If your antivirus detects PUA_Optimizer then it indicates that your personal computer is infected with a previously unknown potentially unwanted program (PUP). This unwanted software usually come with some freeware or from malicious websites that ask users to download and run a Flash Player or Java update. Once started, the PUA_Optimizer will be configured to start automatically when Windows starts. The unwanted software may display large number unwanted popups, inject ads into web-pages that you are opening in the Internet browser, hijack the web-browser’s settings such as homepage and search engine, and so on.
So, if you seeing that your antivirus detects the PUA_Optimizer threat, then don’t wait, follow the step-by-step guide below which will help to remove PUA_Optimizer and any associated malware for free.
Common symptoms of PUA_Optimizer
If you still are not sure that your computer is infected with this parasite, then check your computer for the common symptoms of the infection:
- Your browser displays banner ads where previously you have never seen.
- Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer (Edge) shows a lot of annoying advertisements.
- Web browser’s settings such as homepage and default search engine are hijacked
- Your an antivirus or antispyware software detects an infection.
- Internet connection may be slow.
How does PUA_Optimizer get installed onto system
The unwanted software usually come bundled with other free software that you download off of the World Wide Web. Once started, it’ll install and configure itself to run every time when you turn on your PC. To avoid infection with any unwanted software, in the Setup wizard, you should be be proactive and carefully read the ‘Terms of use’, the ‘license agreement’ and other installation screens, as well as to always choose the ‘Manual’ or ‘Advanced’ installation mode, when installing anything downloaded from the Web.
How to remove PUA_Optimizer
This step-by-step guide will help you remove PUA_Optimizer potentially unwanted program. These PUA_Optimizer removal steps work for every version of Windows operating system. Some of the steps may require you to close the internet browser or reboot your personal computer. So, bookmark or print it for later reference.
- Uninstall suspicious and unknown software by using Windows Control Panel
- Scan your computer with MalwareBytes Anti-malware
- Scan your computer with AdwCleaner
- Scan your computer with Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool
- Disinfect browser’s shortcuts
- Reset web-browser’s settings
- Protect your computer from annoying ads and malicious sites
Uninstall suspicious and unknown software by using Windows Control Panel
First, you should try to identify and delete the program that causes the appearance of annoying ads and internet browser redirect to unwanted sites, using the ‘Uninstall a program’ which is located in the ‘Control panel’.
Windows 8, 8.1, 10
, then click Search 
. Type ‘Control panel’and press Enter as shown in the following image. 
When the ‘Control Panel’ opens, click the ‘Uninstall a program’ under Programs category like below. 
You will see the ‘Uninstall a program’ panel like below. 
Very carefully look around the entire list of installed programs. If you have many programs installed, you can help simplify the search of malicious programs by sort the list by date of installation. Once you have found a suspicious, unwanted or unused application, right click to it and press ‘Uninstall’.
Windows XP, Vista, 7
When the Windows ‘Control Panel’ opens, you need to click ‘Uninstall a program’ under ‘Programs’ as shown in the following image. 
You will see a list of programs installed on your PC system. We recommend to sort the list by date of installation to quickly find the software that were installed last. If you are in doubt, you can always check the application by doing a search for her name in Google, Yahoo or Bing. When the program, you need to uninstall, is found, simply click on its name, and then click ‘Uninstall’ as shown below. 
Scan your computer with MalwareBytes Anti-malware
Often, even the most experienced users can not completely get rid of unwanted software such as PUA_Optimizer from the infected personal computer without malware removal tool. This is because the unwanted software can hide its components which are difficult for you to find out and delete completely. This may lead to the fact that after some time, an unwanted program again infect your machine. Moreover, I want to note that it is not always safe to remove malware, adware and unwanted software manually, if you do not have much experience in setting up and configuring the PC.
I suggest using the Malwarebytes Free which are completely clean your computer. It is an advanced malware removal program developed by (c) Malwarebytes lab. This application uses the world’s most popular anti-malware technology. It’s able to help you remove browser hijackers, malware, ad supported software, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your PC system for free.
Now, click the link below to download Malwarebytes Free on your machine. Save it on your Windows desktop or in any other place.
327221 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
When downloading is complete, close all software on your PC. Next, open the setup file named mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up as shown on the image below, click the Yes button.
It will show the “Setup wizard” that will help you install Malwarebytes on your PC system. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
Once installation is done successfully, press Finish button. Then Malwarebytes will automatically start and you can see its main screen as shown below.
Now click the “Scan Now” button to perform a system scan for the adware, malware and PUA_Optimizer unwanted software. Once the adware or malware is found, the number of the detected objects will change accordingly. Wait until the the checking is finished. Please be patient.
When the system scan is finished, you can check all threats detected on your personal computer. Make sure all entries have “checkmark” and press “Quarantine Selected” button. The Malwarebytes will start removing malware, adware and PUA_Optimizer unwanted program. Once disinfection is complete, you may be prompted to restart your personal computer.
I suggest you look at the following video, which completely explains the procedure of using the Malwarebytes application to remove adware and other malware.
