ScreenShared ads. How to remove? (Uninstall guide)
ScreenShared: a remote access tool with adware functionalities
ScreenShared virus is an application which is promoted as a legitimate tool, allowing people to share their desktop view with others remotely. You may have had experiences with such tools before and know exactly how useful they may be in certain situations. Unfortunately, unlike TeamViewer, Splashtop or other well-known RDTs (remote desktop tools) [1], this particular application has questionable functionalities which make the experts doubt its legitimacy. One of the reasons the program has been dubbed as potentially malicious relates to its shady distribution methods. Most of the time, users find out they are infected with ScreenShared malware when it starts interrupting with the system’s performance, say, preventing the user from restarting the computer or boosting CPU utilization [2] to the maximum. Nevertheless, the most annoying and potentially dangerous of these features is undoubtedly the increased amount of online advertising. Since this tool is free to download, its creators choose to monetize it through affiliate advertising and implement a pay-per-click [3] strategy to achieve the best result. In a way, the program works like an adware and is just as unpredictable as its counterparts. Thus, it is recommended you carry out ScreenShared removal just in case. Don’t forget that antivirus software like Reimage or others may not be able to detect this software as it balances on the verge of being legitimate. We have prepared manual instructions to cover this issue.
Click 'Start -> Control Panel -> Programs and Features' (if you are 'Windows XP' user, click on 'Add/Remove Programs').
If you are 'Windows 10 / Windows 8' user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once 'Quick Access Menu' shows up, select 'Control Panel' and 'Uninstall a Program'.
Right click on each of suspicious entries and select 'Uninstall'
Cick 'Go' and select 'Applications'
Click on every malicious entry and select 'Move to Trash'
Click on menu icon and select 'Manage add-ons'
Right click on each of malicious entries and select 'Disable'
Delete malicious URL, enter your desired domain name and click 'Apply' to save changes
Go to 'Advanced' tab and click on 'Reset' button. Now select 'Delete personal settings' and click on 'Reset' button again
Go to Settings and select 'Choose what to clear'
Select 'Clear' button
Open the start menu and select 'Task Manager'
Right-click 'Microsoft Edge' and select 'Go to details'
Select 'More details' if 'Go to details' option fails to show up
Find Microsoft Edge entries and select 'End Task'
Go to Microsoft Edge folder on your computer, right-click every entry and click 'Delete'
Find Windows PowerShell, right-click it and select 'Run as administrator'
Copy and paste a required command and press 'Enter'
Click on menu icon and select 'Add-ons'
Select 'Extensions' and look for malicious entries. Click 'Remove' to get rid of each of them
Click on menu icon and then on '?'. Select 'Troubleshooting Information'
Click on 'Reset Firefox' button for a couple of times
Click on menu icon. Select 'Tools' and 'Extensions'
Look for malicious entries and delete each of them by clicking on the Trash bin icon
When in 'Settings', select 'Manage search engines...'
Click 'X' to remove malicious URLs
When in 'Settings', scroll down to 'Reset browser settings' button and click on it
Click on 'Reset' button to complete your removal
Click on 'Safari' and select 'Preferences'
Go to 'Extensions' and uninstall malicious add-ons
Click on 'Safari' and select 'Reset Safari...'
Select all options and click on 'Reset' button
Luckily, ScreenShared hijack is easy to spot, so, you can prevent the programs further activities on your computer in time. You will most likely notice ScreenShared.exe running in your Task Manager and if you don’t open this computer’s activity monitor too often, then pay attention to your web browsing experience. If you notice content featuring slogans like “ScreenShared ads” or “Ads by ScreenShared” there is no denying that you have an adware issue [4] and have to address it as soon as possible. If you have no idea where to start the removal and how to do it safely, we recommend you read till the end of this article where you will find instructions on how to remove ScreenShared the proper way.
How does this virus travel around?
ScreenShared can be delivered on the computer only with the user’s permission, regardless of what most of us tend to believe. The program creators bundle this software as an additional component of some legitimate software package. The usual problem with such packages is when the users agree to install one component from the package, the rest installs automatically. This way programs like ScreenShared turn up on the computers. Always choose advanced installation settings to prevent this from happening.
ScreenShared removal options:
If you choose to remove ScreenShared virus yourself without any help from automatic software such as anti-malware or antivirus utilities, you should always employ professional instructions. You will find our expert-prepared guide below this article. Nevertheless, though automatic software may not detect the malware, it is recommended to regularly scan the system if not for ScreenShared removal, but for the general security.
You can remove ScreenShared automatically with a help of one of these programs: Reimage, Plumbytes Anti-MalwareWebroot SecureAnywhere AntiVirus, Malwarebytes Anti Malware. We recommend these applications because they can easily delete potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.
Manual ScreenShared ads Removal Guide:
Remove ScreenShared from Windows systems
ScreenShared can be removed from the computer by simply navigating to applications panel and uninstalling the program from it. Make sure you delete ScreenShared.exe from your computer. Nevertheless, it is important to remember to also reset browsers which have displayed ScreenShared ads.
