Remove Unwanted Ads, Pop-ups & Malware From Chrome Browser (3 Ways)

According to research, Google Chrome is the most used web browser worldwide. Thus, the malware authors take advantage of this to deploy potentially unwanted programs or viruses to infect the computer.

The viruses are capable enough to hide their presence and run within the background. Thus, users may not initially realize its presence. However, there are some symptoms which can help you know if your chrome or eventually computer is infected with a virus.

How to know if Your Google Chrome has a virus?

If your Google Chrome is infected with a virus, then you can notice certain changes in your browser which you haven’t done. Besides that, the unusual behavior or encountering too many ads is surely a sign your chrome is infected.

If you agree with the above behavior of your Chrome, then most certainly your chrome is infected with a virus.
The virus in your Chrome can be:

  • Any malicious program installed on the system,
  • Fake web extension or
  • Browser hijacker active on it.

How To Find Virus On Chrome?

By now, if you know that your Chrome is infected with virus, then there are various locations that you need to check/scan to locate a virus on chrome:

  • Scan and remove suspicious programs from your system. (you can either use a malware scanner to quickly detect it or manually do it from control panel )
  • Check For Installed Extensions on your Chrome browser that may be a virus or malicious one;

How Do I Remove Virus From Chrome?

Here we are showing you 3 effective ways to step-by-step remove virus from Chrome browser.

You may find this guide overwhelming as we have put up all the steps to detect and remove a virus from chrome as well as from your system. So, you need to be patient while doing so.

If you are running out of time and the problem is worse, then it is better to opt for a suitable anti-malware scan tool to remove the virus from Chrome browser.

Method 1: Manually Find virus from computer as well as web browser and remove it.

In this method, we will perform steps to manually find the suspicious program from various location on the system and remove it.

  • Steps 1: Scan and Remove suspicious programs from your system;

  • Step 2: Check For Installed Extensions on your Chrome browser that may be a virus or malicious one;

  • Steps 3: Change Homepage settings;

  • Step 4: Reset Chrome browser.


Steps 1: Scan and Remove suspicious programs from your system;


  • In the taskbar, click on the “Search” icon. And Type “Apps And Features;”
    Apps And Feature Windows 10

    Apps And Feature Windows 10

  • When the “Apps And Features” window opens, you can see the list of applications installed;
  • Go through it carefully and search for apps that looks suspicious to you or which you don’t remember to install yourself;
  • If you find such, click on it to expand; And click on “Uninstall”.
    Uninstall application Windows 10

    Uninstall application Windows 10

  • Repeat for all such apps.

If the program does not allow you to remove it, or says the program is running in the background. Then you need to first finish the task from the task manager.

How To End A Task From Task Manager

  • Press “Window key+ R” and type “taskmgr”.
    Open Task Manager Windows 10

    Open Task Manager Windows 10

  • Now once the task manager window opens, perform these steps:
  • Under the process tab, check for the suspicious program still running;
  • If you find it, right click on the name and select “Open file location”;
  • Then click on “End Task”;
    Task manager End Task Windows 10

    Task manager End Task Windows 10

  • Now go to the file location window opened and select the program and delete that file.

Now, follow the above steps to uninstall the suspicious program from your system.


Step 2: Check For Installed Extensions on your Chrome browser that may be a virus or malicious one;


  • Click the Chrome menu appearing on the top right corner of the browser as three vertical dots;
  • Select “More Tools”;
    Chrome More Tools

    Chrome More Tools

  • Click “Extensions,” (steps by slightly differ due to browser versions, to avoid any clash simply copy this URL “chrome://extensions/” and paste it within the search bar).
  • Once the extension page appears, look for malicious extensions that you may have chosen to install.
  • Click on the trash icon or “Remove” button.
    Chrome Remove Extension

    Chrome Remove Extension

If the Extension don’t remove and says “Managed by Organization,” then follow the tutorial here: How To Fix “Managed by Your Organization” in Chrome (Windows)


Steps 3: Change Homepage settings;


How do I change my homepage? Here is the quick and easy way: 

  • Click three-vertical dots located in the upper right-hand corner.
  • Choose “Settings” from the main menu.
  • In the Settings page, under Appearance Tab, check the Show Home Button box.
    Chrome Homepage

    Chrome Homepage

  • Remove the unknown homepage address.
  • Type in your favorite homepage URL as default home page.
  • Next click on “Manage Search Engine”.
    Chrome Remove search engine

    Chrome Remove search engine

  • It will show all search engines installed, select the one which appears to be virus or suspicious.
  • To remove it, click on the three dots, choose “Remove from list;

Step 4: Reset Chrome browser.


How To Reset Google Chrome? 

Resetting the browser is not a tough task, but still we avoid doing this. As it deletes all the browsing data, useful extensions and other settings which helps us quick surfing. Along with the unwanted data, when you choose the Reset button, we can’t choose a custom option to select or deselect what to remove or not.

Thus, to avoid this, you can use a third-party application that allows you to clean malicious files and settings of the browser.

Steps To Manually Reset the Chrome Settings: 

  • Open Chrome browser.
  • On top-right corner, click and choose Settings.
  • Scroll to the bottom and click on Advanced.
  • Under “Reset Settings,” click “Restore settings to their original defaults
    Chrome Reset Settings

    Chrome Reset Settings

  • To confirm click “Reset Settings”.

Method 2: Using Google Chrome Clean Up Tool

Google Chrome has a build in feature that allows you to run a scan and find any unwanted software program on your system.

How To Use Google Chrome Cleanup Tool? 

Follow the steps to use find and remove unwanted software from Chrome:

  • Open Chrome.
  • On top-right corner click Choose Settings.
  • Scroll to the bottom, click Advanced.
  • Under the “Reset and clean up” section, click “Clean up computer”.
    Chrome Clean Up

    Chrome Clean Up

  • Next Click on “Find“. The scan will start saying “checking for unwanted software;”
  • If it finds any, it will show the result and ask you to remove it. So, click Remove.
  • If asked to reboot your computer then do so.

However, chrome is working hard to increase the security, but threat actors leave no stone untouched to exploit the vulnerabilities and attack the device.

Thus, this method may not be able find serious threats or secure your chrome from damaging malware.


Method 3: Scan your computer with reputable anti-malware.

This is the ultimate and permanent solution to remove a virus from your Chrome or system as well. This will assure you don’t have any viruses or suspicious programs still hiding. Besides that, you can be rest assured that your other settings and application are not being tampered, which is possible in manual methods.

Use Hitmanpro.Alert To Secure Your Browser And Computer

HitmanPro.Alert

Running HitmanPro.Alert ( Read the full review of HitmanPro.Alert here)on your computer will provide your real-time status, checks the browser integrity and alerts or any suspicious activity. So that you can have a safe browsing and online transactions. Steps To Install And Run HitmanPro.Alert

HitmanPro.Alert

HitmanPro.Alert

As a preventive measure, you should avoid installing extension or software from non-trusted sources. Thus, you can secure your browser from viruses.

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