| Name | Cool Popular Games |
| Type | PUP, Toolbar |
| Short Description | Cool Popular Games is an application developed by Mindspark Interactive Network – famous for developing ad-supported software. It offers numerous Flash games. |
| Symptoms | The app generates advertisements that may be pop-ups, banners, in-text ads. |
| Distribution Method | Via freeware packages (bundling). It may also be promoted on various freeware websites. |
| Detection tool | Download SpyHunter, to See If Your System Has Been Affected By Cool Popular Games |
Cool Popular Games is a legitimate toolbar promising to help you find a vast variety of Flash games, but malware experts classify it as a browser hijacker and a PUP (potentially unwanted program) due to some malicious traits it exhibits.
What Is Cool Popular Games?
Cool Popular Games has an official website and is a legitimate browser toolbar claiming to be “the best Chrome New Tab for gaming”. It offers a variety of 500 popular games that are “cool” and “free”. The games include puzzles and mystery games, card games, shooting games and much more.
The toolbar may sound quite useful especially to those keen on online gaming. Cool Popular Games, however, does act intrusive at times and you may find it quite disturbing, and here’s why:
Cool Popular Games is compatible with the most commonly used browsers Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer, and it may infiltrate your system without your permission. Once inside, it will alter your Internet browser settings and change your home page to ask.com to track your browsing routine. In addition, the browser hijacker is capable of collecting sensitive data from you in order to share it with third parties to generate revenue.
Please note that Mindspark Interactive Network (the developers behind Cool Popular Games) has released many other browser toolbars that exhibit the same irritating traits including DailyRecipeGuide, WebmailWorld, AutoPCBackup, and ConvertAnyFile. They all act pretty much the same – they enter your system unnoticed, change your browser home page to ask.com, monitor your browsing activities and collect personal data. As much as they claim to be useful, their negatives outweigh their advertised features.
How Does Cool Popular Games Enter Your PC?
If you have not personally installed Cool Popular Games from its official website, but it is present on your computer, then the browser hijacker has entered your system via other free program you have downloaded. Luckily, the bundling option can be disabled at the beginning of the installation process so be alert and make sure you uncheck the bundling method along with other features you are not familiar with.
How to Remove Cool Popular Games?
As explained above, although you may find some of the Cool Popular Games’ features useful, the toolbar is likely to cause more harm than good. It may not be malicious by nature, but it may enter your computer without permission, redirect you to unwanted websites, make changes to your browser settings and share your personal data and browsing activities with unknown third parties. As much as this is annoying, it does expose your system and identity to additional threats from the Web. Its removal is then highly recommended.
In order to remove Cool Popular Games, you can either follow the manual instructions below or install a powerful anti-virus tool that will scan your system and remove all malicious components.
Spy Hunter scanner will only detect the threat. If you want the threat to be automatically removed, you need to purchase the full version of the anti-malware tool.Find Out More About SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool / How to Uninstall SpyHunter
1. Remove/Uninstall Cool Popular Games in Windows
Here is a method in few easy steps to remove that program. No matter if you are using Windows 8, 7, Vista or XP, those steps will get the job done. Dragging the program or its folder to the recycle bin can be a very bad decision. If you do that, bits and pieces of the program get left behind, and that can lead to unstable work of your PC, mistakes with the file type associations and other unpleasant activities. The proper way to get a program off your computer is to Uninstall it. To do that:
Select the program that you want to remove, and press “Uninstall” (fig.3).
Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall Cool Popular Games.
2. Remove Cool Popular Games from your browser
Remove a toolbar from Mozilla Firefox
Remove a toolbar from Google Chrome
Remove a toolbar from Internet Explorer
Remove a toolbar from Safari
Select the “Add-ons” icon from the menu
Select Cool Popular Games and click “Remove“
After Cool Popular Games is removed, restart Mozilla Firefox by closing it from the red “X” in the top right corner and start it again.
Select Cool Popular Games to remove, and then click ‘Disable’. A pop-up window will appear to inform you that you are about to disable the selected toolbar, and some additional toolbars might be disabled as well. Leave all the boxes checked, and click ‘Disable’.
After Cool Popular Games has been removed, restart Internet Explorer by closing it from the red ‘X’ in the top right corner and start it again.
Open the drop menu by clicking on the sprocket icon in the top right corner.
From the drop menu select ‘Preferences’
In the new window select ‘Extensions’
Click once on Cool Popular Games
Click ‘Uninstall’
A pop-up window will appear asking for confirmation to uninstall Cool Popular Games. Select ‘Uninstall’ again, and the Cool Popular Games will be removed.
3. Remove Cool Popular Games automatically with Spy Hunter Malware – Removal Tool.
To clean your computer with the award-winning software Spy Hunter –
It is highly recommended to run a scan before purchasing the full version of the software to make sure that the current version of the malware can be detected by SpyHunter.
