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  • Active
  • Severity: Medium
  • Adware
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Jul 2016

How to remove ShoppyTool ads

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

Olivia Morelli · Ransomware analyst

What does ShoppyTool virus do?

Shoppy Tool is a potentially unwanted program, which can affect Mac users. It falls into adware category, and it is known for the ability to take control over Internet browser and inject various sponsored content into websites that the user visits, as well as launch them in separate browser windows or new tabs. These ads are typically labeled as “Shoppy Tool ads” or “ads by Shoppy Tool,” so it won’t take long to realize where do these ads come from. However, it can be a surprise for some computer users, especially if they didn’t do anything to find and download this adware on their own. The reason why this application appears in user’s computer is if the user fails to install software correctly, misses important settings and agrees to install optional applications without even knowing that they exist. If you want to learn how to avoid installing these programs unconsciously, continue reading below.

First of all, we would like to explain why it is not worth trusting ads that this application displays. Despite the fact that it promises to deliver relevant and targeted advertisements, which can save user’s time and money, in reality, it is not the real aim of developers of this app. In fact, they pretend that they provide a beneficial tool free of charge, in reality, they want to use the computer user as a tool for Internet advertising model, known as pay-per-click. To put it simply, the developer of this adware gets paid for every single click users make on these annoying ads, because then users get redirected to third-party websites that want to be promoted. The sad part is that not all of these websites are safe. What is more, the developers of this adware state that they do not have control over the content of ads and that they do not endorse them. They suggest that “You are solely responsible for your choice to access or rely on any Deals, and you do so at your sole discretion and risk.” We believe that you should think twice before clicking on ShoppyTool advertisements as they do not seem to be very reliable. If you would like to stop receiving these ads, you have to remove Shoppy Tool from your computer. FortectIntego anti-spyware software can be used for that, but if you want to, you can try to delete this ad-supported software manually.

ShoppyTool virus ads on screen

How to avoid installing such programs?

If you did not download this software by yourself, you are probably wondering how did it enter your computer system without your knowledge. The answer is, you have installed it by yourself at the same time you have installed another free program. Try to remember what programs you have lately installed, because most likely one of them contained Shoppy Tool executive file. Be careful when you install software on your computer and control the entire installation process, because if you do it carelessly, you can end up installing suspicious programs such as adware or browser hijackers. Let’s say that you have just downloaded a program from the Internet. Launch its installer, and do not forget to read its Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Then jump to the next installation step and adjust installation settings. Please, do not rely on auto-selected options – that is the biggest mistake computer users make! Default or Standard options are set to install all bundled programs immediately, while by choosing Advanced or Custom options, you can configure the list of these programs and, if you wish, you can refuse to install all of them. That is what we suggest doing because typically all hidden bundled programs appear to be untrustworthy or useless.

ShoppyTool removal

Tired of Shoppy Tool virus and ads that it sends? That does not surprise us – computer users do not like adware programs because of their intrusive activity. To remove Shoppy Tool, follow instructions provided below or use a particular anti-spyware program. Here are our recommendations:

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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