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  • Active
  • Severity: Medium
  • Adware
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Jan 2021

How to remove DownSave

A step-by-step removal guide for affected devices. Follow the verified procedure below — most readers complete it in under 10 minutes.

Jake Doevan · Computer technology expert

DownSave is the PUP that shows various pop-up ads and offers to redirect the user

Ads by DownSave

DownSave is a completely annoying application that may appear on your computer out of nowhere and then may flood you with various alerts or random pop-up advertisements. That's why even the most respectable security vendors have decided to give this program a label of a potentially unwanted program or an adware.

If you have just installed it thinking that it can help you save money, you should think again because all that is really initiated by this ad-supported application is continuous marketing campaigns. Of course, they are initiated for trying to increase the popularity of third-party websites but what websites are promoted using the help of DownSave adware you can hardly know.

Name DownSave
Type Potentially unwanted program
Infiltration  Users get annoyed by intrusive browser redirects to suspicious sites, there is a high chance that adware application is installed on their machines
Symptoms  Pop-up messages that advertise suspicious services or programs show up on the screen; web browsing sessions interrupted with various ads, deals, offers, coupons, and similar commercial content
Potential risks  Installation of other PUPs, personal data disclosure to unknown parties
Elimination You can terminate DownSave adware and other potentially unwanted programs with anti-malware tools
Optimization Scan the machine with FortectIntego to recover from virus damage and reset all the installed browsers for best results

If you don't want to be tricked into visiting suspicious, questionable, or unsafe DownSave websites, you should stay away from its ads. In fact, we have already noticed that many internet users are extremely annoyed by this program, so you should think twice before installing it on the system.

No matter that DownSave plug-in promises relevant advertisements, coupons, and discount deals for online shoppers, which should help them to save some money, it may fail to do that. We think that this is yet another marketing trick, which is used in order to spread this questionable application.

In addition, beware that this program may also be used for tracking users' activity on the Internet. It may collect data, which is related to their search terms, browsing habits, and similar activity, so if you think that you don't want to lose such data.

You should remove DownSave from the system. For that, we highly recommend using a reputable anti-spyware. Also, do not forget about system damage that can get fixed with the help of FortectIntego.

PUP distribution methods

Normally, adware and potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) travel bundled with various freeware. DownSave virus is not an exception. This dubious application may also travel together with freeware, shareware, and other free programs. That is why you should be very careful and attentively check every single program that you are willing to install.

Try not to skip a single step of the installation process because you may overlook and install DownSave unintentionally. Select advanced or custom installation method and try to track every single step of the process.

Along the way look for suspicious/unfamiliar accessories, such as the DownSave virus, and unmark them. Unfortunately, these simple rules may not help every single time and sometimes this unwanted intruder may slip unnoticed. Don't worry, you just need to read the removal tutorial down below.

Get rid of the DownSave adware 

While this program can hardly be called a virus, we don't think about keeping it on the system. Otherwise, you may run into such issues as continuous DownSave redirects, slowdowns, pop-up ads, and similar issues.

If they have started bothering you right after installing an unfamiliar freeware, you should not even think whether you need to remove DownSave PUP or not. If you want to do that without leaving any trace of it, we recommend scanning your PC with an anti-spyware program.

Of course, you can also follow the instructions below and remove this pesky intruder from your computer manually. Also, run a tool that can repair files and functions of the PS, so you not only remove Ads by DownSave but the damage caused by third-party PUPs too.

Uninstall from Windows

Uninstall from Windows 10/8:

  1. Type Control Panel into the Windows search box and open the result.
  2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.Uninstall from Windows 10/8

Uninstall from Windows 7/XP:

  1. Click on Windows Start > Control Panel (Windows XP users should click on Add/Remove Programs).
  2. In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.Uninstall from Windows 7/XP

Remove the unwanted program:

  1. In the Programs and Features window, look for any recently installed suspicious entries, select them, and click Uninstall.
  2. If User Account Control appears, click Yes to confirm, then complete the removal.Uninstall the unwanted program from Windows

Delete from macOS

Remove the unwanted application:

  1. From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
  2. In the Applications folder, look for any suspicious entries, then drag them to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash).Uninstall from Mac

Delete leftover files and folders:

  1. Select Go > Go to Folder.
  2. Enter /Library/Application Support and remove any suspicious folders related to the unwanted program.
  3. Repeat the same check in the /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders, deleting any suspicious entries.Delete leftover files from Mac
  4. Finally, empty the Trash to permanently remove the leftovers.

Reset Internet Explorer

Remove dangerous add-ons:

  1. Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
  2. Pick Manage Add-ons.
  3. You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.Remove add-ons from Internet Explorer

Change your homepage if it was altered:

  1. Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
  2. Select Internet Options.
  3. In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
  4. Click Apply and then select OK.Reset IE homepage

Delete temporary files:

  1. Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
  2. Under Browsing history, click Delete...
  3. Select relevant fields and press Delete.Clear temporary files from Internet Explorer

Reset Internet Explorer:

  1. Click on Gear icon > Internet options and select Advanced tab.
  2. Select Reset.
  3. In the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset.Reset Internet Explorer

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

Remove dangerous extensions:

  1. Open Safari, click Safari in the menu at the top-left of the screen, and select Preferences.
  2. Go to the Extensions tab, look for any suspicious entries, and click Uninstall to remove them.Remove extensions from Safari

Clear history and website data:

  1. Click Safari in the menu and pick Clear History.
  2. Set Clear to all history and confirm with Clear History.Clear history from Safari

Reset Safari:

  1. Click Safari in the menu and select Preferences > Advanced.
  2. Enable Show Develop menu in menu bar.
  3. From the menu bar, click Develop and select Empty Caches.Reset Safari

Did this guide help?

2 comments

  1. rod

    Downsave shows as "Not Available" in the extensions list. Reset does not stop it. Version of iE

  2. st

    thanks a lot

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