Remove Traffic Exchange ads (Removal Guide) - Jan 2021 update
Traffic Exchange is a type of service that delivers multiple intrusive ads to users' browsers
Questions about Traffic Exchange ads
Traffic Exchange is a platform used to deliver ads to internet users all over the world and reroute traffic to various websites. However, this service is known to cooperate with such shady ad-supported[1] applications like traffic.io or online.io. Unfortunately, this collaboration is not good news for users, as they will suffer from constant redirects, pop-ups, banners, coupons and other commercial content on Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, or another browser. Traffic Exchange ads may cover the content of sites that usually do not serve promotions, diminishing web browsing experience significantly. More ever, users might end up poorly monitored sites or even phishing or malware-laden domains that can compromise online safety.
Name | Traffic Exchange |
Type | Adware, potentially unwanted program |
Distribution | Software bundling, unsafe websites |
Main dangers | Malware infections, data leak |
Affected browsers | Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, etc. |
Elimination | Check our instructions below |
Optimization | Scan your device with ReimageIntego for best results |
Traffic Exchange PUP spreads bundled with various free applications that users can download from torrents, P2P networks or other freeware downloads sources. After successful infiltration, Traffic Exchange adware sets up a browser extension and tracking cookies[2] to spy on user’s activity online.
Typically, Traffic Exchange affects each web browser and collects user’s search queries, clicks, and information such as what websites the user has visited, what is the geolocation of the affected computer, and IP address as well. Such information is useful for ad-networks just like Traffic Exchange is. Based on it, this adware generates targeted advertisements that display catchy offers and lure the user to click on them.
Traffic Exchange ads interfere with the peace of user’s mind by appearing in new browser tabs or windows or as banners placed on websites that the user visits. It is important to know that these ads do not originate from these sites and they appear only because of this adware program. It is highly NOT advisable to click on these ads because they can hide links leading to third-party websites that might be dangerous.
Some untrustworthy websites provide corrupted links or malware-laden ads[3] that can harm the computer as soon as the user clicks on them. You should not tolerate these Traffic Exchange redirect issues that might end up with ransomware attack,[4] infiltration of the banking trojan or sensitive data theft.
Although Traffic Exchange ads might not be marked with typical “powered by” or “brought to you by” markings, you can detect what program is sending these intrusive ads to you by running a system scan with reputable anti-spyware software like ReimageIntego. You should run a full system scan with anti-malware as soon as you notice an increased amount of online ads popping up on the screen or your favorite websites.
You can also get rid of annoying ads with the help of the guide that is presented below this article. If you have any questions regarding Traffic Exchange removal, do not hesitate and send them to our support team.
Traffic Exchange virus might flood the browser with annoying and potentially dangerous ads.
Adware might sneak into the computer with the help of freeware
Adware spreads legitimately and can be installed with user’s authorization only. People who get their machines infected with this ad-supported program typically are shocked to find that our because they have no idea when and how did such program get inside their computer. To prevent Traffic Exchange hijack, and as well stop other PUPs from affecting your computer, pay more attention to the information that software installation wizards provide.
Typically, installation wizards allow the user to choose preferred installation settings, and we highly recommend you to opt for Custom or Advanced option. Either one or another option reveals all additional applications added to the primary program and allows the user to reject them. You are not going to be introduced to extra components if you decide to leave Standard or Default settings on – do not forget it!
Guidelines for Traffic Exchange removal
If you are looking for the manual Traffic Exchange removal guide, you can find it at the end of the article. However, before you go, we want to pay your attention to three main stages of the manual elimination:
- Uninstall suspicious programs, files and other components from the system.
- Check browser extensions and remove unknown add-ons, extensions or plugins.
- Reset each of the browsers installed on your PC.
If the ads come back or you want to speed up virus removal process, you should obtain an anti-malware tool and remove Traffic Exchange with the help of it. Security experts from Hungary[5] remind that having a security program installed helps to minimize the risk of adware attack in the future.
You may remove virus damage with a help of ReimageIntego. SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner and Malwarebytes are recommended to detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.
To remove Traffic Exchange ads, follow these steps:
Uninstall Traffic Exchange from Windows systems
Using the guide provided below, remove everything related to Traffic Exchange and traffic.io or online.io.
To remove Traffic Exchange ads from Windows 10/8 machines, please follow these steps:
- Enter Control Panel into Windows search box and hit Enter or click on the search result.
- Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.
- From the list, find entries related to Traffic Exchange ads (or any other recently installed suspicious program).
- Right-click on the application and select Uninstall.
- If User Account Control shows up, click Yes.
- Wait till uninstallation process is complete and click OK.
If you are Windows 7/XP user, proceed with the following instructions:
- Click on Windows Start > Control Panel located on the right pane (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
- In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.
- Pick the unwanted application by clicking on it once.
- At the top, click Uninstall/Change.
- In the confirmation prompt, pick Yes.
- Click OK once the removal process is finished.
Erase Traffic Exchange from Mac OS X system
Delete questionable applications from your Mac. You should look for everything related to traffic.io, online.io or Traffic Exchange.
If your macOS is displaying some infection symptoms, proceed with the following guide:
Remove Traffic Exchange ads from Applications folder:
- From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
- In the Applications folder, look for Traffic Exchange ads-related entries.
- Click on the app and drag it to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash)
To fully remove Traffic Exchange ads, you need to access Application Support, LaunchAgents, and LaunchDaemons folders and delete relevant files:
- Select Go > Go to Folder.
- Enter /Library/Application Support and click Go or press Enter.
- In the Application Support folder, look for any dubious entries related to Traffic Exchange ads and then delete them.
- Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the Traffic Exchange ads-related entries.
Eliminate Traffic Exchange from Internet Explorer (IE)
Remove dangerous add-ons:
- Open Internet Explorer, click on the Gear icon (IE menu) on the top-right corner of the browser
- Pick Manage Add-ons.
- You will see a Manage Add-ons window. Here, look for Traffic Exchange ads and other suspicious plugins. Click on these entries and select Disable.
Change your homepage if it was altered:
- Open IE and click on the Gear icon.
- Select Internet Options.
- In the General tab, delete the Home page address and replace it by your preferred one (for example, Google.com).
- Click Apply and then select OK.
Delete temporary files:
- Press on the Gear icon and select Internet Options.
- Under Browsing history, click Delete…
- Select relevant fields and press Delete.
Reset Internet Explorer:
- Click on Gear icon > Internet options and select Advanced tab.
- Select Reset.
- In the new window, check Delete personal settings and select Reset again to complete Traffic Exchange ads removal.
Delete Traffic Exchange ads from Microsoft Edge
Delete unwanted extensions from MS Edge:
- Select Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and pick Extensions.
- From the list, pick the Traffic Exchange ads-related extension and click on the Gear icon.
- Click on Uninstall at the bottom.
Clear cookies and other browser data:
- Click on the Menu (three horizontal dots at the top-right of the browser window) and select Privacy & security.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Select everything (apart from passwords, although you might want to include Media licenses as well, if applicable) and click on Clear.
Reset MS Edge if that above steps did not work:
- Press on Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Click on More details arrow at the bottom of the window.
- Select Details tab.
- 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.
If this solution failed to help you, you need to use an advanced Edge reset method. Note that you need to backup your data before proceeding.
- Find the following folder on your computer: C:\\Users\\%username%\\AppData\\Local\\Packages\\Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe.
- Press Ctrl + A on your keyboard to select all folders.
- Right-click on them and pick Delete
- Now right-click on the Start button and pick Windows PowerShell (Admin).
- When the new window opens, copy and paste the following command, and then press Enter:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\\AppXManifest.xml” -Verbose
Instructions for Chromium-based Edge
Delete extensions from MS Edge (Chromium):
- Open Edge and click select Settings > Extensions.
- Delete unwanted extensions by clicking Remove.
Clear cache and site data:
- Click on Menu and go to Settings.
- Select Privacy and services.
- Under Clear browsing data, pick Choose what to clear.
- Under Time range, pick All time.
- Select Clear now.
Reset Chromium-based MS Edge:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- On the left side, pick Reset settings.
- Select Restore settings to their default values.
- Confirm with Reset.
Get rid of Traffic Exchange from Mozilla Firefox (FF)
Look up for suspicious Firefox extensions and uninstall them.
Remove dangerous extensions:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click on the Menu (three horizontal lines at the top-right of the window).
- Select Add-ons.
- In here, select plugins that are related to Traffic Exchange ads and click Remove.
Clear cookies and site data:
- Click Menu and pick Options.
