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  • Active
  • Severity: Medium
  • Adware
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Oct 2015

How to remove Games Desktop pop-up virus

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

What is Games Desktop?

If you are not fond of online games, probably you won’t even consider installing Games Desktop. However, if you tend to play some online games during a spare minute, you may fall into installing this app because it claims being able to wrap all the best rated online games and allow installing them on your computer for free. Sounds good, isn’t it? But please, don’t fall for this because, in reality, this app is just another adware that seeks to create a traffic to sponsored websites and in this way earn easy money. To achieve this, it is set to display Games Desktop ads on every web browser that it manages to find on the target computer and trick people into clicking on them.

You may doubt how a dubious program may trick people to click on advertisements? Be aware that adware can collect their users and investigate their web browsing habits, such as what websites they prefer visiting, what search queries they often type, what data they enter and so on. According to recently investigated data, Games Desktop virus delivers pop-up ads that contain coupons, promo codes, sales, discounts of relevant products at an attractive price rate. Isn’t that suspicious? Consequently, when ‘Ads by Games Desktop’ attract user’s attention and he/she click on one of them, this app immediately redirects to predetermined website. Such activity is not only annoying and disruptive, but also can reroute you to malicious websites where you can end up with virus or malware infection. To avoid this happening, scan your computer with FortectIntego or another reputable anti-spyware as soon as you notice Games Desktop widget on your desktop.

Games Desktop

How can Games Desktop hijack my computer?

Games Desktop plug-in is promoted on its official website and can be installed right there. Unfortunately, security experts have found that it is mainly spread using ‘bundling’. This distribution method is very popular among distributors of potentially unwanted programs because people can be quite easily deceived to download bundled installers without being aware of that. That’s because the number of people whose computers got adware or another unwanted program infection increases daily. Be very careful when downloading free software from the Internet because you cannot distinguish bundled installers from ordinary ones from the outside. Therefore, it is very important to take your time during the installation process and carefully monitor the entire process. Make sure that you select Advanced or Custom installation option because it discloses all available check boxes. Then, carefully check every notification and look for additional components, such as add-ons, plug-ins, toolbars or extensions set by default. Be aware that they are always promoted as useful tools, such as online shopping ‘helpers’, Internet speed enhancers, ad-blockers and so on. Do not fall for this and opt out of every additional component, including Games Desktop virus. In case you have already installed it, don’t worry. Follow the guidelines below and get rid of it right now.

How to remove Games Desktop virus?

Do not wait until GamesDesktop application starts showing you annoying pop-up ads, in-text links and banner ads that could easily reroute you to questionable websites. If you think that such activity is not an appropriate for gaming app, you should look for another one and also remove this program from your computer. For that, follow removal guidelines below and think which method is better for you, automatic removal or manual removal method.

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.

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

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