What is Starvards.com?
Starvards.com pop-ups are a scam which tricks users into allowing push notifications from malicious (ad) push servers. Although push notifications cannot harm users directly, scammers use them to display annoying ads, promote questionable programs, and encourage users to visit shady webpages.
The Starvards.com site displays the message ‘Click Allow to access to the video’ (enable Flash Player, connect to the Internet, download a file, access the content of the web page), asking the user to subscribe to notifications. If you click on ALLOW, this site starts sending browser notifications on your desktop. You will see the pop up ads even when you are not using the web-browser.
Threat Summary
| Name | Starvards.com popup |
| Type | spam push notifications, browser notification spam, pop-up virus |
| Distribution | adware, potentially unwanted apps, social engineering attack, misleading pop-up ads |
| Symptoms |
|
| Removal | Starvards.com removal guide |
How did you get infected with Starvards.com popups
Security professionals have determined that users are redirected to Starvards.com by adware or from misleading advertisements. Adware is a form of malicious software that displays popup and notification-style advertisements based on your’s surfing history. Adware can hijack the advertisements of other companies with its own. Most often, adware will track your browsing habits and report this info to its creators.
Adware commonly comes on computers with free software. In most cases, it comes without the user’s knowledge. Therefore, many users aren’t even aware that their PC has been affected with PUPs and adware software. Please follow the easy rules in order to protect your computer from adware and potentially unwanted software: don’t install any suspicious applications, read the user agreement and select only the Custom, Manual or Advanced install mode, do not rush to click the Next button. Also, always try to find a review of the installed software on the World Wide Web. Be careful and attentive!
Remove Starvards.com notifications from web browsers
If the scammers have achieved their goal and you clicked the Allow button, then you need to open web-browser settings as soon as possible and turn off rogue browser notifications. To remove the Starvards.com notifications, complete the steps below. These steps are for Windows, Mac OS and Android.
Google Chrome:
- Click on ‘three dots menu’ button at the top right hand corner of the Google Chrome window.
- Select ‘Settings’. Then, scroll down to the bottom where it says ‘Advanced’.
- When the drop-down menu appears, tap ‘Settings’. Scroll down to ‘Advanced’.
- Go to Notifications settings.
- Click ‘three dots’ button on the right hand side of Starvards.com URL or other rogue notifications and click ‘Remove’.
Android:
- Open Chrome.
- In the top-right corner, find and tap the Google Chrome menu (three dots).
- In the menu tap ‘Settings’, scroll down to ‘Advanced’.
- In the ‘Site Settings’, tap on ‘Notifications’, find the Starvards.com site and tap on it.
- Tap the ‘Clean & Reset’ button and confirm.
Mozilla Firefox:
- Click on ‘three horizontal stripes’ button at the right upper corner of the Firefox window.
- Choose ‘Options’ and click on ‘Privacy & Security’ on the left hand side of the browser window.
- Scroll down to the ‘Permissions’ section and click the ‘Settings’ button next to ‘Notifications’.
- Find sites you down’t want to see notifications from (for example, Starvards.com), click on drop-down menu next to each and select ‘Block’.
- Click ‘Save Changes’ button.
Edge:
- Click the More button (three dots) in the top right hand corner of the screen.
- Scroll down to ‘Settings’. In the menu on the left go to ‘Advanced’.
- Click ‘Manage permissions’ button under ‘Website permissions’.
- Click the switch below the Starvards.com URL and each suspicious domain.
Internet Explorer:
- Click ‘Tools’ button in the top right hand corner of the screen.
- In the drop-down menu select ‘Internet Options’.
- Click on the ‘Privacy’ tab and select ‘Settings’ in the pop-up blockers section.
- Find the Starvards.com URL and click the ‘Remove’ button to remove the URL.
Safari:
- Click ‘Safari’ button on the top left hand corner of the browser and select ‘Preferences’.
- Open ‘Websites’ tab, then in the left menu click on ‘Notifications’.
- Check for Starvards.com, other dubious URLs and apply the ‘Deny’ option for each.
