How to remove PrimeUpd adware [Virus removal guide]

PrimeUpd removal guide

Without a doubt, the adware is harmful to your PC system. So you need to quickly and completely remove this PrimeUpd ad-supported software that causes multiple unwanted ads and pop ups. To remove this ‘ad supported’ software, you can use the manual removal steps that are given below or free malicious software removal tool such as Zemana Anti-malware, Malwarebytes or AdwCleaner (all are free). We recommend you use automatic removal solution that will help you to get rid of PrimeUpd easily and safely. Manual removal is best used only if you’re well versed in machine or in the case where adware is not deleted automatically. Certain of the steps below will require you to close the site. So, please read the step by step tutorial carefully, after that bookmark or print it for later reference.

Manual PrimeUpd adware removal

The following instructions is a step-by-step guide, which will help you manually delete PrimeUpd from the Google Chrome, Firefox, MS Edge and Internet Explorer.

Remove PrimeUpd related programs through the Control Panel of your system

Some of PUPs, adware and browser hijackers can be removed using the Add/Remove programs tool which can be found in the Windows Control Panel. So, if you are running any version of Windows and you have noticed an unwanted application, then first try to remove it through Add/Remove programs.

Carefully browse through the list of installed software and remove all programs that has the name similar to the PrimeUpd. We suggest to press ‘Installed programs’ and even sorts all installed software by date. After you have found anything suspicious that may be the hijacker, ad supported software or PUPs, then select this application and click ‘Uninstall’ in the upper part of the window. If the suspicious program blocked from removal, then use Revo Uninstaller Freeware to fully remove it from your personal computer.

Disinfect the web browser’s shortcuts

Important to know, most antimalware applications which are able to get rid of ad supported software, but unable to scan for and recover changed shortcuts. So, you need to fix the desktop shortcuts for your Chrome, Internet Explorer, FF and Edge internet browsers manually.

Open the properties of the web browser shortcut. Right click on the shortcut of infected web browser and choose the “Properties” option and it will show the properties of the shortcut. Next, select the “Shortcut” tab and have a look at the Target field as shown below.

Normally, if the last word in the Target field is chrome.exe, iexplore.exe, firefox.exe. Be sure to pay attention to the extension, should be “exe”! All shortcuts which have been altered by ad supported software such as PrimeUpd usually point to .bat, .cmd or .url files instead of .exe as on the image below

Another variant, an address has been added at the end of the line. In this case the Target field looks like …Application\chrome.exe” http://site.address as shown on the image below.

In order to fix a shortcut, you need to insert right path to the Target field or remove an address (if it has been added at the end). You can use the following information to fix your shortcuts which have been modified by ‘ad supported’ software.

Google Chrome	C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
	C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
Firefox	C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe
IE	C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
	C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
Opera	C:\Program Files (x86)\Opera\launcher.exe
	C:\Program Files\Opera\launcher.exe

Once is done, press OK to save changes. Repeat the step for all browsers which are redirected to intrusive web sites.

Get rid of PrimeUpd adware from IE

If you find that Internet Explorer web-browser settings like new tab page, home page and search provider by default having been modified by PrimeUpd which cause unwanted ads to appear, then you may return your settings, via the reset web-browser procedure.

First, run the IE. Next, click the button in the form of gear (). It will show the Tools drop-down menu, click the “Internet Options” as shown below.

In the “Internet Options” window click on the Advanced tab, then click the Reset button. The IE will display the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” window as shown in the figure below. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box, then press “Reset” button.

You will now need to reboot your system for the changes to take effect.

Get rid of PrimeUpd from Firefox by resetting web browser settings

Resetting your Firefox is first troubleshooting step for any issues with your web-browser program, including the redirect to unknown and unwanted web pages.

