Remove Lucky Leap (Removal Guide) - Jan 2020 update
Lucky Leap is an adware that decreases the speed of the PC and web browsers
Questions about Lucky Leap
Lucky Leap, also known as Adware.Yontoo, is a PUP that can be distributed by other third-party software such as Superfish, Yontoo, FBPhotoZoom, and 1ClickDownloader. Also, it appears that this product has some similarities with another adware[1] program named WebCake. Lucky Leap adware aims to load intrusive pop-ups and pop-unders on popular shopping websites such as eBay, Amazon, AliExpress, and others. Once the ads appear on your computer screen, you will easily recognize them as they are likely to come marked as “Ads by Lucky Leap”, “Brough to you by Lucky Leap”, “Lucky Leap ads”, “Powered by Lucky Leap”, “Advertisements by Lucky Leap”, “Promoted by Lucky Leap”, etc.
| Name | Lucky Leap |
|---|---|
| Type | Adware app/potentially unwanted program |
| Target | This suspicious product mostly appears on Windows computer systems but can occur on macOS devices also. Web browsers that can get infected with this adware are apps such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, and Safari |
| Distribution | The adware is known to get distributed by other third-party apps such as Yontoo, Superfish, FBPhotoZoom, and 1ClickDownload. Also, you can download such an application from secondary downloading sources such as cnet.com, download., softonic.com, soft32.com and can be delivered via a deceptive technique known as “software bundling” |
| Ads | The main goal of this PUP is to display advertisements while the user is visiting online shopping networks such as eBay, AliExpress, and Amazon. The provided ads are often marked as “Ads by Lucky Leap”, “Brough to you by Lucky Leap”, “Lucky Leap ads”, “Powered by Lucky Leap”, “Advertisements by Lucky Leap”, “Promoted by Lucky Leap”, etc. |
| Removal | If you have been dealing with this adware lately, you can get rid of it by purchasing relying antimalware software or by carrying out the step-by-step guide that has been added to the end of this article |
| Fix tool | If the adware has brought other PUPs to your system that performed some compromisation, try fixing the affected areas with a tool such as Reimage Reimage Cleaner Intego |
Lucky Leap virus mostly appears on Windows computer systems. When this happens, the adware tends to add rogue processes to the Windows Task Manager that allows the app to boot up whenever the computer is started. Also, the PUP might include bogus content in other directories such as C:\Program Files\ or C:\ProgramData.
According to a computer user, Lucky Leap has made his machine sluggish and also slowed down the Internet.[2] This can happen due to the program's ability to initiate multiple tasks at one time. If you are receiving an excessive load of adverts while browsing, it is very likely that the ads will slow down your Internet web browser and the computer itself.
Lucky Leap is an ad-supported application that is similar to another adware program named WebCake
Lucky Leap ads can cause a lot of discomfort if not eliminated on time. These components can come in forms of pop-ups, pop-unders, banners, coupons, and in-text ads. You might be forced to receive bogus-looking offers that promote rogue security utilities, useless services, and various other questionable products just for receiving income.
However, the main income source of Lucky Leap is pay-per-click advertising.[3] The adware will try to load you with a big number of ads to collect as many clicks as possible. Remember, every ad that you step on and get interested in brings income to the developers. Do not let these people benefit from such unfair techniques.
Continuously, Lucky Leap might provide you with various fake reward claims and questionnaires that require entering your personal information or credentials. Do not type any sensitive data as your details can get easily exposed on the Internet and also, do not provide any banking data as you can get assigned to useless services.
In addition, Lucky Leap is likely to get you involved in redirecting sessions. The mean of this activity is to take you to developer-sponsored websites and push more deals to your computer screen. However, in some cases, you might be taken t a malware-laden website and infected with a dangerous parasite.
To continue, Lucky Leap might be interested in collecting your browsing details about your web browser, online history, and surfing experience. The adware might track information such as recently clicked hyperlinks, saved bookmarks, entered websites, your IP for providing more income to the developers or getting you involved in targeted advertising.
Lucky Leap removal is a way to solve this type of issue. You can use reliable antimalware products to get rid of the potentially unwanted program and all the additional components that it might have brought to your computer system. Also, if you find any compromised areas, try using Reimage Reimage Cleaner Intego for the fixing process.
Also, you can remove Lucky Leap from your operating system and web browsers by using the manual step-by-step guidelines that have been added to the end of this article. Be aware to clean all affected locations, otherwise, the adware might be able to return within the next computer or browser boot process.
The appearance process of adware products
You are most likely to get potentially unwanted products from websites such as cnet.com, softonic.com, soft32.com, and download.com and from a deceptive technique known as “software bundling”. This happens when the adware or another PUP is included in an entire package of freeware or shareware. Regarding this fact, you should always read the License Agreement, Privacy Policy and similar information of the freeware before downloading it.
