Remove Ads by DNS-Locker (Removal Instructions)
What is DNS-Locker?
DNS-Locker is yet another browser add-on that has supplemented the family of adwares and potentially unwanted programs. In fact, it’s not a genuine application but rather a clone of DNS Unlocker, DNS Unblocker, and DNS Keeper. Judging from the name of an app, DNS-Locker should be a slightly different application from the ones that we have just mentioned since it should allow users to block unwanted content. However, neither blocking nor unblocking the content can make this application useful. That’s because it’s a real adware that may start showing you tons of irritating advertisements (pop-ups, pop-unders, banners, in-text links, etc.), causing browser’s redirects, tracking you and initiating similar activities that affiliated marketing-oriented programs usually do. Therefore, if your web browser has recently started showing you “Ads by DNS-Locker”, “Powered by DNS-Locker”, “DNS-Locker Ads”, and similarly marked advertisements, stop believing that they are brought by the websites that you are visiting because it’s a clear sign of DNS-Locker hijack.
Questions about Ads by DNS-Locker
Although this program is not a malicious virus, it is set to display sponsored advertisements to the users. However, its sponsors are not specified, so there is no chance of knowing whether those advertisements can be trusted or not. Therefore, try to avoid DNS-Locker redirects as hard as you can. In addition to that, do not forget that adware-type programs may accumulate user’s browsing history and some pieces of personally identifiable information that they enter in the websites visited, so if you are not keen on sharing any details with doubtful third parties about you, make sure that you remove DNS-Locker ASAP. Fortunately, this can easily be done with the help of ReimageIntego.
How did DNS-Locker infect my web browser?
DNS-Locker is a kind of a browser add-on that may slither onto PC’s without being noticed. Good news are that immediately after infiltration this app ‘announces’ about the presence by displaying tons of ads, diminishing web browser’s performance, causing redirects and initiating other activities that haven’t been happening during browsing before. Therefore, the user may start looking for the cause of aforementioned issues and remove it. Bad news are that DNS-Locker adware and other similar programs are spreading bundled with freewares. Although such distribution method is not illegal, it makes installation of free downloads a risky thing. Therefore, if you want to prevent unauthorized installation of unwanted programs, you must check Advanced/Custom settings when installing free software and untick all add-ons, plug-ins, and toolbars along the way. Otherwise, DNS-Locker can easily end up on your web browser without being noticed.
DNS-Locker FAQ:
Question: What should I do if misleading “Ads by DNS-Locker” keep showing on my screen? Usually, they cover the majority of the screen, so I’m not able to perform the simplest task during my browsing. Please help!
Answer: DNS-Locker ads show up during browsing only if the system is infected by a DNS-Locker adware. Therefore, in order to stop those disruptive advertisements from appearing on your screen, you will have to remove an adware. In order to do that, you can either perform the steps that are provided down below or initiate a full system check with a reliable anti-malware.
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To remove DNS-Locker ads, follow these steps:
Delete DNS-Locker from Windows systems
To remove Ads by DNS-Locker from Windows 10/8 machines, please follow these steps:
- Enter Control Panel into Windows search box and hit Enter or click on the search result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.
- From the list, find entries related to Ads by DNS-Locker (or any other recently installed suspicious program).
- Right-click on the application and select Uninstall.
- If User Account Control shows up, click Yes.
- Wait till uninstallation process is complete and click OK.
If you are Windows 7/XP user, proceed with the following instructions:
- Click on Windows Start > Control Panel located on the right pane (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
- In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.
- Pick the unwanted application by clicking on it once.
- At the top, click Uninstall/Change.
- In the confirmation prompt, pick Yes.
- Click OK once the removal process is finished.
Get rid of DNS-Locker from Mac OS X system
If your macOS is displaying some infection symptoms, proceed with the following guide:
Remove Ads by DNS-Locker from Applications folder:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for Ads by DNS-Locker-related entries.
- Click on the app and drag it to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash)
To fully remove Ads by DNS-Locker, you need to access Application Support, LaunchAgents, and LaunchDaemons folders and delete relevant files:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and click Go or press Enter.
- In the Application Support folder, look for any dubious entries related to Ads by DNS-Locker and then delete them.
- Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the Ads by DNS-Locker-related entries.
Remove DNS-Locker ads 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 Ads by DNS-Locker-related extension and click on the Gear icon.
- Click on Uninstall at the bottom.
Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Privacy & security.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Select everything (apart from passwords, although you might want to include Media licenses as well, if applicable) and click on Clear.
Reset MS Edge if that 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.
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.
- Find the following folder on your computer: C:\\Users\\%username%\\AppData\\Local\\Packages\\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe.
- Press Ctrl + A on your keyboard to select all folders.
- Right-click on them and pick Delete
- Now right-click on the Start button and pick Windows PowerShell (Admin).
- 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
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 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.
Uninstall DNS-Locker 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 plugins that are related to Ads by DNS-Locker and click Remove.
Clear cookies and site data:
- Click Menu and pick Options.
- Go to Privacy & Security section.
- Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
- Click on Clear Data…
- Select Cookies and Site Data, as well as Cached Web Content and press Clear.
In case Ads by DNS-Locker did not get removed after following the instructions above, 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 – this should complete Ads by DNS-Locker removal.
Eliminate DNS-Locker 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 the suspicious plugins that might be related to Ads by DNS-Locker 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.
If the above-methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the Ads by DNS-Locker-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 to complete Ads by DNS-Locker removal.
Delete DNS-Locker from Safari
Remove unwanted extensions from Safari:
- Click Safari > Preferences…
- In the new window, pick Extensions.
- Select the unwanted extension related to Ads by DNS-Locker and select Uninstall.
Clear cookies and other website data from Safari:
- Click Safari > Clear History…
- From the drop-down menu under Clear, pick all history.
- Confirm with Clear History.
Reset Safari if the above-mentioned steps did not help you:
- Click Safari > Preferences…
- Go to Advanced tab.
- Tick the Show Develop menu in menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop, and then select Empty Caches.
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 DNS-Locker 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: ReimageIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes.
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Your opinion regarding Ads by DNS-Locker
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February 19th, 2016 at 3:48 am
Dear Sir/Madam
I Have Same Issue but i dont have any of them toolbar or extensions or add ones. Please Guide me what can i do 🙁