This article has been created with the main purpose to explain what are the advertisements, tagged with “Ads by Aura” and how to remove it and the Aura software causing them
A new form of adware has been detected to cause multiple types of advertisements on the machines affected by it. The adware slithers in a very clever way as a legitimate software, likely calling itself Aura. While this Aura software pretends to be some form of a legitimate program, it’s main goal is to convince users that it is a legitimate program created to assist with their browsing experience, while it floods the web browsers and the desktop with random advertisements of all types. If you see advertisements by Aura, we recommend that you read the following article as it will help you understand how you can remove them.
Threat Summary
| Name | "Ads by Aura" PUP |
| Type | Adware. |
| Short Description | Aims to display a lot of advertisemetns and lead users to third-party websites. |
| Symptoms | A lot of advertisements may randomly start to appear in all forms. The ads have “Ads by Aura” written somewhere on their corners. |
| Distribution Method | Bundled downloads. Web pages which may advertise it. |
| Detection Tool |
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User Experience | Join Our Forum to Discuss "Ads by Aura" PUP. |
Ads by Aura How Did I Get Them
The primary way by which this suspicious software, likely going by the name Aura could end up on your computer is via being spread directly via a website that Is advertising. Usually such tools are often advertised as seemingly legitimate programs that aim to contribute to the user’s browsing experience in some way.
Another way of being advertised aggressively is for the Aura Ads software to be widespread as a result of software bundling. To better explain it, this basically means that Ads by Aura may be included In the installer of another free program, where the software may be mentioned in the EULA agreemend or be included in a separate install step. The bad news here is that such install steps are often hidden in the “Advanced” or “Custom” installation preferences.
Ads by Aura – More Informaiton
Once Ads by Aura is installed on your computer, the program may immediately begin modifying several parts of it, including system files, the Windows Registry editor and the Task Scheduler, where this adware may create various different tasks of modules or programs that will run automatically and cause ads each time when you boot Windows.
The advertisements shown by Ads by Aura adware may be of the following types:
- Pop-ups.
- Ad-supported search results.
- Online banners that are taken over.
- Highlighted text showing up on a random basis.
The outcome of those advertisements is that they may lead you to different sites that may be risky to your computer. Such websites can turn out to be:
- Malicious sites that infect your computer with different viruses. (Trojans, Miners, Ransomware viruses, Rootkits, etc.).
- Websites that may be of a scamming type and may aim to scam you out of your personal information by posing as fake online retailer sites.
- Sites that are created to cause browser redirects to pages that lock your web browser and show fake system error messages to get you to call a fake tech support number.
- Websites that may enroll you in different surveys, whose main idea may be to steal your personal information.
And not only this, but Ads by Aura may also be passively aggressive as well, creating multiple different types of tracking technologies, whose primary purpose often turns out to be to track your information, such as:
- What you type.
- What you search.
- Where you click.
- Your bookmarked sites.
- Your web browsing history.
In addition to this, Ads by Aura may set different types of sites that automatically open when you open your web browser. This is done by modifying the Windows Registry sub-keys for your web browser. For example, for the Google Chrome browsers, these keys are:
→ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\chrome.exe\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Clients\StartMenuInternet\Google Chrome\
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Google Chrome
And in addition to this, the Ads by Aura software may also use different tracking technologies that aim to collect data. These often turn out to be:
- Cookies.
- Pixels.
- Tags.
- Geo-locators.
- LSOs (Locally Shared Objects or Flash Cookies).
All of these threats make it for a program that is categorized by researchers as a Potentially Unwanted Application or PUA (PUP). To learn how to try and remove this program and stop the ads, keep reading this article.
Remove Ads by Aura PUP and Stop Pop-ups
If you want to remove this adware completely from your computer system, we would recommend that you follow either the Manual removal instructions or the Automatic removal methods shown underneath. They are both created to help you identify and delete that files, belonging to Ads by Aura on your PC. If you seem to have troubles deleting the Ads by Aura program manually and you still see “Ads by Aura” on your computer, experts often advise to do the removal automatically with the aid of an advanced anti-malware program. Such programs are created with the main purpose of automatically scanning your file system for all the Aura Ads – related files and objects and fully erasing them. In addition to this, advanced anti-malware programs also aim to make sure that your computer system stays safe against any adware in the future as well.
Ventsislav Krastev
Ventsislav is a cybersecurity expert at SensorsTechForum since 2015. He has been researching, covering, helping victims with the latest malware infections plus testing and reviewing software and the newest tech developments. Having graduated Marketing as well, Ventsislav also has passion for learning new shifts and innovations in cybersecurity that become game changers. After studying Value Chain Management, Network Administration and Computer Administration of System Applications, he found his true calling within the cybersecrurity industry and is a strong believer in the education of every user towards online safety and security.
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- Mac OS X
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- Microsoft Edge
- Safari
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- Stop Push Pop-ups
How to Remove "Ads by Aura" PUP from Windows.
Step 1: Scan for "Ads by Aura" PUP with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool
Step 2: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode
Step 3: Uninstall "Ads by Aura" PUP 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 "Ads by Aura" PUP 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 "Ads by Aura" PUP 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 "Ads by Aura" PUP (Windows).
Get rid of "Ads by Aura" PUP from Mac OS X.
Step 1: Uninstall "Ads by Aura" PUP 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 "Ads by Aura" PUP. 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 "Ads by Aura" PUP 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 "Ads by Aura" PUP files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as "Ads by Aura" PUP, 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 "Ads by Aura" PUP (Mac)
Remove "Ads by Aura" PUP 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 "Ads by Aura" PUP 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 "Ads by Aura" PUP 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 "Ads by Aura" PUP 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 "Ads by Aura" PUP will be removed.
Eliminate "Ads by Aura" PUP 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".
"Ads by Aura" PUP-FAQ
What Is "Ads by Aura" PUP?
The "Ads by Aura" PUP 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 "Ads by Aura" PUP?
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 "Ads by Aura" PUP?
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 "Ads by Aura" PUP Work?
Once installed, "Ads by Aura" PUP 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.
"Ads by Aura" PUP 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 "Ads by Aura" PUP 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 "Ads by Aura" PUP Research
The content we publish on SensorsTechForum.com, this "Ads by Aura" PUP 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 "Ads by Aura" PUP?
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 "Ads by Aura" PUP threat is backed with VirusTotal.
To better understand this online threat, please refer to the following articles which provide knowledgeable details.