After that, you should opt-out of unknown additions, such as toolbars, add-ons, extensions, and similar things when downloading freeware/shareware to your computer. For that, you should always select Custom or Advanced installation of the freeware and then try to find all suspicious checkmarks that claim that you want to install this potentially unwanted program. Also, avoid all modes that are marked as Recommended and Quick.
Continuously, you should avoid browsing on unsecured third-party websites as these pages can come filled with infectious content such as questionable advertisements, hyperlinks, scams, fake software updates, etc. If you ever enter a suspicious-looking website, you should close the web browser window and never return. Also, run a full malware scan with your antimalware product to check if your computer system is still fully secured.
Lucky Leap removal instructions
Lucky Leap removal involves getting rid of the adware and all other potentially unwanted products that it might have brought to the computer system. Be aware that the ad-supported application might have hidden bogus files and processes all over the computer system that also need to be eliminated in order for a proper elimination process.
There are two techniques that can help you to remove Lucky Leap from your computer system. The first one is known as the automatical method that involves downloading and installing a reliable antimalware program. This type of software is capable of discovering all the suspicious products in the system and eliminating them within minutes.
According to cybersecurity experts from ZonderVirus.nl,[4] you can eliminate adware such as Lucky Leap virus with the help of manual guiding steps. Note that this process includes cleaning and refreshing both your operating system and web browser applications such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, and Safari.
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.
To remove Lucky Leap, follow these steps:
Remove Lucky Leap from Windows systems
To clean your Windows computer system from suspicious products, opt for these manual step-by-step guidelines.
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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 Lucky Leap and related programs
Here, look for Lucky Leap or any other recently installed suspicious programs. -
Uninstall them and click OK to save these changes.
Get rid of Lucky Leap 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 Lucky Leap or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash.
Eliminate Lucky Leap from Internet Explorer (IE)
To get rid of all browser helper objects from your Internet Explorer web browser, apply the following steps.
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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.
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You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for Lucky Leap 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 Lucky Leap removal.
Erase Lucky Leap 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. -
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, Lucky Leap should be removed from your Microsoft Edge browser.
Delete Lucky Leap 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.
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Here, select Lucky Leap 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.
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Now you will see Reset Firefox to its default state message with Reset Firefox button. Click this button for several times and complete Lucky Leap removal.
Uninstall Lucky Leap from Google Chrome
To reverse all bogus changes in Google Chrome, use the below-provided instructing steps.
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Delete malicious plugins
Open Google Chrome, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Tools → Extensions.
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Here, select Lucky Leap 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 Lucky Leap removal.
Remove Lucky Leap 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.
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Here, select Extensions and look for Lucky Leap 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....
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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 Lucky Leap removal process.
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
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References
- ^ Adware. Malwarebytes. Technology information.
- ^ Rhys Andersen. Lucky Leap issue- Computer hijacked! :(. Malwarebytes Forums. Topic.
- ^ Larry Kim. What Is PPC? Learn the Basics of Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Marketing. Word Stream. Online Advertising Made Easy.
- ^ ZonderVirus.nl. ZonderVirus. Security and spyware news.
August 27th, 2013 at 6:37 pm
i veeery nearly got caught out with luckyleap. it came packaged with speedfan when i was downloading that on cnet. just had a slip on concentration and diddnt opt out of it. had to stop the installation and quickly go to add/remove programs. luckily it diddnt seem to attach to firefox in any way. very sneaky though. always disappoints me when such widely used sites like cnet pull this shit to earn a extra bit of shady money.
October 9th, 2013 at 7:13 am
Worked great! Thank you!
October 24th, 2013 at 5:10 am
thank you for this info
will in future check license agreement
November 1st, 2013 at 8:08 pm
If you use freeware and shareware etc it is best if you monitor the install. I use Comodo program manager and that will remove it, or any other program, roots and all provided its a monitored install. Those funny programs that dont work after a mistaken upgrade also can be salvaged.
November 3rd, 2013 at 3:34 am
I downloaded Makesofts USB Manager from Cnet and i got it from there. I thought Cnet was clean from this kind of shit but apparently not
November 7th, 2013 at 8:18 am
Thank you!
CNET used to be respectable, but now its all malware and spyware.
Thank god for sites like this..
April 24th, 2014 at 4:24 am
thanks, It was really anoying
April 25th, 2014 at 1:59 pm
Big thanks dude!
May 24th, 2014 at 4:00 am
thank you very much!
June 1st, 2014 at 2:49 am
thanks so much! it really helped! cheers
June 20th, 2014 at 6:48 pm
Thanks a lot, It worked. Lucky leap was badly annoying.