Every time, when you surf the Internet with your web-browser the Sponsored ads keeps annoying you? It’s a sign that your computer is affected with an adware (sometimes called ‘ad-supported’ software) that can end up on your computer in various ways. Most often is when you download and install free programs and forget to uncheck the box for the additional software installation. Don’t panic because we’ve got the solution. Here’s a guide on how to remove Sponsored ads from the Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, IE and Edge and other web-browsers.
The adware that displays intrusive advertisements signed with “Sponsored ads”, may insert a ton of advertisements directly to the web sites that you visit, creating a sense that the sponsored ads has been added by the developers of the web-page. Moreover, a legal advertising banners may be replaced on the fake ads, that will offer to download and install various unnecessary and harmful applications. The worst is, the adware can gather your confidential info (your ip address, what is a web page you are viewing now, what you are looking for on the Web, which links you are clicking), which can later transfer to third parties.
The adware can change the settings of the Google Chrome, FF, Microsoft Internet Explorer and MS Edge, but often that a malicious software like this can also infect all types of internet browsers by changing their desktop shortcuts. Thus forcing the user each time launch the browser to see the intrusive Sponsored ads.
So, obviously, you need to get rid of the adware ASAP. Use the free step by step guide below. This guide will allow you clean your PC of adware and thereby remove Sponsored ads.
How to remove Sponsored ads
Most commonly adware requires more than a simple uninstall through the use of Microsoft Windows Control panel in order to be fully removed. For that reason, our team designed several removal solutions that we have combined in a detailed tutorial. Therefore, if you have the undesired Sponsored ads on your computer and are currently trying to have it removed then feel free to follow the step by step tutorial below in order to resolve your problem. Read it once, after doing so, please print this page as you may need to shut down your browser or reboot your PC.
To remove Sponsored ads, perform the following steps:
- Get rid of Sponsored ads without any utilities
- Sponsored ads automatic removal
- Block Sponsored ads and other undesired web-pages
- How can you prevent the Sponsored advertisements
- Finish words
Get rid of Sponsored ads without any utilities
Read this “How to remove” section to know how to manually remove ‘ad supported’ software that causes web-browsers to show annoying Sponsored ads. Even if the steps does not work for you, there are several free malicious software removers below that can easily handle such ad-supported software that causes lots of undesired Sponsored advertisements.
Uninstall ad supported software through the Windows Control Panel
Some potentially unwanted applications, browser hijacking applications and adware can be uninstalled by uninstalling the freeware they came with. If this way does not succeed, then looking them up in the list of installed programs in Microsoft Windows Control Panel. Use the “Uninstall” command in order to remove them.
Windows 10, 8.1, 8
Click the Microsoft Windows logo, and then click Search 
. Type ‘Control panel’and press Enter as displayed below.
When the ‘Control Panel’ opens, click the ‘Uninstall a program’ link under Programs category like below.
Windows 7, Vista, XP
Open Start menu and choose the ‘Control Panel’ at right as shown in the figure below.
Then go to ‘Add/Remove Programs’ or ‘Uninstall a program’ (Windows 7 or Vista) as on the image below.
Carefully browse through the list of installed software and get rid of all software which has the name like “Sponsored”. We recommend to press ‘Installed programs’ and even sorts all installed applications by date. Once you have found anything suspicious that may be the adware, adware or PUPs, then choose 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 delete it from your PC system.
Delete unwanted Scheduled Tasks
Once installed, the adware can add a task in to the Windows Task Scheduler Library. Due to this, every time when you launch your computer, it will display Sponsored ads. So, you need to check the Task Scheduler Library and remove all harmful tasks which have been created by malicious application.
Press Windows and R keys on the keyboard at the same time. This shows a prompt that 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, click “Task Scheduler Library”, like below.
Task scheduler
In the middle part you will see a list of installed tasks. Please choose the first task, its properties will be display 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 remove this harmful task. If you are not sure that executes the task, check it through a search engine. If it is a component of the ‘ad-supported’ program, then this task also should be removed.
Having defined the task that you want to remove, then click on it with the right mouse button and choose Delete as displayed below.
