What is OpenCandy? The OpenCandy (also known as pua.opencandy.gen, pup.opencandy.variant) is an unwanted software from Adware (sometimes called ‘ad-supported’ software) family. It is created for the purpose of showing a large amount of advertisements, pop-ups and deals without the user’s consent or permission. If you want to remove unwanted ads, you will not succeed, because the OpenCandy adware is very stubborn. But with the help of the following guide, you surely can remove OpenCandy completely from your web browsers.
What is more, the OpenCandy, which causes multiple undesired advertisements and pop-ups, may display ads depend on a webpage that you are visiting. That is, it is clear that this adware, without your permission, steals your user info such as: your ip address, what is a webpage you are viewing now, what you are looking for on the Net, which links you are clicking, and much, much more.
The worst is, the OpenCandy adware may monetize its functionality by collecting privacy data from your browsing sessions. This privacy information, subsequently, can be easily transferred to third parties. This puts your user info at a security risk.
The tutorial below explaining steps to remove OpenCandy adware problem. Feel free to use it for removal of the adware that may attack IE, Mozilla Firefox, MS Edge and Google Chrome and other popular web browsers. The few simple steps will help you remove adware and thus clean your web browser from all intrusive advertisements.
How to remove OpenCandy adware
The following steps will help you to remove OpenCandy ads from the Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge. Moreover, the step-by-step guide below will help you to remove malware, hijackers, PUPs and toolbars that your PC may be infected. Please do the tutorial step by step. If you need help or have any questions, then ask for our assistance or type a comment below. Read it once, after doing so, please print this page as you may need to close your web browser or restart your computer.
To remove OpenCandy, follow the steps below:
- How to remove OpenCandy adware without any software
- Run free malware removal utilities to completely get rid of OpenCandy ads
- How to stay safe online
- How was OpenCandy installed on computer
- To sum up
How to remove OpenCandy adware without any software
These steps to remove OpenCandy without any applications are presented below. Be sure to carry out the step-by-step instructions completely to fully delete this OpenCandy that causes a huge number of annoying pop ups.
Remove PUPs through the MS Windows Control Panel
In order to delete potentially unwanted applications such as this ad supported software, open the MS Windows Control Panel and click on “Uninstall a program”. Check the list of installed apps. For the ones you do not know, run an Internet search to see if they are adware, hijacker or PUPs. If yes, delete them off. Even if they are just a software which you do not use, then deleting them off will increase your PC system start up time and speed dramatically.
Make sure you have closed all internet browsers and other apps. Next, remove any unrequested and suspicious apps from your Control panel.
Windows 10, 8.1, 8
Now, click the Windows button, type “Control panel” in search and press Enter. Choose “Programs and Features”, then “Uninstall a program”.
Look around the entire list of software installed on your computer. Most likely, one of them is the OpenCandy that causes web browsers to display unwanted pop-ups. Choose the questionable program or the application that name is not familiar to you and remove it.
Windows Vista, 7
From the “Start” menu in Windows, select “Control Panel”. Under the “Programs” icon, select “Uninstall a program”.
Choose the dubious or any unknown applications, then press “Uninstall/Change” button to remove this unwanted program from your personal computer.
Windows XP
Click the “Start” button, select “Control Panel” option. Click on “Add/Remove Programs”.
Choose an unwanted program, then click “Change/Remove” button. Follow the prompts.
Remove unwanted Scheduled Tasks
Once installed, the OpenCandy can add a task in to the Windows Task Scheduler Library. So, you need to check the Task Scheduler Library and delete all malicious tasks that have been created by adware.
Press Windows and R keys on your keyboard at the same time. It will open a prompt which titled with 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”, like 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 display just below automatically. Next, press the Actions tab. Necessary to look at the text which is written under Details. Found something suspicious, then you need delete 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 press on it with the right mouse button and select Delete as displayed in the figure below.
