OnClickAds virus – How to remove (Windows, Mac)

How to remove OnClickAds virus

The ad supported software is a form of malicious software that you might have difficulty in deleting it from your PC. Happily, you’ve found the effective OnClickAds virus removal guidance in this blog post. Both the manual removal way and the automatic removal way will be provided below and you can just select the one that best for you. If you have any questions or need help then type a comment below. Read this manual carefully, bookmark or print it, because you may need to exit your internet browser or restart your computer.

How to delete OnClickAds popup ads without any software

If you perform exactly the step-by-step instructions below you should be able to get rid of the OnClickAds pop-ups from the FF, Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer and MS Edge browsers.

Uninstall all adware and other PUPs through the Microsoft Windows Control Panel

The best way to start the computer cleanup is to delete unknown and suspicious software. Using the Microsoft Windows Control Panel you can do this quickly and easily. This step, in spite of its simplicity, should not be ignored, because the removing of unneeded software can clean up the Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer from ads hijackers and so on.

Press Windows button , then click Search . Type “Control panel”and press Enter. If you using Windows XP or Windows 7, then press “Start” and select “Control Panel”. It will open the Windows Control Panel as shown on the screen below.

Further, press “Uninstall a program”
It will display a list of all applications installed on your PC. Scroll through the all list, and uninstall any suspicious and unknown programs.

Fix infected internet browsers shortcuts to remove OnClickAds redirect

Once installed, this adware may add an argument like “http://site.address” into the Target property of the desktop shortcut for the Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Internet Explorer. Due to this, every time you open the web browser, it will open an undesired ad page.

Right click on the shortcut of infected internet browser as shown in the figure below.

Select the “Properties” option and it will open a shortcut’s properties. Next, press the “Shortcut” tab and then delete the “http://site.address” string from Target field as on the image below.

Then press OK to save changes. Repeat the step for all web browsers which are redirected to the OnClickAds undesired web page.

Remove OnClickAds from Mozilla Firefox by resetting browser settings

Resetting your FF is first troubleshooting step for any issues with your web-browser program, including the redirect to OnClickAds web-page.

Click the Menu button (looks like three horizontal lines), and click the blue Help icon located at the bottom of the drop down menu as shown on the image below.

A small menu will appear, click the “Troubleshooting Information”. On this page, click “Refresh Firefox” button as on the image below.

Follow the onscreen procedure to restore your Firefox web-browser settings to its original state.

Remove OnClickAds redirect from Chrome

Use the Reset web-browser tool of the Google Chrome to reset all its settings such as startpage, newtab and default search engine to original defaults. This is a very useful utility to use, in the case of browser redirects to unwanted ad web-pages such as OnClickAds.

1. First launch the Chrome and click Menu button (small button in the form of three horizontal stripes).
2. It will show the Google Chrome main menu. Select “Settings” option.
3. You will see the Chrome’s settings page. Scroll down and press “Show advanced settings” link.
4. Scroll down again and click the “Reset settings” button.
5. The Chrome will show the reset profile settings page as on the image above.
6. Next press the “Reset” button.
7. Once this procedure is finished, your browser’s start page, new tab and default search provider will be restored to their original defaults.
8. To learn more, read the article How to reset Google Chrome settings to default.

Delete OnClickAds ads from Internet Explorer

If you find that IE internet browser settings such as start page, newtab and search provider by default having been changed by ad supported software that cause unwanted OnClickAds popup advertisements to appear, then you may return your settings, via the reset web-browser procedure.

First, start the Internet Explorer, then press ‘gear’ icon . It will display the Tools drop-down menu on the right part of the web-browser, then click the “Internet Options” like below.

In the “Internet Options” screen, select the “Advanced” tab, then click the “Reset” button. The Internet Explorer will display the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” dialog box. Further, press the “Delete personal settings” check box to select it. Next, click the “Reset” button as shown on the screen below.

When the process is finished, click “Close” button. Close the Internet Explorer and restart your computer for the changes to take effect. This step will help you to restore your internet browser’s homepage, new tab page and search engine by default to default state.

OnClickAds virus automatic removal

In order to completely remove OnClickAds virus, you not only need to uninstall adware from your machine, but also get rid of all its components in your PC system including Windows registry entries. We suggest to download and use free removal utilities to automatically clean your system of ‘ad supported’ software that causes unwanted OnClickAds pop up ads.

Use Zemana Anti-malware to remove OnClickAds pop-up ads

You can remove OnClickAds redirect automatically with a help of Zemana Anti-malware. We recommend this malware removal utility because it can easily remove hijackers, PUPs, ‘ad supported’ software which redirects your internet browser to OnClickAds web-site with all their components such as folders, files and registry entries.

1. Download Zemana anti-malware (ZAM) from the link below.
   
   

   Zemana AntiMalware
   159475 downloads
   Author: Zemana Ltd
   Category: Security tools
   Update: July 16, 2019
   
2. Once the download is done, close all software and windows on your PC system. Open a file location. Double-click on the icon that’s named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
3. Further, click Next button and follow the prompts.
4. Once installation is complete, press the “Scan” button to perform a system scan with this tool for the ad-supported software which causes undesired OnClickAds pop-ups. This task can take quite a while, so please be patient. While the utility is scanning, you may see count of objects it has identified as being infected by malware.
5. When it completes the scan, you can check all threats detected on your personal computer. Make sure all entries have ‘checkmark’ and click “Next”. Once disinfection is done, you may be prompted to reboot your machine.

