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  • Active
  • Severity: Medium
  • Adware
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Aug 2019

How to remove Free-coupons.network

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

Free-coupons.network – a bogus web page that relates to the delivery of misleading deals

Free-coupons.network virus

Free-coupons.network is described as an adware program that can trick users with questionable offers. There are many similar PUPs lurking out in the cyberspace, pushing adverts, and gathering income from the pay-per-click method.[1] Beware not to become a victim of such activity as the non-stop flow of ads might relate to some negative consequences. Free-coupons.network ads might be capable of provoking redirects to potentially infectious networks, tricking you to enter some personal details for “claiming a prize”, providing you with attractive-looking promotions of bogus software.

Name Free-coupons.network
Type Adware
Sub-type Potentially unwanted program
Danger level Low. Does not possess any harm to the system or its programs
Activities Advertising, redirecting, changing browser settings, tracking users' activities
Income source Pay-per-click is the most common one
Distribution Bundles products mostly
Removal You can use FortectIntego to lengthen the process. Scan your machine with this tool and discover all possibly-affected places

Free-coupons.network is not the source to trust or use. Once you have encountered this website lurking on your screen, there might be an adware[2] infection placed somewhere in the system. However, if this network shows up only rarely, AdBlock can help to stop the incoming flow of pop-up notifications.

Besides, this potentially unwanted application has earned the name of Free-coupons.network virus due to its sneaky distribution techniques. “Bundling” is the most common one and you are at risk of receiving this adware if you keep on using third-party networks and questionable downloaders for sending programs to your PC/laptop.

Free-coupons.network collects the biggest part of the income from its provided adverts. However, there is another beneficial action that might be also promoted by this adware and it is called data tracking. This activity mostly refers to non-personal data collecting that included various information about the user's browsing sessions.

Later on, such information can be successfully used for providing fake but attractive-looking offers, swindling money by promoting useless products, catching the users eye on various sales, and so on. Nevertheless, Free-coupons.network developers might share this data with other parties and partners.

Free-coupons.network PUP

In addition, if you are infected with Free-coupons.network adware, you will supposedly experience some unexpected changes in your web browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, and Microsoft Edge. These modifications are very likely to be seen on the homepage and new tab sections.

The best thing to do here is to opt for the Free-coupons.network removal process. You can carry out such task by the help of FortectIntego that will scan your system for potential threats or you can use the manual instructing guide that our cybersecurity specialists have created and placed at the end of this article.

Note that if you want to remove Free-coupons.network manually, there is a way to stop the incoming notifications from this network. However, this technique should be carried out if the annoying advertising activity has been the only rogue change on your browser and the infection is not as severe as it could be. To prevent the ad flow, continue with the following:

  1. Open the browser that has been showing ads lately.
  2. Click on the three dots on the upper right.
  3. Open the Menu and continue with the Settings section.
  4. Afterward, go to Advanced.
  5. Locate the Notifications option that is placed under Site Settings.
  6. Find the Free-coupons.network domain and remove it from the list.

Adware products travel with original software

If you have been downloading/installing your beloved programs from some secondary sources lately, note that there is a big risk to receive an additional “prize” in the software package. According to experts from NoVirus.uk,[3] this is one of the most popular PUP spreading techniques used.

Free-coupons.network adware

Developers are aware that users do not take security measures seriously and leave the Quick or Recommended installation option on. These settings are the ones that allow questionable content to place itself on your computer system and perform various undelightful changes.

The best way to prevent stealth installations is to pick the right configuration. This refers to Advanced or Custom installation that allows you to control all incoming objects and opt-out the ones that you do not want to see on your machine or discover that they have a questionable look.

Last but not least, automatical protection is also very important here. Make sure to choose a reliable antivirus tool and do not be afraid to invest in your security. Also, note that anti-malware software needs to be updated once in a while, otherwise, its operations might start failing.

Terminate Free-coupons.network adware and its “helper products”

Note that the most important thing in Free-coupons.network removal is to eliminate all bogus adware-related content at once. If you leave any type of suspicious product in your system or web browser, the ad-supported application might easily return after the next computer boot.

This is why it is better to remove Free-coupons.network from the system with the help of antimalware software. These tools will collect all bogus entries and files and eliminate them at once. Besides, you will not have to waste your time as the entire process will take only a few minutes.

However, if you still are keen on trying to uninstall Free-coupons.network virus by yourself, there are some manual guidelines presented at the end of this article. These steps are suitable for both Windows and Mac OS and also work for browser apps such as Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.

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

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