Update.googleapis.com (Free Instructions) - Removal Guide

What is Update.googleapis.com?

Googleapis.com is a Google service website that gets identified as a phishing site by AV engines

Update.googleapis.com is the website used as a service that shows available updates. Update.googleapis.com (alternatively Googleapis.com) is a website that Avast and AVG antivirus engines detect as dangerous. However, there are a few issues that can be caused by this website itself if the detection is not falsely positive. This is NOT a virus, although many users report about this suspicious detection and errors or alerts in online community forums like Reddit or Quora.^[1]

The main issue with the website is the question is this a malicious Googleapis.com virus or not. The domain is legitimate and used to see if any updates are available. It is a common problem appearing on various systems and mostly associated with the Google Chrome browser but can be fixed by clearing the web browser's cache or updating AV engine.

It is the legitimate domain that belongs to Google, and various googleapis websites get blocked by Avast antivirus engine. This is frustrating for the user because the message ” connection to Update.googleapis.com has been aborted because of URL:Phising” raises a lot of questions.

Your device is, in most cases, not affected by any virus even when the alert about Googleapis.com phishing site appears continuously. To stop these errors, you should either update the version of your AVG or Avast programs or get a different antivirus tool.

Avast security tool support team even reports online about this issue with Update.googleapis.com detection:

This was an issue that was quickly resolved; all you need to do is update Avast and you should be all set.

Update.googleapis.com is a legitimate website that gets falsely indicated as the page that uses phishing.^[2] However, there is a possibility that malicious actors use the name of a known domain to proliferate on targeted systems and perform unwanted activities like pop-up advertisements or redirects to generate traffic for commercial content creators.

For that reason get FortectIntego or another program and scan the system to see if Update.googleapis.com is indicated as malicious by other tools too. If not, it is a problem with the AV engine that showed the false message in the first place.

When the site gets marked as harmful, you can also remove Googleapis.com using the same antivirus program. This way you also get to clean the machine thoroughly and delete other indicated threats.

You can try to fix the issue with repeatedly appearing Update.googleapis.com alerts by:

• Updating your AV engine;
• Updating the browser;
• Clearing Cache and Cookies;
• Adding a new user on Chrome;
• Resetting the Chrome to default;
• Using Incognito mode;
• Cleaning extensions and add-ons.

Remember that Googleapis removal is needed either way when the alert is false or right because this behavior affects the performance of the PC. You need to clean the device entirely and update your programs using official sources or reputable providers to avoid any similar issues or even cyber infections.

Update.googleapis.com virus is called like that by users online because of the suspicious detection result but this is NOT a virus.

Most common malware spreading techniques

Cyber threats can be categorized as potentially unwanted programs, trojans or even ransom-demanding malware. However, each type has its distribution methods. Websites that have similar names to legitimate domains, most often get used to delivering pop-up ads and other intrusive commercial content in the form of banners, redirects. The technique used to deliver this type of threats is called software bundling.^[3]

It means that when you download freeware from the internet or the promotional advertisement, a deceptive website you get a bundle where PUPs get packed alongside needed software or applications. Then potentially unwanted program makes your browser deliver more content with the purpose of creating views and generating money.

Researchers^[4] advise choosing reputable sources, official providers or developers as your default place to get programs. Opting for Advanced or Custom installations also give you the best experience during the process because this method allows you to de-select bundled applications from the list.

Get rid of Update.googleapis.com and forget about errors and alerts

The best tip for Update.googleapis.com removal is getting a trustworthy anti-malware tool and scanning the system thoroughly to indicate all harmful programs or files that may cause real issues on your machine. Although the indication is possibly false and there is nothing wrong with the website itself, you need to check the system additionally.

Get an anti-malware tool like FortectIntego, SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner, or Malwarebytes and remove Googleapis.com from the computer or any other PUPs and malware programs. This way you can be sure that any alerts about the infected system are false in the future.

For fake phishing googleapis alert fix, you may need to check the browser settings on your Google Chrome manually. In most cases, this browser is the one that gets affected or needs some additional work. You can try reinstalling Google Chrome or setting the browser to default, clearing all the extensions and add-ons.