Run Malwarebytes to remove OnClickAds redirect

We suggest using the Malwarebytes Free. You may download and install Malwarebytes to detect OnClickAds adware virus and thereby delete all unwanted ads from your web-browsers. When installed and updated, the free malware remover will automatically scan and detect all threats present on the personal computer.

Download Malwarebytes Free by clicking on the link below.

Malwarebytes Anti-malware
317522 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020

Once downloading is finished, run it and follow the prompts. Once installed, the Malwarebytes will try to update itself and when this process is finished, click the “Scan Now” button for scanning your machine for the OnClickAds adware virus that causes a ton of undesired pop-up ads. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your personal computer. While the utility is scanning, you can see number of objects and files has already scanned. Review the scan results and then click “Quarantine Selected” button.

The Malwarebytes is a free application that you can use to delete all detected folders, files, services, registry entries and so on. To learn more about this malware removal tool, we recommend you to read and follow the step by step instructions or the video guide below.

Remove OnClickAds pop up ads from web-browsers with AdwCleaner

The AdwCleaner tool is free and easy to use. It can scan and remove malware, potentially unwanted programs and adware in Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge internet browsers and thereby remove all undesired OnClickAds pop up advertisements. AdwCleaner is powerful enough to find and get rid of malicious registry entries and files that are hidden on the computer.

1. Download AdwCleaner from the following link.
   
   

   AdwCleaner download
   220711 downloads
   Version: 8.3.2
   Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: April 28, 2022
   
2. Select the directory in which you saved it as Desktop, and then click Save.
3. Once downloading is finished, launch the AdwCleaner, double-click the adwcleaner_xxx.exe file.
4. If the “User Account Control” prompts, press Yes to continue.
5. Read the “Terms of use”, and click Accept.
6. In the AdwCleaner window, press the “Scan” . This will begin scanning the whole machine to find out the OnClickAds adware virus that causes a huge number of unwanted advertisements within your web-browser. While the program is scanning, you can see count of objects it has identified as threat.
7. As the scanning ends, it will show a scan report. Review the report and then click “Clean”. If the AdwCleaner will ask you to reboot your system, press “OK”.

The few simple steps shown in detail in the following video.

Use AdBlocker to stop OnClickAds and stay safe online

If you surf the Web, you can’t avoid malvertising. But you can protect your web browser against it. Download and use an ad-blocking program. AdGuard is an ad blocker that can filter out lots of of the malvertising, blocking dynamic scripts from loading harmful content.

Installing the AdGuard ad-blocker program is simple. First you will need to download AdGuard from the following link.

Adguard download
25646 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018

Once the downloading process is finished, double-click the downloaded file to launch it. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen as shown in the figure below.

Follow the prompts. AdGuard will then be installed and an icon will be placed on your desktop. A window will show up asking you to confirm that you want to see a quick tutorial as shown on the screen below.

Press “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will help you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you launch your personal computer, AdGuard will launch automatically and block popups, OnClickAds pop-up ads, as well as other harmful or misleading web-pages. For an overview of all the features of the program, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the AdGuard icon, that is located on your desktop.

Method of OnClickAds pop-up advertisements intrusion into your computer

The adware usually is bundled with another program in the same installation package. The risk of this is especially high for the various free programs downloaded from the Web. The creators of the software are hoping that users will run the quick install mode, that is simply to press the Next button, without paying attention to the information on the screen and don’t carefully considering every step of the install procedure. Thus, the adware can infiltrate your machine without your knowledge. Therefore, it is very important to read all the information that tells the application during install, including the ‘Terms of Use’ and ‘Software license’. Use only the Manual, Custom or Advanced setup mode. This mode will allow you to disable all optional and unwanted programs and components.

Finish words

After completing the few simple steps above, your computer should be clean from malicious software, hijacker infections and OnClickAds adware virus. The Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Microsoft Internet Explorer will no longer open unwanted pop up ads when you browse the World Wide Web. Unfortunately, if the tutorial does not help you, then you have caught a new adware, and then the best way – ask for help.

1. Download HijackThis by clicking on the link below and save it to your Desktop.
   
   

   HijackThis download
   4161 downloads
   Version: 2.0.5
   Author: OpenSource
   Category: Security tools
   Update: November 7, 2015
   
2. Double-click on the HijackThis icon. Next press “Do a system scan only” button.
3. When the system scan is finished, the scan button will read “Save log”, click it. Save this log to your desktop.
4. Create a Myantispyware account here. Once you’ve registered, check your e-mail for a confirmation link, and confirm your account. After that, login.
5. 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.
6. Wait for one of our trained “Security Team” or Site Administrator to provide you with knowledgeable assistance tailored to your problem with the intrusive OnClickAds virus.