How to Remove Popup Ads from Chrome

Google Chrome is the most used web browser across all platforms like Windows, Mac, and Android. Because of its simplicity and advanced features like Chrome extensions, it has become the favorite of the users.

However, with such a large user base, Google Chrome is always on the target of cybercriminals. Google has spent a lot on making Chrome more secure, but malware attacks are inevitable, especially when cybercriminals are getting smarter in tricking people into installing malware by themselves. These malware programs act as useful offers, but in contrast, they are designed for malicious purposes.

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One such common way to trap the users is by using malicious Pop-Up Ads.

Pop-up ads are annoying ads that randomly appear on your screen while you are browsing the internet. They are much irritating and can diminish your browsing experience.

What more, they are the carriers or the gateway to the more malicious programs such as Browser Hijackers, Trojans, Spyware, and others. Sometimes they can appear too much in number, hence slowing down your system and along with that your workflow.

So in this guide, we would discuss what the causes of these annoying, irrelevant pop-ups are and how to get rid of them.

What Causes Pop-Up Ads?

There could be multiple ways the pop-up ads could arrive on your browser. We would discuss the 4 popular ones.

1. Through Adware

Adware is the malicious program that secretly hides on your system and displays irrelevant pop-up ads while you are browsing the internet. It gets an entry on your system through a free bundled software or the rogue extension.

2. Tech Support Scammers

One of the most common online scams is Tech Support Scam. Previously they used to send emails to the people and trap them, but since pop-ups can provide a greater reach, so now they are used as the medium to scam. What Tech Support Scammers do is, they would randomly pop-up the warning messages like “YOUR SYSTEM IS INFECTED WITH VIRUS! Click Here for Support!” and scare people to click on the ads for taking the support. The naive users would easily fell into this trap, and to save their system, they would click the ads and thus get scammed.

3. Web Extensions

Web extensions are another common cause of pop-up ads. Some web extensions pretend to be useful to trick users into downloading them. After downloading, they started to get irrelevant ads popping up on their screen randomly.

4. Ransomware

Ransomware is one of the most destructive malware programs. It generally encrypts your system files and asks for the ransom in return for the decryption tool or key. However, some forms of ransomware are designed to take control of your browser and display fake pop-up notifications that accuse the victim of violating the law. The pop-up message would pretend to be from the FBI or other government agencies and scare users that they are involved in illegal activities like child pornography or illegally downloading movies. They would ask for money to release them from all charges.

How to get rid of Pop-Up Ads from Chrome Browser?

Pop-ups could be very damaging to your system and even your privacy too. They could steal your personal pieces of information and also cause mental agony. And, as already mentioned, they are the doorways to other threatening malware programs. So it is crucial to remove them from the browsers. Here are the ways how you can do that.

1. Use Chrome Malware Scanner

 

For those of you who don’t know, Google Chrome comes with an inbuilt malware scanner to catch and quarantine the malicious files and programs on your system. It further gives you the option to remove them.

Although the Chrome malware scanner automatically detects for suspicious activities, you can perform a manual scan too.

Please note that this feature is only in the Windows version of the Chrome browser.

– Open the Chrome Browser

– At the top-right corner, click on the three dots and choose Settings.

Use Chrome Malware Scanner

– Under settings, move at the bottom and click on Advanced.

– Again, scroll down and click on Clean up computer option under Reset and Cleanup heading.

– Now, just click on Find and uncheck the “Send details to Google….” checkbox below, if you don’t aspire to provide the details to Google.

2. Disallow Pop-Ups from Site Settings

You might have allowed a site to send pop-ups, and now it is bombarding you with irrelevant pop-ups. But worry not, you can easily disallow it from the site settings.

– In the Chrome browser, open settings by clicking on the three-dots at top-right and choosing Settings.

 Look for ‘Privacy and Security‘ heading and click on Site Settings.

– Scroll down for the ‘Pop-ups and redirects‘ option and click on it.

– Remove the culprit site from Allow and add it in the Block section. Also, block the pop-ups if not done. 

Disallow Redirects from Site Settings

 

3. Remove the Malicious Extensions

If you suspect any extension is causing the pop-ups, you can simply disable or permanently delete it.

– Again, click on the three-dots and look for the ‘More tools’ option. Hover on it, and you would find the Extensions option.

– You would find all the installed Extensions on this page. Look for the suspicious ones, that you might have installed recently before the pop-ups begin. Remove all the shady ones.

Delete Suspicious Web Extensions

 

How to avoid Pop-Up Ads on Chrome?

The saying ‘prevention is better than cure’ is more relevant while dealing with computer malware, including pop-up ads. It is better to take preventative measures to avoid pop-ups rather than wasting your time in removing them after they got entered into your system.

These are the cautions you should follow:

  • Avoid visiting the unknown, insecure websites, and also avoid allowing them to show pop-ups.
  • Do not download the software from unknown sources. Most people take risks of downloading software from unknown sources because they provide huge discounts or even free software.
  • While installing web extensions, make sure that they are from verified sources. Also, check their reviews before adding them.
  • Do not fall into the trap of cybercriminals by clicking on unknown links or ads. Educate yourself to know the difference between legitimate and illegitimate offers and links.
  • Keep your system secured with a proper anti-malware program. It is better to get it before rather than after the malware attack.