- Windows
- Mac OS X
- Google Chrome
- Mozilla Firefox
- Microsoft Edge
- Safari
- Internet Explorer
- Stop Push Pop-ups
How to Remove Cool Popular Games from Windows.
Step 1: Scan for Cool Popular Games with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool
Step 2: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode
Step 3: Uninstall Cool Popular Games and related software from Windows
Uninstall Steps for Windows 11
Uninstall Steps for Windows 10 and Older Versions
Here is a method in few easy steps that should be able to uninstall most programs. No matter if you are using Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista or XP, those steps will get the job done. Dragging the program or its folder to the recycle bin can be a very bad decision. If you do that, bits and pieces of the program are left behind, and that can lead to unstable work of your PC, errors with the file type associations and other unpleasant activities. The proper way to get a program off your computer is to Uninstall it. To do that:
Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall most programs.
Step 4: Clean Any registries, Created by Cool Popular Games on Your PC.
The usually targeted registries of Windows machines are the following:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce
You can access them by opening the Windows registry editor and deleting any values, created by Cool Popular Games there. This can happen by following the steps underneath:
Tip: To find a virus-created value, you can right-click on it and click "Modify" to see which file it is set to run. If this is the virus file location, remove the value.
Video Removal Guide for Cool Popular Games (Windows).
Get rid of Cool Popular Games from Mac OS X.
Step 1: Uninstall Cool Popular Games and remove related files and objects
Your Mac will then show you a list of items that start automatically when you log in. Look for any suspicious apps identical or similar to Cool Popular Games. Check the app you want to stop from running automatically and then select on the Minus (“-“) icon to hide it.
- Go to Finder.
- In the search bar type the name of the app that you want to remove.
- Above the search bar change the two drop down menus to “System Files” and “Are Included” so that you can see all of the files associated with the application you want to remove. Bear in mind that some of the files may not be related to the app so be very careful which files you delete.
- If all of the files are related, hold the ⌘+A buttons to select them and then drive them to “Trash”.
In case you cannot remove Cool Popular Games via Step 1 above:
In case you cannot find the virus files and objects in your Applications or other places we have shown above, you can manually look for them in the Libraries of your Mac. But before doing this, please read the disclaimer below:
You can repeat the same procedure with the following other Library directories:
→ ~/Library/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons
Tip: ~ is there on purpose, because it leads to more LaunchAgents.
Step 2: Scan for and remove Cool Popular Games files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as Cool Popular Games, the recommended way of eliminating the threat is by using an anti-malware program. SpyHunter for Mac offers advanced security features along with other modules that will improve your Mac’s security and protect it in the future.
Video Removal Guide for Cool Popular Games (Mac)
Remove Cool Popular Games from Google Chrome.
Step 1: Start Google Chrome and open the drop menu
Step 2: Move the cursor over "Tools" and then from the extended menu choose "Extensions"
Step 3: From the opened "Extensions" menu locate the unwanted extension and click on its "Remove" button.
Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Google Chrome by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.
Erase Cool Popular Games from Mozilla Firefox.
Step 1: Start Mozilla Firefox. Open the menu window:
Step 2: Select the "Add-ons" icon from the menu.
Step 3: Select the unwanted extension and click "Remove"
Step 4: After the extension is removed, restart Mozilla Firefox by closing it from the red "X" button at the top right corner and start it again.
Uninstall Cool Popular Games from Microsoft Edge.
Step 1: Start Edge browser.
Step 2: Open the drop menu by clicking on the icon at the top right corner.
Step 3: From the drop menu select "Extensions".
Step 4: Choose the suspected malicious extension you want to remove and then click on the gear icon.
Step 5: Remove the malicious extension by scrolling down and then clicking on Uninstall.
Remove Cool Popular Games from Safari
Step 1: Start the Safari app.
Step 2: After hovering your mouse cursor to the top of the screen, click on the Safari text to open its drop down menu.
Step 3: From the menu, click on "Preferences".
Step 4: After that, select the 'Extensions' Tab.
Step 5: Click once on the extension you want to remove.
Step 6: Click 'Uninstall'.
A pop-up window will appear asking for confirmation to uninstall the extension. Select 'Uninstall' again, and the Cool Popular Games will be removed.
Eliminate Cool Popular Games from Internet Explorer.
Step 1: Start Internet Explorer.
Step 2: Click on the gear icon labeled 'Tools' to open the drop menu and select 'Manage Add-ons'
Step 3: In the 'Manage Add-ons' window.
Step 4: Select the extension you want to remove and then click 'Disable'. A pop-up window will appear to inform you that you are about to disable the selected extension, and some more add-ons might be disabled as well. Leave all the boxes checked, and click 'Disable'.
