How does AdClick “Virus” work?

Adware stands for advertising-supported software and is classed as anything that renders adverts on your PC to generate money for whoever it is advertising for. Adverts through this method become very obtrusive and can often be used for substandard or shoddy goods, as opposed to the legal advertising used by reputable companies.
Adware programs, such as, AdClick “Virus” are in no way malicious or self-replicating like a virus is. A virus can cause a lot of harm to a PC. They are capable of stealing your data, damaging your programs, spying on you. Some of the most dangerous ones are capable of allowing hackers to control your PC remotely. In comparison, adware is mostly annoying and harmless. Still, do not underestimate it and remove it from your machine as quickly as possible.
Once AdClick “Virus” has been installed, it will integrate itself into your browser, and you may then be bombarded with banners and unwanted toolbars, and page redirections. This may slow your work down and closing ads and unwanted pages can become very tedious. It also does not distinguish between browsers, so you are vulnerable using Chrome, Firefox or any other browser, so just switching browsers will not make any difference – removing the adware is the only sure way to get rid of the Ads.The programme gathers information from all the sites you enter. It then tailors ads to the kind of sites you have visited, so that you will click on them instead. You browsing details may also be sold to third parties, who will also target you with their ads.

How did AdClick “Virus” get in?

AdClick “Virus” can often be installed when downloading programme bundles and may not be picked up by malware programs. When downloading anything like torrents or free programmes, always be careful and vigilant. Never click on the quick installation option that is immediately offered to you, as this is often how adware gets into your PC. Always go for the advanced installation and read every menu. The advanced installation contains details about what kind of programs will get installed and you can easily remove any unwanted additions from the installation. It only takes a few seconds to do that and it may save you a lot of headaches dealing with unwanted Adware that you may otherwise pick up. It is advisable to stick to sites that can guarantee their downloads are free from any malware or viruses, but still remain vigilant. Pop Up Ads are a fine example of how AdClick “Virus” can get into your computer. Downloads such as music and images can be one of the causes and should be looked at with great caution. One of the main instigators is porn sites and a single click could take you to many different pages. You can quite often see a message on a page you visit saying your flash player is out of date, click here to update it. This is again a ploy to get the adware installed on your computer without your knowledge and should be avoided at all costs.
Other dangers associated with Adware
Even though Adware is not a virus or malicious, it is still an unwanted addition to your PC. There are various types of infections that can happen through adware, and these have been listed below.

• Pre-click infections.

These can happen when a malware is included in the primary scripts of a page or its downloads. Something may try to download itself when you open the page.
In-between infections
tend to be even more dangerous. It is possible for some malware to install itself onto your PC as you are redirected to the Ad-hosted website. There is no way anyone can pre-empt this, which is why reputable anti-virus software is always good to have around.

• Post-click malvertisement

occurs when you are redirected to a dangerous or outright malicious web page. Nobody really wants or has the time for this and it can be easily avoided. As the saying goes don’t bolt the door after the horse has bolted. It is always best to avoid this, remember prevention is the best defense and it can be no more so in this case. After all, a clean computer is surely better than a computer packed with unwanted adware.

Adware is a medium threat, but beware as it could install dangerous level software on your computer.

How To Remove AdClick “Virus”

STEP ONE – remove AdClick “Virus” from your list of installed programs

In order to do it you need to navigate to your control panel.

For Windows 10 -> right click on your Win button (bottom left corner) and select Control Panel. In the Menu that opens select Uninstall a program

For Windows 7-> left click on your Win button (bottom left corner) and select Control Panel->Programs_>Programs and Features->

For Windows 8-> Swipe from the right edge of the screen and hit Search. If you are using a mouse rather point to the upper-right corner, then move the pointer downwards. Select Search. In the Search field type Control panel.

Find AdClick “Virus” in the list or programs, right click on it and select uninstall.

• IMPROTANT It is possible that the Adware will try to install another program in its place. Carefully read the wording of any confirmation pop-up that may appear and select the option that will not result in anything else getting installed on your computer.
• OPTIONAL Sort your programs by installation date starting from the most recent ones. Uninstall any other application that the Adware may have added to your PC. They are likely nothing but trouble.

