This article has been created in order to explain to you what is Hades Ads and how to remove the “Powered by hades” advertisements from your browsers and PC permanently
A rather old ad-supported program, known as Hades ads has been reported to still be active and affect computers. Hades Ads is an adware application, which belongs to the Adware.Salus adware programs and it’s primary goal is to fill your computer with various different types of advertisements, like pop-ups, banners, redirects, etc. Since these advertisements can lead you to a lot of suspicious and even malicious third-party sites, the software has been classified as a low-level type of threat and security experts strongly advise you to remove it from your computer completely.
Threat Summary
| Name | Hades |
| Type | Potentially Unwanted Program/Adware |
| Short Description | Displays different types of advertisements that lead to suspicious third-party websites. |
| Symptoms | You will notice the presence of Hades Ads by having banners and pop-ups with the “Ads by Hades” or “Powered by Hades” written on the bottom right corner of the ad. |
| Distribution Method | Via bundled installers, fake setups or via other PUP that has already been installed on your PC. |
| Detection Tool |
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User Experience | Join Our Forum to Discuss Hades. |
Hades Ads – How Did I Get Them
Just like any other unwanted software, the Hades adware may slither on your computer via a multitude of ways, the main of which still remains to be bundled installers for many adware apps. Such installers are often of your favorite free programs, like media player, torrent downloading program or other apps. The way the scheme works is that some websites modify those installers before providing them for free download. The modifications include adding Hades Ads as a ‘free extra’ to the current installations and this may be included in one of the installation steps, like the example below shows:
After you accept it, Hades Ads installs itself on your computer and may begin to display ads. The installation step is very easy to miss, because often it resides in the Custom or Advanced installation modes of the program you have downloaded.
Besides this method, Hades ads can also be situated onto your computer, using other methods, like b
Hades Ads – More Information
When Hades adware has been installed on the computer of the victim, the adware may begin to perform various different activities on it, such as modify the web browsers and add extensions to them as well as change their settings significantly to allow them to display un-trusted sites as trusted ones. In addition to this, the Hades Ads may significantly impact the performance of the compromised computer significantly by constantly running processes in the background which can also make it to freeze at times.
Once the adware is installed, the ads which it begins to display are directly on the websites you visit. Here is one advertisement that is displayed by this adware, claiming that the content on the site requires you to install Java:
But this unwanted software does not limit it’s activities only to displaying ads. It also installs an electronic certificate which has root access. The certificate is in the Windows Trusted Root Certification and Is called Hades CA. This makes it possible for the unwanted program to monitor your traffic and inject advertisements in real-time.
The information which may be collected by Hades Ads varies, but it is mainly content about what you visit online and what you type in your web browser, which can also conceal certain risks.
The advertisements that are displayed by Hades may lead you to various third-party websites, which may be:
- Tech support scam sites.
- Phishing sites for your passwords and other info.
- Malicious sites that may infect your computer with malware.
How to Remove Hades Ads you’re your Computer
In order to fully erase Hades Ads from your computer system, recommendations are to focus on removing it by following the instructions below. If you lack the experience in malware removal, be advised that security experts often advise to use an advance anti-malware software for the removal instead. Downloading and installing such program will help you remove Hades Ads automatically and detect any other intrusions in the process to protect your system completely 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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- Microsoft Edge
- Safari
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- Stop Push Pop-ups
How to Remove Hades from Windows.
Step 1: Scan for Hades with SpyHunter Anti-Malware Tool
Step 2: Boot Your PC In Safe Mode
Step 3: Uninstall Hades 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:
Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall most programs.
Step 4: Clean Any registries, Created by Hades 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 Hades 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 Hades (Windows).
Get rid of Hades from Mac OS X.
Step 1: Uninstall Hades 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 Hades. 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 Hades 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 Hades files from your Mac
When you are facing problems on your Mac as a result of unwanted scripts and programs such as Hades, 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 Hades (Mac)
Remove Hades 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 Hades 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 Hades 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 Hades 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 Hades will be removed.
Eliminate Hades 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".
Hades-FAQ
What Is Hades?
The Hades 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 Hades?
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 Mac can be the following types:
- Rogue Antivirus programs.
- Adware.
- Browser hijackers.
- Clickers.
- Fake optimizers.
What to Do If I Have a "virus" like Hades?
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 Hades Work?
Once installed, Hades can collect data about your web browsing habits, such as the websites you visit and the search terms you use. This data is then used to target you with ads or to sell your information to third parties.
Hades 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 Hades 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 Hades Research
The content we publish on SensorsTechForum.com, this Hades 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 Hades?
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 Hades threat is backed with VirusTotal.
To better understand this online threat, please refer to the following articles which provide knowledgeable details.