“Google is Tracking Your Searches” pop-ups hide dishonest marketing tricks
“Google is Tracking Your Searches” virus is a term that users tend to use when describing the unwanted pop-ups that start showing up on their web browser. The users are right about one thing – these pop-ups are not trustworthy and most likely signal that your PC has been infected by a sneaky adware [1] virus.
Naturally, adware victims are unaware of that. They do not give consent to the adware entering their computers. People may have downloaded freeware carrying a malicious file unknowingly when visiting shady websites. We’ll expand more on that later. But first, let us look closer at how this adware infiltrates computers and why it does it.
Name
“Turn Off Search Tracking” ads
Type
Adware, a rogue application
Category
Potentially unwanted programs
Issues
Continuous advertisements and other intrusive symptoms create frustration for people. Also, such material can expose users to malicious pages
Distribution
Other programs can install such browser-based apps freeware installations are the ones that often end up with the silent intruder drop
Elimination
Anti-malware tools are the ones that should be employed in the termination process
Repair
When the program is deleted, make sure to run FortectIntego and check for possible damage too
If you are here for “Google is Tracking Your Searches” removal instructions, you can simply skip to the end of the article where you will find all the necessary information. Browser settings can get changed by the program that controls these processes, so you need to reset those preferences yourself.
The main reason why this virus infiltrates computers is advertising. While the notification supposedly tries to protect you from Google tracking[2], its real intention is to make you install Privacy Switch software on your computer.
In this image you can see 2-spyware expert demonstrating examples of Google is Tracking Your Searches pop-ups
The “STOP TRACKING LINK” will redirect you to the Privacy Switch download page and ask you to replace your Google search engine with the Privacy Switch one. You should not do that, of course, as it may put your PC in danger. You should remove the program without much consideration.
We recommend using SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner, Malwarebytes, or similar software for this purpose. Anti-malware applications or security tools can run a full system scan and find various PUPs, including the redirect virus or tracker software and remove them from the machine.
According to the statistics, the Privacy Switch site is most popular in the USA, Brazil, and France [3], so we can presume the advertising of this site is more intensive in these countries as well. Keep that in mind and stay protected!
Ways adware and other PUPs get distributed
As mentioned previously in the article, hijacks the system without the user’s consent. There are a few typical ways the malware can end up on your PC:
Questionable freeware and shareware may be bundled with it and bring the adware on your computer;
You may click on a malicious ad when browsing online;
A malicious payload may be installed on your PC after accidentally visiting infectious websites or interacting with infected download buttons.
The mentioned techniques are the primary ways adware spread around. You should keep in mind that without proper protection and careful behavior online, you become much more vulnerable to all sorts of cyber infections.
“Google is Tracking Your Searches” removal instructions
Adware may tempt you with an anonymous and untracked web browsing experience, but you should remember that it is only an attempt to draw you into the circle of online advertising.
If you ignore it or, worse, agree to install the promoted software, you will not only have to remove the “Google is Tracking Your Searches” virus but possibly deal with a bunch of other problems.
Quick “Google is Tracking Your Searches” removal will help solve these issues. Just act quickly, obtain a reliable PC scanning utility and scan your entire system with it. Tools like this can find PUPs and other intruders that control those intrusive activities and can still run in the background.
You may remove virus damage with a help of FortectIntego. 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.
Compatible with Microsoft Windows
Compatible with macOS
What to do if failed?
If you failed to fix virus damage using Fortect Intego, submit a question to our support team and provide as much details as possible.
Fortect Intego has a free limited scanner. Fortect Intego offers more through scan when you purchase its full version. When free scanner detects issues, you can fix them using free manual repairs or you can decide to purchase the full version in order to fix them automatically.
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 the unwanted program 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.
Change your homepage:
Click menu and choose Settings.
Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
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:
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.
Select the unwanted extension 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 “Turn Off Search Tracking” 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: FortectIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes.
How to prevent from getting adware
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.
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