How to remove Routes adware (Virus removal guide)

What is Routes

Routes is a PUP (potentially unwanted program) that belongs to the Adware family. By definition, adware is a piece of software that displays advertisements on a computer. However, people basically use the word ‘adware’ to describe a form of malicious software which displays unwanted advertisements to the user. Most often, this kind of adware do not have any uninstall procedures and can use technologies that are similar to those used by malicious software to penetrate the computer.

The Routes adware can display unwanted advertisements, modify computer and browser settings, download and install harmful browser extensions. All the time, while the adware is running, your browser will be fill with intrusive ads.

Another reason why you need to delete the adware is its online data-tracking activity. It can gather your Internet surfing activity by saving URLs visited, IP addresses, internet browser version and type, cookie information, Internet Service Provider (ISP) and websites visited. Such kind of behavior can lead to serious security problems or sensitive info theft. This is another reason why the Routes adware should be uninstalled as soon as possible.

We advise to remove Routes adware, as soon as you found this problem, as it can redirect your web browser to web-resources which may load other unwanted applications on your computer.

How does Routes get on your PC system

Adware software spreads with a simple but quite effective way. It is integrated into the setup file of various free software. Thus on the process of install, it will be installed onto your PC and/or web browser. In order to avoid adware, you just need to follow a few simple rules: carefully read the Terms of Use and the license, select only a Manual, Custom or Advanced setup type, which enables you to make sure that the program you want to install, thereby protect your computer from adware software.

Threat Summary

Name	Routes
Type	adware, potentially unwanted program (PUP), pop up ads, popup virus, pop-ups
Symptoms	advertising banners appear in places they shouldn’t be every time you perform an Internet search, your internet browser is re-directed to another website new entries appear in your Programs folder intrusive toolbars your internet browser start page has replaced without your permission you cannot update your antivirus software speed test good but internet slow your device became slower than normal
Removal	Routes removal guide

How to remove Routes adware from Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge

As with removing adware, malware or PUPs, there are few steps you can do. We advise trying them all. If you do only one part of the instructions, then it should be run malicious software removal tool, because it should remove adware software and block any further infection. But to completely uninstall the Routes adware you’ll have to at least reset your web browser settings like new tab page, default search provider and start page to default state, disinfect browsers shortcuts, remove unwanted and suspicious apps, and scan computer using malicious software removal utilities. Read this manual carefully, bookmark it or open this page on your smartphone, because you may need to close your web browser or reboot your device.

To remove Routes, complete the following steps:

1. How to remove Routes adware software without any software
   • Uninstall recently added adware
   • Remove Routes from Google Chrome
   • Remove Routes adware software from Firefox
   • Delete Routes adware software from IE
2. Automatic Removal of Routes adware
3. How to stay safe online

How to remove Routes adware software without any software

In most cases, it’s possible to manually delete Routes adware. This method does not involve the use of any tricks or removal tools. You just need to restore the normal settings of the computer and internet browser. This can be done by following a few simple steps below. If you want to quickly get rid of adware, as well as perform a full scan of your device, we recommend that you run adware removal utilities, which are listed below.

Uninstall recently added adware

Some potentially unwanted software, browser hijacking applications and adware can be uninstalled by uninstalling the free programs they came with. If this way does not succeed, then looking them up in the list of installed applications in Microsoft Windows Control Panel. Use the “Uninstall” command in order to remove them.

It will display the Windows Control Panel like below.

Next, press “Uninstall a program”
It will show a list of all applications installed on your computer. Scroll through the all list, and remove any questionable and unknown apps. To quickly find the latest installed applications, we recommend sort applications by date in the Control panel.

Remove Routes from Google Chrome

Reset Google Chrome settings will remove unwanted ads from browser and disable malicious add-ons. It will also clear cached and temporary data (cookies, site data and content). However, your saved passwords and bookmarks will not be changed, deleted or cleared.

Open the Google Chrome menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal dotes (). It will open the drop-down menu. Select More Tools, then click Extensions.

Carefully browse through 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 otherwise, just go to the step below.

Open the Google Chrome main menu again, press to “Settings” option.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the “Advanced” link. Now scroll down until the Reset settings section is visible, as on the image below and click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.

Confirm your action, click the “Reset” button.

Remove Routes adware software from Firefox

If the Mozilla Firefox browser application 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 Mozilla Firefox settings like newtab, startpage and search provider to their default values. It will save your personal information such as saved passwords, bookmarks, auto-fill data and open tabs.

First, start the Mozilla Firefox and click button. It will show the drop-down menu on the right-part of the browser. Further, click the Help button () as shown in the figure 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 displayed in the following example. In the upper-right corner of this screen, click the “Refresh Firefox” button.

It will show the confirmation dialog box. Further, click the “Refresh Firefox” button. The Mozilla Firefox will begin a process to fix your problems that caused by the Routes adware. Once, it’s complete, click the “Finish” button.

Delete Routes adware software from IE

If you find that Internet Explorer web browser settings such as start page, search engine and newtab page had been replaced by the Routes adware, then you may return your settings, via the reset web-browser procedure.

First, run the Internet Explorer, press ) button. Next, press “Internet Options” as displayed on the screen below.

