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  • Active
  • Severity: Medium
  • Adware
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Jan 2016

How to remove PepperZip

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

Jake Doevan · Computer technology expert

Can I call PepperZip malware?

No, you shouldn’t think that PepperZip 2.0 is a malicious program. This application is considered a potentially unwanted program and an adware because the main thing that it can cause on your computer is commercial ads and links in your search results. You may also notice redirects to unfamiliar websites after you download PepperZip to your PC system. However, there is one thing that you may not know. The Privacy Policy of this program notifies that it is capable of collecting your non-personally identifiable information. Typically, it’s your search terms, mostly visited websites, information that you add when visiting them, your PC’s IP address, its location and similar data. Having in mind that fact that the developers of PepperZip virus can share this data with related parties, you should not reveal this information.

You may be convinced that each of ads that are generated by this program is useful. That’s because they are filled with price comparisons, information about discounts, promotions, and similar deals. Also, some of PepperZip ads may be set to inform you about missing updates. If these notifications are known to you, you have to make sure that you ignore them because they are used for spreading other adware on the Internet. Usually, this kind of ads offers updates for Java, Flash Player, FLV Player and similar programs. If you want to get rid of them for good, you need to remove this program from your computer and look for another app for compressing your files. The easiest way to remove Pepper Zip is to run a full system scan with FortectIntego.

The main page of PepperZip adware

How does this program spread around?

Pepper Zip software has been distributed via free software. Beware that this suspicious application may appear on each of your web browsers right after installing a free software, which was bundled with this app. Although the installation process of the freeware usually notes about free attachments that you can add to your PC system, these notes are hidden, especially if you select Quick or Basic installation option. That’s why there are hundreds of browser extensions, add-ons, plug-ins, toolbars and other suspicious applications that appear on computers without people’s knowledge. Therefore, if you do not want to discover PepperZip hijack on your PC’s system, you have to take some extra time and check the entire installation process of every freeware. We recommend reading End-user’s license agreement and then choosing Custom or Advanced installation option because it allows people to decline installation of additional applications. Beware that adware distributors are clever and may find other ways for spreading their unwanted programs. Therefore, we always recommend installing a reliable anti-spyware program, which would prevent installation of Pepper Zip and other unwanted programs.

PepperZip removal:

No matter which version of this program, PepperZip 1.0 or PepperZip 2.0, is installed on your computer, we have to warn you that it may cause annoying activities on it. For example, it may start showing you continuous pop-up ads, slow each of your web browsers, initiate redirects while you are surfing the web, etc.

To prevent this from happening, you should consider PepperZip removal. Beware that this program may try to prevent its elimination by hiding related components on your computer or using other techniques. That’s why we believe that you should rely on automatic removal option of such applications. To remove Pepperzip with each of its files, you should install one of these anti-spyware programs that are given below. After running a full system scan, make sure that you remove each of detected files. Of course, you can also uninstall PepperZip from your computer manually. However, this procedure requires specific knowledge about computers and their structure. Keep in mind this fact before following our detailed removal guide.

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.

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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