How to Keep Adware and Unwanted Pop-up Ads Away from Your Computer

Advertising, which is legitimately a means to send promotional messages from companies to customers, has now evolved into relatively complex forms in presentation, such as banners, branded videos, pop-up ads, search ads, etc. But if you’re bombarded with unlimited ads in a short time, or you’re redirected to unwanted websites constantly, it’s very likely your computer has infected with adware.

Adware can not only annoy you by infinite pop-ups, but also slow down your computer by eating up more computer memory, and slow down your internet speed by taking up more bandwidth to download advertisements. Are there any effective ways to remove adware and keep your computer away from unwanted pop-up ads? Here comes the complete tutorial in 3 levels. Read through to stop adware and pop-up ads from troubling you. 

Level 1: Keep adware away while downloading and installing software

1. Only download software from trustworthy sites

Usually, adware are bundled with other freeware you installed without your knowledge. So whenever you want to download and install a software program, stick to the trusted, reputable sources and those committed to being free of malware. This will greatly reduce the risk of being infected with adware or various malware. In addition, always decline any recommendation of home modifications while installing.

2. Opt for genuine software, avoid keygens or cracks

Some users may download keygens or cracks to save some bucks. However, the fact is, a lot of keygens and cracks are made by hackers, and such illegal programs are the most common ways the criminals make use of to hijack your computer, send annoying ads or even spy on your privacy. To keep your computer safe, you’d better discard keygens and cracks, opt for genuine software from the developers’ official sites or trustworthy download sites.

3. Make sure your system and software are up to date

As everyone knows, Microsoft releases Windows updates constantly to patch up the discovered vulnerabilities. In this way, users can protect their systems from potential attacks. The same goes to the software developers. The newer version with the previously known exploits patched can better keep your computer safe from malicious users. It’s important to consider updating your system and software while available.

Level 2: Stop adware and pop-up ads from browsers

1. Turn on pop-up blocking settings for your browsers

For Chrome: Go to Settings ->Advanced -> Privacy and Security -> Content Settings -> Popups, make sure the first switch is off, which says Blocked (recommended).

For Firefox: Go to Options -> Privacy & Security -> Permissions ->Block Pop-up windows, tick it.

For Edge: Go to Settings ->View advanced settings ->Block pop-ups, switch it on.

2. Find and remove adware extension from your browser

For Chrome: Go to Settings ->More tools ->Extensions, here remove any unknown extensions, and extensions you recently installed just before pop-up ads started appearing.

For Firefox: Go to Add-ons ->Extensions, select suspicious extensions and click Remove.

For Edge: Click ≡ and then Add-ons, click Extensions in the open window, then remove rogue adware extensions.

Level 3: Use an anti-malware program

If you want to block adware and pop-up ads more thoroughly and radically, or if the annoying ads still persist in your computer, you can turn to anti-malware software. IObit Malware Fighter is an intelligent and handy adware blocker that stops adware and pop-up ads efficiently. It will scan the downloaded files to avoid adware or other malicious files in the first place. In addition, the built-in Surfing Protection & Ads Removal engine can further block malicious tracking and ads in real-time. If an adware or other malware detected while surfing online, IObit Malware Fighter will notify you and provide one-click removal solution to protect your computer from attacks.