Remove Disk Cleanup pop-up ads (Removal Guide)

Disk Cleanup is an adware program which delivers fake pop-up ads asking to install suspicious software

Disk Cleanup pop-up ads image

Disk Cleanup pop-up ads^[1] are deceptive messages which might appear during your browsing sessions. Users who encounter suspicious advertisements which are asking to install Disk Cleanup utility should be aware that their computers are infected with an adware program. Fraudulent pop-up ads are created to trick people into installing potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) or even infiltrate the systems with malware.

Name	Disk Cleanup pop-up ads
Type	Adware
Sub-type	Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP)
Affected browsers	Safari, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, and others
Distribution	It can enter the computer through bundled software
Elimination	The quickest way to get rid of Disk Cleanup pop-up ads is run a full system check with Fortect Intego

If you tend to install free applications without monitoring the installation procedure attentively, your computer can be infected with an adware-type program. As a result, browser settings are modified to start displaying Disk Cleanup pop-up ads during your browsing sessions.

Note that adware programs target most popular browsers, like Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Safari, Mozilla Firefox, and others. Once the potentially unwanted program hijacks the system, your browsing experience can become unbearable due to Disk Cleanup pop-up ads.

We want to warn regular computer users that Disk Cleanup pop-up ads might look exceptionally legitimate. Unfortunately, if people are lured into clicking on the Disk Cleanup installation link which is provided in the advertisement, they might infect their systems with more potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) or even malware.

Disk Cleanup pop-up ads illustration

Furthermore, content presented in Disk Cleanup pop-up ads can be programmed to cause redirects to less than reliable sites which might distribute other cyber threats, including the following:

Browser hijackers^[2];
Banking Trojans;
Spyware;
Etc.

Therefore, you should perform a full system scan with Fortect Intego and remove Disk Cleanup pop-up ads as soon as you notice them on any of your browsers. This security tool will scan your computer for all potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) which might be related to the adware and eliminate them immediately.

Although, you can try to complete Disk Cleanup pop-up ads removal by yourself as well. For that, check the guidelines presented at the end of this article and follow them attentively. However, keep in mind that security experts cannot identify the name of the adware which is displaying Disk Cleanup pop-ups. Thus, researchers^[3] say that this elimination method might be challenging.

Ways to prevent adware infiltration

You should be aware that potentially unwanted programs, including adware, spread with the help of the bundling method. In other terms, developers bundle two applications and offer them as one without disclosing such information for regular computer users.

In order to avoid allowing adware or other PUPs to come on your computer, you should pay more attention to freeware's installation. Don't choose “quick” or “recommended” installation method, always go for “advanced” or “Custom,” and you will get the ability to see what “additional downloads” are trying to get inside your machine.

Steps to get rid of Disk Cleanup pop-up ads

If you have noticed Disk Cleanup pop-up ads trying to trick you into installing suspicious applications, you should take immediate actions to protect your system. For that, install a reliable malware removal software to remove Disk Cleanup pop-up ads automatically.

Additionally, if you insist on performing Disk Cleanup pop-up ads removal on your own, you can use the elimination guide which is appended below. Just don't forget to reverse the modifications in each of the affected browsers and reset its settings to defaults.

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.

How to remove Disk Cleanup pop-up ads

Disk Cleanup is an adware program which delivers fake pop-up ads asking to install suspicious software

Ways to prevent adware infiltration