1 fighter against extortion banners. But the difficulty of using it is that you need to have a pre-downloaded image of the utility on a disk or flash drive. As an option, purchasing may be considered, but this is for adherents of everything exclusively licensed.

If you have a disk, proceed as follows:


We remove using free antivirus services

This method can only be used if the corresponding blocking window has not yet popped up.

The essence of the solution is quite simple:

  • go to the official website of Kaspersky or Dr.Web;
  • fill out a special form to receive the blocker activation code;
  • enter the activation code.

A good alternative to this method is to use pre-recorded emergency recovery discs.

System Restore

This method is used if the program does not have time to load either in “Safe” mode or in normal mode. LiveCD programs from Dr.Web or Kaspersky Rescue Disk are used.

You need to do this:

  • download the utility image from a spare PC (or a friend’s computer) to a disk or flash drive;
  • boot the system from the media;
  • scan and remove the banner.

Such programs are good because they are universal for all types and editions of operating systems. It’s worth “donating” a disk or flash drive for it.

Removing in safe mode

You can also try to remove the banner through the download system. You need to do it like this:

  • reboot the computer;
  • During boot, press F8 and select “Safe Mode with Command Line Support”;
  • if the computer boots and we see the “Desktop”, then immediately go to “Start”;
  • select “Find files and programs”, for WidowsXP – “Run”;
  • in the window that appears, enter regedit;

If a black command line appears on your desktop, then there is no need to panic, just enter a word similar to the first case and press Enter/

Editing the boot record

A good way to combat boot viruses is to edit the record. But to do this you need to have a disk with the recovery console.

If you have access to it, editing is done as follows:


It is worth noting that this method is not identical and will be different for each operating system. Such methods are generally quite dangerous, and if you are not confident in your abilities, it is better to simply reinstall the OS.

Video: How to remove the MBR banner using a bootable USB flash drive

Reinstalling Windows

This is a safe and sure way to get rid of Winlocker. All you need for this is some free time and a disk with a recorded OS image. Modern software reinstallation is reduced to a few mouse clicks and does not require any special knowledge. You can, of course, invite a qualified specialist, but if the disk is available, you can do it yourself. Basically, all you need to do is insert the media and wait for installation.

Pop-up windows will tell you what to do in each specific situation. A similar system for getting rid of a Trojan blocker can be used if there are no important documents or programs on the “C:/” drive that the owner would like to save. If this is not the case, you can try to recover through the registry.

The best way is to edit the registry

This is an absolutely free and fairly harmless way for the system to get rid of the banner. Editing the registry can be considered the best way to get rid of a Trojan infection on a PC, but you need to know how to do it.

The algorithm of actions is as follows:


That's all. But do not forget that later you will need to get rid of traces of the banner on your PC. There are a number of programs for this.


A banner is a very unpleasant gift from the Internet for our boundless trust in it. There are many ways to fix it when it occurs on your computer. For example, reinstalling the OS or editing the registry. But the most effective can be considered a well-tuned protection system, which will save you from spending unnecessary time reinstalling and editing changes. This is the case when proper protection is the best way to get rid of it.

Frightened and gullible Internet users should under no circumstances rush to pay for a request that arises. Remember: this is just ransomware created by scammers. Payment, at best, will restart the PC for a few days, and at worst, the money will simply go nowhere.

This is a very relevant topic these days. removal of malware and viral advertising. Today on the Internet it is very easy to pick up an infection that embeds advertising in the browser, downloads and installs unnecessary programs, sets an unknown search engine by default, or sets the site to autorun. Often all this occurs together. On this page we will tell you about the best utilities for removing malware, viruses, and advertisements in the form of pop-ups and annoying sites.

AdwCleaner

Anti-Malware

Anti-Malware (mbam). Program for removing advertising, malware, viruses, Trojans.

It has an absolutely working free version that can be used forever without any trial periods, registrations or activations. The only difference from the paid license is that the free version does not provide real-time protection at all times. You can only scan the system on demand.

Anti-Malware successfully removes viruses, trojans, malware, and potentially unwanted programs. But it may miss some relatively harmless things like adware extensions, which AdwCleaner detects and removes more successfully.

HitmanPro

HitmanPro - tool for removing malware, adware, winlockers

HitmanPro is renowned for its versatility and meticulousness. This utility uses two cloud antivirus engines to search for malware - Kaspersky and Bitdefender. Therefore, it finds even the newest threats. In my practice, there were cases when HitmanPro removed malicious programs that were able to recover independently after being removed by other antiviruses. The program has also proven itself well in removing Winlockers.

Contains a special tool, HitmanPro Kickstart, which allows you to disinfect the system if Windows is not working (for example, it does not boot or is blocked by ransomware). We learn how to create bootable media with HitmanPro Kickstart.

However, this utility is third on the list because it only works for free for 30 days. If the trial period has ended, then you can use HitmanPro on this computer only by purchasing a license and nothing else.

HijackThis

A good utility from a well-known antivirus software manufacturer, TrendMicro. Created to clean browsers from hijackers. To use the utility, it is very desirable to have basic knowledge of what an extension, add-on, bho, hosts is. Inexperienced users can also use the program, but you should mark for deletion only those lines where a malicious element is clearly displayed - for example, the address of a hijacking site that you are tired of in your browser.

Summary

I would also like to say that it is not always possible to remove malware using programs. This is especially true for traces of activity: when the malicious program itself has already been removed and there is no infection on the computer, consequences such as corrupted browser shortcuts with incorrect paths, batch files that open an unwanted site, registry values ​​written by malware that open the site may remain. while loading. Quite often such things have to be cleaned by hand. For example, if the shortcut is completely changed, then no utility will help to return it. Therefore, in particularly severe cases, you will have to use manual shortcut correction.