Skip to content
  • Active
  • Severity: Medium
  • Adware
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Jan 2021

How to remove Hover Zoom 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

Hover Zoom is the PUP that should help with your online surfing quality

Hover Zoom is the program developed by Romain Vallet. This is a browser extension for Google Chrome that has been released at the end of 2013. From the first glimpse, people treated this app as an ordinary application that may be used for zooming images on the Internet. Unfortunately, the more people used this app the more issues surfaced. Users are not happy with the version of this program that appeared to have a suspicious script due to which Hover Zoom and other PUP relations to malware.

It was reported that besides having issues with affiliation links, the browser add-on is set to collect personally identifiable information, such as:

  • passwords,
  • logins,
  • credit card details,
  • etc.

Fortunately, it does not seem to be true. Reputable security vendors have made a small research on this program and claim that it's just another adware or a potentially unwanted program (PUP). Such categorization means that this dubious browser plug-in is distributed using unfair methods and may infiltrate computers without being noticed.

Besides, it means that it may try to make people visit websites that are not frequently visited in a normal way. For this purpose, it may start initiating a ton of 'Ads by Hover Zoom', which may be filled with various deals, discounts, and similar things.

However, if you are not willing to land on an unknown, suspicious, or even unsafe website, we highly recommend you to ignore all Hover Zoom ads. Finally, be aware that this adware is NOT capable of collecting sensitive data about you. But third-party applications and advertisers might rely on tracking methods that focus on browsing-related data.

It has been found that the browser app itself uses web beacons, Flash, and HTTP cookies that seem to be used for collecting non-personally identifiable information about you in order to investigate your browsing habits. All in all, be aware that the Hover Zoom virus is NOT malicious; however, it can still cause some privacy and computer-related issues.

Thus, if you suspect that this program has infiltrated your computer, we recommend you to run a full system scan with an anti-malware tool and eliminate it right away. Also, keep in mind that some third-party applications and commercial content creators might affect your time online and corrupt files on the PC, so rely on FortectIntego that can fix the damage for you.

PUP distribution ways

As we have already mentioned, Hover Zoom virus may infiltrate the computer without being noticed. To be more precise, it may be attached alongside various freeware as an optional download, and the only way to notice its presence and opt-out of it is to select an appropriate installation option and keep an eye on every detail.

Therefore, whenever you decide to install a freeware, keep in mind that it may be filed with optional downloads and select the Advanced or Custom installation option. After that, check everything step-by-step and unmark checkmarks claiming that you agree to install Hover Zoom or any other browser add-on, plug-in, toolbar, or extension. In case, Hover Zoom redirects to suspicious domains that have already started bothering you, follow the removal guide.

AV tools are capable of removing the Hover Zoom virus

Since Hover Zoom is a typical adware, its removal should not cause difficulties. Thus, you can try to remove it manually with the help of a guide that is given below. Those steps show how to reset all the browsers and how to terminate the program fully.

However, after that, we highly recommend you to run a full system scan in order to make sure that your computer is completely fixed. Anti-malware tools needed for the security aspect and for checking that Hover Zoom PUP is no longer active. Also, PC repair tools are helpful when particular damage on the machine triggers unwanted issues.

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.

Reset Internet Explorer

Remove dangerous add-ons:

  1. Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
  2. Pick Manage Add-ons.
  3. You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.Remove add-ons from Internet Explorer

Change your homepage if it was altered:

  1. Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
  2. Select Internet Options.
  3. In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
  4. Click Apply and then select OK.Reset IE homepage

Delete temporary files:

  1. Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
  2. Under Browsing history, click Delete...
  3. Select relevant fields and press Delete.Clear temporary files from Internet Explorer

Reset Internet Explorer:

  1. Click on Gear icon > Internet options and select Advanced tab.
  2. Select Reset.
  3. In the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset.Reset Internet Explorer

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

Be the first to comment

Read in your language

Spyware news
Privacy preferences

We use cookies to improve your experience and analyze traffic. Some cookies enable embedded content like videos and social posts. Choose what you allow — you can change this anytime.