STEP 2 – remove any shortcut modifications added to your browser

This step is rather simple:

1. Right-click on the shortcut you usually use to start your browser.
2. Select Properties
3. Look at the field labeled Target. Delete anything that comes after .exe

STEP 3 – remove any extensions added to your browser

From Chrome

1. Start your Chrome browser and click on the toolbox menu located in the upper-right corner, in the browser’s toolbar field.
2. Click Tools -> Extensions
3. Find the extension installed by AdClick “Virus” and remove it by clicking on the trash bin icon.
4. Now go through the list of extension again and remove anything that you don’t know or don’t use.

• What if you cannot click on the Delete/Trash icon – it is grayed out or similar?

You need to click on the box called Developer Mode located in the upper-right corner. This will enable you to see the ID of the extension. Mark the whole string of numbers and copy them.

Now close your Chrome browser and hit Win+R simultaneously. In the button that opens type regedit.

Hit Control+F and paste the ID you copied from the browser. Delete any entries that pop-up from the result.

Now you can start your Chrome browser again and finish the removal of the Extension.

From Internet Explorer

1. Open your Internet Explorer browser
2. Click on the gear Tools button located in the upper-right corner  , and then select Manage add-ons.
3. Under the Show menu select “show all add-ons”, now find and delete the add-on installed by AdClick “Virus”.
4. Go through the list of add-ons again and delete anything you are not familiar with/don’t use.

• What if you cannot remove or disable the extension?

This means that there is an active program installed on your computer that prevents you from doing so. You need to do back to Step 1 and carefully look through the list of installed programs. Uninstall anything that looks suspicious to you.

From Mozilla Firefox

1. Open your Mozilla Firefox browser.
2. Click on the three horizontal stripes button located in the upper-right corner . Select Add-ons.
3. Now go through the Appearance, Extensions and Plug-ins tabs and remove anything connected to AdClick “Virus” from there. Use the Remove option whenever possible.
4. Go through these tabs again and remove any extensions that are unfamiliar to you or that you don’t use at all.

Didn’t work? AdClick “Virus” not listed as an add-on or extension? Try resetting your browser to its default settings to clean away any malware additions.

 

Step 4 – resetting your internet browser

 How to reset Google Chrome

 What is about to happen? When you use the reset option for Chrome, your search engines and home pages will be set to the default one. Default startup tabs will be cleared as well, unless you are on Chromebook. Likewise, new tab page will be empty. Pinned tabs will be unpinned and lost. Content settings are cleared out and set to default, cookie and site data removed. Extensions and themes are disabled.

Click on the Chrome menu button, the three horizontal stripes in the top-right corner, then select

1. Scroll to the bottom and click on Show advanced settings.
2. Look for the section “Reset settings,” click on Reset settings.
3. A dialog window will appear, confirm the reset:

• NOTE: You’ll see the following check box“Help make Google Chrome better by reporting the current settings”. If you select it you are agreeing to anonymously send Google your current settings. They’ll use this information to analyze how the Adware hooked in and improve the defense of the browser. It’s up to you whether to help or not.

How to reset Mozilla Firefox to default settings

What is about to happen? When you use the reset button for Mozilla Firefox, your browsing history and bookmarks, as well as windows, open tabs, passwords and cookies and web-form information are preserved. Extensions, themes and other add-ons and plug-ins are removed.

1. Start your Mozilla Firefox browser.
2. Type about:support in the address bar, then hit
3. Now click on the Reset Firefox… button located in the upper-right part of the screen.
4. Confirm the reset, Firefox will now close and be reset.

How to reset Internet Explorer to default settings

What is about to happen? When you use the reset option for Internet explorer you have the option to control whether your browsing history, search providers, accellerators, tracking protection, home pages and Active filtering data are removed. All this can be done from the Delete Personal Settings checkbox. Check the guide below.

1. Start opening your Internet Explorer.
2. Click on the gear in the rop-right corner, that is the Tools Select Internet options. In case you don’t actually see the Tools menu, press Alt.
3. Now click on the Advanced tab, then find and click Reset.
4. Select the Delete personal settings check box. Please note that this will also delete your browsing history, home pages and more. Unfortunately it is needed to clean the Adware.
5. Confirm and wait for the process to finish.

Hopefully this will be enough to remove AdClick “Virus” from your machine. If you are still having trouble feel free to contact us, we’ll try to help you to the best of our ability!