How to remove Adware.Privoxy virus [Windows 10, 8, 7, XP]

Adware.Privoxy virus removal guide

Fortunately, we have an effective method which will assist you manually or/and automatically get rid of Adware.Privoxy from your browser and bring your internet browser settings, including newtab, homepage and search provider by default, back to normal. Below you will find a removal tutorial with all the steps you may need to successfully get rid of adware virus and its components. Some of the steps below will require you to close the web-page. So, please read the guidance carefully, after that bookmark or print it for later reference.

How to remove Privoxy adware without any software

The following instructions is a step-by-step guide, which will help you manually delete Adware.Privoxy from your computer and the Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge.

Remove suspicious applications using 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 software on your PC system and see if there are any suspicious and unknown programs. If you see any, you need to delete them. Of course, before doing so, you can do an Web search to find details on the program. If it is a potentially unwanted application, virus or malware, you will likely find information that says so.

It will display the Windows Control Panel as displayed in the figure below.

Next, click “Uninstall a program”
It will open a list of all programs installed on your PC system. Scroll through the all list, and remove any suspicious and unknown programs. To quickly find the latest installed applications, we recommend sort programs by date in the Control panel.

Get rid of unwanted ads from Internet Explorer

If you find that Microsoft Internet Explorer internet browser settings like start page, new tab and default search provider having been changed by Privoxy adware which developed to redirect your web browser to various ad pages, then you may revert back your settings, via the reset internet browser procedure.

First, open the Internet Explorer. Next, press the button in the form of gear (). It will show the Tools drop-down menu, click the “Internet Options” as displayed in the following example.

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

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

Remove unwanted ads from Google Chrome

If your Google Chrome web browser is redirected to annoying web pages, it may be necessary to completely reset your web-browser application to its default settings.

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

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

The Google Chrome will open the confirmation dialog box. You need to confirm your action, click the “Reset” button. The web-browser will start the procedure of cleaning. After it’s finished, the web browser’s settings including startpage, new tab and default search engine back to the values that have been when the Chrome was first installed on your computer.

Remove unwanted ads from Firefox

If the Firefox internet browser program is hijacked, then resetting its settings can help. The Reset feature is available on all modern version of Firefox. A reset can fix many issues by restoring Firefox settings like homepage, new tab and default search engine to its default state. It will save your personal information such as saved passwords, bookmarks, and open tabs.

Start the FF and click the menu button (it looks like three stacked lines) at the top right of the web browser screen. Next, press the question-mark icon at the bottom of the drop-down menu. It will display the slide-out menu.

Select the “Troubleshooting information”. If you are unable to access the Help menu, then type “about:support” in your address bar and press Enter. It bring up the “Troubleshooting Information” page as on the image below.

Click the “Refresh Firefox” button at the top right of the Troubleshooting Information page. Select “Refresh Firefox” in the confirmation prompt. The Firefox will start a procedure to fix your problems that caused by the Privoxy adware that causes web-browsers to display annoying advertisements. After, it is finished, press the “Finish” button.

Get rid of unwanted Scheduled Tasks

If the annoying ad web-page opens automatically on Windows startup or at equal time intervals, then you need to check the Task Scheduler Library and remove all the tasks which have been created by ‘ad-supported’ program.

Press Windows and R keys on the keyboard together. This shows a dialog box that called Run. In the text field, type “taskschd.msc” (without the quotes) and click OK. Task Scheduler window opens. In the left-hand side, click “Task Scheduler Library”, as shown in the figure below.

In the middle part you will see a list of installed tasks. Please choose the first task, its properties will be open just below automatically. Next, click the Actions tab. Pay attention to that it launches on your PC. Found something like “explorer.exe http://site.address” or “chrome.exe http://site.address”, then delete this harmful task. If you are not sure that executes the task, check it through a search engine. If it’s a component of the malicious applications, then this task also should be removed.

Having defined the task that you want to get rid of, then click on it with the right mouse button and select Delete as displayed in the figure below.

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

Clean up the browsers shortcuts which have been hijacked by adware

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

To clear the internet 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 such as “http://site.address” that 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 internet browsers, as they may be infected too.

Delete Privoxy adware virus with free software

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, ad supported software, hijacker infections and other PUPs. We suggest to use several programs, not just one. These programs that listed below will allow you remove all components of the adware from your disk and Windows registry and thereby remove all unwanted ads.

Run Zemana Anti-malware to delete Adware.Privoxy

We suggest using the Zemana Anti-malware which are completely clean your PC system of the adware virus. The utility is an advanced malicious software removal application developed by (c) Zemana lab. It’s able to help you remove PUPs, hijackers, malware, toolbars, ransomware and Privoxy adware that causes multiple intrusive advertisements and popups.

