How to remove AdBlaster adware [Virus removal guide]

Technically, the AdBlaster adware is not a virus, but it does bad things, it generates a large number of popup ads. It may download and install on to your PC system other malicious and unwanted software without your permission, force you to visit misleading or harmful sites. Moreover, the AdBlaster adware can install internet browser hijacker. Once installed, it’ll rewrite your web-browser setting such as homepage, newtab page and search engine by default with an unwanted web-page.

In addition to that, as was mentioned earlier, certain adware to also change all browsers shortcuts which located on your Desktop or Start menu. So, every infected shortcut will try to reroute your web-browser to unwanted ad web pages, certain of which might be harmful. It can make the whole PC system more vulnerable to hacker attacks.

We advise you to get rid of AdBlaster and clean your PC from all unwanted pop up ads as quickly as possible, until the presence of the ad supported software has not led to even worse consequences. You need to follow the guide below that will help you to completely remove AdBlaster and redirect to intrusive web-pages, using only the built-in Microsoft Windows features and a few of specialized free malicious software removal utilities.

Remove AdBlaster

There are a simple manual guide below which will assist you to get rid of AdBlaster ad supported software from your Microsoft Windows personal computer. The most effective method to delete this adware is to follow the manual removal instructions and then run Zemana Anti Malware, MalwareBytes Anti-Malware or AdwCleaner automatic tools (all are free). The manual method will assist to weaken this ‘ad supported’ software and these malware removal utilities will completely remove AdBlaster and revert back the Chrome, FF, MS Edge and IE settings to default.

Remove AdBlaster ad supported software without any tools

Most common adware may be removed without any antivirus applications. The manual adware removal is steps that will teach you how to remove the AdBlaster ad supported software.

Delete AdBlaster associated software by using Microsoft Windows Control Panel

First of all, check the list of installed programs on your personal computer and remove all unknown and recently installed applications. If you see an unknown program with incorrect spelling or varying capital letters, it have most likely been installed by malware and you should clean it off first with malware removal utility such as Zemana Anti-malware.

It will display the Windows Control Panel as shown on the screen below.

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

Remove unwanted Scheduled Tasks

If intrusive sites opens automatically on Windows startup or at equal time intervals, then you need to check the Task Scheduler Library and get rid of all the tasks that have been created by adware.

Press Windows and R keys on the keyboard at the same time. This opens a dialog box that titled as 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”, like below.

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

Having defined the task that you want to remove, then press on it with the right mouse button and select Delete as shown below.

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

Remove AdBlaster adware from Chrome

Reset Google Chrome settings is a easy way to remove the adware, malicious and adware extensions, as well as to recover the web browser’s start page, newtab and default search engine that have been replaced by AdBlaster ad supported software which made to reroute your browser to various ad web-pages.

Open the Google Chrome menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (). It will show the drop-down menu. Next, 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 on the image below and click the “Reset settings” button.

Confirm your action, click the “Reset” button.

Remove AdBlaster from Microsoft Internet Explorer

By resetting Microsoft Internet Explorer web browser you return your internet browser settings to its default state. This is good initial when troubleshooting problems that might have been caused by AdBlaster ‘ad supported’ software which created to reroute your web-browser to various ad pages.

First, start the Internet Explorer, then click ‘gear’ icon . It will show the Tools drop-down menu on the right part of the web browser, then click the “Internet Options” as displayed in the figure below.

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

After the procedure is done, click “Close” button. Close the Internet Explorer and restart your personal computer for the changes to take effect. This step will help you to restore your browser’s start page, new tab and default search provider to default state.

Remove AdBlaster from Firefox by resetting web-browser settings

If the FF internet browser application 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 Mozilla Firefox settings such as new tab, homepage and search engine by default to its default state. It will save your personal information like saved passwords, bookmarks, and open tabs.

Press 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 in the figure below.

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

Follow the onscreen procedure to return your FF web-browser settings to its original state.

AdBlaster removal tools

The easiest way to remove AdBlaster adware is to use an antimalware application capable of detecting this AdBlaster that causes multiple intrusive advertisements and popups. We recommend try Zemana Anti-malware or another free malware remover which listed below. It has excellent detection rate when it comes to ad-supported software, hijacker infections and other potentially unwanted programs.

Automatically remove AdBlaster ad-supported software with Zemana Anti-malware

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

Now you can install and run Zemana Free to get rid of AdBlaster adware from your internet browser by following the steps below:

Click the link below to download Zemana Free installer called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup on your system.

Launch the installation package after it has been downloaded successfully and then follow the prompts to setup this tool on your machine.