First, open the FF and click button. It will show the drop-down menu on the right-part of the internet browser. Further, click the Help button () as on the image below

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In the Help menu, select the “Troubleshooting Information” option. Another way to open the “Troubleshooting Information” screen – type “about:support” in the browser adress bar and press Enter. It will show the “Troubleshooting Information” page as shown below. In the upper-right corner of this screen, click the “Refresh Firefox” button.

It will open the confirmation dialog box. Further, click the “Refresh Firefox” button. The FF will start a process to fix your problems that caused by the PrimeUpd ad-supported software that causes multiple undesired advertisements and pop ups. When, it is finished, press the “Finish” button.

Remove PrimeUpd adware from Chrome

Reset Google Chrome settings is a simple way to remove the ‘ad supported’ software, malicious and adware extensions, as well as to recover the internet browser’s new tab page, homepage and search engine by default that have been replaced by PrimeUpd adware that cause undesired popup advertisements to appear.

First open the Google Chrome. Next, click the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (). It will open the main menu. Further, click the option named “Settings”. Another way to display the Google Chrome’s settings – type chrome://settings in the browser adress bar and press Enter.

The browser will show the settings screen. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and press the “Show advanced settings” link. Now scroll down until the “Reset settings” section is visible, as shown on the screen below and press the “Reset settings” button.

The Chrome will open the confirmation prompt. You need to confirm your action, press the “Reset” button. The internet browser will start the procedure of cleaning. When it is done, the internet browser’s settings including startpage, new tab page and search provider by default back to the values that have been when the Google Chrome was first installed on your PC.

Remove unwanted Scheduled Tasks

Once installed, the ‘ad supported’ software can add a task in to the Windows Task Scheduler Library. Due to this, every time when you open your system, it will show undesired ad web page. So, you need to check the Task Scheduler Library and remove all harmful tasks that have been created by malicious software.

Press Windows and R keys on your keyboard together. It will show a prompt which titled with Run. In the text field, type “taskschd.msc” (without the quotes) and click OK. Task Scheduler window opens. In the left-hand side, press “Task Scheduler Library”, as on the image below.

In the middle part you will see a list of installed tasks. Select the first task, its properties will be open just below automatically. Next, click the Actions tab. Necessary to look at the text which is written under Details. Found something like “explorer.exe http://site.address” or “chrome.exe http://site.address” or “firefox.exe http://site.address”, then you need get rid of this task. If you are not sure that executes the task, then google it. If it is a component of the adware, then this task also should be removed.

Further click on it with the right mouse button and select Delete as shown on the screen below.

Repeat this step, if you have found a few tasks that have been created by adware. Once is finished, close the Task Scheduler window.

Scan your PC system and remove PrimeUpd adware with free utilities

In order to completely remove PrimeUpd, you not only need to uninstall adware from your PC, but also remove all its components in your PC including Windows registry entries. We recommend to download and use free removal utilities to automatically free your computer of PrimeUpd that causes web browsers to open intrusive pop-ups.

How to remove PrimeUpd with Zemana Anti-malware

Zemana Anti-malware highly recommended, because it can scan for security threats such ad supported software and ad-supported softwares which most ‘classic’ antivirus applications fail to pick up on. Moreover, if you have any PrimeUpd adware removal problems which cannot be fixed by this utility automatically, then Zemana Anti-malware provides 24X7 online assistance from the highly experienced support staff.

Download Zemana Anti-Malware on your PC system from the link below. Save it on your Windows desktop or in any other place.

After the downloading process is done, close all software and windows on your system. Double-click the install file called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as shown on the image below, click the “Yes” button.

It will open the “Setup wizard” which will help you set up Zemana Anti-Malware on your system. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.

Once install is done successfully, Zemana Anti Malware will automatically start and you can see its main screen as shown in the figure below.

Now click the “Scan” button to begin scanning your PC system for the PrimeUpd adware which created to redirect your internet browser to various ad sites. While the utility is scanning, you can see count of objects it has identified as being infected by malware.