Download Zemana Free by clicking on the following link and save it directly to your Microsoft Windows Desktop.

When the download is finished, close all applications and windows on your PC system. Double-click the set up file named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up as displayed below, click the “Yes” button.

It will open the “Setup wizard” that will help you setup Zemana Free on your machine. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.

Once setup is finished successfully, Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) will automatically start and you can see its main screen as on the image below.

Now press the “Scan” button to perform a system scan for the adware that causes browsers to display unwanted Adware.Privoxy pop ups. This procedure can take some time, so please be patient.

When the scanning is finished, a list of all items detected is produced. Review the scan results and then click “Next” button. The Zemana will begin to get rid of adware that created to reroute your browser to various ad pages. After disinfection is done, you may be prompted to reboot the system.

Run Malwarebytes to remove Adware.Privoxy virus

You can remove Privoxy adware virus automatically with a help of Malwarebytes Free. We suggest this free malware removal utility because it may easily delete hijacker infections, ‘ad supported’ software, potentially unwanted programs and toolbars with all their components such as files, folders and registry entries.

Download MalwareBytes Anti-Malware on your Windows Desktop from the following link.

Once the downloading process is finished, close all applications and windows on your PC. Double-click the install file called mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as on the image below, click the “Yes” button.

It will open the “Setup wizard” that will help you install MalwareBytes Anti-Malware on your computer. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.

Once install is finished successfully, click Finish button. MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) will automatically start and you can see its main screen as shown on the screen below.

Now click the “Scan Now” button to perform a system scan for the ad-supported software that causes multiple annoying advertisements and pop-ups. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the count of files on your system and the speed of your computer. When a malware, ‘ad supported’ software or potentially unwanted applications are detected, the number of the security threats will change accordingly.

After the system scan is complete, MalwareBytes Free will display a list of detected items. You may move threats to Quarantine (all selected by default) by simply press “Quarantine Selected” button. The MalwareBytes Free will get rid of ‘ad supported’ software that reroutes your web browser to undesired ad web sites and add threats to the Quarantine. Once the procedure is finished, you may be prompted to restart the PC.

We recommend you look at the following video, which completely explains the procedure of using the MalwareBytes Free to get rid of adware, browser hijacker and other malicious software.

Use AdwCleaner to remove Adware.Privoxy from browser

AdwCleaner is a free portable program that scans your computer for Adware.Privoxy virus that causes internet browsers to display annoying popup ads, PUPs and hijacker infections and allows remove them easily. Moreover, it will also help you remove any malicious internet browser extensions and add-ons.

Download AdwCleaner on your computer by clicking on the following link.

Once downloading is complete, open the directory in which you saved it. You will see an icon like below.

Double click the AdwCleaner desktop icon. When the utility is launched, you will see a screen as shown in the figure below.

Further, click “Scan” button . AdwCleaner utility will begin scanning the whole computer to find out adware that causes multiple undesired ads and pop-ups. This task can take quite a while, so please be patient. Once AdwCleaner has completed scanning your personal computer, the results are displayed in the scan report as displayed below.

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

You need to click “OK”. Once disinfection is finished, the AdwCleaner may ask you to reboot your PC system. When your PC system is started, you will see an AdwCleaner log.

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

Run AdBlocker to stay safe online

In order to increase your security and protect your PC system against new intrusive ads and malicious sites, you need to use adblocker program that blocks an access to malicious ads and sites. Moreover, the program can block the open of intrusive advertising, which also leads to faster loading of sites and reduce the consumption of web traffic.

Installing the AdGuard ad blocker program is simple. First you will need to download AdGuard from the link below. Save it to your Desktop so that you can access the file easily.

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 displayed 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 instructions as displayed in the figure below.

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

Each time, when you start your PC, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop 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, which is located on your desktop.

How can you prevent your computer from the attack of Adware.Privoxy

The virus come in the composition, together with various free software. This means that you need to be very careful when installing applications downloaded from the Internet, even from a large proven hosting. Be sure to read the Terms of Use and the Software license, select only the Manual, Advanced or Custom install mode, switch off all additional modules and programs are offered to install.

To sum up

Now your computer should be clean of the Privoxy adware which cause annoying pop-up ads to appear. Remove AdwCleaner. We suggest that you keep Zemana Anti-Malware (to periodically scan your system for new adware viruss and other malware) and AdGuard (to help you stop undesired popup advertisements and harmful pages). Moreover, to prevent adware viruss, please stay clear of unknown and third party programs, make sure that your antivirus application, turn on the option to detect PUPs (potentially unwanted programs).

If you need more help with Adware.Privoxy related issues, go to our Spyware/Malware removal forum.