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Adclick virus (Removal Guide) - updated Sep 2018

by Gabriel E. Hall - - | Type: Adware

Adclick virus Removal Guide

What is Adclick virus?

Adclick is an advertisement service that might be abused by cybercrooks for profit

Adclick adsAdclick is a legitimate advertising platform used by many website owners. However, it can be abused by adware authors who want to gain monetary benefit by spamming annoying ads to users

Adclick is a legitimate advertisement platform that helps website owners to monetize on ads shown to its visitors. While it's a great way to benefit the site owner, some bad actors may employ this service by using adware programs, which would display intrusive ads non-stop on Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari or other browsers. Legitimate ads shown on websites are embedded inside it, while adware-spawned[1] ones will come into sight on every site that you visit. Additionally, adware is capable of spying on users' browsing habits for targeting advertisement. Because of such dubious behavior, some people refer to this phenomenon as Adclick virus.

Summary
Name Adclick or Ad-Click
Type Adware
Infiltration Software bundling, dubious websites
Symptoms Intrusive ads, redirects, sponsored links, etc.
Main dangers Malware installation, sensitive information leakage
Elimination Use our instructions below, and then scan your machine with FortectIntego

Technically, none of the security researchers would recognize Ad-Click as malware, because it does not possess the qualities of it – no system files are corrupted, neither does it propagate itself. That being said, adware does come into the system using a questionable distribution method called software bundling – shareware and freeware authors use this method to include additional components within their installation wizards and purposely try to hide potentially unwanted programs inside. Nevertheless, users can still opt-out of the optional installs such as Adclick adware.

Adclick ads, just as many similar ad campaigns (Ads by NewTab, Counterflix ads, Rocket Tab, etc.), can pop-up at any time, usually as pop-ups. These windows typically are marked as followed:

  • Ads by Adclick
  • Bought to you by Adclick
  • Powered by Adclick
  • Adclick ads, etc.

However, in most cases, ads will not be marked at all, which might complicate Adclick removal. Nevertheless, reputable security software can be employed to track down unwanted programs. Certain programs are also capable of preventing PUPs from entering the machine altogether, therefore, it is worth investing into one if you think that you are at a higher risk of the infection.

While adware is not a virus, it might lead users to potentially unsafe sites. Some domains might be injected with malicious JavaScript that can abuse system vulnerabilities and install malware automatically. In such case, ransomware, crypto-mining malware, banking trojans,[2] and other dangerous infections are just a step away. Therefore, Adclick ads should not be ignored, but should not be clicked on.

Additionally, the dubious Adclick adware might collect non-personally identifiable information about users. This data is anonymous, but might still be misused for advertisement purposes. Furthermore, personal details like email, name, address might be used in ad campaigns as well, including spam emails sent directly to the Inbox.

To conclude, security experts[3] recommend you to remove Adclick adware from your machine as soon as possible. You will find detailed instructions below this article. Additionally, you should scan your computer with FortectIntego to make sure that all the changes performed by adware are set to default again.

Adclick virusAdclick is a potentially unwanted program that gents into the PC with the help os software bundling

Adware can infiltrate the PC without users noticing

Frequently, the adware-type programs are spread with the help of “bundling” strategy. The essence of this technique lies in attaching irrelevant applications to programs which are in daily demand. They include pdf viewers, download accelerators, media players, audio editors, etc. Thus, most likely, you happened to download one of them recently.

As a result, a potentially unwanted program entered your computer. If you are wondering how it happened – you used “Recommended” or “Quick” settings during the installation progress failing to notice the pre-marked add-on. Thus, we recommend selecting “Custom” or “Advanced” settings and unchecking the pre-marked attachment. If you stay vigilant, you can prevent adware hijack in the future.

Ways to remove Ad-Click adware

For Adclick removal, we recommend you check the step-by-step instructions below this article. You are advised to follow each removal step carefully in order to get the desired result and get rid of this adware completely. Otherwise, you will be stuck with the unwanted program until its core components are eliminated. After the process, you will have to reset each of your browsers individually – we also explain how to do that below.

You can also remove Adclick virus by using automatic removal tools that are capable of detecting adware. This option is time-saving and more convenient, especially for those less computer-savvy. Before you proceed, we recommend you choose appropriate security software, update it and only then perform a full system scan.

You may remove virus damage with a help of FortectIntego. SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner and Malwarebytes are recommended to detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.

