Have you become that your web-browser randomly shows Install Web App pop-ups offering install an questionable software? It’s a sign that your internet browser is affected by an adware (sometimes named ‘ad-supported’ software) that has been installed on your system. The adware is a part of malicious software that designed to display a large number of unwanted popup deals and ads. Complete the step by step guidance below as soon as possible. It’ll allow you to clear your computer from adware that generates lots of “Install Web App” pop up ads in the Google Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge and other web browsers.
The ad supported software that displays undesired “Install Web App” advertisements, is the part of the software that is used as an online promotional tool. It’s developed with the sole purpose to display dozens of popups, and thus to promote the goods and services in an open internet browser window. Moreover, the adware can substitute the legitimate sponsored 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 web pages, so the authors of adware, often forcing users to click on an advertising link. For each click on a link, the developers of the adware receive income.
The ‘ad supported’ software can change the settings of the Mozilla Firefox, Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge, but often that a harmful software like this can also infect all types of web browsers by changing their desktop shortcuts. Thus forcing the user each time run the web-browser to see the annoying “Install Web App” web site.
To find out how to remove “Install Web App” advertisements, we suggest to read the guide added to this post below. The guidance was designed by experienced security researchers who discovered a solution to get rid of the annoying ad supported software out of the system.
Remove Install Web App pop-up ads
In the few simple steps below, we will try to cover the Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge and IE and provide general advice to remove “Install Web App” pop up advertisements. You may find some minor differences in your MS Windows install. No matter, you should be okay if you follow the steps outlined below: delete all suspicious and unknown applications, reset browsers settings, fix web browsers shortcuts, delete malicious scheduled tasks, use free malware removal tools. Read it once, after doing so, please print this page as you may need to shut down your internet browser or reboot your PC.
To remove Install Web App, follow the steps below:
- How to remove “Install Web App” popups without any software
- Delete “Install Web App” associated software by using Microsoft Windows Control Panel
- Delete “Install Web App” pop up ads from Firefox
- Remove “Install Web App” popup advertisements from Chrome
- Get rid of “Install Web App” pop up ads from Internet Explorer
- Remove unwanted Scheduled Tasks
- Clean up the browsers shortcuts that have been hijacked by adware
- Use free malware removal tools to completely get rid of “Install Web App” pop up advertisements
- How to stop “Install Web App” pop up advertisements
- How does your machine get infected with “Install Web App” pop ups
- Finish words
How to remove “Install Web App” popups without any software
If you perform exactly the steps below you should be able to get rid of the “Install Web App” pop-up advertisements from the Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer and MS Edge browsers.
Delete “Install Web App” associated software by using Microsoft Windows Control Panel
It is of primary importance to first identify and remove all PUPs, adware applications and hijackers through ‘Add/Remove Programs’ (Windows XP) or ‘Uninstall a program’ (Windows 10, 8, 7) section of your MS Windows Control Panel.
Windows 8, 8.1, 10
First, click Windows button
, then press Search 
. Type ‘Control panel’and press Enter like below.
When the ‘Control Panel’ opens, click the ‘Uninstall a program’ link under Programs category as shown below.
You will see the ‘Uninstall a program’ panel as displayed in the following example.
Very carefully look around the entire list of software installed on your system. Most likely, one or more of them are responsible for the appearance of popup ads and web-browser redirect to the annoying “Install Web App” site. If you have many programs installed, you can help simplify the search of malicious programs by sort the list by date of installation. Once you have found a suspicious, unwanted or unused application, right click to it, after that press ‘Uninstall’.
Windows XP, Vista, 7
First, click ‘Start’ button and select ‘Control Panel’ at right panel as on the image below.
When the Windows ‘Control Panel’ opens, you need to press ‘Uninstall a program’ under ‘Programs’ as shown below.
You will see a list of programs installed on your PC system. We recommend to sort the list by date of installation to quickly find the programs that were installed last. Most likely they responsibility for the appearance of advertisements and internet 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. When the application which you need to uninstall is found, simply click on its name, and then click ‘Uninstall’ as displayed in the following example.
Delete “Install Web App” pop up ads from Firefox
If the Firefox web 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 startpage, newtab page and default search engine to its default state. It will save your personal information such as saved passwords, bookmarks, and open tabs.
First, launch the Firefox and click 
button. It will show the drop-down menu on the right-part of the browser. Further, click the Help button (
) as displayed on the screen below
.
In the Help menu, select the “Troubleshooting Information” option. Another way to open the “Troubleshooting Information” screen – type “about:support” in the web-browser adress bar and press Enter. It will open the “Troubleshooting Information” page as displayed on the image below. In the upper-right corner of this screen, click the “Refresh Firefox” button.
