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  • Active
  • Severity: Medium
  • System tools
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · May 2019

How to remove Infolinks

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

Julie Splinters · Anti-malware specialist

Infolinks – an advertising network that might promote affiliate websites

Infolinks ads

Infolinks is an online advertising network, which offers various products in a form of in-text ads, banner ads and other forms of ads. It claims that the promotional content can be placed only on websites that agree to cooperate with this program. Web ads usually have a text on the ad, stating where do these ads come from (what is the provider of the ad). If you browse the Internet frequently, the question “What is InfoLinks” probably crossed your mind a couple of times already. Even though the company presents itself as a global advertising platform offering ad solutions for both publishers and advertisers, everything is not that beneficial and handy as it might seem from the first view at this sentence on their official page. 

Name Infolinks
What it is Advertising network
Activities Advertising, redirecting
Causes Ads might show up on specific pages only or be caused by an adware app
Ad prevention Install and adblocking tool
Computer scanning software FortectIntego can help you detect if there is any potentially unwanted content
Recognized as “brought to you by Infolinks/ Infolinks ads/deals”

You can recognize ads from this advertising network[1] easily because they might be named as “brought to you by Infolinks/ Infolinks ads/deals”. However, we are not so sure about this. Info Links claims that it is not a software, and you might encounter these ads only on particular websites, but we could hardly find any list of its affiliates.

This is kind of suspicious; moreover, we have investigated the ad network's Privacy Policy and discovered that this advertising platform promotes third-party websites,[2] plus, collects some information about your browsing activity:

“You should note that Infolinks discloses automatically collected and other aggregated non-personally-identifiable information (including without limitation, geolocation and user device identification) with interested third parties to enable and assist such third parties to target ads to websites on which our advertising products are enabled […]

When you visit any of the websites that participate in our advertising marketplace and view ads from our advertisers, we collect information, including technical information and usage information about your activities on such sites. Such information may be combined with information collected from other sources […]

Infolinks is not responsible for the content or practices of third party websites not owned or controlled by Infolinks […]

As you can see, Infolinks shares information about you with its affiliates in order to deliver targeted advertising to you. We want to warn you that some of these ads might be unsafe and lead you to suspicious third-party websites. The advertising network claims that it is not liable for any damages you may experience while visiting its partners' websites.

To make sure you avoid suspicious websites and dangers that might be hidden on them, avoid clicking on unreliable ads that pop up on your screen in an intrusive way. If you want to remove Infolinks, we have to say that it is impossible to do so because they originate from websites that you visit. At this point, we want to remind you that the ads appear only on sites that choose to publish them.

Infolinks site

If you still do not like to see Infolinks ads and you would like to disable them, it might be possible to block Infolinks using some third-party tools meant for ad blocking. However, we strongly recommend you to read a lot of reviews and choose a trustworthy product. There are hundreds of extensions and applications that promise this feature but display even more ads instead. Be careful!

We have also noticed that many users are looking for Infolinks removal instructions for Windows 10.[3] It does not matter which operating system you use – all of them will display these ads to you because they come from web pages you enter and not from some program installed on your computer.

However, if the annoying advertisements are appearing due to an installation of a potentially unwanted program such as adware, you can proceed with Infolinks removal by eliminating the cause. Use specific tools such as FortectIntego or SpyHunterCombo Cleaner that will scan your entire computer system and detect the potentially unwanted content that is forcing ads to show up.

Infolinks in-text ads

Silent distribution of ad-supported software

Even though seeing advertisements does not have to mean that adware applications are attacking your computer system and web browsers, we still would like to share some tips from DieViren.de[4] on how you can prevent installing any other adware without your knowledge:

  • You need to start monitoring installation of any freeware and select only Custom or Advanced installation option in the installation setup.
  • Once you do that, make sure you uncheck all checkboxes that agree with the installation of suspicious browser add-ons, extensions and plugins.

For further protection, you should think about downloading and installing a reputable anti-virus or anti-malware tool. Make sure that the software includes a feature which allows ensuring safe browsing and alerts when something potentially dangerous might be in your way. One more tip would be to keep the antivirus program always updated.

Remove adware to prevent receiving annoying advertisements

To remove any kind of adware,[5] you should first discover what is the provider of the advertisement. For example, most of the adware ads have titles above or below the ad – such as 'ads by [adware name]” or “[adware name] ads”. You should find this program in your Control Panel and delete it. You can also remove Infolinks virus by using our below provided step-by-step guide for Windows computers and web browsers.

Infolinks removal needs to be accomplished properly, otherwise rogue advertisements might keep showing up on web browser applications such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, an Safari. If an ad-supported program has been causing these ads, you should check web browsers for adware-related signs also.

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?

6 comments

  1. Ziad

    Thanks Ugnius; that was so easy!

    God bless you and keep up the good work

  2. Keir

    You are wrong, Infolinks are not always placed on sites with owners permission. I have found them on my own site tonight and i would never sign up to something like this as it would affect my users experience (especially as my site is a encyclopedia with many internal links). when i looked on my index page to check all was well, using my tablet, i found that these links (by infolinks) weaved into my text. However these links are not visible when i use my PC or Laptop leading me to the conclusion that it is solely adware on my tablet.

  3. Prasad

    Hi Keir, how did u remove infolinks from ur tablet? Im facing same problem.

  4. Keir

    Still looking, sorry. Tried a few antivirus and an anti malware. They found some but not the culprit. I am waiting on a reply from infolinks themselves and when I get a result Ill post it on here.

  5. Keir

    Hi Prasad. Are you using RSS Dog for your news feeds or something similar?

  6. Michael

    I agree with Keir, they are also on my website which is a private forum, I would never have requested them. I cant figure out how it got on my computer as there are no recently added programs.

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