How to remove Starvards.com advertisements from Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge
According to security specialists, Starvards.com pop up advertisements removal can be done manually and/or automatically. These utilities which are listed below will help you remove adware, harmful web-browser add-ons, malware and PUPs . However, if you are not willing to install other apps to remove Starvards.com popups, then use steps below to revert back your PC system settings to their previous states.
To remove Starvards.com pop ups, use the following steps:
- Remove Starvards.com notifications from web browsers
- How to delete Starvards.com popups without any software
- Automatic Removal of Starvards.com popups
- Stop Starvards.com pop-up ads
How to delete Starvards.com popups without any software
This part of the blog post is a step-by-step guide that will show you how to get rid of Starvards.com advertisements manually. You just need to carefully complete each step. In this case, you do not need to download any additional programs.
Remove PUPs using Microsoft Windows Control Panel
The best way to start the computer cleanup is to uninstall unknown and questionable apps. Using the Windows Control Panel you can do this quickly and easily. This step, in spite of its simplicity, should not be ignored, because the removing of unneeded programs can clean up the Mozilla Firefox, Edge, Chrome and Internet Explorer from advertisements, hijackers and so on.
Press Windows button 
, then press Search 
. Type “Control panel”and press Enter. If you using Windows XP or Windows 7, then press “Start” and select “Control Panel”. It will show the Windows Control Panel as displayed in the following example.
Further, press “Uninstall a program” 
It will open a list of all apps installed on your PC. Scroll through the all list, and remove any questionable and unknown apps.
Get rid of Starvards.com from Mozilla Firefox by resetting internet browser settings
If the Firefox settings such as homepage, newtab and default search provider have been replaced by the adware, then resetting it to the default state can help. It will keep your personal information like browsing history, bookmarks, passwords and web form auto-fill data.
Start the Mozilla Firefox and click the menu button (it looks like three stacked lines) at the top right of the internet browser screen. Next, press 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 displayed on the image below.
Click the “Refresh Firefox” button at the top right of the Troubleshooting Information page. Select “Refresh Firefox” in the confirmation dialog box. The Firefox will begin a procedure to fix your problems that caused by the Starvards.com adware. When, it is finished, click the “Finish” button.
Remove Starvards.com advertisements from Internet Explorer
In order to restore all browser new tab, start page and search engine you need to reset the Internet Explorer to the state, that was when the Microsoft Windows was installed on your computer.
First, run the IE. Next, press the button in the form of gear (
). It will show the Tools drop-down menu, click the “Internet Options” as displayed in the following example.
In the “Internet Options” window click on the Advanced tab, then press the Reset button. The Internet Explorer will display the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” window as displayed on the image below. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box, then click “Reset” button.
You will now need to restart your personal computer for the changes to take effect.
Remove Starvards.com advertisements from Chrome
Use the Reset internet browser tool of the Google Chrome to reset all its settings such as home page, search provider by default and new tab to original defaults. This is a very useful tool to use, in the case of internet browser redirects to annoying ad web pages like Starvards.com.
- First, start the Chrome and click the Menu icon (icon in the form of three dots).
- It will show the Chrome main menu. Select More Tools, then click Extensions.
- You’ll 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 steps: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
- Now open the Chrome menu once again, click the “Settings” menu.
- Next, click “Advanced” link, which located at the bottom of the Settings page.
- On the bottom of the “Advanced settings” page, press the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
- The Chrome will show 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 Chrome settings to default.
Automatic Removal of Starvards.com popups
If you are not expert at computers, then we suggest to run free removal tools listed below to remove Starvards.com popups for good. The automatic way is highly recommended. It has less steps and easier to implement than the manual solution. Moreover, it lower risk of system damage. So, the automatic Starvards.com removal is a better option.
How to delete Starvards.com pop-up ads with Zemana Free
Zemana Anti Malware is an extremely fast tool to remove Starvards.com ads from the Mozilla Firefox, Chrome, Edge and IE. It also deletes malware and adware software from your computer. It improves your system’s performance by uninstalling potentially unwanted software.
- Visit the page linked below to download Zemana Free. Save it to your Desktop so that you can access the file easily.
Zemana AntiMalware
163639 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
- Once downloading is finished, close all programs and windows on your device. Open a file location. Double-click on the icon that’s named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
- Further, press Next button and follow the prompts.