- Go to Privacy & Security section.
- Scroll down to locate Cookies and Site Data.
- Click on Clear Data…
- Select Cookies and Site Data, as well as Cached Web Content and press Clear.
In case Traffic Exchange ads did not get removed after following the instructions above, reset Mozilla Firefox:
- Open Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Menu.
- Go to Help and then choose Troubleshooting Information.
- Under Give Firefox a tune up section, click on Refresh Firefox…
- Once the pop-up shows up, confirm the action by pressing on Refresh Firefox – this should complete Traffic Exchange ads removal.
Remove Traffic Exchange from Google Chrome
Uninstall suspicious add-ons and reset Google Chrome to get rid of Traffic Exchange ads.
Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:
- Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
- In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all the suspicious plugins that might be related to Traffic Exchange ads by clicking Remove.
Clear cache and web data from Chrome:
- Click on Menu and pick Settings.
- Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
- Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
- Click Clear data.
If the above-methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the Traffic Exchange ads-components:
- Click on Menu and select Settings.
- In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
- Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
- Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
- Confirm with Reset settings to complete Traffic Exchange ads removal.
Uninstall Traffic Exchange from Safari
Remove unwanted extensions from Safari:
- Click Safari > Preferences…
- In the new window, pick Extensions.
- Select the unwanted extension related to Traffic Exchange ads and select Uninstall.
Clear cookies and other website data from Safari:
- Click Safari > Clear History…
- From the drop-down menu under Clear, pick all history.
- Confirm with Clear History.
Reset Safari if the above-mentioned steps did not help you:
- Click Safari > Preferences…
- Go to Advanced tab.
- Tick the Show Develop menu in menu bar.
- From the menu bar, click Develop, and then select Empty Caches.
After uninstalling this potentially unwanted program (PUP) and fixing each of your web browsers, we recommend you to scan your PC system with a reputable anti-spyware. This will help you to get rid of Traffic Exchange registry traces and will also identify related parasites or possible malware infections on your computer. For that you can use our top-rated malware remover: ReimageIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes.
Do not let government spy on you
The government has many issues in regards to tracking users' data and spying on citizens, so you should take this into consideration and learn more about shady information gathering practices. Avoid any unwanted government tracking or spying by going totally anonymous on the internet.
You can choose a different location when you go online and access any material you want without particular content restrictions. You can easily enjoy internet connection without any risks of being hacked by using Private Internet Access VPN.
Control the information that can be accessed by government any other unwanted party and surf online without being spied on. Even if you are not involved in illegal activities or trust your selection of services, platforms, be suspicious for your own security and take precautionary measures by using the VPN service.
Backup files for the later use, in case of the malware attack
Computer users can suffer from data losses due to cyber infections or their own faulty doings. Ransomware can encrypt and hold files hostage, while unforeseen power cuts might cause a loss of important documents. If you have proper up-to-date backups, you can easily recover after such an incident and get back to work. It is also equally important to update backups on a regular basis so that the newest information remains intact – you can set this process to be performed automatically.
When you have the previous version of every important document or project you can avoid frustration and breakdowns. It comes in handy when malware strikes out of nowhere. Use Data Recovery Pro for the data restoration process.
- ^ Adware. Wikipedia. The free encyclopedia.
- ^ Fact and Fiction: The Truth About Browser Cookies. Lifehacker. Tips, tricks and downloads for getting things done.
- ^ Noah Gamer. Ads on websites are dangerous to more than your sanity. Trend Micro Blogs. Security news, views and opinions .
- ^ Mathew J. Schwartz. Ransomware Attacks Subvert Ad Networks. BankInfoSecurity. Bank information security news, training, education.
- ^ Avirus. Avirus. Latest malware and cyber security news from Hungary.
Your opinion regarding Traffic Exchange ads
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October 21st, 2016 at 5:43 am
Reimage removed this for me, because I couldnt find it on the system, although I tried.
October 21st, 2016 at 5:43 am
These ads still drive me insane!
October 21st, 2016 at 5:44 am
Dont trust ads that pop on your screen out of nowhere. Typically such ads are caused by adware, just like Traffic Exchange ads. Such ads can lead you to malicious pages, guys. Beware!
October 21st, 2016 at 5:45 am
virus!… dont trust these ads I was trying to access great deal at waterpark that these ads suggested and got redirected to suspicious gambling site.