Task scheduler, delete a task
Repeat this step, if you have found a few tasks that have been created by the OpenCandy. Once is complete, close the Task Scheduler window.
Get rid of OpenCandy from Firefox by resetting internet browser settings
Resetting Firefox web-browser will reset all the settings to their default state and will remove OpenCandy , malicious add-ons and extensions. It will save your personal information like saved passwords, bookmarks, auto-fill data 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 displayed below.
A small menu will appear, click the “Troubleshooting Information”. On this page, click “Refresh Firefox” button as shown on the screen below.
Follow the onscreen procedure to revert back your Mozilla Firefox web browser settings to their original settings.
Get rid of OpenCandy ads from Microsoft Internet Explorer
In order to restore all internet browser settings you need to reset the Microsoft Internet Explorer to the state, which was when the MS Windows was installed on your computer.
First, run the Microsoft Internet Explorer, then press ‘gear’ icon 
. It will show the Tools drop-down menu on the right part of the internet browser, then click the “Internet Options” as displayed below.
In the “Internet Options” screen, select the “Advanced” tab, then click the “Reset” button. The Microsoft Internet Explorer will open the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” prompt. Further, click the “Delete personal settings” check box to select it. Next, click the “Reset” button like below.
After the procedure is done, click “Close” button. Close the IE and reboot your computer for the changes to take effect. This step will help you to restore your browser’s startpage, default search provider and new tab page to default state.
Remove OpenCandy from Chrome
If your Google Chrome browser is rerouted to undesired OpenCandy ads, it may be necessary to completely reset your browser program to its default settings.
First start the Chrome. Next, click the button in the form of three horizontal dots (
).
It will open the Chrome menu. Select More Tools, then click Extensions. Carefully browse through the list of installed extensions. If the list has the extension signed with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following instructions: Remove Google Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
Open the Google Chrome menu once again. Further, click the option named “Settings”.
The browser will show the settings screen. Another way to open the Google Chrome’s settings – type chrome://settings in the browser adress bar and press Enter
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the “Advanced” link. Now scroll down until the “Reset” section is visible, as shown in the following example and click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
The Google Chrome will display the confirmation dialog box as shown on the image below.
You need to confirm your action, click the “Reset” button. The web-browser will start the procedure of cleaning. When it is complete, the web browser’s settings including search provider, start page and newtab back to the values which have been when the Chrome was first installed on your PC.
Run free malware removal utilities to completely get rid of OpenCandy ads
The easiest method to remove OpenCandy adware is to use an anti malware application. We advise try Zemana or another free malicious software remover that listed below. It has excellent detection rate when it comes to ad-supported software, browser hijacker infections and other potentially unwanted programs.
Scan and free your web browser of OpenCandy adware with Zemana Anti-malware
We recommend using the Zemana Anti-malware. You may download and install Zemana Anti-malware to detect and get rid of OpenCandy from the Microsoft Internet Explorer, Edge, Firefox and Google Chrome browsers. When installed and updated, the malicious software remover will automatically scan and detect all threats present on your personal computer.
Now you can set up and use Zemana Free to remove OpenCandy ad supported software from your internet browser by following the steps below:
Please go to the following link to download Zemana Anti-Malware setup file called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup on your machine. Save it on your MS Windows desktop or in any other place.
164112 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
Launch the installer after it has been downloaded successfully and then follow the prompts to install this utility on your PC system.
During setup you can change certain settings, but we recommend you do not make any changes to default settings.
When install is finished, this malware removal tool will automatically start and update itself. You will see its main window as displayed on the image below.
Now click the “Scan” button to perform a system scan for the OpenCandy that causes multiple undesired advertisements and popups. Depending on your computer, the scan may take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. During the scan Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) will find threats present on your computer.
When the scan get completed, Zemana will open you the results. All detected threats will be marked. You can delete them all by simply press “Next” button.
