Alphago is an adware virus (also known as ‘ad-supported’ software). The ad-supported software is a type of harmful software that modifies your PC’s browser settings so that you will be randomly redirected to undesired advertisements. You need to follow the guide below as soon as possible It will clean your system from the Alphago adware and thereby remove any unwanted pop up advertisements. Moreover, the guidance will help you to block the ability to penetrate of more harmful viruses and trojans on your PC.
The Alphago adware virus is the part of the software that is used as an online promotional tool. It is created with the sole purpose to open dozens of pop-ups, and thus to promote the goods and services in an open web browser window. So, the Alphago is just one of the many applications of the so-called ‘ad-support’ type. It is designed to fill the web-browser’s constant stream of ads, or reroute the internet browser to not expected and intrusive advertising pages. Moreover, the ad-supported software can substitute the legitimate advertising links on misleading or even banners that can offer to visit malicious web sites. The reason is simple, many advertisers agree on any ways to attract users to their sites, so the creators of ‘ad supported’ software, often forcing users to click on an advertising link. For each click on a link, the authors of the ad supported software receive income. It’s the so-called ‘Pay-Per-Click’ method.
Most often, the adware affects the most common browsers like the Firefox, Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge. But such the harmful software as well may infect another web-browsers by changing its shortcuts (adding an argument like ‘http://site.address’ into Target field of a browser’s shortcut). So every time you start the browser, it will redirect to an unwanted ad web-page. Even if you setup a new home page, an unwanted web-site will be the first thing you see when you run the Chrome, FF, Microsoft Edge and Microsoft Internet Explorer.
So, obviously, you need to remove the Alphago adware as quickly as possible. Use the free step-by-step tutorial below. This guide will help you clean your system of adware and thereby remove any intrusive advertisements.
How to remove Alphago adware virus
We can help you get rid of Alphago from your computer, without the need to take your PC system to a professional. Simply follow the removal instructions below if you currently have the undesired virus on your computer and want to remove it. If you’ve any difficulty while trying to remove the Alphago virus that causes a huge number of unwanted pop ups, feel free to ask for our help in the comment section below. Some of the steps below will require you to exit the web site. So, please read the step by step tutorial carefully, after that bookmark or print it for later reference.
How to manually get rid of Alphago
The guidance will help you get rid of Alphago . These Alphago removal steps work for the Chrome, Internet Explorer, FF and Edge, as well as every version of Windows operating system.
Uninstall suspicious and potentially unwanted applications using Microsoft Windows Control Panel
First method for manual adware virus removal is to go into the Windows “Control Panel”, then “Uninstall a program” console. Take a look at the list of applications on your machine and see if there are any suspicious and unknown applications. If you see any, you need to uninstall them. Of course, before doing so, you can do an World Wide Web search to find details on the program. If it is a potentially unwanted program, ad supported software or malicious software, you will likely find information that says so.
Windows 8, 8.1, 10
First, press Windows button
, then press Search 
. Type ‘Control panel’and press Enter as shown on the screen below.
When the ‘Control Panel’ opens, press the ‘Uninstall a program’ link under Programs category like below.
You will see the ‘Uninstall a program’ panel as shown in the figure below.
Very carefully look around the entire list of software installed on your machine. Most likely, one or more of them are responsible for the appearance of popup advertisements and internet browser redirect to the unwanted web sites. If you have many programs installed, you can help simplify the search of malicious applications by sort the list by date of installation. Once you have found a suspicious, unwanted or unused program, right click to it, after that click ‘Uninstall’.
Windows XP, Vista, 7
First, press ‘Start’ button and select ‘Control Panel’ at right panel as shown on the screen below.
Once the Windows ‘Control Panel’ opens, you need to click ‘Uninstall a program’ under ‘Programs’ as shown on the screen below.
You will see a list of applications installed on your PC. We recommend to sort the list by date of installation to quickly find the software that were installed last. Most likely they responsibility for the appearance of pop ups and browser redirect. If you are in doubt, you can always check the program by doing a search for her name in Google, Yahoo or Bing. Once the program which you need to uninstall is found, simply click on its name, and then click ‘Uninstall’ as shown in the figure below.
Fix internet browser shortcuts, altered by adware virus
Now you need to clean up the browser shortcuts. Check that the shortcut referring to the right exe-file of the web-browser, and not on any unknown file.
To clear the web 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 like “http://site.address” which has been added here. You need to delete it.
When the text is removed, press the OK button. You need to clean all shortcuts of all your web-browsers, as they may be infected too.
Scan your personal computer and get rid of Alphago with free tools
There are not many good free anti-malware programs with high detection ratio. The effectiveness of malicious software removal tools depends on various factors, mostly on how often their virus/malware signatures DB are updated in order to effectively detect modern malware, adware, hijackers and other PUPs. We recommend to use several programs, not just one. These programs that listed below will help you get rid of all components of the Alphago adware virus from your disk and Windows registry and thereby get rid of any unwanted pop-up ads .