It will open the confirmation prompt. Further, click the “Refresh Firefox” button. The Mozilla Firefox will begin a task to fix your problems that caused by the adware that causes a ton of annoying “Install Web App” advertisements. Once, it’s complete, click the “Finish” button.
Remove “Install Web App” popup advertisements from Chrome
Like other modern browsers, the Google Chrome has the ability to reset the settings to their default values and thereby restore the browser’s settings like homepage, new tab page and search provider by default that have been modified by the ad supported software that causes annoying “Install Web App” ads.
First start the Google Chrome. Next, click the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (). It will show the main menu. Further, press 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 internet 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 in the figure 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 browser will start the procedure of cleaning. Once it is finished, the browser’s settings including start page, new tab page and search provider by default back to the values that have been when the Chrome was first installed on your PC system.
Get rid of “Install Web App” pop up ads from Internet Explorer
In order to recover all web-browser start page, newtab page and default search engine you need to reset the Microsoft Internet Explorer to the state, that was when the Microsoft Windows was installed on your machine.
First, start the Internet Explorer, click 
) button. Next, press “Internet Options” as displayed below.
In the “Internet Options” screen select the Advanced tab. Next, click Reset button. The Internet Explorer will show the Reset Internet Explorer settings dialog box. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box and click Reset button.
You will now need to reboot your PC for the changes to take effect. It will remove ad-supported software that causes unwanted “Install Web App” popup ads, disable malicious and ad-supported browser’s extensions and restore the Microsoft Internet Explorer’s settings like startpage, newtab and default search engine to default state.
Remove unwanted Scheduled Tasks
If the intrusive “Install Web App” 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 that have been created by ‘ad-supported’ software.
Press Windows and R keys on your keyboard together. It will display a dialog box which titled as Run. In the text field, type “taskschd.msc” (without the quotes) and press OK. Task Scheduler window opens. In the left-hand side, click “Task Scheduler Library”, as on the image below.
Task scheduler, list of tasks
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 remove this task. If you are not sure that executes the task, then google it. If it’s a component of the malicious applications, then this task also should be removed.
Further click on it with the right mouse button and select Delete as displayed on the image below.
Task scheduler, delete a task
Repeat this step, if you have found a few tasks that have been created by adware. Once is complete, close the Task Scheduler window.
Clean up the browsers shortcuts that have been hijacked by adware
Important to know, most anti malware software which are able to get rid of adware that causes intrusive “Install Web App” popup ads, but unable to scan for and recover changed shortcuts. So, you need to fix the desktop shortcut files for your Chrome, Firefox, IE and Microsoft Edge browsers manually.
Right click to a desktop shortcut file for your affected web browser. Select the “Properties” option. It’ll display the Properties window. Select the “Shortcut” tab here, after that, look at the “Target” field. The adware that causes undesired “Install Web App” advertisements can replace it. If you are seeing something similar to “…exe http://site.address” then you need to remove “http…” and leave only, depending on the web-browser you are using:
- Google Chrome: chrome.exe
- Opera: opera.exe
- Firefox: firefox.exe
- Internet Explorer: iexplore.exe
Look at the example as on the image below.
Once is finished, press the “OK” button to save the changes. Please repeat this step for web-browser shortcut files that reroutes to an annoying web sites. When {you have} finished, go to next step.
Use free malware removal tools to completely get rid of “Install Web App” pop up advertisements
If you are unsure how to remove “Install Web App” popup ads easily, consider using automatic adware removal applications that listed below. It will identify the ad supported software that cause undesired “Install Web App” popups to appear and get rid of it from your PC system for free.
How to delete “Install Web App” pop up ads with Zemana Anti-malware
We suggest using the Zemana Anti-malware. You may download and install Zemana Anti-malware to detect and remove “Install Web App” pop-up ads from the Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, IE and Edge web-browsers. When installed and updated, the malicious software remover will automatically scan and detect all threats exist on your PC.
- Please download Zemana Free by clicking on the following link and save it directly to your MS Windows Desktop.
Zemana AntiMalware
164112 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
- At the download page, click on the Download button. Your web browser will display the “Save as” prompt. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
- Once downloading is finished, please close all programs and open windows on your PC system. Next, run a file called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
- This will start the “Setup wizard” of Zemana onto your PC system. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
- When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the Zemana will run and open the main window.
- Further, click the “Scan” button for scanning your computer for the ‘ad supported’ software which causes undesired “Install Web App” pop up advertisements. This task can take quite a while, so please be patient. When a threat is detected, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the checking is done.
- After Zemana Anti Malware (ZAM) has finished scanning, Zemana Anti-Malware will open a scan report.
