Android ads are a growing security problem. There is a large quantity of different adware apps for Android that can cause a lot of ads on your Phone and slow it down. More so, over 90% of adware is made for Android devices, and this is not a very pretty picture, provided the fact that many ads tend to lead to viruses that exploit weaknesses in your smartphone. If you happen to see sudden ads appearing on your smartphone, we recommend that you read this article to learn how to remove unwanted ads or even malware completely from your Andorid device.
Android Virus & Ads – How to Clear Your Android Phone
Preparation before clearing Android adware and malware.
Before starting the actual removal process, we recommend that you do the following preparation steps.
- Backup all your phone contacts to your SIM card.
- Backup all your account information and passwords.
- Backup the files on your device.
Step 1: Back up the data on your device.
CAUTION! Before attempting any removals and drive formatting on your device, you should know that it is essential to save all your important contacts and files from your phone. There are several methods to backup your files:
Method I: Using online backup software or a memory card if the device supports it.
Method II: Connecting to another device and copying the data directly.
This is a bit risky option since the device may have malware on it. This is why, first you need to enter the device’s Safe Mode:
For RAZR Droid Devices:
1.Switch off the smartphone and remove the battery for a few seconds then plug it back in.
2.Switch the phone on.
3.You should see a Motorola Dual Core screen appearing. You should press and hold the Volume up, and Volume Down keys on the side of the smartphone. Hold them until the lock screen shows up with ‘Safe Mode’ written in the lower corner.
For HTC Devices:
1.Switch off the smartphone and remove the battery for a few seconds then plug it back in.
2.Turn on your phone while simultaneously holding down the Menu Button. When it starts, keep pressing the Menu Button until you see ‘Safe Mode’ menu appearing in the lower corner.
For Nexus devices:
1.Switch off the smartphone and remove the battery for a few seconds then plug it back in.
2.Turn on the phone.
3.When the welcome Logo Screen shows up, hold the trackball while pressing it until a lock screen shows up, or you see ‘Safe Mode’ written in the bottom corner.
For Other Motorola Devices:
1.Switch off the smartphone and remove the battery for a few seconds then plug it back in.
2.Hold down the Menu Button after you press it while turning on the phone. When it boots, hold the button down upon seeing the lock screen or feeling the phone vibrate.
For Moto G Devices:
1.Press the Power Button and hold it on until the list with options pop-up.
2.Hold the Power off button and wait for a ‘Reboot to Safe Mode’ option to appear.
3.Tap it and let the phone reset.
For Samsung Galaxy Devices:
1.While the device is on, hold down the Power Button and wait for the Options List.
2.Wait for a ‘Restart to Safe Mode’ option to appear.
3.Choose this setting. The device will restart.
For Apple Devices:
1. While your device is locked, hold down the Power Button and the Home Button until you see a white Apple logo.
2. Once you see the logo, let go from those buttons and start holding the Volume Up button. (Give it a little time to boot up)
3. Now the phone should boot in Safe Mode without any third-parties running.
And now it is time to proceed by doing the actual backup:
Apple iOS
1. Connect your device and select it in iTunes.
2. From the Backups section go to Manually Back Up and Restore and tap on Back Up Now.
Android
1. Connect your device via USB to a computer and select Use as a Media Device. You may also see use as file transfer option.
2. Go to your phone from My Computer and copy all the files you need.
3. If the phone has an option to install its drivers onto your computer, select it and install them since this will simplify the process of copying your contact list on your computer.
Step 2: Hard-reset your device and remove all adware.
For Android Devices:
After you have backed up your files, you should perform a clean wipe-out of your phone. This can happen either via one of the options in Safe Mode or by entering your device’s Recovery Mode. Several methods exist in order to enter Recovery Mode of your device:
For Nexus Devices: – Hold the Volume Down + Volume Up + Power button until a Recovery menu appears. After that, you should select the Wipe Data/Factory reset option. Nexus 4 may work with Volume Up + Power + Volume Down.
For Samsung Devices: – Hold the Volume Up + Power Button + Home Button until a Recovery menu appears. After that, you should select the Wipe Data/Factory reset option.
For Motorola Droid X Devices: Hold the Home Button + Power Button until a Recovery menu appears. After that, you should select the Wipe Data/Factory reset setting.
For other devices with camera buttons on them: Hold the Volume Up + Camera Button until a Recovery Menu appears. After this, you should choose the Wipe Data/Factory reset option.
Also in case you have backed up your device in a Google Account, you will be able to restore your data after a complete wipe-out by just logging into your Google Account with you email and password.
Step 3: Restore missing or corrupt files using special file restoration software.
1. Connect your phone via a USB cable. You should see it in “My Computer”
2. Use different file recovery software to scan for and recover the files in its drive. Examples of programs we have tested are provided below:
- Stellar Phoenix Data Recovery Technicians License(Pro version with more features)
- Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery
- Stellar Phoenix Photo Recovery
- Android Data Recovery Pro
(Optional)For Apple iPhone and iPad Devices:
Option I: Via the device
