The appearance of Ads by Public Hotspot advertisements is a sign of ‘ad-supported’ software (also known as adware), which installed on your computer. Moreover, the ad-supported software can lead to the browser freezing/crash, delays when starting a new browser window or delays when viewing a website on the Net. I think you definitely want to solve this problem. For this purpose, necessity to perform cleanup of your PC. Follow the step-by-step guidance below that will help you to remove Public Hotspot advertisements and clean your computer from the adware using the standard features of Microsoft Windows and some proven free applications.
While your computer is affected by the Public Hotspot adware, the Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and MS Edge may be redirected to annoying web-pages and unwanted ads. Of course, the ad supported software may not cause damages to your files or Windows system, but it may open a large count of undesired advertisements. These ads will be injected within the content of pages that are you opening in your web-browser and can be varied: pop-up ads, in-text ads, different sized banners, offers to install an questionable software. The Public Hotspot ads will appear on all web pages, including pages where previously you have never seen any advertising banners.
The worst is, the Public Hotspot adware be able to gather your browsing history and personal data, including passwords and credit card numbers. In the future, personal info about you can be used for marketing purposes.
We strongly advise that you perform the instructions below which will assist you to get rid of Public Hotspot ads using the standard features of Windows and some proven freeware.
How to remove Public Hotspot ads
In the steps below, we’ll try to cover the MS Edge, Firefox, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer and provide general help to remove Public Hotspot advertisements. You may find some minor differences in your Windows install. No matter, you should be okay if you follow the steps outlined below: uninstall all suspicious and unknown apps, reset web-browsers settings, fix web-browsers shortcuts, get rid of harmful scheduled tasks, use free malware removal tools. Read it once, after doing so, please print this page as you may need to exit your web browser or restart your personal computer.
To remove Public Hotspot, perform the steps below:
- How to manually remove Public Hotspot ads
- Use free malware removal utilities to completely remove Public Hotspot advertisements
- Run AdBlocker to block Public Hotspot ads
- How to Public Hotspot advertisements get installed onto computer
- To sum up
How to manually remove Public Hotspot ads
Read this “How to remove” section to know how to manually delete ‘ad supported’ software that created to redirect your browser to various ad webpages like Public Hotspot. Even if the few simple steps does not work for you, there are several free malware removers below that can easily handle such adware which causes intrusive Public Hotspot advertisements.
Uninstall questionable software using Microsoft Windows Control Panel
First, go to MS Windows Control Panel and delete questionable applications, all programs you don’t remember installing. It is important to pay the most attention to software you installed just before Public Hotspot advertisements appeared on your browser. If you don’t know what a program does, look for the answer on the Internet.
Make sure you have closed all browsers and other software. Press CTRL, ALT, DEL keys together to open the Windows Task Manager.
Click on the “Processes” tab, look for something questionable that is the adware that designed to display unwnted Public Hotspot ads then right-click it and select “End Task” or “End Process” option. Most commonly, malware masks itself to avoid detection by imitating legitimate MS Windows processes. A process is particularly suspicious: it is taking up a lot of memory (despite the fact that you closed all of your applications), its name is not familiar to you (if you are in doubt, you can always check the program by doing a search for its name in Google, Yahoo or Bing).
Next, delete any unwanted and suspicious applications 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 system. Most probably, one of them is the adware responsible for Public Hotspot ads. Select the suspicious program or the program that name is not familiar to you and delete it.
Windows Vista, 7
From the “Start” menu in MS Windows, select “Control Panel”. Under the “Programs” icon, choose “Uninstall a program”.
Select the questionable or any unknown applications, then press “Uninstall/Change” button to delete this undesired program from your computer.
Windows XP
Click the “Start” button, select “Control Panel” option. Click on “Add/Remove Programs”.
Select an undesired program, then click “Change/Remove” button. Follow the prompts.
Get rid of Public Hotspot advertisements from IE
By resetting Internet Explorer web-browser you return your web-browser settings to its default state. This is first when troubleshooting problems that might have been caused by adware responsible for redirecting your internet browser to Public Hotspot webpage.
First, run the Internet Explorer, click ) button. Next, press “Internet Options” as on the image below.
In the “Internet Options” screen select the Advanced tab. Next, press 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 restart your PC for the changes to take effect. It will remove adware that responsible for the appearance of Public Hotspot advertisements, disable malicious and ad-supported web browser’s extensions and restore the IE’s settings like home page, newtab page and search provider by default to default state.
Remove Public Hotspot ads from Google Chrome
If your Chrome web-browser is redirected to intrusive Public Hotspot web-page, it may be necessary to completely reset your web-browser program to its default settings.
- First, start the Chrome and press the Menu icon (icon in the form of three dots).
- It will show the Chrome main menu. Select More Tools, then click Extensions.
- You will see the list of installed add-ons. If the list has the extension labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following guide: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
- Now open the Chrome menu once again, click the “Settings” menu.
- Next, press “Advanced” link, which located at the bottom of the Settings page.
- On the bottom of the “Advanced settings” page, click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
- The Google Chrome will display the reset settings prompt as shown on the screen above.
- Confirm the web-browser’s reset by clicking on the “Reset” button.
- To learn more, read the article How to reset Google Chrome settings to default.
Delete Public Hotspot from Firefox by resetting web browser settings
If the Firefox web-browser is redirected to Public Hotspot and you want to recover the Mozilla Firefox settings back to their default values, then you should follow the steps below. It’ll save your personal information such as saved passwords, bookmarks, auto-fill data and open tabs.
