How to remove Data-informative.com ads

Data-informative.com shows misleading information about computer's health

Data-informative.com is a malicious website created by cybercriminals for profits. Since users get to the page by accident (usually redirected by adware automatically or due to fake links on other sites), the scam appears in front of them unexpectedly. It initially looks like a security scan done by anti-malware vendor Norton, which brings up the following results in just a few moments:

Your PC is infected with 5 viruses!

ACTION REQUIRED

Your Norton Subscription Has Expired!
Renew now to keep your PC protected.
If your PC is unprotected, it is at risk for viruses and other malware.

In reality, this is an established scam technique propagated by many fake websites of a similar kind. The main goal of the Data-informative.com creators is to convince users that their systems are heavily infected, and since a reputable vendor allegedly found viruses, the license for security software should be purchased and a subscription established.

If the “Proceed” button is pressed, users would be redirected to Norton's antivirus purchase website, although this might not always be the case. Crooks profit from affiliate marketing plans, although the security vendor has nothing to do with this scam. Please do not download any software from or enter personal information anywhere on Data-informative.com.

Most people enter suspicious websites by accident – clicking a booby-trapped link somewhere is one of the main reasons. While it can happen at any time due to hacked websites, the activity is more prevalent when visiting websites of dubious origin, e.g., illegal YouTube video conversion, peer-to-peer networks,^[1] software cracks, etc.

In rarer cases, users might also be redirected to Data-informative.com by adware or another type of malware. The advertising business is huge, and some malicious parties attempt to monetize ads in illegal methods. Adware is one of the biggest culprits in this regard, as it pretends to be useful, only later to spam users with (potentially dangerous) ads.

Other fake website examples

Recently, there has been a great rise in websites that misleadingly claim that users' systems are infected, and the attached names to these scams are always the same – Norton or McAfee. Both of these security vendors are widely used worldwide, so this prevalence makes the scam more believable.

The most recently-spotted websites that propagate these scams include Securtytrk.xyz, Timeoutmc1.click, Myeternalprotection.com, Highpotencysecurity.com, and many others. Note that none of these websites can diagnose your system and return accurate results about its security.

What to do after encountering Data-informative.com ads?

Many users are very alarmed after they see messages which claim that their systems have been infected. In fact, this is why there are so many scams related to fake malware infection messages. Crooks behind this fraudulent content often make it look almost identical to the official sources with the help of used logos, formatting, and similar elements. Most importantly, users see a familiar name and believe that a reputable source is behind it.

However, it is never the case, as no legitimate anti-malware vendor would show fake messages to users in order to make them buy security software. You can safely conclude that all websites that do this are scams and should be disregarded.

Despite this, many people have questions about the consequences of accessing a website such as Data-informative.com, as they believe that their systems might be compromised in some way. In reality, it is unlikely to get infected with malware just by accessing a particular website (unless your system is riddled with vulnerabilities,^[2] which you can counter by making sure that all software on your system is up-to-date).

Make system checks

We still recommend checking the device for adware and other infections. As we already mentioned, adware could be the primary reason why you see phishing^[3] content online in the first place. Since adware spreads in deceptive ways, you might not even be aware it is installed on your system.

The easiest way to check your system for malware is by scanning it with SpyHunterCombo Cleaner, MalwarebytesMalwarebytes, or another legitimate security tool. Anti-malware software is designed to locate and remove all the threats from your system, ensuring its integrity and security. FortectIntego can also help you to repair any damage that could have been caused by a virus infection and clean your browsers from trackers.

Alternatively, you can also look for adware yourself – you can start from the apps installed on the system level:

Windows

• 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 the entry of the suspicious program.
• Right-click on the application and select Uninstall.
• If User Account Control shows up, click Yes.
• Wait till the uninstallation process is complete and click OK.

Mac

While moving apps into Trash is how you delete most regular applications, adware tends to create additional files for persistence. Thus, you should look for .plist and other files that could be related to the virus. If you are not sure, skip this step entirely.

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)

To thoroughly 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. Look for any suspicious entries in the Application Support folder and then delete them.
4. Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the related .plist files.

Proceed with the instructions below to deal with the browser extensions, web data, and other browser issues.