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Different software has a different purpose. If you didn’t succeed in fixing corrupted files with Fortect, try running SpyHunter 5.
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Getting rid of Adclick virus. Follow these steps

Uninstall from Windows

To eliminate Ad-Click adware from Windows, follow these instructions:

Instructions for Windows 10/8  machines:

  1. Enter Control Panel into Windows search box and hit Enter or click on the search result.
  2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program. Uninstall from Windows 1
  3. From the list, find the entry of the suspicious program.
  4. Right-click on the application and select Uninstall.
  5. If User Account Control shows up, click Yes.
  6. Wait till uninstallation process is complete and click OK. Uninstall from Windows 2

If you are Windows 7/XP user, proceed with the following instructions:

  1. Click on Windows Start > Control Panel located on the right pane (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
  2. In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program. Uninstall from Windows 7/XP
  3. Pick the unwanted application by clicking on it once.
  4. At the top, click Uninstall/Change.
  5. In the confirmation prompt, pick Yes.
  6. Click OK once the removal process is finished.

Delete from macOS

Remove items from Applications folder:

  1. From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
  2. In the Applications folder, look for all related entries.
  3. Click on the app and drag it to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash) Uninstall from Mac 1

To fully remove an unwanted app, you need to access Application Support, LaunchAgents, and LaunchDaemons folders and delete relevant files:

  1. Select Go > Go to Folder.
  2. Enter /Library/Application Support and click Go or press Enter.
  3. In the Application Support folder, look for any dubious entries and then delete them.
  4. Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the related .plist files. Uninstall from Mac 2

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 on Uninstall at the bottom. 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 Privacy & security.
  2. Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
  3. Select everything (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 Disable if you found any suspicious domain.

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

If this solution failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method. Note that you need to backup your data before proceeding.

  1. Find the following folder on your computer: C:\\Users\\%username%\\AppData\\Local\\Packages\\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe.
  2. Press Ctrl + A on your keyboard to select all folders.
  3. Right-click on them and pick Delete Advanced MS Edge reset 1
  4. Now right-click on the Start button and pick Windows PowerShell (Admin).
  5. When the new window opens, copy and paste the following command, and then press Enter:

    Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\\AppXManifest.xml” -Verbose Advanced MS Edge reset 2

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. Reset Chromium Edge

Remove from Mozilla Firefox (FF)

Refresh Firefox the following way:

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 unwanted plugin 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 Options.
  3. Under Home options, enter your preferred site that will open every time you newly open the Mozilla Firefox.

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, as well as Cached Web Content and press 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 the suspicious plugins that might be 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 unwanted extensions from Safari:

  1. Click Safari > Preferences…
  2. In the new window, pick Extensions.
  3. Select the unwanted extension and select Uninstall. Remove extensions from Safari

Clear cookies and other website data from Safari:

  1. Click Safari > Clear History…
  2. From the drop-down menu under Clear, pick all history.
  3. Confirm with Clear History. Clear cookies and website data from Safari

Reset Safari if the above-mentioned steps did not help you:

  1. Click Safari > Preferences…
  2. Go to Advanced tab.
  3. Tick the Show Develop menu in menu bar.
  4. From the menu bar, click Develop, and then select Empty Caches. Reset Safari

After uninstalling this potentially unwanted program (PUP) and fixing each of your web browsers, we recommend you to scan your PC system with a reputable anti-spyware. This will help you to get rid of Adclick registry traces and will also identify related parasites or possible malware infections on your computer. For that you can use our top-rated malware remover: FortectIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes.

How to prevent from getting adware

Choose a proper web browser and improve your safety with a VPN tool

Online spying has got momentum in recent years and people are getting more and more interested in how to protect their privacy online. One of the basic means to add a layer of security – choose the most private and secure web browser. Although web browsers can't grant full privacy protection and security, some of them are much better at sandboxing, HTTPS upgrading, active content blocking, tracking blocking, phishing protection, and similar privacy-oriented features. However, if you want true anonymity, we suggest you employ a powerful Private Internet Access VPN – it can encrypt all the traffic that comes and goes out of your computer, preventing tracking completely.

 

Lost your files? Use data recovery software

While some files located on any computer are replaceable or useless, others can be extremely valuable. Family photos, work documents, school projects – these are types of files that we don't want to lose. Unfortunately, there are many ways how unexpected data loss can occur: power cuts, Blue Screen of Death errors, hardware failures, crypto-malware attack, or even accidental deletion.

To ensure that all the files remain intact, you should prepare regular data backups. You can choose cloud-based or physical copies you could restore from later in case of a disaster. If your backups were lost as well or you never bothered to prepare any, Data Recovery Pro can be your only hope to retrieve your invaluable files.

About the author
Gabriel E. Hall
Gabriel E. Hall - Passionate web researcher

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References
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