Protectutility.info pop-ups can not introduce out of the blue. If you have actually clicked on some pop-up offers on various web pages, it is likely a reasoning to see them. However, not all pop-ups will disturb you so much. Ones that are sent to your browser by official web pages are simply showing the material you have actually agreed with. By doing this website, like online merchants or e-newsletters, notify their site visitors that there is a piece of new material they will likely be glad to read. Once again – we are describing legit marketing through the pop-ups, which you have permitted personally.
Couple of opposite scenarios can not be called safe. In the first method to pry you to permit pop-ups, the website says that you must enable the notifications to see the content. Often, the website claims that it is required “to guarantee that you’re not a bot”. In that case it is recommended to skip the web page and seek the content you want on the other website. This trick works primarily with inexperienced users or ones that rush very much.
When it comes to Protectutility.info pop-ups, you are likely suffering because of the consequences of adware activity. In that particular situation, adware is oriented not on standard banner advertisements, but on pop-ups that obtrusively appear on the user’s screen. The ads shown in like that do not generate additional income per single banner, but boost the income per single victim – generally, because of the number of banners shown in a short time frame.
Do I need to remove Protectutility.info pop-ups?
If you need to have your browser-related things back to normal, it is obligatory to eliminate the Protectutility.info pop-ups, more specifically, the virus that results in their look. Adware is well-known for its non-linear behavior: it can abruptly turn from pop-ups showing to demonstrating you the “usual” banners. However, the risk of this sort of an event is usually the equal: banners shown by adware can hardly be called harmless.
Most possibly, no normal companies will have an advertising contract with crooks. Hence, all things that are displayed to you in the field of Protectutility.info pop-ups are useless. The most usual case for such advertisements is displaying you the ads of unsafe organizations or banners that have the link to a malicious web page, or even for malware downloading. You are not able to predict what will happen after clicking on the exact banner, and can sometimes misclick when you close it. Such a mistake may cost you much more time to solve: a lot of trojan viruses and unwanted programs use malvertising as a spreading way. The less time you give this virus to act, the less is the chance that you will get a pack of other viruses on your computer.
STEP 1. Uninstalling unwanted software regularly (via the Control Panel).
In order to get rid of Protectutility.info from your system, locate the “Uninstall a program” feature in your PC depending on the version of your Windows operating system:
For Windows 8/10: Right-click on Start – Quick Access Menu – Control Panel – Uninstall a program. You may check the list of applications and utilities installed on your PC. Find suspicious software that may cause Protectutility.info problem, then right-click on it and select “Uninstall“.
For Windows 7: Click on Start – Control Panel – Uninstall a program. Check the list of programs and software available in your PC that might cause Protectutility.info problem, then press “Uninstall“.
For Windows XP: Click on Start – Control Panel – Add/Remove Programs. You will find the list of available programs in your PC. Right-click on suspicious software that may cause Protectutility.info problem and select “Uninstall“.
Here is the detailed process with screenshots on how to uninstall unwanted software manually.
Right-click on Windows logo in the bottom-left section of the screen, then select “Control Panel“:
In “Programs” section, click on “Uninstall a program“:
Right-click on specific unwanted application, the select “Uninstall“:
Warning! Some unwanted programs may be active (running) while you uninstall them. It might be necessary for you to end their task via the Task Manager application. Here is how you can do that:
Right-click on Windows taskbar, then select “Task Manager“:
Select specific task related to unwanted program, then right-click on it and choose the option “End Task“:
STEP 2. Fixing your browser home page and search engine settings.
Instructions to fix Google Chrome home page and search engine settings manually.
Click on Google Chrome menu in the form of three vertical dots, then select “Settings“:
Scroll down through Google Chrome Settings until you reach “On Startup” section. Select “Open a specific page or set pages“. Find suspicious unwanted home page, then clock on “Remove“:
In Google Chrome Settings find “Search Engine” section. Select your preferred search engine to be enabled if your search settings are messed up (amended) by adware or browser hijacker:
Click on “Manage search engines“.
Find specific search engine that you do not want to be your default one, then click on “Remove from list“:
Instructions to restore Mozilla Firefox home page and search engine settings manually.
In Mozilla Firefox, click on its menu in the form of three horizontal lines, then select “Options“:
In “General” section, check home page settings. Remove unwanted parameters, or click on “Restore to Default“:
In the “Search” section of Mozilla Firefox, select your preferred search engine:
You may as well remove unwanted search engine completely from Mozilla Firefox by clicking on the “Remove” button next to it:
Instructions to repair Internet Explorer home page and search engine settings manually.
In Internet Explorer, click on its settings menu in the form of a gear-wheel, then select “Internet Options“:
Click on the “General” tab, then check home page settings. Remove unwanted home page from the field, or click on “Use new tab“. Click on “Apply” to save changes:
In Internet Explorer, click on its settings menu in the form of a gear-wheel, then select “Manage add-ons“:
Click on “Search Providers“, then select unwanted search engine and click on “Remove” button related to it:
Instructions to change Opera home page and search engine settings manually.
Click on Opera menu in the form of “Opera” button, then select “Settings“:
Click on “Browser” section, then select “Set pages“:
Find unwanted start page of Opera, then click on “X” next to it to remove it:
In the “Search” section, click on “Manage search engines…“:
Click on “Make default” to select your preferred default search engine, then click on “Done“:
STEP 3. Removing unwanted extensions from browsers.
Deleting unwanted extensions from Google Chrome.
Click on Google Chrome menu in the form of three vertical dots, then select “Settings“:
Click on “Settings” in the left menu (in the form of three horizontal lines), then select “Extensions“:
Find unwanted extension, then click on “Remove” button next to it:
Removing unwanted add-ons from Mozilla Firefox.
In Mozilla Firefox, click on its menu in the form of three horizontal lines, then select “Add-ons“:
Click on the “Extensions” item. If you see suspicious add-ons, disable and then delete them:
Getting rid of unwanted addons from Internet Explorer.
In Internet Explorer, click on its settings menu in the form of a gear-wheel, then select “Manage add-ons“:
In the section called “Toolbars and Extensions“, find specific unwanted add-on, then click on “Disable” button related to it:
Cleaning unwanted extensions from Opera.
Click on Opera menu in the form of “Opera” button, then select “Extensions“:
Find specific unwanted extension, then click on “Disable” button associated with it:
STEP 4. Disabling push notifications from browsers.
Disabling push notifications from Google Chrome.
Click on Google Chrome menu in the form of three vertical dots, then select “Settings“:
Scroll down to the bottom of the page, then click on “Advanced“:
In “Privacy and Security” section, click on “Content Settings“:
Click on “Notifications“:
Find specific site that is displaying unwanted push notifications, click on its options in the form of three vertical dots, then click on “Remove“:
Disabling push notifications from Mozilla Firefox.
In Mozilla Firefox, click on its menu in the form of three horizontal lines, then select “Options“:
Scroll down to “Privacy & Security” section, then find “Notifications“, click on “Settings” button related to it:
Find unwanted sites that keep displaying unwanted notifications, then change the status from “Allow” to “Block“. Additionally, check the box “Block new requests asking to allow notifications“. Then click on “Save changes“:
STEP 5. Full reset of browsers either manually or automatically (video guides).
Important notice! Trying to fix your browsers manually after a malware attack is definitely not easy, it requires more skills and time, even with a detailed description as above. We recommend you to try our absolutely free feature provided by GridinSoft Anti-Malware to reset your browsers automatically within just a couple of mouse clicks!