- You may move items to Quarantine (all selected by default) by simply click the “Next” button. The utility will get rid of ‘ad supported’ software that causes a huge number of annoying “Install Web App” pop-up advertisements and add items to the Quarantine. Once the task is finished, you may be prompted to restart the machine.
- Close the Zemana Anti Malware and continue with the next step.
Run Malwarebytes to remove “Install Web App” redirect
Get rid of “Install Web App” pop-up advertisements manually is difficult and often the adware is not completely removed. Therefore, we suggest you to use the Malwarebytes Free that are completely clean your machine. Moreover, the free application will allow you to get rid of malware, PUPs, toolbars and browser hijackers that your PC system may be infected too.
- Download MalwareBytes Anti-Malware from the following link. Save it on your Desktop.
Malwarebytes Anti-malware
326462 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
- Once 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, press Next button and follow the prompts.
- Once installation is done, click the “Scan Now” button .MalwareBytes program will scan through the whole machine for the adware which made to redirect your web-browser to various ad web pages like “Install Web App”. Depending on your PC system, the scan may take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. When a threat is found, the number of the security threats will change accordingly.
- Once the scan is complete, MalwareBytes Free will display you the results. Review the results once the tool has finished the system scan. If you think an entry should not be quarantined, then uncheck it. Otherwise, simply click “Quarantine Selected”. Once that process is done, you can be prompted to reboot your personal computer.
The following video offers a steps on how to remove browser hijacker infections, adware and other malicious software with MalwareBytes Free.
Use AdwCleaner to remove “Install Web App” pop-up ads
The AdwCleaner utility is free and easy to use. It can scan and remove malware, PUPs and ad supported software in Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge web browsers and thereby remove all unwanted “Install Web App” pop-up ads. AdwCleaner is powerful enough to find and remove harmful registry entries and files that are hidden on the PC.
Download AdwCleaner utility by clicking on the following link. Save it to your Desktop so that you can access the file easily.
225300 downloads
Version: 8.4.1
Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
Category: Security tools
Update: October 5, 2024
After the downloading process is done, open the directory in which you saved it and double-click the AdwCleaner icon. It will run the AdwCleaner tool and you will see a screen like below. If the User Account Control prompt will ask you want to start the application, click Yes button to continue.
Next, click “Scan” to perform a system scan with this utility for the ‘ad supported’ software which cause intrusive “Install Web App” pop up ads to appear. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your machine. While the AdwCleaner program is scanning, you can see count of objects it has identified as threat.
After that process is complete, a list of all items found is produced like below.
All found items will be marked. You can delete them all by simply click “Clean” button. It will open a prompt. Click “OK” button. The AdwCleaner will remove ad-supported software that causes multiple unwanted pop-up advertisements. Once that process is finished, the tool may ask you to restart your machine. After restart, the AdwCleaner will open the log file.
All the above steps are shown in detail in the following video instructions.
How to stop “Install Web App” pop up advertisements
Run an adblocker tool such as AdGuard will protect you from harmful ads and content. Moreover, you can find that the AdGuard have an option to protect your privacy and stop phishing and spam web-sites. Additionally, ad blocking software will allow you to avoid annoying pop up advertisements and unverified links that also a good way to stay safe online.
Installing the AdGuard ad-blocker application is simple. First you will need to download AdGuard on your machine from the following link.
26658 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
Once the downloading process is complete, double-click the downloaded file to launch it. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen like 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 like below.
Click “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick guide which will allow you get to know AdGuard better.
Each time, when you run your personal computer, AdGuard will run automatically and stop popups, web-sites such “Install Web App”, 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 can be found on your desktop.
How does your machine get infected with “Install Web App” pop ups
Most of intrusive popup advertisements like “Install Web App” ads come from browser toolbars, browser extensions, BHOs (browser helper objects) and bundled programs. Most often, these items claim itself as programs which improve your experience on the Web by providing a fast and interactive home page or a search engine that does not track you. Remember, how to avoid the unwanted programs. Be cautious, start only reputable applications which download from reputable sources. NEVER install any unknown and suspicious software.
Finish words
Now your computer should be free of the ad-supported software which made to reroute your web browser to various ad web-pages like “Install Web App”. Remove AdwCleaner. We suggest that you keep Zemana AntiMalware (to periodically scan your PC system for new adwares and other malicious software) and AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted popup ads and malicious web pages). Moreover, to prevent adwares, please stay clear of unknown and third party applications, make sure that your antivirus application, turn on the option to find PUPs (potentially unwanted programs).
If you need more help with “Install Web App” redirect related issues, go to our Spyware/Malware removal forum.
