Skip to content
  • Active
  • Severity: Medium
  • Adware
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Jun 2016

How to remove PrimaScope ads

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

Olivia Morelli · Ransomware analyst

Everything you need to know about PrimaScope virus:

If “PrimaScope ads” or “ads by PrimaScope” pop-ups appear on your computer screen, but you cannot remember installing any program named PrimaScope, it means there is an adware running on your PC, and that is not a good sign. It is a well-known fact that such pieces of software fall into “potentially unwanted programs” (PUP) category, and that they can arise various security issues. Adware programs are not malicious themselves, but ads they display often are related to questionable third-party websites, and these can be filled with malicious links. Security experts advise to stay away from such sites and never agree to install any type of software or software updates from them.

This adware might try to convince you to click on one of its ads by displaying great shopping offers, discount codes, shocking price comparisons and similar content. We advise you to ignore PrimaScope deals because clicking on them can direct you to shady third-party websites that might ask you to provide personally-identifiable information or suggest you to download questionable programs for free. Quit such sites immediately.

Screenshot of the official page of PrimaScope and its ads

By the way, have you ever wondered why this suspicious piece of software manages to collect such interesting deals that seem to be individually selected for you? The truth is, PrimaScope adware collects some non-identifiable information about you when you browse the Internet, for instance, what do you search for online, what websites do you visit, and what ads do you click on. Do not be tricked by these delusive ads – they are not meant to help you save money or time, but to drive traffic to certain third-party websites. If you do not want to see these bogus ads anymore, remove PrimaScope using an anti-spyware program, for instance, you can use FortectIntego. Just run a system scan with it to collect all components of the discussed software and also check if there are no other threats in the computer system.

When did this program hijack your PC?

Commonly, PUPs like PrimaScope hijack computer system when the user fails to install free software in a safe way. Usually, people tend to download programs from file sharing sites, P2P file sharing networks, and other sources for free. Sure thing, it seems that getting programs for free is a great thing; however, you should not forget that some of these programs can be unreliable or even harmful. Usually, people tend to install programs they download using Default or Standard settings, thinking that these are the right ones. Sadly, that is not true. If you choose these settings, you just automatically agree with everything that the developer of the software wants you to do. In other words, if your downloaded software has several optional apps attached to it, they will be installed without even notifying you. In order to refuse to install optional software, you have to select Custom or Advanced option during installation and then deselect all unwanted programs.

PrimaScope removal instructions

Do not keep PrimaScope virus on your computer if you do not want to see annoying pop-ups on your screen every day. We doubt that you want to receive intrusive and misleading advertising content, which hardly can be useful for you. By removing this ad-supported program and related browser extension, you will ensure that your computer runs smoothly. So now you just have to decide how do you want to remove this program. You have two options to choose from:

  • You can remove PrimaScope manually by following instructions that are given below this post;
  • You can eliminate it with a help of anti-spyware software.

We would like to point out that the second removal option is a much better way of removing this adware because all you will need to do is to start a system scan with it and wait until it finds all malicious and potentially dangerous files and programs on your computer system. Then you will be provided with a list of them, and choose which ones you want to remove.

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?

4 comments

  1. Liam

    Removed this adware manually, but double-checked my system with spyhunter. No threats were detected. Im happy:)

  2. Kimberly78

    I just need to protect my computer from these. I always rush to install software, its just a bad habit that I cannot get rid of. I think I just need to find a program that recognizes viruses and stops me from installing them. I hope SpyHunter works as promised :) downloading it now.

  3. albert

    great, it worked. now i dont see these ads anymore.

  4. warrior

    jeez, I could not stand these ads!!! So glad that I have came across this site!

Spyware News
Privacy preferences

We use cookies to improve your experience and analyze traffic. Some cookies enable embedded content like videos and social posts. Choose what you allow — you can change this anytime.