Scan your computer with AdwCleaner
If MalwareBytes Anti-malware cannot get rid of PUA_Optimizer, then we suggests to use the AdwCleaner. AdwCleaner is a free removal tool for adware, browser hijackers, PUPs, toolbars.
- Download AdwCleaner using the link below.
AdwCleaner download
225609 downloads
Version: 8.4.1
Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
Category: Security tools
Update: October 5, 2024
- Double click the AdwCleaner icon. Once the tool is launched the main screen will appear as shown on the image above.
- Now, click the “Scan” button for checking your personal computer for the ad-supported software, malware and PUA_Optimizer potentially unwanted program.
- When it has finished scanning, AdwCleaner will show a scan report. Review the report and then press “Clean” button. It will display a dialog box, click “OK” button.
The following video explains the guide above on how to delete unwanted software with AdwCleaner.
Scan your computer with Kaspersky virus removal tool
Kaspersky virus removal tool is a well-known free security tool. It uses the Kaspersky Anti-Virus engine to detect and remove viruses, trojans and malware.
- Download Kaspersky virus removal tool from the following link and save it directly to your Windows Desktop.
Kaspersky virus removal tool
129278 downloads
Author: Kaspersky® lab
Category: Security tools
Update: March 5, 2018
- Double-click on the KVRT icon found on your desktop. Once initialization process is finished, you will see the Kaspersky virus removal tool screen.
- Click Change Parameters and set a check near all your drives. Click OK to close the Parameters window.
- Press Start scan button. Kaspersky virus removal tool will now start scanning your computer for known infections. This procedure can take some time, so please be patient.
- When KVRT has finished scanning, click on Continue to start a cleaning process.
Disinfect browser’s shortcuts
The PUA_Optimizer may also change a desktop shortcut for Chrome, Firefox and IE. Due to this, every time you start the browser, it will open an unwanted web-site.
To clear a browser shortcut, right-click to it and select Properties. On the Shortcut tab, locate the Target field. Click inside, you will see a vertical line – arrow pointer, move it (using -> arrow key on your keyboard) to the right as possible. You will see a text that has been added here. You need to remove it.
When the text is removed, press the OK button. You need to clean all desktop shortcuts for all web-browsers, as they may be infected too.
Reset web-browser’s settings
Chrome
Open the Google Chrome menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (
). It opens the drop-down menu. Click to Settings option.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the “Show advanced settings” link. Now scroll down until the Reset settings section is visible, as shown below and click on the Reset settings button.
Confirm your action, click on the Reset button.
Firefox
Open Mozilla Firefox menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (
). It opens the drop-down menu. Click on the Help button (
).
In the Help menu click on the “Troubleshooting Information”. In the upper-right corner of the “Troubleshooting Information” page click on Refresh Firefox button.
Confirm your action. Click on the Refresh Firefox.
Internet Explorer
Open the Internet Explorer tools menu by clicking on the button in the form of gear (
). It opens the drop-down menu. Click on the Internet Options.
In the Internet Options window click on the Advanced tab, then click the Reset button. The Internet Explorer will show the Reset Internet Explorer settings window. Select the Delete personal settings check box, then click on Reset button.
You will now need to restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
Protect your computer from annoying ads and malicious sites
To increase your security and protect your computer against new annoying ads and malicious web sites, you need to use an application that blocks access to dangerous ads and web-pages. Moreover, the software can block the display of intrusive advertising, which also leads to faster loading of websites and reduce the consumption of web traffic.
- Download AdGuard program using the following link.
Adguard download
26883 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
- After the download is complete, run the downloaded file. You will see the Setup Wizard program window. Follow the prompts.
- After installation is complete, click “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will help you get to know AdGuard better.
- In most cases, the default settings are enough and you do not need to change anything. Each time, when you start your computer, AdGuard will start automatically and block unwanted ads, annoying pop-ups, as well as other malicious or misleading web page. For an overview of all the features of the program, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the icon AdGuard, which is located on your desktop.
Finish words
Once you have done the guide above, your PC should be clean from malware, ‘ad-supported’ software and PUA_Optimizer unwanted program. Unfortunately, if the guide does not help you, then you have caught a new type of unwanted software, and then the best way – ask for help.
- Download HijackThis using the link below and save it to your Desktop.
HijackThis download
4976 downloads
Version: 2.0.5
Author: OpenSource
Category: Security tools
Update: November 7, 2015
- Double-click on the HijackThis icon. Next click “Do a system scan only” button.
- When it has finished scanning your PC, the scan button will read “Save log”, click it. Save this log to your desktop.
- Create a Myantispyware account here. Once you’ve registered, check your e-mail for a confirmation link, and confirm your account. After that, login.
- Copy and paste the contents of the HijackThis log into your post. If you are posting for the first time, please start a new thread by using the “New Topic” button in the Spyware Removal forum. When posting your HJT log, try to give us some details about your problems, so we can try to help you more accurately.
- Wait for one of our trained “Security Team” or Site Administrator to provide you with knowledgeable assistance tailored to your problem with the PUA_Optimizer.
