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Remove Instant Support ads (Removal Guide) - Jul 2017 update

removal by Julie Splinters - - | Type: Adware
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2 solved questions
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Instant Support delivers fake security alerts and wants users to call to fake support line

Instant Support ads on commercial website

Instant Support is a suspicious adware[1] that sneaks inside computer unnoticed and pretends to be a reliable technical support provider. What is more, adware might deliver other commercial content and reduce browsing quality. Adware mostly aims at Win 10 and Win 7 users; however, other Windows versions might be affected as well.

Questions about Instant Support ads

It does not matter which Internet browser you prefer to use – Google Chrome, Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox – this adware will affect all of them. Instant Support toolbar installs its browser extension that might send you various pop-up messages which will make you concerned about the state of your computer. Typically, they claim:

Our Microsoft trained technicians are standing by ready to help you resolve all your PC issues and more.

In addition, Instant Support ads will offer you to get free assistance via these phone numbers: (888) 693-5841 or (866) 818-5310 but you should never call these numbers! Otherwise, you will be shocked when you will receive your next phone bill. The Instant Support staff is going to talk with you about your computer, but you should know that the minute rate of this support number is extremely high.

We strongly advise you to ignore such pop-ups. Remember that you can receive such misleading pop-ups offering PC support not only from Instant Support but also from any other adware as well. Thus, you should be aware of signs of adware infiltration, such as increased amount of online ads or redirects to sponsored sites.

This PUP belongs to Trojan.Tech-Support-Scam group. Thus, Instant Support virus might display error messages from Windows taskbar and Windows Event logs. However, you should not be fooled by this hoax.[2] Keep in mind that Windows support service does not require to call technicians to solve various problems. Thus, you are dealing with tech support scam[3].

In order to remove Instant Support and all other PUPs or possible computer threats automatically, we suggest installing Reimage Reimage Cleaner Intego anti-malware, which will detect and eliminate this cyber infection. What is more, it will protect your PC from similar cyber threats in the future.

If you are looking for manual Instant Support removal instructions, you can find them at the end of the article. Keep in mind that adware may have installed numerous components and other PUPs to the system and web browsers. Thus, you need to get rid of them all.

The image of Instant Support adwareInstant Support shows fake pop-ups informing about various errors that have to be fixed immediately.

Bundling helps adware to step inside the computers

Instant Support adware is spread with other freeware and shareware. If you download free programs from the web from time to time, you have to be super cautious, because there's a chance of installing a bundled software[4] pack.

Developers of this PUP will not clearly notify you about extra applications added to your download pack, and you will not know about them unless you check it yourself. At the moment of writing, it was mentioned that this parasite spreads in a bundle with PC Accelerate.

To avoid this and similar applications, you have to find out about optional downloads by following these tips:

  1. Skip the traditional ''Standard'', ''Basic'', ''Regular'' or ''Default'' modes and choose whether ''Advanced'' or ''Custom'' ones instead.
  2. Follow each of the steps carefully and attentively in order not to overlook the list of pre-selected third-party programs.
  3. Once you see the list, you can reject unwanted applications by taking off the tick sign near the suggestions to install them.
  4. Now, you can proceed further and finish the installation process.

Keep in mind that doesn’t matter where you live – in the U.S., the U.K, or China[5] – this tricky potentially unwanted application can enter the device if you do not pay proper attention to the installation of freeware or shareware. Otherwise, you will need to uninstall Instant Support or other annoying applications.

Showing how to get rid of the Instant Support virus

You can choose how to remove Instant Support – with or without the anti-spyware program. You can also try to delete this PUP manually. For that, we have provided step-by-step removal instructions below this article.

However, if you are a fresh computer user, it can be quite a challenging task to detect all infectious files that this program may have hidden deep in the computer's system. For this reason, we strongly recommend using a professional computer security tool, which will find all hidden junk files and eliminate them.

If you want to opt for automatic Instant Support removal, you should not choose professional and reputable security tool, but update it too. Only up-to-date software is capable of detecting and eliminating all PUPs and suspicious entries from the device.

You may remove virus damage with a help of Reimage Reimage Cleaner Intego. SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner and Malwarebytes are recommended to detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.

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To remove Instant Support ads, follow these steps:

Remove Instant Support from Windows systems

When trying to remove Instant Support malware from your computer, you should look for PC Accelerate, PC Accelerate Pro and similar entries. We recommend uninstalling them as well.

To remove Instant Support from Windows 10/8  machines, please follow these steps:

  1. Enter Control Panel into Windows search box and hit Enter or click on the search result.
  2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.Uninstall from Windows 1
  3. From the list, find entries related to Instant Support (or any other recently installed suspicious program).
  4. Right-click on the application and select Uninstall.
  5. If User Account Control shows up, click Yes.
  6. Wait till uninstallation process is complete and click OK.Uninstall from Windows 2

If you are Windows 7/XP user, proceed with the following instructions:

  1. Click on Windows Start > Control Panel located on the right pane (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
  2. In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.Uninstall from Windows 7/XP
  3. Pick the unwanted application by clicking on it once.
  4. At the top, click Uninstall/Change.
  5. In the confirmation prompt, pick Yes.
  6. Click OK once the removal process is finished.

Eliminate Instant Support from Mac OS X system

To prevent the reappearance of Instant Support ads, you should also remove its related components. It has been approved that one of them is PC Accelerate (also known as PC Accelerate Pro).

