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

How to remove Pop-2-Top ads

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

Gabriel E. Hall · Passionate web researcher

Pop-2-Top virus and the concerning things about it:

Pop-2-Top virus is another creation of the Virtue Interactive Ltd, responsible for the development of a bunch of other questionable applications, such as SpeedCheckMe or Toppypop. The functionality of this particular program is highly questionable too. Even though this extension is advertised as a browsing optimizing tool, allowing you to reach the top of the visited website instantly, in reality, it does nothing more than flood your browser with ads, making your Internet experience incomparably worse. It is not what you would expect from a legitimate application. That is why it is advisable to keep away from such programs and remove Pop-2-Top from your computer without further ado. To eliminate the virus faster, we recommend you to obtain FortectIntego antivirus utility and run a scan of your computer.

A screenshot of the Pop-2-Top adware virus

Pop-2-Top virus can infect the popular browsers such as Edge, Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome. The hijack was spotted on Safari browsers as well which means that unfortunately, Mac OS X is also susceptible to the infection. Regardless of what browsers it infects, this virus immediately starts making new adjustments to the system. Besides from generating annoying ads, this adware also uses them to redirect users to not so safe third-party websites, scam pages and other potentially dangerous domains. Visiting such sites can be compared to walking in a dark alley in the middle of the night – you might get through safely, but you can also have some very unpleasant encounters to deal with. Adware are not malicious viruses themselves, though additional malware infections often go with them side by side. On top of all the mentioned issues, Pop-2-Top removal is necessary to prevent data leakage, too. It is not uncommon for adware viruses to keep track of the information related to your browsing habits, search history, etc. The information this virus collects can then be used to generate more clickable ads and initiate unpredictable redirects. That is why you need to banish it from your computer without delay.

Where can I get infected with this virus?

People often get their computers infected with adware after visiting insecure domains and especially after downloading unknown and unverified software from them. Such software is usually spread bundled with potentially unwanted programs and the information about this additional content is often kept undisclosed. Of course, such infected packages can also be downloaded through peer-to-peer networks or other software sharing platforms. Briefly said, you never know if the software you are downloading is not bundled with some adware infection like Pop-2-Top. Luckily, there is a way to stop the malware before it gets installed on the computer. First, in the software’s setup choose “Advanced” or “Custom” installation modes. Then, proceed with the following steps carefully reading through the EULA and unmarking the pre-marked content that you are suspicious about.

How can I remove Pop-2-Top adware from my PC?

Depending on your level of computer proficiency, Pop-2-Top adware can be eliminated from the infected device in two ways. You can either trust an automatic antivirus utility to fix the issue for you or delete the virus yourself. You can probably tell which one is an easier approach. The Pop-2-Top removal only requires a reliable and updated antivirus system to be successful, while manually deleting the virus may cost you a little bit more effort. Either way, if you are ready to remove Pop-2-Top yourself, just follow the instructions provided at the end of the article.

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

Did this guide help?

3 comments

  1. Ernest

    Useless app and annoying ads.. 0/10

  2. JailBreaker

    Good thing these parasites are not malicious... From the look of it, I could not tell if they are dangerous or not

  3. Ansel Admas

    Removed it with your help! Thanks guys!

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