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

How to remove ShopTool

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

Jake Doevan · Computer technology expert

Why should I remove ShopTool virus from my computer?

ShopTool virus may seem like a totally useful app capable of helping you save the money. However, according to PC security experts, you should remove this program from your computer. No matter how safe and useful it looks, ShopTool ads may lead you to serious problems. First of all, they may cover your favorite sites leaving you incapable of visiting them. Secondly, these commercial notifications may lead you to unknown third-party websites that are seeking to increase their popularity in this way. Needless to say that there is no guarantee that ShopTool redirect won’t lead you to a malicious website. To prevent the appearance of serious viruses on your computer, you should remove this “tool”. We should add that this program has already been added to “Adware” category. Such classification means that it is not a good program at all. Let us explain to you how this ad-supported program works and what it seeks.

If you have noticed “ads by ShopTool” already, you probably also noticed that these ads look really catchy. They are designed to draw your interest and make you click on them. However, take note that these ads are designed according to your browsing habits. You may be surprised, but this program can track your browsing activity and find out what web content interests you, what do you click on, what search keywords do you type into search boxes and so on. As a consequence, ShopTool can easily create captivating ads that would entice you to click on them. You should not do so because these ads often carry misleading links attached to them, which, once activated, initiate redirects to untrustworthy third-party websites. In other words, ShopTool virus can lead you to sites that belong to its partners.

The official website of ShopTool adware also causes redirects

Please take note that some of the third-party websites promote untrustworthy content, which ShopTool is not responsible for. According to the developers of this program, “under no circumstances whatsoever will the company be liable in any way for any third party advertisers or deals.” So please, stay away from untrustworthy websites and especially avoid downloading ANY kind of files or programs from them. Otherwise, you might compromise your computer’s security or even infect it with severe malware. Needless to say, it is better to remove ShopTool without a delay. Otherwise, it will keep sending its deceptive ads to you nonstop. We recommend using a reputable anti-spyware software (for example, FortectIntego) to get rid of this virus entirely. If you are a Mac user, we recommend using FortectIntego.

How did this program hijack my PC?

ShopTool hijack can be noticed without expecting that. You can be tricked into installing this program in case you often download free programs from the Internet and install them in a rush. You should know that potentially unwanted programs frequently spread via software bundling technique, which means that they are distributed alongside other free programs and presented as “recommended downloads.” Such software packages are known as software bundles.

Unfortunately, such software bundles look like individual programs. To check whether your selected program promotes third-party applications, such as ShopTool virus, you need to set Advanced or Custom installation settings and see whether this configuration reveals a list of agreements to install additional programs or not. If it does, deselect these agreements without a hesitation.

If you have already become a victim of this adware, you should terminate this dubious application without a hesitation. To learn how to do it, please study ShopTool removal guide, which is presented on page 2.

How to remove ShopTool?

As you can see, you are dealing with the seriously questionable program, which seeks to redirect its victims to sponsored websites and earn the money for its developers. Beware that there is always a risk of being redirected to a malicious website seeking to infect your computer with malware. Fortunately, there are two possible ways that can be used to remove ShopTool virus from the system. The easiest way to eliminate this annoying application from your system is to install a reputable anti-spyware software and run a system scan with it. However, if you do not want to get such computer security tool, you can get rid of ShopTool malware manually. If you are not sure how to do it properly, we advise you to follow a manual ShopTool removal guide, which 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.

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

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