Atwola tracking cookie might be installed to your browser without your knowledge

Atwola is a tracking cookie[1] that can be injected in any web browser, including Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari or Google Chrome. This component is used for monitoring user’s activities online, such as observing browsing history, search queries, ad clicks, downloads, etc. Technically, it would be wrong to call it Atwola virus[2] because it does not harm the computer. However, cookies like ol.at.atwola.com can be used to spy on computer users, their browsing activity and interests. If you do not want to be tracked every time you browse the web, it goes without saying that you should get rid of it by disabling.
| Name | Atwola virus |
| Type | Tracking cookie |
| Subdomains | at.atwola.com, ol.at.atwola.com, ar.atwola.com, cdn.at.atwola.com |
| Related to | AOL products, Search.aol.com |
| Main risks | Unwanted ads, redirects to unsafe websites |
| Elimination | Disable Atwola cookie and check the system with FortectIntego to make sure that unwanted redirects didn't end up with computer virus |
Reportedly, Atwola spyware is related to Search.aol.com virus, at.atwola.com, ol.at.atwola.com, ar.atwola.com, and cdn.at.atwola.com sites which are AOL ad servers (since ATWOLA is an acronym for AOL Time Warner Online Advertising), which means that this cookie gathers information in order to select targeted ads for you.
You might encounter these ads whenever you browse the Internet. They can show up as slide-in ads, banners, pop-up ads, or new tab pages filled with promotional content and commercial offers. These Atwola ads are highly unreliable and can contain redirect links, so if you ever see them on your screen, refrain yourself from clicking them.
Untrustworthy ads can force you to pay a call on high-risk websites, so if you would like to keep your computer safe, stay away from them. We also advise you to scan your computer with an anti-spyware[3] software to detect potentially unwanted ad-supported programs that might be related to Atwola cookie threat.
If you do not want some suspicious parties to track your activity and gather information about you, we strongly advise you to remove Atwola tracking cookie from your browser and pursue all related components from your computer.
Some users report that these activities started after the adnxs virus attack or infiltration of rfihub adware. These cyber threats are known for being capable of delivering unwanted advertisements on the affected web browsers.
Thus, if your browser often redirects to rfihub.com domain, display aggressive ads or perform other questionable activities, you should clean your computer from potentially unwanted programs (PUPs). Security software FortectIntego can help to perform this task and complete a full Atwola removal.

Explanation on how tracking cookies or PUPs can be installed
Atwola tracking cookie might be added to your browser right after visiting these suspicious domains related to it (ol.at.atwola.com, ar.atwola.com or at.atwola.com) or clicking on advertisement powered by AOL.
However, it is also possible to get this cookie if you use any of AOL products, also if Search.aol.com browser hijacker is installed on your system. You might accidentally install Atwola AOL cookie along with some suspicious potentially unwanted program (PUP).[4] Therefore, we would like to give you some tips on how to avoid getting such unwanted components and browse the web safely.
- Avoid pushy and bothersome web advertisements. Ordinarily, web ads are not supposed to show up every 2 minutes and open up in new browser windows or tabs. If you notice such occurrences frequently, there might be some adware type programs running on your computer system.
- Avoid visiting untrustworthy third-party websites. High-risk web pages can be contaminated with malicious links inserted into clickable content (such as ads, buttons, hyperlinks, pictures, and so on). Clicking on corrupted objects can immediately download malicious components to your computer.
- Be mindful when downloading new software to your PC. Rely only on well-known and secure web pages. If the website which provides the download link raises even the slightest suspicion for you, eschew downloading software from it. Security specialists from bedynet.ru[5] remind to download needed programs from the official developer’s sites.
- Install programs in the right manner. Opt for Custom or Advanced installation settings at all times and deselect any suspicious “recommended downloads” added to your selected software. The chances are, such additions are unreliable or even harmful.
If you made a mistake, you have to proceed to at.atwola.com removal to stop tracking activities or further browsing-related problems.
Delete Atwola cookie and other PUPs
Most of the time tracking activities are launched without user’s knowledge, and such action might not be very safe. Therefore, we recommend you to remove Atwola from the computer and stop unknown people from spying on your activities on the Internet.
Theoretically, Atwola removal is possible via the browser’s settings. However, users have reported that tracking cookie has an ability to restore itself, so we definitely recommend you to use a professional anti-spyware program to get rid of it for good. As we have previously mentioned, you can remove it with FortectIntego anti-spyware software.
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.

Did this guide help?
3 comments
Samswasz
I had the same cookie in Chrome, couldnt remove it for a long time
julianno
SpyHunter is one of the best security programs I have ever tried. No malware, nasty cookies in my browser and other threats. Atwola cookie was tracking me for quite some time, tried uninstalling it a few times but it kept coming back. I have tested several other anti-spyware programs and they didn;t even detect this threat. Thumbs up for spyhunter!
help
why it tracks me?? does it know my bank password and logins now?