- Once installation is complete, click the “Scan” button to look for adware software that causes the annoying Starvards.com pop up 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 Zemana Anti-Malware has completed scanning your device, Zemana Anti-Malware will show a list of all items detected by the scan. Make sure all threats have ‘checkmark’ and click “Next”. When disinfection is finished, you can be prompted to restart your computer.
Remove Starvards.com pop-up ads and harmful extensions with Hitman Pro
Hitman Pro is a free utility which can identify adware software that causes multiple unwanted popups. It is not always easy to locate all the undesired software that your device might have picked up on the Net. Hitman Pro will scan for the adware, browser hijackers and other malware you need to delete.
Visit the following page to download the latest version of Hitman Pro for Windows. Save it on your MS Windows desktop.
When the download is complete, open the file location. You will see an icon like below.
Double click the Hitman Pro desktop icon. After the utility is opened, you will see a screen as displayed in the following example.
Further, click “Next” button to search for adware software that causes Starvards.com popup ads. Depending on your PC system, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. After HitmanPro has completed scanning your device, Hitman Pro will open a list of found items as shown on the image below.
You may remove items (move to Quarantine) by simply press “Next” button. It will open a dialog box, click the “Activate free license” button.
Run MalwareBytes Free to delete Starvards.com advertisements
We recommend using the MalwareBytes that are completely clean your computer of the adware. The free tool is an advanced malicious software removal program developed by (c) Malwarebytes lab. This program uses the world’s most popular anti malware technology. It’s able to help you delete annoying Starvards.com advertisements from your internet browsers, potentially unwanted applications, malware, browser hijackers, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your computer for free.
Visit the following page to download the latest version of MalwareBytes for Windows. Save it on your Desktop.
325836 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
After the downloading process is complete, close all apps and windows on your computer. Double-click the install file named MBSetup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as shown below, click the “Yes” button.
It will open the Setup wizard which will help you install MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) on your device. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
Once installation is complete successfully, click “Get Started” button. MalwareBytes Free will automatically start and you can see its main screen as on the image below.
Now press the “Scan” button to perform a system scan with this utility for the adware software that causes Starvards.com pop-ups. While the MalwareBytes is scanning, you can see number of objects it has identified either as being malicious software.
After MalwareBytes Anti Malware has completed scanning, MalwareBytes will open a list of all threats found by the scan. Make sure all threats have ‘checkmark’ and press “Quarantine” button. The MalwareBytes Anti Malware will get rid of adware that causes multiple unwanted pop ups and move the selected threats to the Quarantine. When the clean-up is complete, you may be prompted to reboot the computer.
We suggest you look at the following video, which completely explains the procedure of using the MalwareBytes to get rid of adware, browser hijacker and other malicious software.
Stop Starvards.com pop-up ads
One of the worst things is the fact that you cannot stop all those annoying web-pages such as Starvards.com using only built-in Windows capabilities. However, there is a program out that you can use to block intrusive web-browser redirects, ads and popups in any modern browsers including Chrome, Edge, Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. It’s named Adguard and it works very well.
Please go to the link below to download AdGuard. Save it on your Desktop.
26510 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
After downloading is finished, run the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen as displayed on the screen below.
Follow the prompts. After the install is complete, you will see a window as displayed on the screen 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 which will help you get to know AdGuard better.
In most cases, the default settings are enough and you do not need to change anything. Each time, when you start your computer, AdGuard will run automatically and stop undesired advertisements, block Starvards.com, as well as other malicious 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, that can be found on your desktop.
To sum up
Once you have removed the adware using this few simple steps, Edge, Internet Explorer, Chrome and Mozilla Firefox will no longer display unwanted Starvards.com web page when you browse the Internet. Unfortunately, if the step-by-step guide does not help you, then you have caught a new adware software, and then the best way – ask for help.
Please create a new question by using the “Ask Question” button in the Questions and Answers. Try to give us some details about your problems, so we can try to help you more accurately. Wait for one of our trained “Security Team” or Site Administrator to provide you with knowledgeable assistance tailored to your problem with the unwanted Starvards.com advertisements.
