Clean.shield-plus.com is a potentially unwanted program which might snatch your non-PII

Just like a related extension, Clean.shield-plus.com virus offers a variety of supposedly beneficial features where the main is to remove users' search history, download history, and browsing history. Additionally, as developers mention, it provides software packages which are giving users' the opportunity to experience “free advertising.”
This is pretty ironic because it is hard to find a user who would be grateful for the opportunity to experience continuous ads which bother his or her every time when the browsing session starts. To prevent them, we highly recommend you to remove Clean.shield-plus.com virus and all its components from your computer.
As soon as Shield Plus is installed, this PUP initiates suspicious system changes and similar activity on Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, etc. Typically, the following is altered by it:
- The homepage of your Internet Browser
- The default Search engine in your Internet Browser’s built-in search box
- The page displayed when opening a new tab
- The page displayed when you open your browser
As noted by security experts,[2] these changes might seem insignificant at the start as the most of them can hardly be noticed if you do not pay much attention to your browser. However, users who would like to keep their browsing habits in the previous state can notice that reverting these changes to normal becomes impossible. Returning to previous settings is possible only if you perform Clean.shield-plus.com removal on your computer. This can be achieved merely by using a reliable security tool, such as FortectIntego.

After performing system changes on your computer, Shield-Plus browser hijacker quickly starts displaying various ads and popups on web pages which usually do not present such content. Beware that you might be redirected to websites of dubious content that can lead you to installation of malware that can utterly destroy your computer files.
In addition to its redirecting tendencies, Clean.shield-plus.com gathers a variety of non-personally identifiable information.[3] This data is used to personalize ads to users’ taste. This technique allows developers generating profit while offering products from their sponsors. As stated in the Privacy Policy of Babylon Ltd., the collected information includes:
[…] information such as URL address, software names, files formats, IP address, default language setting, browser type, browser user agent, referring and exit pages, operating system, date/time stamp, clickstream data and an anonymous unique ID. […]
Distribution methods used by browser hijacker creators are not entirely fair
If you wonder how this pesky infiltrator acquired access to your machine – you do not need to think twice. In most cases, the useless services that are offered by developers bring no value to regular users. Thus, typically users do not search for such functionality themselves.
Hence, developers thought of an effective tactic used by many free software developers. To apply unwanted programs to as many computers as possible, creators hide additional components in installation packages. These packages can include everything from add-ons to adware.
To protect yourself from these unwanted intruders we recommend always using Advanced/Custom installation mode. This allows unticking any preselected additional elements with ease. Despite recommendations, never opt for Recommended/Quick settings.
Clean.shield-plus.com can be removed just as easy as it was installed
Luckily, Clean.shield-plus.com removal can be performed even by the most inexperienced users. It can be achieved by downloading and installing reliable security software. Please select one of the programs that are offered below and perform a full system scan. Once the program finishes its work, make sure you remove detected viruses and potentially unwanted components.
For those who do not wish to install additional software, there is an alternative way to remove Clean.shield-plus.com from the system. For that, please see guidelines written by our security experts below. However, we must warn you that the procedure should be performed accurately and without mistakes as wrong actions might simply fail to eliminate the virus.
Uninstall from Windows
Uninstall from Windows 10/8:
- Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.

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

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

Delete from macOS
Remove the unwanted application:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).

Delete leftover files and folders:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
- Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.

- Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.
Reset Internet Explorer
Remove dangerous add-ons:
- Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
- Pick Manage Add-ons.
- You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.

Change your homepage if it was altered:
- Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
- Select Internet Options.
- In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
- Click Apply and then select OK.

Delete temporary files:
- Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
- Under Browsing history, click Delete...
- Select relevant fields and press Delete.

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

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

Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Settings > Privacy, search, and services..
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- 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.

Restore new tab and homepage settings:
- Click the menu icon and choose Settings.
- Then find On startup section.
- Click Remove next to any suspicious startup page.
Reset MS Edge if the above steps did not work:
- Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
- Select Details tab.
- 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.

Instructions for Chromium-based Edge
Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):
- Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
- Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.

Clear cache and site data:
- Click on Menu and go to Settings.
- Select Privacy, search and services.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Under Time range, pick All time.
- Select Clear now.

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

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

Reset the homepage:
- Click three horizontal lines at the top right corner to open the menu.
- Choose Settings.
- Under Home, set your preferred homepage and new tab settings.
Clear cookies and site data:
- Click Menu and pick Settings.
- Go to Privacy & Security section.
- Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
- Click on Clear Data...
- Select Cookies and Site Data and Temporary cached files and pages, then click Clear.

Reset Mozilla Firefox
If clearing the browser as explained above did not help, reset Mozilla Firefox:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
- Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.

- Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox...
- Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox.

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

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

Change your homepage:
- Click menu and choose Settings.
- Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
- 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:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
- Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
- Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
- Confirm with Reset settings.

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

Clear history and website data:
- Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
- Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.

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

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