Get Rid of Adchoices

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AdChoices is a browser hijacker add-on that when installed, will make a series of changes to your personal browser preferences and cause pop-up ads to display on your desktop. AdChoices is normally attached to other third-party software and can infect all browsers on both Windows and OS X. Removing AdChoices will help prevent your computer and personal information from being compromised by malicious third-parties.

Steps

Removing the AdChoices Software (Windows)

  1. Download and install AdwCleaner. This is a free anti-adware program developed by General Changelog Team. You can download it for free from general-changelog-team.fr/en/tools/15-adwcleaner.
    • Many people report success just using AdwCleaner, but if you want to be extra-sure, download the following two programs as well.
  2. Download and install Malwarebyte Antimalware. This is another free anti-malware program that can help find and remove AdChoices and other malicious programs. You can get it from malwarebytes.org.
  3. Download and install Spybot Free Edition. This is another free aniti-adware program developed by Safer Networking. You can get the free version from safer-networking.org/mirrors
  4. Reboot your computer in Safe Mode. It will be easier for these anti-adware programs to scan when your computer is running in Safe Mode.
    • Reboot your computer.
    • Repeatedly hit F8 before the Windows logo appears.
    • Select "Safe Mode with Networking" from the Advanced Startup menu.
    • Start-Windows-in-Safe-Mode.
  5. Run AdwCleaner. Start up AdwCleaner and click the "Search" button. Allow the program to scan your computer (this could take a few minutes).
  6. Ensure that all the results are checked. When AdwCleaner has finished scanning, it will return a list of results. By default, all of these should be checked already.
  7. Click the "Clean" button. AdwCleaner will eliminate all of the checked entries.
  8. Run your Malwarebytes and Spybot. Both of these operate similarly to AdwCleaner. Allow them to scan your computer, and then clean or quarantine the results of the scan.
    • Only run one scan at a time.
  9. Reboot your computer. Once you have run a scan with all three programs and removed any results, you can reboot your computer to exit Safe Mode and move on to the next section.

Resetting Your Browsers (Windows)

  1. Open Internet Explorer. Even if you don't use Internet Explorer, you should still go through these steps, since it is used in some system tasks.
  2. Click the Gear icon or the Tools menu and select "Internet Options".
  3. Click the .Advanced tab.
  4. Click .Reset... button and check the "Delete personal settings" box.
  5. Click .Reset to reset Internet Explorer to default and remove AdChoices. You will be prompted to restart your computer.
  6. Open Firefox (if applicable). AdChoices infects all of your browsers, so open up Firefox if you have it installed, even if you don't use it. If you don't have it, skip down to the next browser.
  7. Click the Firefox Menu button (☰) and select "Help" (?). This is located at the bottom of the menu.
  8. Click "Troubleshooting Information".
  9. Click the .Reset Firefox... button. Click Reset Firefox to confirm.
  10. Open Chrome (if applicable). AdChoices infects all of your browsers, so open up Chrome if you have it installed, even if you don't use it.
  11. Click the Chrome Menu button (☰) and select "Settings".
  12. Click the "Show advanced settings" link at the bottom of the page.
  13. Scroll down to the bottom of the list and click .Reset settings. Click Reset to confirm.

Removing the AdChoices Software (Mac OS X)

  1. Download AdwareMedic. This is a free anti-adware program that works with OS X 10.7 (Lion) or later. If you are running an earlier version of OS X, see the Get-Rid-of-Adchoices.
  2. Run the AdwareMedic scan. Start AdwareMedic and click "Scan for Adware". AdwareMedic scans are usually fairly quick.
  3. Look through the list of results. If AdwareMedic finds any adware files on your computer, it will list them along with the name of the adware program. Any files which AdwareMedic deems dangerous will automatically be marked for deletion.
    • You may want to check the items that are left unchecked. These are usually browser settings files that have been modified. Removing them will help guarantee that the adware is removed, but will also revert some of your browser settings in the process.
  4. Click the . button. All of the checked results will be removed and placed in a folder in your Trash.
    • You may be prompted for the administrator password when removing certain adware.
    • You may also be prompted to reboot your computer in order to complete the process.
  5. Reinstall Firefox (if prompted). Sometimes, adware can make changes to the actual Firefox program. This isn't something that can be fixed by AdwareMedic, but it will notify you if it finds evidence. If this happens to you, it is highly recommended that you delete Firefox and redownload it from Mozilla.[1]

Manual Removal (Mac OS X)

  1. Open Safari. Safari doesn't have a browser reset option that removes extensions for you, so you'll have to do it all manually.
  2. Click "Safari" → "Preferences" and select the "General" tab.
  3. Reset the homepage to the page of your choice.
  4. Check both the "Security" and the "General" tabs for the default search engine. The location varies depending on the version of Safari you are using.
    • Set the default search engine back to your preferred search engine.
  5. Click the "Extensions" tab of the "Preferences" menu. Look for any unknown extensions and click .
  6. Open the file locations listed below. These are common locations for some of the most prolific adware. Copy a line, open the Finder, click "Go" → "Go to Folder", and then paste the copied line into the field. This will open the location in Finder so that you can delete the files. Drag anything selected in these locations to the Trash:[2]

     /Library/Application Support/VSearch  /Library/LaunchAgents/com.vsearch.agent.plist  /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.vsearch.daemon.plist  /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.vsearch.helper.plist  /Library/LaunchDaemons/Jack.plist  /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/Jack  /System/Library/Frameworks/VSearch.framework  /Applications/SearchProtect.app  /Library/LaunchAgents/com.conduit.loader.agent.plist  /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.perion.searchprotectd.plist  /Library/Application Support/SIMBL/Plugins/CT2285220.bundle  ~/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/ConduitNPAPIPlugin.plugin  ~/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/TroviNPAPIPlugin.plugin  /Library/InputManagers/CTLoader/ All contents to Trash  /Library/Application Support/Conduit/ All contents to Trash  ~/Conduit/ All contents to Trash  ~/Trovi/ All contents to Trash

  7. Reboot your Mac. Your browser should no longer be controlled by AdChoices.

Tips

  • When removing AdChoices programs and extensions from your computer and browsers, look for and uninstall any programs and extensions published by Babylon and Incredibar. AdChoices software is often bundled with and attached to programs developed by Babylon and Incredibar.[3]

Warnings

  • Remove AdChoices from your computer as soon as possible after it has been installed to your system and browsers. AdChoices may replace some items in search results with deceptive links that could redirect you to harmful and malicious third-party websites.

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.thesafemac.com/arg/
  2. ↑ http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203987
  3. ↑ http://www.2-spyware.com/remove-adchoices.html
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