Skip to content
Spyware news
  • Active
  • Severity: Medium
  • Adware
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · May 2019

How to remove PropellerAds

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

PropellerAds is a website causing questionable redirects, that is advertised as a monetization platform

PropellerAdsPropellerAds is the advertising network website that shows unwanted ads, redirects, and promotes suspicious content when associated with suspicious providers. This is a legitimate monetization network that can be misused by malicious actors, so it gets an adware-type PUP category.[1]

AdTech company PropellerAds claim to be the traffic network and advertising platform than unites publishers and advertisers. It might be a legitimate and useful service, but constant redirects and commercial pop-ups or banners coming to your screen indicates about the potentially unwanted program. Unfortunately, this site collects various information about the user and possibly exposes to malicious material or leads to infiltration of questionable apps and browser content. You need to get rid of this program if you don't use it as a monetization helper or question the legitimacy of the service and questionable content shown on the screen.

Name PropellerAds 
Type Adware
Developer Propeller Ads Ltd
Purpose Advertising network
Symptoms Delivers questionable content, causes many redirects to commercial sites and affects the performance of the PC
Possible damage Can expose to malicious content, collects details about users
Distribution Promotional content, software bundles
Elimination Get the anti-malware tool and remove PropellerAds. Keep the machine PUP-free with FortectIntego

PropellerAds.com is the site of the advertising platform, but this program falls under the adware category for displaying intrusive content and possibly distributing additional potentially unwanted applications. The main problem is that advertisements displayed by this network can be used to distribute rogue tools or even malware.[2]

A good indicator that Propeller Ads is associated with questionable providers is content marked with:

  • Ads by PropellerAds.com;
  • Ad by PropellerAds.com;
  • Advertisement by PropellerAds.com;
  • Provided by PropellerAds.com;
  • Brought to you by PropellerAds.com.

Such programs like PropellerAds virus track information about users' browsing habits and preferences, including IP addresses location, most viewed sites, searched items. These details later get used to targeting people with personalized advertisements.

The particular data that the company is tracking addressed in the Privacy Policy of the PropellerAds website:

IP address, geographical location, browser type and version, operating system, referral source, length of visit, page views, website navigation paths, timing, frequency, pattern of your service use.

Your name, address, telephone number, email address, gender, date of birth.

The transaction data your contact details, your card details and the transaction details.

PropellerAds shouldn't be used voluntarily because it adds rogue tools and browser content without users' permission. All the additional files and applications cause even more issues with your device because it significantly diminishes the time online as well as affects the speed of your PC.

You should immediately think about PropellerAds removal once noticed any suspicious activity regarding commercial content, redirects, or the website itself. You cannot delete the website or browser extensions and think that your machine is clear. The PUP itself and all associated files need to get entirely deleted for the PC to work correctly again.

PropellerAds virus

PropellerAds creates tailored promotions and exposes the user to various websites that are customers of this network. Unfortunately, this means that all the pages you visit and pop-ups you click on can collect more information, including personally-identifiable data. This is the most dangerous feature that experts[3] note when talking about potentially unwanted programs. 

Fortunately, such intruders can be eliminated with professional tools that clean the system thoroughly from programs like this. Get the anti-malware program and remove PropellerAds during the thorough check on the machine. This method allows eliminating all associated applications, files, and installed PUAs.

Although PropellerAds advertisements can vary in types, this content has the same goal – making revenue for the sponsors, advertisers. Even when you click on the pop-up or banner, all that traffic gets monetized, and the provider earns money from each of the victims this way.

Get FortectIntego and clean the machine, eliminate PropellerAds virus damage or browser content delivered by the PUP without your knowledge. Tools like this also can improve the performance of the computer because it eliminates useless files and applications.

Third-party installation setups hide unwanted programs from users who choose Quick installs 

Without your awareness, potentially unwanted programs can get automatically downloaded and installed on the machine. Once you choose the Recommended or Quick installations of the freeware or software updates, you agree to install every application included in the installation setup.

Such cyber infiltrations happen quicker than you think, but all this can be avoided by:

  • opting for Advanced or Custom installations;
  • choosing professional tools and applications;
  • getting apps from official sources;
  • keeping the system clear of malware with an antivirus program.

When you choose the reliable source for your applications and choose Advanced installations, you can be sure that the software bundling technique is not going to lead to unwanted infiltrations. Running occasional scans on the device can also keep you from getting PUPs in advance. 

PropellerAds elimination can be easy and quick if you use professional anti-malware tool

You need to remove PropellerAds as soon as you notice anything suspicious. However, there are many indicators that inform about potentially unwanted programs and adware-type intruders as such. When your Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer or Safari gets significantly slower, you should additionally check if any extensions, toolbars or applications are not affecting those web browsers.

Once the system gets infiltrated, PropellerAds virus comes to every web browser and affects the performance and time online significantly. When redirects, pop-ups, and other intrusive content fills up your screen, it becomes especially difficult to access needed pages.

Employ anti-malware tool and perform automatic PropellerAds removal. Choose reliable program, official provider, and run a system scan. Then you just need to follow suggested termination steps.

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

Be the first to comment

Log in to post your comment
Log in to comment
Editor's pick · tested 2026

Fortect Intego

9.4 / 10 9.6 / 10 Best overall pick
  • Real-time ransomware shield
  • Free 14-day trial, no card
  • Cleans the threats listed above

Ad — we may earn a commission if you buy via this link.

Get protected →Get protected → Read our full review Read our full review

Still worried? Run a free check.

Scan a URL or domain in seconds — no install, no signup. Powered by 60+ engines.

Trusted by 2.4M+ readers this year.

Spyware news
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
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.