-
Click Start → Control Panel → Programs and Features (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
-
If you are Windows 10 / Windows 8 user, then right-click in the lower left corner of the screen. Once Quick Access Menu shows up, select Control Panel and Uninstall a Program.
-
Uninstall ScreenShared and related programs
Here, look for ScreenShared or any other recently installed suspicious programs. -
Uninstall them and click OK to save these changes.
Remove ScreenShared from Mac OS X system
-
If you are using OS X, click Go button at the top left of the screen and select Applications.
-
Wait until you see Applications folder and look for ScreenShared or any other suspicious programs on it. Now right click on every of such entries and select Move to Trash.
Remove ScreenShared from Internet Explorer (IE)
Remove any suspicious components from your IE browser and reset the application:
-
Remove dangerous add-ons
Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top right corner of the browser and choose Manage Add-ons. -
You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for ScreenShared and other suspicious plugins. Disable these entries by clicking Disable:
-
Change your homepage if it was altered by virus:
Click on the gear icon (menu) on the top right corner of the browser and select Internet Options. Stay in General tab. -
Here, remove malicious URL and enter preferable domain name. Click Apply to save changes.
-
Reset Internet Explorer
Click on the gear icon (menu) again and select Internet options. Go to Advanced tab. - Here, select Reset.
-
When in the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset again to complete ScreenShared removal.
Remove ScreenShared ads from Microsoft Edge
Microsoft Edge reset instructions are provided below. Be sure to follow them carefully:
Reset Microsoft Edge settings (Method 1):
- Launch Microsoft Edge app and click More (three dots at the top right corner of the screen).
- Click Settings to open more options.
-
Once Settings window shows up, click Choose what to clear button under Clear browsing data option.
-
Here, select all what you want to remove and click Clear.
-
Now you should right-click on the Start button (Windows logo). Here, select Task Manager.
- When in Processes tab, search for Microsoft Edge.
-
Right-click on it and choose Go to details option. If can’t see Go to details option, click More details and repeat previous steps.
-
When Details tab shows up, find every entry with Microsoft Edge name in it. Right click on each of them and select End Task to end these entries.
Resetting Microsoft Edge browser (Method 2):
If Method 1 failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method.
- Note: you need to backup your data before using this method.
- Find this folder on your computer:
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe. -
Select every entry which is saved on it and right click with your mouse. Then Delete option.
- Click the Start button (Windows logo) and type in window power in Search my stuff line.
-
Right-click the Windows PowerShell entry and choose Run as administrator.
- Once Administrator: Windows PowerShell window shows up, paste this command line after PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> and press Enter:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml -Verbose}
Once these steps are finished, ScreenShared should be removed from your Microsoft Edge browser.
WindowsMac OS XInternet ExplorerMicrosoft EdgeFirefoxGoogle ChromeSafariRemove ScreenShared from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
Don’t leave weaknesses in your Mozilla Firefox and reset this browser like so:
-
Remove dangerous extensions
Open Mozilla Firefox, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Add-ons → Extensions. -
Here, select ScreenShared and other questionable plugins. Click Remove to delete these entries.
-
Reset Mozilla Firefox
Click on the Firefox menu on the top left and click on the question mark. Here, choose Troubleshooting Information. -
Now you will see Reset Firefox to its default state message with Reset Firefox button. Click this button for several times and complete ScreenShared removal.
Remove ScreenShared from Google Chrome
Reset of the Google Chrome browser can be executed like shown below:
-
Delete malicious plugins
Open Google Chrome, click on the menu icon (top right corner) and select Tools → Extensions. -
Here, select ScreenShared and other malicious plugins and select trash icon to delete these entries.
-
Click on menu icon again and choose Settings → Manage Search engines under the Search section.
-
When in Search Engines..., remove malicious search sites. You should leave only Google or your preferred domain name.
-
Reset Google Chrome
Click on menu icon on the top right of your Google Chrome and select Settings. -
Scroll down to the end of the page and click on Reset browser settings.
-
Click Reset to confirm this action and complete ScreenShared removal.
Remove ScreenShared from Safari
-
Remove dangerous extensions
Open Safari web browser and click on Safari in menu at the top left of the screen. Once you do this, select Preferences. -
Here, select Extensions and look for ScreenShared or other suspicious entries. Click on the Uninstall button to get rid each of them.
-
Reset Safari
Open Safari browser and click on Safari in menu section at the top left of the screen. Here, select Reset Safari.... -
Now you will see a detailed dialog window filled with reset options. All of those options are usually checked, but you can specify which of them you want to reset. Click the Reset button to complete ScreenShared removal process.
About the author
If this free removal guide helped you and you are satisfied with our service, please consider making a donation to keep this service alive. Even a smallest amount will be appreciated.
References
- ^ Margaret Rouse. Remote desktop. SearchEnterpriseDesktop. Enterprise Desktop information, news and tips.
- ^ CPU utilization. Techopedia. Where IT and business meet.
- ^ Pay Per Click management explained. Portent. Digital marketing agency.
- ^ What is adware. Avast. Antivirus security blog.