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

How to remove TubeBox ads

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

Alice Woods · Likes to teach users about virus prevention

Why do you see TubeBox ads?

If TubeBox virus infects the computer, it starts displaying intrusive advertisements as soon as the user launches the Internet browser. Some people install this program thinking that it is a useful multimedia downloader and converter, which can help to download videos and music from the Internet for free. Sadly, this program should not be trusted since it acts as an adware-type software and advertisements that it displays can lead you to insecure third-party sites. Therefore, we advise you to remove TubeBox adware as soon as possible as this program can hardly be useful. Even if it does can download free music and videos from the Internet, it gains revenue by displaying hundreds of ads for the user and also generates pay-per-click revenue from users’ clicks on these ads.

Have you ever thought why these ads look so good? Have you ever thought, why TubeBox ads provide deals for items and services that actually interest you and make you want to click on them? In fact, there is nothing magical about it, because this ad-supported program simply utilizes some tracking technologies to find out what websites do you go to, what do you search for, what ads or links you click on, and basically everything that is related to your browsing habits. This information is not considered as personally identifiable, so you should not worry about your privacy. However, ads that this program displays are going to be based on such information, so if you are not the only one who uses your computer, they are going to see these tailored ads too. Consider if you wish someone else see them. If you don’t, remove TubeBox from your computer.

TubeBox ads on screen

We cannot say that this program is malicious because it is not. However, it is assigned to potentially unwanted programs’ category (PUP) due to its suspicious functionality, impact on computer’s speed and its distribution techniques. Besides, ads that it displays are very will eventually show up as you browse the Internet, no matter what. The only way to get rid of them is to complete TubeBox removal. You can accomplish that in no time by using an anti-spyware program, for instance, FortectIntego.

How do such programs spread?

TubeBox PUP has its official page on the Internet, where you can find a link to download this ad-supported program. However, it seems that this application spreads around with a help of bundling, a technique used to distribute several computer programs together. Here is how you can reject additional pieces of software bundled with your download:

  1. After you download a program, launch its setup wizard file.
  2. Carefully look through information it provides. Do not underestimate the importance of Terms of Use and Privacy Policy documents; read them thoroughly.
  3. Proceed with the installation. Make sure you do not skip “Settings” step!
  4. Adjust settings. Instead of leaving pre-selecting options, switch them to Advanced or Custom option.
  5. The following menu modification should show you what “recommended” programs are added to your selected program. Refuse to install them by removing check marks next to them.
  6. Finish the installation.

TubeBox removal options

TubeBox virus cannot be considered as malicious because it does not implement any illegal activities on the computer system. In fact, it might be wrong to call it like that, because it falls into PUP category. This ad-supported program does not come with an uninstaller, so if you wish to remove TubeBox files, you need to find them on your computer and delete them manually. If you do not know how to do it, follow instructions given below. An even easier option to remove this ad-supported application is to use an automatic spyware removal tool. You can delete this adware from your PC with it immediately, or if you wish, you can just complete TubeBox removal by scanning your computer system with anti-malware after removing this PUP manually.

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

Did this guide help?

4 comments

  1. Lagerfeld

    TubeBox adware can cause you headache. I swear, this happened to me when I was trying to figure out where do these damn ads come from.

  2. chase

    it is impossible to ignore these ads...

  3. Regina

    You better not click on them. They can take you to suspicious places.

  4. played

    Thanks, very useful instructions.

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