In the “Internet Options” screen select the Advanced tab. Next, press Reset button. The IE will show the Reset Internet Explorer settings prompt. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box and press Reset button.

You will now need to reboot your computer for the changes to take effect. It will get rid of Routes ads, disable malicious and ad-supported internet browser’s extensions and restore the IE’s settings such as homepage, search engine by default and newtab to default state.

Automatic Removal of Routes adware

The manual steps above is tedious to use and can not always help to fully remove the Routes adware. Here I am telling you an automatic method to remove this adware software from your computer completely. Zemana Anti Malware (ZAM), MalwareBytes AntiMalware and HitmanPro are anti-malware tools that have the ability to scan for and get rid of all kinds of malicious software including adware.

Remove Routes adware with Zemana

Zemana is a malicious software removal utility designed for Microsoft Windows. This tool will help you remove adware software, various types of malware (including browser hijackers and PUPs) from your PC. It has simple and user friendly interface. While the Zemana Anti Malware (ZAM) does its job, your computer will run smoothly.

Download Zemana Anti Malware (ZAM) on your Microsoft Windows Desktop from the following link.

When the download is done, close all windows on your PC system. Further, open the set up file called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up like the one below, click the “Yes” button.

It will display the “Setup wizard” that will allow you install Zemana Anti Malware (ZAM) on the device. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.

Once install is complete successfully, Zemana will automatically launch and you can see its main window as shown on the image below.

Next, click the “Scan” button to start scanning your PC for the Routes adware. This process may take quite a while, so please be patient. While the Zemana Anti Malware is checking, you may see how many objects it has identified either as being malicious software.

Once the scan get completed, Zemana Anti Malware will prepare a list of unwanted software and adware. Make sure to check mark the threats which are unsafe and then press “Next” button.

The Zemana Anti-Malware will remove Routes and move the selected threats to the Quarantine. When disinfection is complete, you can be prompted to reboot your computer.

Delete Routes adware from internet browsers with Hitman Pro

All-in-all, Hitman Pro is a fantastic utility to free your device from any unwanted applications like Routes . The HitmanPro is portable program that meaning, you do not need to install it to use it. HitmanPro is compatible with all versions of Windows OS from MS Windows XP to Windows 10. Both 64-bit and 32-bit systems are supported.

1. Installing the HitmanPro is simple. First you will need to download Hitman Pro on your computer by clicking on the following link.
   
   

   HitmanPro
   12076 downloads
   Author: Sophos
   Category: Security tools
   Update: June 28, 2018
   
2. After the downloading process is done, run the HitmanPro, double-click the HitmanPro.exe file.
3. If the “User Account Control” prompts, click Yes to continue.
4. In the HitmanPro window, click the “Next” to start scanning your device for the Routes adware. Depending on your device, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. When a malware, adware or potentially unwanted programs are detected, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the checking is complete.
5. As the scanning ends, Hitman Pro will open a screen which contains a list of malware that has been detected. You may remove items (move to Quarantine) by simply click “Next”. Now, click the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial to get rid of all malware found.

Use MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) to delete Routes

We recommend using the MalwareBytes Free which are fully clean your PC of the adware. The free tool is an advanced malware removal application developed by (c) Malwarebytes lab. This program uses the world’s most popular anti-malware technology. It’s able to help you get rid of Routes ads from your web browsers, remove PUPs, malware, hijackers, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your device for free.

Visit the following page to download MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM). Save it on your Windows desktop.

After the downloading process is finished, run it and follow the prompts. Once installed, the MalwareBytes Free will try to update itself and when this procedure is done, press the “Scan” button to begin checking your PC system for the Routes adware. Depending on your personal computer, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. While the utility is scanning, you may see count of objects and files has already scanned. Once you have selected what you wish to remove from your computer click “Quarantine” button.

The MalwareBytes Anti Malware is a free application that you can use to get rid of all detected folders, files, services, registry entries and so on. To learn more about this malware removal utility, we suggest you to read and follow the step-by-step instructions or the video guide below.

How to stay safe online

In order to increase your security and protect your PC system against new unwanted ads and malicious web sites, you need to use ad-blocker application that blocks an access to harmful advertisements and websites. Moreover, the program may block the open of intrusive advertising, that also leads to faster loading of web-pages and reduce the consumption of web traffic.

1. Visit the following page to download the latest version of AdGuard for Windows. Save it to your Desktop so that you can access the file easily.
   
   

   Adguard download
   26655 downloads
   Version: 6.4
   Author: © Adguard
   Category: Security tools
   Update: November 15, 2018
   
2. Once the download is complete, launch the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
3. When the install is complete, press “Skip” to close the setup application and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will help you get to know AdGuard better.
4. In most cases, the default settings are enough and you do not need to change anything. Each time, when you start your device, AdGuard will start automatically and stop unwanted ads, block malicious and misleading websites. For an overview of all the features of the program, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the icon called AdGuard, that is located on your desktop.

To sum up

We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted popup ads and intrusive malicious web sites) and Zemana Free (to periodically scan your computer for new malicious software, hijackers and adware). Make sure that you have all the Critical Updates recommended for Microsoft Windows operating system. Without regular updates you WILL NOT be protected when new browser hijackers, malicious apps and adware are released.

If you are still having problems while trying to remove the Routes adware from your web-browser, then ask for help here.