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  • Active
  • Severity: Medium
  • Adware
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Aug 2018

How to remove My Web Shield ads

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

Linas Kiguolis · Expert in social media

My Web Shield – an adware program that promises to block you from visiting malicious sites

My Web Shield adware

My Web Shield is a questionable application that is usually promoted via advertisements or is injected into users' computers via software bundling. Regardless of the installation technique, the app promises users to prevent them from visiting malicious websites, which could lure netizens to keep the program. Unfortunately, My Web Shield installation also has certain side effects. Users will soon notice annoying pop-ups, deals, offers, in-text links and various other forms of advertising popping on Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and other browsers, regardless of which website is visited.

Summary
Name My Web Shield
Type Adware
Distribution Software bundling
Symptoms Increased amount of advertisements and redirects
Compatible browsers Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Opera, etc.
Main dangers Information leakage, potential malware infections, compromised browsers
Detection and elimination Use FortectIntego for a quick solution or check our manual instructions below

The application is considered to be adware,[1] and, while not malicious by its design (it does not corrupt or damage system files in any way), might cause users a lot of frustration. While they struggle to understand where the program came from, My Web Shield removal might be a problem as well, as adware is known to obfuscate its presence well – it usually does not provide the executable to uninstall the app, as well as hides under different names.

As soon as My Web Shield virus infiltrates the machine, it modifies certain settings on the PC, allowing it to perform several tasks. Its primary goal – to redirect users to sponsored websites that would generate revenue to adware creators. While browsing the internet, users might encounter ads marked as follows:

Pop-ups, auto-play video, and audio ads can appear on any website that is visited, regardless if it promotes sponsored content or not. Therefore, finding the correct information plagued by My Web Shield ads might become an impossible task.

Another worrisome feature of the potentially unwanted program is information tracking. Remember, that main goal of adware is selling products or services of developers' affiliates to you. Therefore, the My Web Shield adware employs various tracking technologies (like beacons, tracking cookies,[2] JavaScript and similar) to harvest all the non-personally identifiable information about you and created a virtual ID.

My Web Shield virus

The purpose of such information tracking is to generate targeted ads. Thus, every time you visit a website which represents your favorite football team, the adware carefully records that and sends you an advertisement related to it. However, My Web Shield ads might be coming from phishing, fake or overpriced sites that would make you waste money on useless stuff.

There is no doubt that online security is necessary, but users should rely on legitimate tools to protect them online. If the PUP entered your machine without your knowledge, security experts[3] recommend using FortectIntego to remove My Web Shield ads from your computer. The scan will also eliminate all other dubious applications that could have gotten in while adware was present on your system.

Distribution methods of potentially unwanted programs

PUP developers use various tactics to get this nasty program on the users’ computers, but the most common one is called bundling. This marketing strategy is also acknowledged by beginning software creators who use it to spread the word about their product to make it popular. The sad news is that the well-known developers like Microsoft are using the same technique. While the installed programs might not be malicious, they can certainly cause users some trouble.

Therefore, we recommend you being extremely careful when downloading and installing new software from the internet, regardless of how acclaimed it is. You should never rush through installation steps and read Terms and Conditions properly. Most importantly, opt for Advanced/Custom installation instructions instead of Quick/Recommended ones. This will allow you to eliminate all the tick marks next to add-ons, browser extensions, optimization tools and other useless software before the installation is complete.

Finally, we urge you to stay away from suspicious ads and redirects. Adware can also be installed when browsing the internet, as adverts on certain websites might convince you of the legitimacy of certain apps. Do not fall for this trick, and research the app on Google.com, Bing.com, Yahoo.com or another reputable search engine.

Web Shield ads

Recommendations for My Web Shield removal

My Web Shield virus is a program that should not linger on your computer. Since it usually stays on the victims’ computers for quite some time, it is deep-rooted in the system, and its related components may be spread throughout the computer without any particular order making manual My Web Shield removal quite complicated.

Thus, it is useful to have professional antivirus software that could remove My Web Shield ads automatically. All you have to do is download one of the programs mentioned below and run a full system scan.

We should also inform you that there is other, alternative way to banish potentially unwanted programs from your PC – manual elimination. If you would like to try out this method, scroll down below where you will find detailed instructions.

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

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