  1. If you are using OS X, click Go button at the top left of the screen and select Applications. Cick 'Go' and select 'Applications'
  2. Wait until you see Applications folder and look for Instant Support or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash. Click on every malicious entry and select 'Move to Trash'

Uninstall Instant Support from Internet Explorer (IE)

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 Instant Support and other 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 again to complete Instant Support removal.Reset Internet Explorer

Get rid of Instant Support 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 plugins that are related to Instant Support and click Remove.Remove extensions from Firefox

Clear cookies and site data:

  1. Click Menu and pick Options.
  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, as well as Cached Web Content and press Clear.Clear cookies and site data from Firefox

In case Instant Support did not get removed after following the instructions above, 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 – this should complete Instant Support removal.Reset Firefox 2

Delete Instant Support 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 the suspicious plugins that might be related to Instant Support 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

If the above-methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the Instant Support-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 to complete Instant Support removal.Reset Chrome 2

Remove Instant Support from Safari

Remove unwanted extensions from Safari:

  1. Click Safari > Preferences…
  2. In the new window, pick Extensions.
  3. Select the unwanted extension related to Instant Support and select Uninstall.Remove extensions from Safari

Clear cookies and other website data from Safari:

  1. Click Safari > Clear History…
  2. From the drop-down menu under Clear, pick all history.
  3. Confirm with Clear History.Clear cookies and website data from Safari

Reset Safari if the above-mentioned steps did not help you:

  1. Click Safari > Preferences…
  2. Go to Advanced tab.
  3. Tick the Show Develop menu in menu bar.
  4. From the menu bar, click Develop, and then select Empty Caches.Reset Safari

Access your website securely from any location

When you work on the domain, site, blog, or different project that requires constant management, content creation, or coding, you may need to connect to the server and content management service more often. It is a hassle when your website is protected from suspicious connections and unauthorized IP addresses.

The best solution for creating a tighter network could be a dedicated/fixed IP address. If you make your IP address static and set to your device, you can connect to the CMS from any location and do not create any additional issues for server or network manager that need to monitor connections and activities. This is how you bypass some of the authentications factors and can remotely use your banking accounts without triggering suspicious with each login. 

VPN software providers like Private Internet Access can help you with such settings and offer the option to control the online reputation and manage projects easily from any part of the world. It is better to clock the access to your website from different IP addresses. So you can keep the project safe and secure when you have the dedicated IP address VPN and protected access to the content management system.

Backup files for the later use, in case of the malware attack

Computer users can suffer various losses due to cyber infections or their own faulty doings. Software issues created by malware or direct data loss due to encryption can lead to problems with your device or permanent damage. When you have proper up-to-date backups, you can easily recover after such an incident and get back to work.

It is crucial to create updates to your backups after any changes on the device, so you can get back to the point you were working on when malware changes anything or issues with the device causes data or performance corruption. Rely on such behavior and make file backup your daily or weekly habit.

When you have the previous version of every important document or project you can avoid frustration and breakdowns. It comes in handy when malware occurs out of nowhere. Use Data Recovery Pro for the system restoring purpose.

About the author
Julie Splinters
Julie Splinters - Malware removal specialist

If this free removal guide helped you and you are satisfied with our service, please consider making a donation to keep this service alive. Even a smallest amount will be appreciated.

Contact Julie Splinters
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References
Removal guides in other languages
lt Instant Support reklamų išinstaliavimas
nl Verwijder de Instant Support-ads
ru прекратить Instant Support объявления
pl Poradnik usuwania reklam Instant Support
de Anzeigen von Instant Support deinstallieren
fr Désinstallation de Instant support Pubs
it Come rimuovere gli annunci di Instant Support
pt Extermine os anúncios InstantSupport
dk Eliminer Instant Support annoncer
es Solucionar Instant Support
tr Silme tarifleri
se Instant Support-annonser steg för borttagning
fi Lopeta Instant Support mainokset
no Fjerning av Instant Support-annonser
gr Αφαίρεση των διαφημίσεων Instant Support
cz Instrukce pro odstranění reklam Instant Support
hu Instant Support hirdetések eltávolítása
cn 移除 Instant Support 广告
hr Kako ukloniti Instant Support reklame
jp Instant Support 広告を削除する
ro Repară reclamele Instant Support
bg Деинсталиране на адуера Instant Support
gb Steps for removing Instant Support ads
ee Instant Support reklaamide eemaldamine
lv Likvidēt

This entry was posted on 2017-07-24 at 07:22 and is filed under Adware, Viruses.

  1. Ivy96 says:
    October 21st, 2015 at 4:03 am

    I have seen these pop-ups messages on my screen! However, I have never though that they can be so deceptive. Luckily I havent called this number!!!

  2. Eleonora says:
    October 21st, 2015 at 5:58 am

    This is so frustrating! Sadly, I had to experience the tear-off… So I have received my phone bill, and I could not believe my eyes! The phone bill was HUGE. I feel the need to tell everybody – if you ever start receiving any pop-up windows repeatedly, you should know that an infectious program has sneaked into your computer!! Before clicking on any pop-up windows, or doing what they command you, firstly s look for any keywords that can reveal the presence of these ads. Then look it up on the web!

  3. Vicky says:
    June 27th, 2016 at 8:17 am

    Sadly, I could not remove this manually – it seems so difficult to me ;( I will invite a technician to fix this for me

  4. Hills says:
    June 27th, 2016 at 8:19 am

    You shouldnt! It will cost you a lot!

Your opinion regarding Instant Support ads