During installation you can change some settings, but we recommend you do not make any changes to default settings.

When setup is finished, this malware removal tool will automatically start and update itself. You will see its main window as displayed on the screen below.

Now press the “Scan” button for scanning your personal computer for the AdBlaster ‘ad supported’ software that causes undesired pop-up ads. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of files on your personal computer and the speed of your personal computer. When a malicious software, ad supported software or PUPs are detected, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the scanning is finished.

After Zemana Anti Malware has completed scanning your PC, Zemana Anti-Malware will open a scan report. Review the results once the utility has complete the system scan. If you think an entry should not be quarantined, then uncheck it. Otherwise, simply click “Next” button.

The Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) will delete AdBlaster adware that redirects your browser to annoying ad sites and add items to the Quarantine. Once the cleaning procedure is finished, you can be prompted to restart your system to make the change take effect.

Get rid of AdBlaster ad-supported software with Malwarebytes

You can remove AdBlaster automatically with a help of Malwarebytes Free. We suggest this free malware removal utility because it can easily get rid of hijackers, adware, PUPs and toolbars with all their components such as files, folders and registry entries.

Download MalwareBytes Anti-Malware by clicking on the link below. Save it on your Microsoft Windows desktop or in any other place.

When downloading is done, close all applications and windows on your computer. Open a directory in which you saved it. Double-click on the icon that’s called mb3-setup as shown on the image below.

When the install starts, you will see the “Setup wizard” that will help you install Malwarebytes on your PC.

Once installation is finished, you will see window as shown on the image below.

Now click the “Scan Now” button for scanning your machine for the AdBlaster that causes unwanted advertisements. Depending on your personal computer, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. While the MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) utility is checking, you can see how many objects it has identified as being infected by malware.

Once that process is done, MalwareBytes AntiMalware will display a screen that contains a list of malware that has been detected. Next, you need to press “Quarantine Selected” button.

The Malwarebytes will now begin to remove AdBlaster that causes multiple undesired ads and popups. Once the clean-up is finished, you may be prompted to reboot your computer.

The following video explains few simple steps on how to get rid of browser hijacker, adware and other malicious software with MalwareBytes AntiMalware.

Remove AdBlaster adware and harmful extensions with AdwCleaner

AdwCleaner is a free portable program that scans your computer for AdBlaster adware which cause unwanted pop up ads to appear, potentially unwanted programs and hijacker infections and allows remove them easily. Moreover, it will also allow you remove any malicious web browser extensions and add-ons.

Download AdwCleaner on your Microsoft Windows Desktop by clicking on the following link.

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

Double click the AdwCleaner desktop icon. Once the tool is started, you will see a screen as shown in the figure below.

Further, press “Scan” button .AdwCleaner program will scan through the whole computer for the AdBlaster that causes lots of unwanted pop-ups. A scan may take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of files on your machine and the speed of your personal computer. After AdwCleaner has finished scanning your personal computer, AdwCleaner will display a scan report as shown in the following example.

In order to remove all items, simply click “Clean” button. It will open a prompt as on the image below.

You need to click “OK”. Once the process is done, the AdwCleaner may ask you to restart your computer. When your system is started, you will see an AdwCleaner log.

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

How to stay safe online

It’s important to run ad blocker applications such as AdGuard to protect your personal computer from malicious web pages. Most security experts says that it is okay to block ads. You should do so just to stay safe! And, of course, the AdGuard can to block misleading and other unwanted pages.

Download AdGuard application by clicking on the following link.

After the downloading process is finished, launch the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen like below.

Follow the prompts. When the setup is complete, you will see a window as on the image below.

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

In most cases, the default settings are enough and you don’t need to change anything. Each time, when you run your system, AdGuard will start automatically and block advertisements, as well as other harmful 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 is located on your desktop.

How to avoid installation of AdBlaster adware

Many adware are included in the freeware setup file. In many cases, a user have a chance to disable all included “offers”, but some installation packages are developed to confuse the average users, in order to trick them into installing the AdBlaster that causes a large amount of undesired pop-ups. Anyway, easier to prevent the ad supported software rather than clean up your PC system after one. So, keep the web browser updated (turn on automatic updates), run a good antivirus applications, double check a free software before you start it (do a google search, scan a downloaded file with VirusTotal), avoid malicious and unknown web sites.

Finish words

Once you have done the step by step guide outlined above, your computer should be clean from AdBlaster adware which cause unwanted popup ads to appear and other malicious software. The Google Chrome, FF, MS Edge and IE will no longer redirect you to various intrusive web pages. Unfortunately, if the instructions 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.