2022-10-18
Pop-ups with intrusive advertisements are terribly annoying. Attempts to enjoy your favorite video or read an article of interest turn into a battle with "crosses" in Chrome or any other browser. As the result both the mood is spoiled and the desire to use the phone disappears. How to permanently remove advertising pop-ups on your phone - read on.
Content :
- What are the dangers of popup windows
- How a virus "infects" your phone
- Removing popup ads: first steps
- Checking Ad Notifications
- Removing a popup ad virus in your browser
- Apps to remove popup ads
What are popup ads and why are they dangerous?
These are usually banners with annoying advertisements. They are displayed constantly and do not disappear even if you have followed the presented link. On the contrary, may open some more tabs and so on ad infinitum with each subsequent click. Often appear on the main screen, even if no utility is running.
Site owners/application developers often place banners in their project in order to make money. This is a natural phenomenon. Sometimes you can get rid of it by simply paying for the "Ad-free Preview" service or by purchasing the full version of the product.
Another case is when the appearance of popups is caused by a malware infected gadget. In this case many times more ads are displayed on the screen, it is difficult to close them and obtaining information is much more difficult.
How does an adware virus get on my mobile device?
Ways to get a virus on your phone:
- Going to potentially dangerous / infected sites;
- Downloading software from unknown developers.
Don't confuse malware with adware programs that also show ads but only do so with your consent. If you have not given it, the unwanted software must be removed.
First steps to remove pop-up ads
- The first action is to close all applications on the phone. To do so, use the Clear All button or close them one by one by swiping each app to the side. You can also just reboot the phone.
- Lock all windows, recall: which programs/games you have installed before this popup will appear.
- Go to Google Play and read the users feedback: are there any negative feedbacks related to banners? If there are, uninstall the app from your phone immediately.
- If the ads do not disappear, revisit all the applications and remove unnecessary ones.
As already mentioned, ads may appear in paid products. However according to the AdMob network policy, advertisements cannot appear outside of this application or in places on the screen where the user may accidentally click or place his fingers.
Configuring the android notification panel
Fortunately, recent Android versions allow for flexible configuration of app access rights as well as the display of notifications in the corresponding android panel.
If you notice that an application has not been opened but a "left" notification with an advertisement appears in the notification area,
- Wipe the notification panel curtain with a swipe down;
- Hold a tap on the application line;
- The menu appears, tap on the "Details" button.
A Permissions screen appears where you can configure the access rights for a specific application. These settings can also be accessed through Settings - Apps - [name] - Application settings - Notifications.
This way you can quickly analyze the behavior of questionable applications and modify the notification output yourself to ensure that advertisements are not displayed without your knowledge.
Removal of an adware virus in the mobile browser
Any browser will start displaying unwanted ads if you catch a virus or if you visit infected sites. In the browsers of famous companies it is less, as the developers care about their reputation and pay attention to security. On the other hand, they are a tidbit for the cybercriminals, since Google Chrome or Firefox have a large number of users.
There are different ways to get rid of popups on your phone, but the most effective is to find and completely remove/block the malware or adware. To do this, you need to download antivirus (if you have not done this before) or other special applications designed to detect the "spy".
Since some adware may be present on your smartphone by default, you should set the "Detect Adware" option in the anti-virus settings, then define what to do with them, remove, quarantine, etc. If you find the program useful, just add it to the exceptions list.
Important! There are programs in which ads disappear after purchasing a license. But sometimes they also contain third-party utilities which slip unnoticed onto your computer and activate. Removing them can lead to malfunctions.An alternative variant to fight with popup banners is to modify the sites settings:
- Google Chrome, click on the 3 dots vertically in the upper right corner,
- Go to "Settings" - "Site settings",
- Go to the sections "Popups and redirections" and "Advertising".
- Turn the sliders to the right to activate the guard mode. This measure will help to eliminate the advertisements that appear in notifications.
Instead of factory reset - the virus checking applications
Of course you can always perform a factory reset, it is the universal way to reset the phone to the "as bought" state. However you will have to reconfigure the phone and perform a backup.
