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  • Active
  • Severity: Medium
  • Adware
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Oct 2014

How to remove Desktop Dock ads

A step-by-step removal guide for affected devices. Follow the verified procedure below — most readers complete it in under 10 minutes.

Jake Doevan · Computer technology expert

What is Desktop Dock?

Desktop Dock is yet another potentially unwanted program (PUP) that may be used for generating web traffic to third parties. Once installed, this program may hijack Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer web browsers and then may initiate various unwanted modifications on its target computer. It is known that it may drop its own toolbar and then start causing commercial notifications on each of web browsers. In order to avoid this, you should pay more attention during installation of a freeware because it is known that this program is distributed in a bundle with various free programs and can be installed on the system when people do not pay enough attention to the installation of a freeware. If you noticed commercial advertisements labeled as ‘Ads by Desktop Dock’, ‘brought to you by ‘Desktop Dock’ or ‘powered by Desktop Dock’, it means that you have inadvertently installed this adware-type program on your PC. No matter it’s not a virus, we recommend you to remove it as soon as possible in order to avoid negative consequences that may be caused by it. Otherwise, it may start displaying commercial advertisements that typically appear in an extremely annoying manner and disrupt your browsing sessions seriously. Moreover, it may cause redirects to sponsored websites if you will click on those Desktop Dock ads. Every click brings certain benefit to its creators; therefore, you may be tricked into clicking on these advertisements in various ways. For instance, they may appear straight on your path, etc.

How can Desktop Dock hijack my computer?

As we have mentioned before, Desktop Dock is capable of infiltrating user’s computer unnoticed via free software. This deceptive distribution method is already known for many years and became extremely popular with the invention of browser add-ons. This way various adwares and potentially unwanted programs can be attached as ‘additional components’ and spread widely with free software. Of course, it is always advisable to install a reputable anti-spyware and ensure that Desktop Dock and similar adware-type programs will be blocked. Unfortunately, not all programs treat adwares as threat and prohibit their infiltration. Therefore, you should be more attentive during installation of such programs as download managers, video converters, PC optimizers and similar type programs if you want to avoid downloading bundled prorams. We recommend choosing Advanced or Custom installation option and reading every detail carefully. This installation method shows all possible check boxes and allows to deselect the ones you don’t want. We recommend not to install such additional components as add-ons, plug-ins or toolbars as they usually are related to third party advertisements. If such program as Desktop Dock infiltrates computer, it poses harm to end up installing dangerous applications and annoys its user to death. The only way to stop its unwanted operations is to remove it from your system and that’s what we recommend doing.

How to remove Desktop Dock virus?

If you have been suffering from Desktop Dock redirects, constant pop-up ads and similar issues, you should remove it without any delay. You can do that with the help of a reputable anti-spyware or manually. You can find our suggested programs below, as well as manual removal guidelines.

Uninstall from Windows

Uninstall from Windows 10/8:

  1. Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
  2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.Uninstall from Windows 10/8

Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:

  1. Click on Windows Start > Control Panel (Windows XP users should click on Add/Remove Programs).
  2. In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.Uninstall from Windows 7/XP

Remove the unwanted program:

  1. In the Programs and Features window, look for any recently installed suspicious entries, select them, and click Uninstall.
  2. If User Account Control appears, click Yes to confirm, then complete the removal.Uninstall the unwanted program from Windows

Delete from macOS

Remove the unwanted application:

  1. From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
  2. In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).Uninstall from Mac

Delete leftover files and folders:

  1. Select Go > Go to Folder.
  2. Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
  3. Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.Delete leftover files from Mac
  4. Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.

Remove from Microsoft Edge

Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:

  1. Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
  2. From the list, pick the extension and click on the Gear icon.
  3. Click Remove.Remove extensions from Edge

Clear cookies and other browser data:

  1. Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
  2. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  3. Select Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files. (apart from passwords, although you might want to include Media licenses as well, if applicable) and click on Clear.Clear Edge browsing data

Restore new tab and homepage settings:

  1. Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
  2. Then find On startup section.
  3. Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.

Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:

  1. Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
  2. Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
  3. Select Details tab.
  4. Now scroll down and locate every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right-click on each of them and select End Task to stop MS Edge from running.Reset MS Edge

Instructions for Chromium-based Edge

Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):

  1. Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
  2. Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.Remove extensions from Chromium Edge

Clear cache and site data:

  1. Click on Menu and go to Settings.
  2. Select Privacy, search and services.
  3. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  4. Under Time range, pick All time.
  5. Select Clear now.Clear browser data from Chroum Edge

Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:

  1. Click on Menu and select Settings.
  2. On the left side, pick Reset settings.
  3. Select Restore settings to their default values.
  4. Confirm with Reset.
  5. This will disable extensions and reset startup pages but will not delete bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history.Reset Chromium Edge

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)

Remove dangerous extensions:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
  2. Select Add-ons.
  3. In here, select the unwanted extension and click Remove.Remove extensions from Firefox

Reset the homepage:

  1. Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
  2. Choose Settings.
  3. Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.

Clear cookies and site data:

  1. Click Menu and pick Settings.
  2. Go to Privacy & Security section.
  3. Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
  4. Click on Clear Data...
  5. Select Cookies and Site Data and Temporary cached files and pages, then click Clear.Clear cookies and site data from Firefox

Reset Mozilla Firefox

If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
  2. Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.Reset Firefox 1
  3. Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox...
  4. Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.Reset Firefox 2

Remove from Google Chrome

Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

  1. Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
  2. In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all suspicious extensions related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.Remove extensions from Chrome

Clear cache and web data from Chrome:

  1. Click on Menu and pick Settings.
  2. Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
  3. Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
  4. Click Clear data.Clear cache and web data from Chrome

Change your homepage:

  1. Click menu and choose Settings.
  2. Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
  3. Click on Open a specific or set of pages and click on three dots to find the Remove option.

Reset Google Chrome:

If the previous methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the unwanted components:

  1. Click on Menu and select Settings.
  2. In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
  3. Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
  4. Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
  5. Confirm with Reset settings.Reset Chrome 2

Delete from Safari

Remove dangerous extensions:

  1. Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
  2. Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.Remove extensions from Safari

Clear history and website data:

  1. Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
  2. Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.Clear history from Safari

Reset Safari:

  1. Click Safari in the menu and select Preferences > Advanced.
  2. Enable Show Develop menu in menu bar.
  3. From the menu bar, click Develop and select Empty Caches.Reset Safari

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