AdPunisher - Jan 2021 update

AdPunisher Removal Guide

What is AdPunisher?

AdPunisher is the tool that is promoted as an ad-blocker

AdPunisher

AdPunisher is the program that should block advertisements while you are surfing the web. However, it is not doing so. Most of the users fall into downloading the program when promotional ads claim to offer valuable services and functions. Even though it promises to clean your web browsers from intrusive ads, sometimes it does the opposite. In fact, it is an ad-supported third-party browser plug-in that may initiate havoc on each of your web browsers, including:

  • Google Chrome,
  • Mozilla Firefox,
  • Internet Explorer.

That's why it has already been labeled as a PUP (potentially unwanted program) and adware. Despite the fact that it may be downloaded to the PC from various sources that can be found on the Internet, in most cases it appears on the computer after downloading another program.

Name AdPunisher
Type System tool/ PUP
Issues The program is not valuable at all and it can be related to other third-parties
Claims The tool should block ads and commercial content
Distribution Freeware installations, other PUPs, deceptive content
Elimination Remove AdPunisher with proper anti-malware tools
Repair Remember to run a tool like FortectIntego for proper system recovery

In reality, it does not matter how AdPunisher got installed on your PC. If you don't want to be flooded by 'Ads by AdPunisher' and similar notifications every time you open a web browser, you should remove this plug-in. By the way, it is able to generate personalized ads, so it is very likely that you will feel tempted to click them.

For this purpose, this add-on closely investigates your online activities and displays advertisements according to the gathered data. Be aware that such activity may put your personal information at risk because you can never know what third parties can access your computer via this program. Make sure to remove AdPunisher properly.

Please, do not fall into downloading this program. If you have already done so or if it has infiltrated your PC system bundled with free software, do not wait longer and remove it. Also, do not forget about additional PUPs and the damage that gets triggered by the intruders like this. Rely on FortectIntego for the system damage.

People often claim about such intruders like AdPunisher and fill online forums with questions on the difficulty to remove them:

I went to the Control Panel to delete all the programs I don´t know and I managed to delete a bunch of weird ads programs I never installed. However, there is one called “AdPunisher” that I cannot possibly uninstall. It simply does not let me. When I click on it to uninstall it a box appears that says: “Please close your browser and try again”.

Rely on proper program download sites to avoid issues with PUPs

As we have already mentioned, it is distributed on various download websites for free. As we have already said, do not trust this program as it won't be useful for sure. However, more often it is distributed bundled with free programs, such as download manager, music or video players, or PDF creators, and infiltrates computers unnoticed.

To prevent the installation of bundled software, you should always follow its installation process step-by-step. Always choose the Advanced or Custom installation option because it discloses all available options and allows to deselect additional programs. Do not skip installation by clicking the 'next' button!

That's the biggest mistake because various add-ons, plug-ins, toolbars, or offers to change your homepage or default search engine might be included in the checkboxes and will certainly be selected for you. If you won't unmark them, you will give permission to install additional attachments along with the program you need.

Moreover, avoid clicking on pop-up notifications that offer to install or update the software on your system. Such notifications are often fake and install programs, such as AdPunisher on target computer instead of a promised software.

Run a proper AdPunisher virus removal process with anti-malware tools

If AdPunisher has got inside your computer, you should remove it from the system without a delay. Otherwise, it may initiate annoying advertisements, redirects, and lead you to the infiltration of another adware.

You can remove the AdPunisher plug-in automatically with a help of an anti-spyware (find our suggested programs below). In case you are not fond of using additional software, you can find the manual removal guide that offers tips and additional web browser improvements.

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.

Offer
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Compatible with Microsoft Windows Compatible with macOS
What to do if failed?
If you failed to fix virus damage using Fortect Intego, submit a question to our support team and provide as much details as possible.
Fortect Intego has a free limited scanner. Fortect Intego offers more through scan when you purchase its full version. When free scanner detects issues, you can fix them using free manual repairs or you can decide to purchase the full version in order to fix them automatically.
Alternative Software
Different software has a different purpose. If you didn’t succeed in fixing corrupted files with Fortect, try running SpyHunter 5.
Alternative Software
Different software has a different purpose. If you didn’t succeed in fixing corrupted files with Intego, try running Combo Cleaner.

Getting rid of AdPunisher. Follow these steps

Uninstall from Windows

  1. Click Start Control Panel Programs and Features (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs). Click 'Start -> Control Panel -> Programs and Features' (if you are 'Windows XP' user, click on 'Add/Remove Programs').
  2. If you are Windows 10 / Windows 8 user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once Quick Access Menu shows up, select Control Panel and Uninstall a Program. If you are 'Windows 10 / Windows 8' user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once 'Quick Access Menu' shows up, select 'Control Panel' and 'Uninstall a Program'.
  3. Uninstall AdPunisher and related programs
    Here, look for AdPunisher or any other recently installed suspicious programs.
  4. Uninstall them and click OK to save these changes. Right click on each of suspicious entries and select 'Uninstall'

Delete from macOS

  1. If you are using OS X, click Go button at the top left of the screen and select Applications. Cick 'Go' and select 'Applications'
  2. Wait until you see Applications folder and look for AdPunisher or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash. Click on every malicious entry and select 'Move to Trash'

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

  1. Remove dangerous extensions
    Open Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu at the top left of the screen. Once you do this, select Preferences. Click on 'Safari' and select 'Preferences'
  2. Here, select Extensions and look for AdPunisher or other suspicious entries. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid each of them. Go to 'Extensions' and uninstall malicious add-ons
  3. Reset Safari
    Open Safari browser and click on Safari in menu section at the top left of the screen. Here, select Reset Safari.... Click on 'Safari' and select 'Reset Safari...'
  4. Now you will see a detailed dialog window filled with reset options. All of those options are usually checked, but you can specify which of them you want to reset. Click the Reset button to complete AdPunisher removal process. Select all options and click on 'Reset' button

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 AdPunisher 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 system tools

Do not let government spy on you

The government has many issues in regards to tracking users' data and spying on citizens, so you should take this into consideration and learn more about shady information gathering practices. Avoid any unwanted government tracking or spying by going totally anonymous on the internet. 

You can choose a different location when you go online and access any material you want without particular content restrictions. You can easily enjoy internet connection without any risks of being hacked by using Private Internet Access VPN.

Control the information that can be accessed by government any other unwanted party and surf online without being spied on. Even if you are not involved in illegal activities or trust your selection of services, platforms, be suspicious for your own security and take precautionary measures by using the VPN service.

Backup files for the later use, in case of the malware attack

Computer users can suffer from data losses due to cyber infections or their own faulty doings. Ransomware can encrypt and hold files hostage, while unforeseen power cuts might cause a loss of important documents. If you have proper up-to-date backups, you can easily recover after such an incident and get back to work. It is also equally important to update backups on a regular basis so that the newest information remains intact – you can set this process to be performed automatically.

When you have the previous version of every important document or project you can avoid frustration and breakdowns. It comes in handy when malware strikes out of nowhere. Use Data Recovery Pro for the data restoration process.

About the author
Jake Doevan
Jake Doevan - Computer technology expert

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