Run Zemana Anti-malware to get rid of Alphago adware virus
We suggest using the Zemana Anti-malware that are completely clean your computer of the virus. The utility is an advanced malicious software removal program made by (c) Zemana lab. It’s able to help you get rid of potentially unwanted programs, browser hijackers, malicious software, toolbars, ransomware and Alphago virus which developed to redirect your web browser to various ad web sites.
Download Zemana antimalware on your personal computer from the link below. Save it on your desktop.
164113 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
After the download is done, close all windows on your personal computer. Further, open the file named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up like below, click the “Yes” button.
It will display the “Setup wizard” which will help you install Zemana anti malware on the system. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
Once install is finished successfully, Zemana anti malware will automatically start and you may see its main window as shown in the figure below.
Next, click the “Scan” button to perform a system scan with this utility for the Alphago adware virus that causes browsers to display unwanted pop-up advertisements. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of files on your PC system and the speed of your PC. When a threat is found, the number of the security threats will change accordingly.
When the system scan is finished, you’ll be opened the list of all found threats on your personal computer. Review the scan results and then press “Next” button.
The Zemana antimalware will start removing adware and other security threats. Once disinfection is complete, you can be prompted to restart your machine.
How to automatically remove Alphago with Malwarebytes
We recommend using the Malwarebytes Free which are completely clean your personal computer of the adware virus. The free utility is an advanced malicious software removal application made by (c) Malwarebytes lab. This program uses the world’s most popular anti malware technology. It’s able to help you get rid of unwanted Alphago adware virus from your computer, potentially unwanted software, malware, browser hijacker infections, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your computer for free.
- Please download Malwarebytes to your desktop from the following link.
Malwarebytes Anti-malware
326464 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
- At the download page, click on the Download button. Your web browser will display the “Save as” dialog box. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
- Once the download is finished, please close all programs and open windows on your computer. Double-click on the icon that’s named mb3-setup.
- This will start the “Setup wizard” of Malwarebytes onto your personal computer. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
- When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the Malwarebytes will start and display the main window.
- Further, click the “Scan Now” button to begin checking your PC for the Alphago virus that cause unwanted pop-up advertisements to appear. A scan may take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of files on your personal computer and the speed of your personal computer.
- As the scanning ends, it will show you the results.
- Review the scan results and then click the “Quarantine Selected” button to begin cleaning your PC. Once the process is finished, you may be prompted to restart the computer.
- Close the Anti-Malware and continue with the next step.
Video instruction, which reveals in detail the steps above.
Remove Alphago virus and harmful extensions with AdwCleaner
AdwCleaner is a free removal tool that may be downloaded and use to remove Alphago virus which cause undesired popup advertisements to appear, browser hijacker infections, malware, PUPs, toolbars and other threats from your personal computer. You can run this tool to detect threats even if you have an antivirus or any other security program.
- Download AdwCleaner from the link below.
AdwCleaner download
225301 downloads
Version: 8.4.1
Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
Category: Security tools
Update: October 5, 2024
- When the download is done, double click the AdwCleaner icon. Once this utility is started, press “Scan” button . This will start scanning the whole system to find out Alphago adware virus that causes browsers to display undesired ads. During the scan it will detect all threats present on your PC.
- As the scanning ends, the results are displayed in the scan report. In order to get rid of all items, simply press “Clean” button. It will open a prompt, click “OK”.
These few simple steps are shown in detail in the following video guide.
Run AdBlocker to block unwanted ads and stay safe online
If you surf the World Wide Web, you can’t avoid malvertising. But you can protect your internet browser against it. Download and use an ad blocker application. AdGuard is an ad blocking which can filter out lots of of the malicious advertising, stoping dynamic scripts from loading harmful content.
Download AdGuard program by clicking on the following link.
26659 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
After the download is complete, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen as shown on the screen below.
Follow the prompts. When the installation is complete, you will see a window as shown below.
You can click “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” button to see an quick tutorial which will assist 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 run your computer, AdGuard will start automatically and stop pop up ads, as well as other malicious or misleading web pages. For an overview of all the features of the application, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the AdGuard icon, which can be found on your desktop.
Where the Alphago virus comes from
Most commonly, the freeware installer includes optional software like this Alphago adware virus that causes a large amount of undesired popup advertisements. So, be very careful when you agree to install anything. The best way – is to select a Custom, Advanced or Manual setup mode. Here disable (uncheck) all optional software in which you are unsure or that causes even a slightest suspicion. The main thing you should remember, you do not need to install any third-party applications which you do not trust! The only one thing I want to add. Once the freeware is installed, if you uninstall this software, the intrusive advertisements will not be deleted. This must be done by yourself. Just follow the instructions above.
Final words
Now your computer should be clean of the Alphago adware virus which redirects your web-browser to unwanted ad web-pages. Remove AdwCleaner. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted pop up ads and unwanted malicious pages) and Zemana Anti-malware (to periodically scan your PC system for new malware, hijacker infections and adware). Make sure that you have all the Critical Updates recommended for Windows OS. Without regular updates you WILL NOT be protected when new hijacker infections, malware and ‘ad supported’ software are released.
If you are still having problems while trying to get rid of Alphago virus from your browser, then ask for help in our Spyware/Malware removal forum.