1.Back up your data using iCloud or another backup method.
2. Go to the Settings menu and go to General.
3. On the bottom, tap on Reset.
4. Tap on Erase All Content and Settings.
5. Confirm it by tapping on the red Erase button and then type your password.
Option II: Via iTunes
1. Connect your device and open iTunes.
2. Click on the device‘s name and model to open the dialog box.
3. From there, click on the button “Restore”
Android Virus – How to Stop Seeing Ads In The Future
If you are running an Android for some time, you should be aware that it is a highly customizable operating system. This attracts a lot of developers to create applications, like DNS66, that allow us to block ads by changing different DNS and network parameters on your Android device. Here is how to do this:
The software which we will be using for this tutorial is named DNS66. It’s primary purpose is to stop adverts on your non-rooted android device without draining excess battery. The application is completely free and you can download it from it’s official repository.
To download DNS66, simply tap with your Android device on the button below:
The latest version (0.5.8) is compatible with versions of Android 5.0 and newer. Due to the newer operating system implementations the app asks for several permissions which are the following:
- android.permission.INTERNET
- android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE
- android.permission.RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED
- android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
- android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
Any other instances may be malware copies or fake apps distributed by hackers.
When you visit the web page, simply scroll down and you will find a highlighted text, called download.apk, like the image below shows. Simply tap on it to download it.
When the download is complete, either open it from your notifications or locate the following file in your File Browser of your smartphone or tablet:
Since the file will not be installed, because it Is not featured in Google Play store, you should go to your Settings-Security and from there enable installation from unknown sources. Only then you can install the app:
Then simply open the app again and tap on Install after which wait for the installation process to complete. After the process is completed and you open the DNS66 app, you will see a Start button along with some settings which you can tamper with, according to your preferences. Simply tap on the start button to begin the operation of ad-blocking:
Be advised that the app may also ask you to download a hosts file that enables you to block ads. This will appear in the form of a pop-up. To do this, simply accept it and download the hosts file and the service will start immediately. Be advised that you can also set which system apps to exclude from ad-blocking as well:
You can recognize that the DNS66 program is running on your computer by the key icon on the top of your Android device. It looks like the following:
Android Virus & Ads – Conclusion
This application did well on our tests since we have downloaded multiple apps that have a lot of ads which pop-out automatically in the form of banners at the bottom of the screen, videos and many other types. The app was successful in blocking those, which is exactly what we were going for. We hope this tutorial has helped you and if you have any suggestions, recommendations or advices for the usage of other apps for ad-blocking, please comment in the comment section below, or discuss DNS66 in our forum.
- Guide 1: How to Remove Virus from Windows.
- Guide 2: Get rid of Virus on Mac OS X.
- Guide 3: Remove Virus in Google Chrome.
- Guide 4: Erase Virus from Mozilla Firefox.
- Guide 5: Uninstall Virus from Microsoft Edge.
- Guide 6: Remove Virus from Safari.
- Guide 7: Eliminate Virus from Internet Explorer.
- Guide 8: Disable Virus Push Notifications in Your Browsers.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups
How to Remove Virus from Windows.
Step 1: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode to isolate and remove Virus





Step 2: Uninstall Virus and related software from Windows
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:



Step 3: Clean any registries, created by Virus on your computer.
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 Virus there. This can happen by following the steps underneath:



Before starting "Step 4", please boot back into Normal mode, in case you are currently in Safe Mode.
This will enable you to install and use SpyHunter 5 successfully.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups
Get rid of Virus from Mac OS X.
Step 1: Uninstall Virus and remove related files and objects
1. Hit the ⇧+⌘+U keys to open Utilities. Another way is to click on “Go” and then click “Utilities”, like the image below shows:
- 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 Virus 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 Virus files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as Virus, 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.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups
Remove Virus 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.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups
Erase Virus 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.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups
Uninstall Virus 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.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups
Remove Virus 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 Virus will be removed.
Windows Mac OS X Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge Safari Internet Explorer Stop Push Pop-ups
Eliminate Virus 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 caused by Virus 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".