Delete a task
Repeat this step, if you have found a few tasks which have been created by malicious software. Once is finished, close the Task Scheduler window.
Fix web-browser shortcuts, altered by adware
Now you need to clean up the browser shortcuts. Check that the shortcut referring to the right exe-file of the internet browser, and not on any unknown file.
Right click on the browser’s shortcut, click Properties option. 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 “http://site.address” that has been added here. Remove everything after .exe. An example, for Google Chrome you should remove everything after chrome.exe.
To save changes, press OK . You need to clean all browser’s shortcuts. So, repeat this step for the Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Firefox and MS Edge.
Remove Sponsored ads from Chrome
If your Google Chrome web-browser is re-directed to undesired Sponsored ads, it may be necessary to completely reset your internet browser program to its default settings.
- First run the Chrome and press Menu button (small button in the form of three horizontal stripes).
- It will open the Chrome main menu. Select “Settings” option.
- You will see the Chrome’s settings page. Scroll down and click “Show advanced settings” link.
- Scroll down again and click the “Reset settings” button.
- The Chrome will show the reset profile settings page as shown on the screen above.
- Next click the “Reset” button.
- Once this task is finished, your web-browser’s home page, newtab page and search engine by default will be restored to their original defaults.
- To learn more, read the post How to reset Google Chrome settings to default.
Delete Sponsored ads from Internet Explorer
If you find that Internet Explorer web-browser settings such as startpage, newtab page and default search engine having been modified by adware that made to redirect your web browser to Sponsored ads, then you may revert back your settings, via the reset browser procedure.
First, launch the Internet Explorer. Next, press the button in the form of gear (
). It will display the Tools drop-down menu, click the “Internet Options” as displayed in the figure below.
In the “Internet Options” window click on the Advanced tab, then click the Reset button. The Microsoft Internet Explorer will open the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” window like below. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box, then click “Reset” button.
You will now need to reboot your PC system for the changes to take effect.
Delete Sponsored advertisements from Firefox
The Mozilla Firefox reset will keep your personal information like bookmarks, passwords, web form auto-fill data, recover preferences and security settings, get rid of redirects to annoying Sponsored ads and adware.
Start the Firefox and click the menu button (it looks like three stacked lines) at the top right of the internet browser screen. Next, click the question-mark icon at the bottom of the drop-down menu. It will show 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 shown on the screen below.
Click the “Refresh Firefox” button at the top right of the Troubleshooting Information page. Select “Refresh Firefox” in the confirmation prompt. The FF will begin a procedure to fix your problems that caused by the ‘ad supported’ software that causes a ton of annoying Sponsored ads. After, it’s finished, click the “Finish” button.
Sponsored ads automatic removal
The adware can hide its components which are difficult for you to find out and get rid of completely. This can lead to the fact that after some time, the adware that causes a huge number of undesired Sponsored advertisements once again infect your PC system. Moreover, We want to note that it is not always safe to get rid of ad supported software manually, if you do not have much experience in setting up and configuring the Microsoft Windows operating system. The best solution to scan for and remove adware is to run free malicious software removal software.
How to automatically remove Sponsored advertisements with Zemana Anti-malware
We suggest using the Zemana Anti-malware. You can download and install Zemana Anti-malware to scan for and delete Sponsored advertisements from the Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer browsers. When installed and updated, the malware remover will automatically check and detect all threats present on your computer.
- Download Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) on your machine by clicking on the following link.
Zemana AntiMalware
159607 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
- When downloading is done, close all programs and windows on your system. Open a folder in which you saved it. Double-click on the icon that’s named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
- Further, click Next button and follow the prompts.
- Once setup is done, click the “Scan” button to perform a system scan for the ‘ad supported’ software that causes a large number of undesired Sponsored advertisements. This procedure can take quite a while, so please be patient. During the scan Zemana AntiMalware will detect all threats present on your personal computer.
- After finished, Zemana will display a scan report. Make sure all items have ‘checkmark’ and click “Next”. When disinfection is finished, you can be prompted to reboot your machine.
How to automatically remove Sponsored ads with Malwarebytes
You can delete Sponsored advertisements automatically with a help of Malwarebytes Free. We recommend this free malicious software removal utility because it can easily get rid of browser hijacker infections, ad supported software, potentially unwanted programs and toolbars with all their components such as files, folders and registry entries.
