GreatAds adware. How to remove? (Uninstall guide)
Why is it important to eliminate GreatAds adware?
GreatAds virus can start torturing you by sending you hundreds of annoying advertisements and opening them in new browser windows, tabs, or displaying them as banners on websites that you visit on a daily basis. These ads surely are intrusive; however, some users might fall for their offers and click on them. We highly recommend you not to do so, as this can throw you to insecure Internet sites. Besides, receiving these ads is not a really pleasant experience because they do interrupt the user during browsing sessions and sometimes cover the vast of the screen, preventing the user from exploring the Internet freely. GreatAds ads might bring most attractive deals for you, such as price comparisons, discount codes, or coupons, and all these offers will be related to products and services that you have recently viewed online. No matter how attractive these ads look, do not be tempted by them.
Questions about GreatAds adware
They are designed to meet user’s expectations because GreatAds adware collects non-personal information during user’s browsing sessions by watching what websites the user visits, what search queries he/she makes, what ads he/she clicks and the like. Having access to such information allows this adware-type software serve interesting third-party ads to users, and ensures a higher probability that the user will click on them. In addition to that, ad-supported programs typically usurp a lot of computer’s resources, making the device function slowly. There are hardly any reasons to keep this adware on the system, and that is why we strongly recommend you to remove GreatAds. You can take advantage of malware researchers’ efforts and use the tool that they have created to uninstall this pest or use instructions provided at the end of this post and clean your PC manually. The first GreatAds removal method appears to be more trustworthy, so we would like to recommend some programs that you can use – Reimage or Malwarebytes MalwarebytesCombo Cleaner.
Methods of distribution
GreatAds hijack brings annoyance and frustration rather than great shopping deals, so there is no point in leaving this program on the system. However, firstly we would like to explain how does this program spread and how its infiltration can be prevented. First of all, avoid downloading free software from sites that provide millions of downloadable files for free. Getting programs from such sources increase the possibility of encountering software packages filled with additional bundled applications. To decompose such packs, users are advised to choose Custom or Advanced installation settings and opt-out unwanted downloads manually. After completing this alteration during program’s setup, you can install it without a fear of being hijacked. However, in our opinion, it is still a must to keep the computer protected with anti-malware software, because no matter how cautious you are, spyware or malware authors might still outrun you by improving their software distribution techniques.
How to remove GreatAds ads?
If you are ready to carry out GreatAds removal with your own hands, please start reading instructions provided below this article. Make sure you delve into these instructions to delete the adware in a correct way. If you are not ready to waste your time on this adware, then we strongly suggest uninstalling it automatically. To remove GreatAds virus this way, use one of the following anti-spyware applications:
You can remove virus damage automatically with a help of one of these programs: Reimage, Malwarebytes MalwarebytesCombo Cleaner, Plumbytes Anti-MalwareMalwarebytes Malwarebytes. We recommend these applications because they detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.
To remove GreatAds adware, follow these steps:
Delete GreatAds from Windows systems
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Click Start → Control Panel → Programs and Features (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
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If you are Windows 10 / Windows 8 user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once Quick Access Menu shows up, select Control Panel and Uninstall a Program.
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Uninstall GreatAds and related programs
Here, look for GreatAds or any other recently installed suspicious programs. -
Uninstall them and click OK to save these changes.
Erase GreatAds from Mac OS X system
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If you are using OS X, click Go button at the top left of the screen and select Applications.
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Wait until you see Applications folder and look for GreatAds or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash.
Get rid of GreatAds from Internet Explorer (IE)
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Remove dangerous add-ons
Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top right corner of the browser and choose Manage Add-ons. -
You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for GreatAds and other suspicious plugins. Disable these entries by clicking Disable:
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Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Click on the gear icon (menu) on the top right corner of the browser and select Internet Options. Stay in General tab. -
Here, remove malicious URL and enter preferable domain name. Click Apply to save changes.
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Reset Internet Explorer
Click on the gear icon (menu) again and select Internet options. Go to Advanced tab. - Here, select Reset.
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When in the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset again to complete GreatAds removal.
Remove GreatAds adware from Microsoft Edge
Reset Microsoft Edge settings (Method 1):
- Launch Microsoft Edge app and click More (three dots at the top right corner of the screen).
- Click Settings to open more options.
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Once Settings window shows up, click Choose what to clear button under Clear browsing data option.
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Here, select all what you want to remove and click Clear.
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Now you should right-click on the Start button (Windows logo). Here, select Task Manager.
- When in Processes tab, search for Microsoft Edge.
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Right-click on it and choose Go to details option. If can’t see Go to details option, click More details and repeat previous steps.
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When Details tab shows up, find every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right click on each of them and select End Task to end these entries.
Resetting Microsoft Edge browser (Method 2):
If Method 1 failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method.
- Note: you need to backup your data before using this method.
- Find this folder on your computer:
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe.
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Select every entry which is saved on it and right click with your mouse. Then Delete option.
- Click the Start button (Windows logo) and type in window power in Search my stuff line.
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Right-click the Windows PowerShell entry and choose Run as administrator.
- Once Administrator: Windows PowerShell window shows up, paste this command line after PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> and press Enter:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml -Verbose}
Once these steps are finished, GreatAds should be removed from your Microsoft Edge browser.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariUninstall GreatAds from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
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Remove dangerous extensions
Open Mozilla Firefox, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Add-ons → Extensions. -
Here, select GreatAds and other questionable plugins. Click Remove to delete these entries.
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Reset Mozilla Firefox
Click on the Firefox menu on the top left and click on the question mark. Here, choose Troubleshooting Information. -
Now you will see Reset Firefox to its default state message with Reset Firefox button. Click this button for several times and complete GreatAds removal.
Eliminate GreatAds from Google Chrome
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Delete malicious plugins
Open Google Chrome, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Tools → Extensions. -
Here, select GreatAds and other malicious plugins and select trash icon to delete these entries.
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Click on menu icon again and choose Settings → Manage Search engines under the Search section.
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When in Search Engines..., remove malicious search sites. You should leave only Google or your preferred domain name.
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Reset Google Chrome
Click on menu icon on the top right of your Google Chrome and select Settings. -
Scroll down to the end of the page and click on Reset browser settings.
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Click Reset to confirm this action and complete GreatAds removal.
Delete GreatAds from Safari
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Remove dangerous extensions
Open Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu at the top left of the screen. Once you do this, select Preferences. -
Here, select Extensions and look for GreatAds or other suspicious entries. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid each of them.
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Reset Safari
Open Safari browser and click on Safari in menu section at the top left of the screen. Here, select Reset Safari.... -
Now you will see a detailed dialog window filled with reset options. All of those options are usually checked, but you can specify which of them you want to reset. Click the Reset button to complete GreatAds removal process.