The guide below was created to help users remove the Super PC Cleaner “Virus” from Windows machines.
Super PC Cleaner is a supposed Windows optimizer software that does little to earn its name – in fact it is labeled as a PUP/PUA (Potentially Unwanted Program/Potentially Unwanted Application) by online security specialists. The major problem with it is that it usually comes bundled with a variety of adware and freeware, thus marking it as a potential security breach.
What kind of a program is Super PC Cleaner?
First of all, to ease the panic that probably appeared the first time you saw the intrusive ads and pop-ups, we should say that Super PC Cleaner is neither a virus nor malware like a Trojan or Ransomware. This is an adware program, but what exactly does this mean? Adware comes in short from advertising software and is a piece of software that is generally used to display a great amount of advertisements with the idea of generating revenue. How does this work? Every time you see ads and eventually click on them, the adware developers gain revenue from your clicks through a remuneration scheme called Pay-Per-Click (PPC). Now, don’t think that this is a shady criminal scheme, because that isn’t so. Actually, PPC is perfectly legal and many vendors and businesses take advantage of it by earning from the clicks of sponsored advertisements. The intrusive way they do that, however, may cause severe browsing related disturbance and irritation to some online users.
The intrusiveness of the ads…
You are probably disturbed by the numerous pop-ups, boxes, banners, blinking notifications and messages that you have to face every time you open your browser. What is even more annoying is that the ads usually appear in such places on the screen, where you have to click on them or close them in order to continue your browsing. Closing them, however, is usually not that easy, because the ads you’ve just quit quickly get replaced with others and this odyssey has no end. What is all this aggressiveness about? The adware developers usually program the ads to appear in such a way, that they can get their clicks (and the money for the clicks), and this is where they very often overdo it with the intrusiveness of such programs. Similar is the case with Super PC Cleaner, where the flow of advertisements may become uncontrollable. In fact, in its attempt to make you click on the ads and make them relevant to your interests, this program may track your online activity. For example, it may closely monitor the websites you visit, the bookmarks and favorite pages in your browser, the social sites shares, and likes, so that it can generate ads that correspond to your searches. At first, this may not sound that bad, however, it is not really clear where this collected information goes and how safely is it stored. Sometimes such data, known also as “traffic data” may be sold to third parties or advertisers for some extra money, whereas it is not known what they may use it for.
Some security risks, related to adware
Despite that Super PC Cleaner is generally not considered a security threat, you are still advised to remove this program. The reason is not the adware itself, but the randomly generated advertisements that it displays, which sometimes may be used to mislead you and infect you with a nasty virus, a Trojan or even Ransomware. This method is called malvertising and hackers don’t hesitate to use when it comes to spreading malware. They sometimes hide some fake ads and misleading web pages or links in places where lots of advertisements are generated, and adware may also be used to unintentionally display such harmful content.
That’s why our team would advise you to avoid clicking on ads, pop-ups, and links that are randomly generated on your screen. If you stay away from such sketchy content, spam emails, direct downloads, free downloads and torrents, you will surely minimize the chance of getting infected with a nasty virus. Another very useful thing to know is to pay close attention to the options in the installation wizard while installing new software on your PC. Adware usually comes bundled with some other applications, and you may install it unknowingly if you overlook the custom/advanced option in the setup. You probably made that mistake the last time and now ended up with Super PC Cleaner on your system. The thing is that uninstalling it now would require a bit more juggling in the panel than simply unchecking a checkbox in the custom option of the setup. The good news is that the removal guide below is here to help you remove Super PC Cleaner completely, so just repeat the shown steps and you will never see the annoying ads again.
SUMMARY:
| Name | Super PC Cleaner |
| Type | PUP |
| Danger Level | Medium (nowhere near threats like Ransomware, but still a security risk) |
| Symptoms | A huge amount of ads, pop-ups and banners floods your screen and interrupts your browsing. |
| Distribution Method | The most common distribution method is the software bundle, but adware could also be found in spam emails, torrents, installation managers and free download platforms. |
Welcome to our Super PC Cleaner removal guide. The following instructions will aid you in removing the unwanted software from your PC.
Super PC Cleaner Removal
I – Uninstallation
- Use the Winkey+R keyboard combination, write Control Panel in the search field and hit enter.
- Go to Uninstall a program under Programs.
- Seek the unwanted software, select it and then click on Uninstall
- If you are unable to spot Super PC Cleaner, search for any unrecognized programs that you do not remember installing on your PC – the unwanted software might disguise itself by going under a different name.
II – Safe mode and revealing hidden files
III – Cleaning all your browsers
- Go to your browser’s icon, right-click on it and select Properties.
- Go to the Shortcut tab and in the Target make sure to delete anything written after “.exe”.
- Now, open your browser and follow the instructions below depending on whether you are using Chrome, Mozilla or IE.
- Chrome users:
- Go to your browser’s main menu located in the top-right corner of the screen and select Settings.
- Scroll down, click on Show Advanced Settings and then select Clear browsing data. Just to be sure, tick everything and clear the data.
- Now, in the left pane, go to Extensions and look through all extensions that are integrated within your browser. If you notice any suspicious add-on, disable it and then remove it.
- Firefox users:
- Similarly to Chrome, go to the main menu and select Add-ons and then Extensions.
- Remove any suspicious browser extensions that you may have even if they do not have the name Super PC Cleaner on them.
- IE users:
- Go to Tools and select Manage add-ons.
- Click on all add-on types from the left pane and check if there is anything suspicious in the right panel. In case you find anything shade, make sure to remove it.
IV – Removing Shady processes
- Go to your start menu, type Task Manager in the search field and from the results open View running processes with Task Manager.
- Thoroughly look through all processes. The name Super PC Cleaner might not be there, but if you notice any shady looking process that consumes high amounts of memory it might be ran by the unwanted program.
- If you spot the process ran by Super PC Cleaner, right-click on it, open its file location and delete everything in there. Then go back to the Task Manager and end the process.
V – DNS check
- In the start menu search box write View Network Connections and open the first result.
- Right-click on the network connection you are using and go to Properties.
- Select Internet Protocol Version (TCP/IPv4) and click on Properties.
- If Obtain DNS server addresses automatically is not checked, check it.
- Go to Advanced and select the DNS If there is anything in the DNS server addresses field, remove it and click OK.
- Click OK on the rest of the opened windows.