- Download MalwareBytes Free by clicking on the following link and save it directly to your MS Windows Desktop.
Malwarebytes Anti-malware
317804 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
- After the downloading process is finished, close all applications and windows on your personal computer. Open a file location. Double-click on the icon that’s named mb3-setup.
- Further, click Next button and follow the prompts.
- Once installation is finished, press the “Scan Now” button to start checking your computer for the adware that causes multiple unwanted advertisements. This task may take some time, so please be patient. While the MalwareBytes Anti Malware is scanning, you can see how many objects it has identified either as being malicious software.
- When MalwareBytes Free completes the scan, MalwareBytes Free will open a scan report. In order to get rid of all items, simply press “Quarantine Selected”. After finished, you may be prompted to reboot your PC system.
The following video offers a steps on how to remove browser hijackers, ‘ad supported’ software and other malware with MalwareBytes.
Run AdwCleaner to remove Sponsored advertisements
AdwCleaner is a free removal tool which can scan your computer for a wide range of security threats like malicious software, adwares, potentially unwanted programs as well as ad-supported software that made to reroute your web-browser to Sponsored ads. It will perform a deep scan of your personal computer including hard drives and Microsoft Windows registry. After a malicious software is found, it will help you to remove all detected threats from your system with a simple click.
Download AdwCleaner utility by clicking on the following link.
220817 downloads
Version: 8.3.2
Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 28, 2022
When the downloading process is done, open the file location and double-click the AdwCleaner icon. It will start the AdwCleaner tool and you will see a screen as shown below. If the User Account Control prompt will ask you want to launch the program, click Yes button to continue.
Next, press “Scan” .AdwCleaner program will scan through the whole PC system for the adware which cause undesired Sponsored ads to appear. 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 system. When a threat is found, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the checking is finished.
Once AdwCleaner has finished scanning, AdwCleaner will show a screen that contains a list of malicious software that has been detected like below.
Make sure all items have ‘checkmark’ and click “Clean” button. It will open a prompt. Click “OK” button. The AdwCleaner will get rid of ad supported software which causes undesired Sponsored advertisements. When disinfection is done, the utility may ask you to reboot your personal computer. After reboot, the AdwCleaner will show the log file.
All the above steps are shown in detail in the following video instructions.
Block Sponsored ads and other undesired web-pages
Using an adblocker program such as AdGuard is an effective way to alleviate the risks. Additionally, adblocker software will also protect you from harmful advertisements and sites, and, of course, stop redirection chain to Sponsored ads and similar web-sites.
Installing the AdGuard ad-blocker program is simple. First you will need to download AdGuard on your machine from the following link.
25680 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
When the download is complete, double-click the downloaded file to start it. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen as shown 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 below.
Press “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick guide which will help you get to know AdGuard better.
Each time, when you run your computer, AdGuard will run automatically and stop pop-ups, Sponsored ads, as well as other malicious or misleading 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.
How can you prevent the Sponsored advertisements
The ad-supported software usually come in the composition, together with free programs that downloaded from the Net. Which means that you need to be proactive and carefully read the Terms of use and the License agreement properly. For the most part, the ‘ad supported’ software will be clearly described, so take the time to carefully read all the information about the software that you downloaded and want to install on your system. In the Setup wizard, you should choose the Advanced, Custom or Manual setup mode to control what components and third-party programs to be installed, otherwise you run the risk of infecting your system with an ‘ad supported’ software such as the ad-supported software which cause undesired Sponsored advertisements to appear.
Finish words
Now your computer should be clean of the ad supported software that causes a lot of annoying Sponsored ads. Uninstall AdwCleaner. We suggest that you keep Zemana (to periodically scan your personal computer for new ad supported softwares and other malware) and AdGuard (to help you block annoying advertisements and malicious web-pages). Moreover, to prevent ad-supported softwares, please stay clear of unknown and third party programs, make sure that your antivirus program, turn on the option to scan for PUPs (potentially unwanted programs).
If you need more help with Sponsored advertisements related issues, go to our Spyware/Malware removal forum.