Step 5: After the unwanted extension has been removed, restart Internet Explorer by closing it from the red 'X' button located at the top right corner and start it again.
Remove Push Notifications from Your Browsers
Turn Off Push Notifications from Google Chrome
To disable any Push Notices from Google Chrome browser, please follow the steps below:
Step 1: Go to Settings in Chrome.
Step 2: In Settings, select “Advanced Settings”:
Step 3: Click “Content Settings”:
Step 4: Open “Notifications”:
Step 5: Click the three dots and choose Block, Edit or Remove options:
Remove Push Notifications on Firefox
Step 1: Go to Firefox Options.
Step 2: Go to “Settings”, type “notifications” in the search bar and click "Settings":
Step 3: Click “Remove” on any site you wish notifications gone and click “Save Changes”
Stop Push Notifications on Opera
Step 1: In Opera, press ALT+P to go to Settings.
Step 2: In Setting search, type “Content” to go to Content Settings.
Step 3: Open Notifications:
Step 4: Do the same as you did with Google Chrome (explained below):
Eliminate Push Notifications on Safari
Step 1: Open Safari Preferences.
Step 2: Choose the domain from where you like push pop-ups gone and change to "Deny" from "Allow".
Cool Popular Games-FAQ
What Is Cool Popular Games?
The Cool Popular Games threat is adware or browser redirect virus.
It may slow your computer down significantly and display advertisements. The main idea is for your information to likely get stolen or more ads to appear on your device.
The creators of such unwanted apps work with pay-per-click schemes to get your computer to visit risky or different types of websites that may generate them funds. This is why they do not even care what types of websites show up on the ads. This makes their unwanted software indirectly risky for your OS.
What Are the Symptoms of Cool Popular Games?
There are several symptoms to look for when this particular threat and also unwanted apps in general are active:
Symptom #1: Your computer may become slow and have poor performance in general.
Symptom #2: You have toolbars, add-ons or extensions on your web browsers that you don't remember adding.
Symptom #3: You see all types of ads, like ad-supported search results, pop-ups and redirects to randomly appear.
Symptom #4: You see installed apps on your Mac running automatically and you do not remember installing them.
Symptom #5: You see suspicious processes running in your Task Manager.
If you see one or more of those symptoms, then security experts recommend that you check your computer for viruses.
What Types of Unwanted Programs Are There?
According to most malware researchers and cyber-security experts, the threats that can currently affect your device can be rogue antivirus software, adware, browser hijackers, clickers, fake optimizers and any forms of PUPs.
What to Do If I Have a "virus" like Cool Popular Games?
With few simple actions. First and foremost, it is imperative that you follow these steps:
Step 1: Find a safe computer and connect it to another network, not the one that your Mac was infected in.
Step 2: Change all of your passwords, starting from your email passwords.
Step 3: Enable two-factor authentication for protection of your important accounts.
Step 4: Call your bank to change your credit card details (secret code, etc.) if you have saved your credit card for online shopping or have done online activities with your card.
Step 5: Make sure to call your ISP (Internet provider or carrier) and ask them to change your IP address.
Step 6: Change your Wi-Fi password.
Step 7: (Optional): Make sure to scan all of the devices connected to your network for viruses and repeat these steps for them if they are affected.
Step 8: Install anti-malware software with real-time protection on every device you have.
Step 9: Try not to download software from sites you know nothing about and stay away from low-reputation websites in general.
If you follow these recommendations, your network and all devices will become significantly more secure against any threats or information invasive software and be virus free and protected in the future too.
How Does Cool Popular Games Work?
Once installed, Cool Popular Games can collect data using trackers. This data is about your web browsing habits, such as the websites you visit and the search terms you use. It is then used to target you with ads or to sell your information to third parties.
Cool Popular Games can also download other malicious software onto your computer, such as viruses and spyware, which can be used to steal your personal information and show risky ads, that may redirect to virus sites or scams.
Is Cool Popular Games Malware?
The truth is that PUPs (adware, browser hijackers) are not viruses, but may be just as dangerous since they may show you and redirect you to malware websites and scam pages.
Many security experts classify potentially unwanted programs as malware. This is because of the unwanted effects that PUPs can cause, such as displaying intrusive ads and collecting user data without the user’s knowledge or consent.
About the Cool Popular Games Research
The content we publish on SensorsTechForum.com, this Cool Popular Games how-to removal guide included, is the outcome of extensive research, hard work and our team’s devotion to help you remove the specific, adware-related problem, and restore your browser and computer system.
How did we conduct the research on Cool Popular Games?
Please note that our research is based on independent investigation. We are in contact with independent security researchers, thanks to which we receive daily updates on the latest malware, adware, and browser hijacker definitions.
Furthermore, the research behind the Cool Popular Games threat is backed with VirusTotal.
To better understand this online threat, please refer to the following articles which provide knowledgeable details.