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  • Active
  • Severity: Medium
  • Adware
  • Windows, Mac
  • Verified · Mar 2017

How to remove Safe-surfing.info 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

Safe-surfing.info says your computer is infected – but should you believe it?

Safe-surfing.info virus is a malicious[1] computer program created only to advertise a phishing website[2] safe-surfing.info/hugosm. Therefore, you should not believe what messages originating from that website say. Once installed, the shady program will start redirecting you to the URL we mentioned over and over again. It will also show you pop-ups with short warnings such as “Safe-surfing.info says: WARNING! Your Windows has been infected by viruses! It is recommended to analyze now.” After closing this pop-up, you will see a website with a big Chrome logo on it and some text below it. This website seems to be related to “(13) viruses were detected on the system” Tech Support Scam virus. However, Safe-surfing.info scam virus displays a slightly different message, which says:

(13) viruses were detected on your computer.

These dangerous viruses can damage your computer irreversibly. Some data may be lost or blocked. Your personal data, password, credit card numbers are liable to theft!

How to remove viruses?
Step 1. Click on the button to download the antivirus certified by Microsoft
Step 2. Install antivirus for analysis and remove viruses

Safe-surfing.info adsBelow this message, there is a ridiculously looking button “I removes viruses.” It seems that scammers behind Safe-surfing.info project are not native English speakers. It goes without saying that you should work your way around this button and quit such scam page immediately. We assume that installing the program behind this button can compromise your system with rogue anti-spyware software[3] or even malware, so it is better to stay away from it. If your browser keeps launching this page again and again, we highly recommend you to scan the system with anti-spyware program to detect the program that keeps sending you these fake warnings[4] every day. Our team suggests using FortectIntego or MalwarebytesMalwarebytes software, but if you want, you can try to remove Safe-surfing.info adware with the help of tutorial written by our experts. If you decide to carry out Safe-surfing.info removal instructions, we would like to remind you that you must complete each step carefully – do not skip any step if you do not understand how to carry out instructions written in it. You can always send a question to our support team and get some tips.

How did this adware manage to get into my computer?

Adware programs are incredibly annoying. We are 99% sure that Safe-surfing.info hijack happened at the moment you installed another free program using Default or Standard settings. We never recommend these installation settings because they are usually filled with offers to install “recommended programs” alongside your chosen software, and typically users are not so happy about these extra free items added to their downloads. In most cases, they are only meant to deliver sponsored content[5] or dangerous ads, which, to be honest, are completely unnecessary in our lives. To avoid installing unwanted items, we suggest choosing Custom or Advanced options for installing software. These settings will allow you to look through the list of optional programs and will give you a chance to reject the ones you do not need.

How can I remove Safe-surfing.info adware?

There is no reason to ignore alerts that Safe-surfing.info virus sends to you. We highly recommend you to remove Safe-surfing.info adware using anti-malware program that can quickly eliminate all browser add-ons, installed items, files and also changes made to system settings. It is the easiest way to clean up your computer; however, if you are strictly against using anti-spyware or anti-malware programs, you can try to delete the infection using Safe-surfing.info removal tutorial that is provided below.

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

Did this guide help?

4 comments

  1. olivier

    Im so glad I didnt install that fake "Microsoft" software!

  2. karma

    Thanks for telling us! I didnt know that such scam type exists.

  3. Osc4r

    My mother was just about to install that piece of malware but thanks god she invited me to take a look at this scam pop-up she received from safe-surfing.info. I did run a couple of full system scans and it seems that the infection was removed succesfully.

  4. 92793

    Thanks. I was thinking about installing that program but I removed it just on time!

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