First, launch the Firefox and press button. It will show the drop-down menu on the right-part of the web browser. Further, click the Help button () as shown 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 display the “Troubleshooting Information” page as shown 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 Firefox will begin a task to fix your problems that caused by the adware that responsible for the appearance of Public Hotspot ads. Once, it is finished, press the “Finish” button.
Use free malware removal utilities to completely remove Public Hotspot advertisements
The manual tutorial above is tedious to use and can not always help to completely delete the Public Hotspot ads. Here I am telling you an automatic method to get rid of this ‘ad supported’ software from your machine completely. Zemana Free, MalwareBytes and Hitman Pro are anti malware utilities that can scan for and remove all kinds of malicious software including ad-supported software related to Public Hotspot advertisements.
Run Zemana Anti-malware to remove Public Hotspot ads
You can get rid of Public Hotspot advertisements automatically with a help of Zemana Anti-malware. We suggest this malware removal tool because it can easily get rid of browser hijackers, potentially unwanted programs, adware that reroutes your web-browser to Public Hotspot website with all their components such as folders, files and registry entries.
Now you can install and run Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) to remove Public Hotspot ads from your web browser by following the steps below:
Visit the page linked below to download Zemana installer called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup on your machine. Save it directly to your Microsoft Windows Desktop.
164112 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
Start the setup file after it has been downloaded successfully and then follow the prompts to install this tool on your computer.
During installation you can change some settings, but we recommend you don’t make any changes to default settings.
When installation is finished, this malware removal tool will automatically run and update itself. You will see its main window as shown in the figure below.
Now click the “Scan” button to detect Public Hotspot adware. This procedure can take some time, so please be patient. While the Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) is checking, you can see number of objects it has identified either as being malicious software.
When Zemana completes the scan, Zemana will show a screen that contains a list of malicious software that has been detected. Review the scan results and then press “Next” button.
The Zemana Anti Malware will get rid of ad-supported software that causes tons of intrusive Public Hotspot advertisements and add threats to the Quarantine. Once the process is finished, you may be prompted to restart your computer to make the change take effect.
Use Hitman Pro to remove Public Hotspot advertisements
The Hitman Pro utility is free (30 day trial) and easy to use. It can check and remove malicious software, potentially unwanted applications and adware in Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Chrome and Microsoft Internet Explorer browsers and thereby get rid of all intrusive Public Hotspot ads. Hitman Pro is powerful enough to find and get rid of malicious registry entries and files that are hidden on the PC system.
- Installing the Hitman Pro is simple. First you will need to download HitmanPro from the following link.
- Once the downloading process is done, double click the HitmanPro icon. Once this utility is started, click “Next” button to begin scanning your machine for the adware that causes lots of intrusive Public Hotspot advertisements. This process may take quite a while, so please be patient. When a threat is detected, the number of the security threats will change accordingly.
- Once the system scan is finished, Hitman Pro will show you the results. In order to remove all items, simply click “Next” button. Now press the “Activate free license” button to start the free 30 days trial to remove all malware found.
Scan and free your system of adware with Malwarebytes
Remove Public Hotspot ads manually is difficult and often the adware is not completely removed. Therefore, we recommend you to run the Malwarebytes Free that are completely clean your machine. Moreover, the free application will allow you to remove malware, potentially unwanted programs, toolbars and browser hijacker infections that your PC system can be infected too.
Visit the page linked below to download the latest version of MalwareBytes Anti Malware for MS Windows. Save it to your Desktop so that you can access the file easily.
326462 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
Once the download is complete, close all programs and windows on your personal computer. Double-click the setup file named mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as shown in the following example, click the “Yes” button.
It will open the “Setup wizard” that will help you set up MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) on your PC. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
Once setup is finished successfully, click Finish button. MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) will automatically start and you can see its main screen as on the image below.
Now click the “Scan Now” button to perform a system scan with this tool for the ‘ad supported’ software that causes unwanted Public Hotspot advertisements. This process may take some time, so please be patient. While the MalwareBytes utility is scanning, you can see count of objects it has identified as being infected by malware.
Once the scan is finished, the results are displayed in the scan report. In order to get rid of all items, simply click “Quarantine Selected” button. The MalwareBytes will start to get rid of ‘ad supported’ software which causes unwanted Public Hotspot ads. After finished, you may be prompted to restart the machine.
We suggest you look at the following video, which completely explains the process of using the MalwareBytes Free to remove adware, browser hijacker and other malicious software.
Run AdBlocker to block Public Hotspot ads
Use ad-blocking program such as AdGuard in order to block advertisements, malvertisements, pop-ups and online trackers, avoid having to install harmful and adware browser plug-ins and add-ons which affect your system performance and impact your computer security. Browse the Internet anonymously and stay safe online!
- Visit the page linked below to download AdGuard. Save it to your Desktop.
Adguard download
26657 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
- Once downloading is done, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
- After the installation is finished, click “Skip” to close the install application and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will assist 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 start your machine, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop unwanted pop-up ads, as well as other harmful or misleading sites. For an overview of all the features of the program, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the icon named AdGuard, which is located on your desktop.
How to Public Hotspot advertisements get installed onto computer
The ad-supported software come bundled with many freeware and commercial programs. This PUP can be installed in background without user consent, but usually it’s introduced to a user when a downloaded program are installed. So, read term of use and user agreement very carefully before installing any software or otherwise you can end up with another adware on your system, such as this adware that causes browsers to show intrusive Public Hotspot advertisements.
To sum up
Once you’ve finished the step-by-step instructions shown above, your PC should be clean from adware that cause intrusive Public Hotspot advertisements to appear and other malicious software. The Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Edge will no longer redirect you to various undesired webpages. Unfortunately, if the instructions does not help you, then you have caught a new adware, and then the best way – ask for help here.