The Zemana Free will remove OpenCandy which reroutes your web browser to annoying ad web sites and add items to the Quarantine. After the process is finished, you can be prompted to restart your PC system to make the change take effect.
Scan and free your PC system of adware with HitmanPro
HitmanPro is a portable utility which scans for and deletes unwanted apps like browser hijacker infections, adware, toolbars, other web-browser extensions and other malicious software. It scans your system for OpenCandy adware that redirects your web browser to intrusive ad webpages and creates a list of items marked for removal. HitmanPro will only erase those unwanted apps that you wish to be removed.
- Download HitmanPro on your personal computer by clicking on the link below.
- When the downloading process is complete, double click the Hitman Pro icon. Once this utility is started, click “Next” button . HitmanPro program will scan through the whole PC system for the OpenCandy, which created to redirect your web browser to various ad web pages. While the Hitman Pro program is checking, you can see count of objects it has identified as threat.
- After the scan is finished, HitmanPro will display a list of detected threats. Review the report and then press “Next” button. Now press the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial to remove all malicious software found.
How to get rid of OpenCandy with Malwarebytes
You can remove OpenCandy ad-supported software automatically with a help of Malwarebytes Free. We suggest this free malware removal tool because it may easily remove hijackers, adware, potentially unwanted applications and toolbars with all their components such as files, folders and registry entries.
Please go to the following link to download the latest version of MalwareBytes for Windows. Save it to your Desktop.
326462 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
After the downloading process is finished, close all windows on your PC. Further, start the file named 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” which will help you install MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) on the PC system. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
Once installation is complete successfully, click Finish button. Then MalwareBytes will automatically launch and you may see its main window as displayed below.
Next, click the “Scan Now” button to perform a system scan with this utility for the OpenCandy, which cause annoying pop-up ads to appear. This process can take quite a while, so please be patient.
Once MalwareBytes completes the scan, MalwareBytes Anti-Malware will show a list of all threats detected by the scan. Make sure all threats have ‘checkmark’ and click “Quarantine Selected” button.
The MalwareBytes will remove OpenCandy adware that cause intrusive pop-ups to appear. After finished, you can be prompted to reboot your PC system. We suggest you look at the following video, which completely explains the process of using the MalwareBytes to delete hijackers, adware and other malicious software.
How to stay safe online
To put it simply, you need to use an ad blocker tool (AdGuard, for example). It will stop and protect you from all intrusive web sites, unwanted ads and pop ups. To be able to do that, the ad-blocking application uses a list of filters. Each filter is a rule that describes a malicious web-page, an advertising content, a banner and others. The ad-blocker application automatically uses these filters, depending on the web-sites you’re visiting.
Click the link below to download AdGuard. Save it to your Desktop.
26658 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
After downloading it, run the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen as on the image below.
Follow the prompts. After the setup is finished, you will see a window as displayed on the screen below.
You can click “Skip” to close the install application 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 computer, AdGuard will run automatically and stop unwanted ads, as well as other harmful or misleading web sites. For an overview of all the features of the application, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the AdGuard icon, that may be found on your desktop.
How was OpenCandy installed on computer
The majority of adware gets on your PC along with free programs or even paid software which World Wide Web users can easily download online. The setup files of such programs, in many cases, clearly show that they will install bundled applications. The option is given to users to block the install of any third-party apps. So, in order to avoid the install of any adware: read all disclaimers and install screens very carefully, select only Custom or Advanced installation option and uncheck all third-party apps in which you are unsure.
To sum up
Now your personal computer should be free of the OpenCandy adware that cause undesired ads to appear. We suggest that you keep Zemana Free (to periodically scan your computer for new adwares and other malware) and AdGuard (to help you stop unwanted pop-up advertisements and harmful webpages). Moreover, to prevent any adware, please stay clear of unknown and third party programs, make sure that your antivirus program, turn on the option to find out potentially unwanted software.
If you need more help with OpenCandy related issues, go to here.
