GreatZip ads. How to remove? (Uninstall guide)
GreatZip – a highly annoying PUP which can slow down your browsing activity
GreatZip is a program which can enter the system through other downloaded software.
GreatZip is a highly annoying program that is classified as an adware[1]. It does not only display ads itself but is also advertised by other adware programs that launch initiate redirections to hxxp://GreatZip.com/adv1/ that suggests installing “Your Download Software Manager.” The installer of this software contains additional programs that might belong to the spyware category. In other words, the virus is meant to convince you to install highly suspicious software bundles that can contain spyware or, in the worst case, malware type programs.
Name | GreatZip |
---|---|
Type | Adware |
Sub-type | PUP |
Possible dangers | Ads can convince you to install virus-related content |
Annoying features | Redirecting, advertising |
Browsers affected | Chrome, Edge, Firefox, etc. |
Distribution | Bundling, rogue pages |
Prevention | Use Custom mode, avoid dubious websites |
Elimination | Install Reimage to scan the system and look for threats |
GreatZip is advertised as the “best file compressor” that helps to zip and unzip files instantly. Unfortunately, this software is known to be promoting additional software alongside itself and present it as “recommended” to a computer user. Sadly, we are afraid that these programs can add no additional value to your computer and might even start to annoy you on a daily basis.
It is highly likely that these potentially unwanted programs[2] are ad-supported, meaning that you will have to encounter pop-up and banner advertisements during your daily browsing sessions. Such problems are highly bothersome, to say at least. Nevertheless, advertising posts can be not only annoying, but they also might slow down your browser's performance. For this reason, you should remove GreatZip virus along with all other spyware from your computer immediately.
GreatZip ads appearing on your screen can also pose a big threat to your security and privacy. Adware that generates them usually seeks to provide targeted offers to increase the probability that the user clicks on them. Therefore, it collects information such as your search queries, visited websites, ads clicked and even more. Usually, having such information allows this adware comprehend what kind of content interests the user.
GreatZip is adware which produces numerous advertising posts that are useful only for the developers.
If you click on such ad, you activate a link that is hidden behind it, and such move triggers an URL redirect leading to a specific external site. Although technically adware is not malicious[3] itself, it can lead you to sites that might be highly dangerous. For this reason, we do not recommend you to attempt to explore content behind “ads by GreatZip” pop-ups.
If you receive advertisements leading you to unfamiliar sites, it means that you are infected with an adware program that needs to be deleted immediately. For GreatZip removal, you can employ programs like Reimage or delete the infection yourself using the instructions we added to this article.


Click 'Start -> Control Panel -> Programs and Features' (if you are 'Windows XP' user, click on 'Add/Remove Programs').

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'.

Right click on each of suspicious entries and select 'Uninstall'

Cick 'Go' and select 'Applications'

Click on every malicious entry and select 'Move to Trash'

Click on menu icon and select 'Manage add-ons'

Right click on each of malicious entries and select 'Disable'

Delete malicious URL, enter your desired domain name and click 'Apply' to save changes

Go to 'Advanced' tab and click on 'Reset' button. Now select 'Delete personal settings' and click on 'Reset' button again

Go to Settings and select 'Choose what to clear'

Select 'Clear' button

Open the start menu and select 'Task Manager'

Right-click 'Microsoft Edge' and select 'Go to details'

Select 'More details' if 'Go to details' option fails to show up

Find Microsoft Edge entries and select 'End Task'

Go to Microsoft Edge folder on your computer, right-click every entry and click 'Delete'

Find Windows PowerShell, right-click it and select 'Run as administrator'

Copy and paste a required command and press 'Enter'

Click on menu icon and select 'Add-ons'

Select 'Extensions' and look for malicious entries. Click 'Remove' to get rid of each of them

Click on menu icon and then on '?'. Select 'Troubleshooting Information'

Click on 'Reset Firefox' button for a couple of times

Click on menu icon. Select 'Tools' and 'Extensions'

Look for malicious entries and delete each of them by clicking on the Trash bin icon

When in 'Settings', select 'Manage search engines...'

Click 'X' to remove malicious URLs

When in 'Settings', scroll down to 'Reset browser settings' button and click on it

Click on 'Reset' button to complete your removal

Click on 'Safari' and select 'Preferences'

Go to 'Extensions' and uninstall malicious add-ons

Click on 'Safari' and select 'Reset Safari...'

Select all options and click on 'Reset' button
Bypassing sneaky attempts to lure you into installing potentially dangerous software
According to researchers from Virusai.lt[4], many free programs attempt to lure victims into installing additional software, promising that it can benefit the user somehow. Sadly, the functionality of such programs is usually hardly reliable because besides of providing some simple function, such as file format conversion, these programs track computer users and display dozens of ads brought by certain ad networks[5].
Luckily, it is not hard to prevent such programs from acting this way. The user simply has to stay attentive and do not let some suspicious programs trick him into installing unwanted software. Therefore, we recommend you to check what installation settings are pre-selected when you attempt to install a new computer program. We are positive that the Default or the Standard option will be the chosen one. Your task is to switch the selection to Custom or Advanced option and then deselect all additional applications/extensions/plug-ins offered to you.
GreatZip adware is a PUP which can slow down browsing work.
Removing GreatZip ads from the system
It is highly recommended that you remove GreatZip virus right now. This program is hardly reliable, and it can significantly diminish your browsing experience. To prevent this program from causing system slowdowns, redirects and displaying pop-up ads, perform the elimination or simply clean your computer system using the anti-spyware or anti-malware software.
You can also perform the GreatZip removal by using the manual technique. We have displayed such method below this article. What you will have to do is clean infected web browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, or others. Make sure you carry out this method with big care as one missed dubious component might easily renew the adware.
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 GreatZip ads, follow these steps:
Erase GreatZip from Windows systems
Uninstall software related to GreatZip this way:
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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 GreatZip and related programs
Here, look for GreatZip or any other recently installed suspicious programs. -
Uninstall them and click OK to save these changes.
Delete GreatZip 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 GreatZip 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 GreatZip removal.
Get rid of GreatZip ads 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, GreatZip should be removed from your Microsoft Edge browser.
WindowsInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariRemove GreatZip from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
Delete all questionable additions from Firefox by following the provided instructions.
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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 GreatZip 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 GreatZip removal.
Uninstall GreatZip from Google Chrome
Check if Chrome contains any suspicious extensions that shouldn't be on it.
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Delete malicious plugins
Open Google Chrome, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Tools → Extensions. -
Here, select GreatZip 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 GreatZip removal.
Erase GreatZip 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 GreatZip 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 GreatZip removal process.
About the author
References
- ^ Mary Landesman. What Are Adware and Spyware?. Lifewire. Tech Untangled.
- ^ Potentially unwanted program. Wikipedia. The free encyclopedia.
- ^ Malicious programs. Securelist. Information about Viruses, Hackers and Spam.
- ^ Virusai.lt. Virusai. Spyware news website.
- ^ Network. Techopedia. IT definitions.