Instead of factory reset you may use virus detectors. The apps below have been downloaded a few hundred thousand times, have plenty of reviews, and can be reviewed before downloading. If any of them are not up to the task, write to the developers and leave your feedback.
Ad Detect Plugin
This free application detects which processes are connecting to adware networks and displays their content from the Internet - on the home screen, in the notification panel and elsewhere in the system, displaying popups.
Ad Detect Plugin collects information about each Internet connection and determines which application is using the connection for advertising purposes. After such analysis, the "troublemaker" can be identified and manually removed from the device.
Download Ad Detect Plugin
Kaspersky Internet Security
Popular PC antivirus. Finds many spyware programs that other anti-viruses can't see, blocks connections to ad networks. Has a built-in tool called "Adguard Content Blocker" displayed on the home screen with a separate icon that only works in Samsung and Yandex browsers.
- Blocking of undesirable software in Kaspersky Security is enabled by default - "Menu" - "Scanner". If you have not checked it, set it.
- Launch "Scan" from the main window and wait until it is finished.
- Remove any detected viruses.
- For an automatic scan go to the "Permanent protection" section and buy a license. Otherwise you will have to run the scan manually every time.
Download KIS
Super Security
The software scans your phone for viruses, plus optimizes its performance through garbage cleaning and advanced settings.
- Download Super Security from Google Play, launch it,
- Click "Search". Wait for the process to complete.
- Click "Enable"/"Clean" or "Eliminate All" to remove the found threats. These may be viruses, no real-time protection or other problems.
Another nice feature is disabling notifications. After cleaning, you will be prompted to do so.
Click "Disable Notifications" - "Clear" and then move the slider to the right of "Super Security".
Download Super Security
Free Adblocker Browser
This is a browser you can use as an alternative to the classic one. The application allows you to save up to 100 MB per month by not having to download ads and it blocks the tracking and data collection of websites you visit. In the Free Adblocker settings, you can set it as your default browser. Ads disappear even when watching YouTube videos.
Download Free Adblocker Browser
AdGuard
A well-known application, but from now on you cannot download it from Google Play because Google has banned ad-hiding programs in utilities. So the only option is to install AdGuard manually. To do so, download Adguard.com and download the software from there. But before that, allow installation from unknown sources in the settings. To do this:
- Go to "Settings", go to the "Security and Privacy" section.
- Scroll down the list and click "More". Go to "Install unknown applications".
- Opposite the Google Chrome browser, move the slider to the right.
- After you have downloaded Adguard, you may place a ban back on it.
- Return to the website and click on "Download". Launch the application.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best antivirus to eliminate the pop-up windows?
Browse the description of each particular program to see if it includes an ad blocking function. Their operating principles are similar so you may rely on feedback from different sources.
What is the best antimalware solution to use: is it a dedicated browser such as Free AdblockerBrowser, an Ad Detect Plugin or is it sufficient to modify your site settings?
Either method helps you fight against annoying popup ads. If you are used to working with Chrome or another standard search engine and have trouble adjusting to the new one, you may not want to download an additional browser and get used to its interface and the display of pages. Although in general all browsers are set up in a similar way.
The Ad Detect Plugin detects ad sources, but you need to remove them manually. You would have to determine whether this application is required or not, or look for ways to disable advertisements in the application.
Modifying web sites or installing extensions in a valid browser may result in some web pages requiring you to enable pop-ups or to allow advertisements. Failure to do so may prevent you from viewing information on such sites or performing certain actions. If necessary you can remove the blocking and re-enable it after using the site that requested the pop-ups.
Each method of advertising protection has its own nuances that need to be taken into account. You can try different options and choose the right one for you. You should also carefully read the feedback provided by different applications and extensions before using them.
Are ad blockers likely to slow down your browser?
At times, yes. The browser will load pages more slowly, because it takes time to analyze all the parts of a web page and to operate on them. But not always. If the site is "heavy", with a large amount of data, the processing time will be longer than for a non loaded page.
How much memory do ad blocking utilities and plugins consume on the device? It also depends on the weight of the page the utility loads: if it has many elements to check, frames and ads, more computer or smartphone RAM resources will be needed.