Once it has completed scanning your PC, it’ll open a screen which contains a list of malicious software that has been detected. All found threats will be marked. You can get rid of them all by simply press “Next” button. The Zemana AntiMalware will get rid of PrimeUpd that reroutes your web-browser to unwanted ad web sites and move items to the program’s quarantine. After that process is finished, you may be prompted to reboot the PC.

Automatically delete PrimeUpd adware with Malwarebytes

You can delete PrimeUpd adware automatically with a help of Malwarebytes Free. We suggest this free malicious software removal utility because it can easily remove browser hijacker infections, adware, potentially unwanted programs and toolbars with all their components such as files, folders and registry entries.

Download Malwarebytes Free on your PC from the link below. Save it on your desktop.

After the download is complete, close all windows on your PC system. Further, launch the file named mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as shown on the image below, click the “Yes” button.

It will display the “Setup wizard” that will allow you set up Malwarebytes on the personal computer. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.

Once setup is finished successfully, click Finish button. Then Malwarebytes will automatically run and you may see its main window as on the image below.

Next, press the “Scan Now” button . This will start scanning the whole computer to find out PrimeUpd adware that cause intrusive pop-up ads to appear.

Once finished, the results are displayed in the scan report. All detected threats will be marked. You can remove them all by simply click “Quarantine Selected” button.

The Malwarebytes will delete PrimeUpd ad-supported software that cause unwanted pop up advertisements to appear and add threats to the Quarantine. After finished, you can be prompted to restart your system. We suggest you look at the following video, which completely explains the procedure of using the Malwarebytes to get rid of browser hijacker infections, adware and other malware.

Double-check for potentially unwanted programs with AdwCleaner

If MalwareBytes anti-malware or Zemana anti-malware cannot get rid of this ad-supported software, then we recommends to run the AdwCleaner. AdwCleaner is a free removal utility for browser hijackers, PUPs, toolbars and PrimeUpd ad-supported software that causes undesired pop-up ads.

Download AdwCleaner by clicking on the link below.

When the download is finished, open the file location. You will see an icon like below.

Double click the AdwCleaner desktop icon. Once the utility is launched, you will see a screen as shown on the screen below.

Further, press “Scan” button to begin checking your PC for the PrimeUpd adware that created to reroute your browser to various ad pages. A scan may take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the count of files on your computer and the speed of your system. When finished, you will be displayed the list of all found threats on your machine as shown below.

All found threats will be marked. You can remove them all by simply click “Clean” button. It will show a prompt as on the image below.

You need to click “OK”. Once the cleaning procedure is finished, the AdwCleaner may ask you to restart your computer. When your personal computer is started, you will see an AdwCleaner log.

These steps are shown in detail in the following video guide.

Block unwanted ads

We suggest to install an adblocker program which can stop unwanted ads. The adblocker utility such as AdGuard is a application which basically removes advertising from the Net and blocks access to malicious pages. Moreover, security experts says that using adblocker applications is necessary to stay safe when surfing the Internet.

Download AdGuard program from the following link.

When the downloading process is done, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen as on the image below.

Follow the prompts. Once the install is complete, you will see a window as shown on the screen below.

You can click “Skip” to close the setup application 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 popup advertisements, as well as other harmful or misleading sites. For an overview of all the features of the program, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the AdGuard icon, which can be found on your desktop.

How can you prevent your computer from the attack of PrimeUpd ‘ad supported’ software

The ad-supported software usually come bundled with certain free software that you download off of the Internet. Once started, it will infect your personal computer and configure your web browsers to open a large amount of intrusive ads without your permission. In order to avoid infection, 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 Internet.

To sum up

After completing the steps outlined above, your computer should be clean from malicious software and PrimeUpd adware which cause undesired pop-up advertisements to appear. The Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge will no longer redirect you to various annoying web-pages. Unfortunately, if the few simple steps does not help you, then you have caught a new ad-supported software, and then the best way – ask for help in our Spyware/Malware removal forum.