How to remove Shop Smart (Virus Removal Guide)
Shop Smart (also found as Shop Smart virus, ShopSmart, The Shop Smart) is very destructive and intrusive adware and an advertisement-serving platform in the Adware.Salus family of adware. Shop Smart adware is usually contracted without user consent and knowledge. Once Shop Smart adware has been contracted it will generate a variety of pop-up advertisements including generic banners, generic pop-up ads, in-text advertisements that appear when a most hovers over underlined text, in-image ads, and pop-under ads that take up an entire browser window or new tab.
Shop Smart adware is very instructive. It also installs a root certificate into the Windows Trusted Root Certification Authority called Hades CA. The root certificate installed by the adware allows it to view traffic passing through secure connections (SSL). This allows the adware to inject ads into encrypted connections and also allows it to see all the data you transmit over an encrypted SSL connection including login information such as your online banking credentials.
What is Shop Smart?
Shop Smart adware is often promoted by third-party freeware installers and distributors such as Cnet and Softonic as freeware that can help internet users find online discounts and deals. Third-party programs may use this adware as a platform to generate revenue from free programs and services. Antivirus and Anti-Malware databases will include this particular adware in the generic.adware and plugin.adware categories. This adware can be found as a Windows program in the Control Panel, as a browser attachment, or implemented into third-party software.
Shop Smart serves ‘targeted’ advertisements to users while they browse the internet. This is a privacy concern because targeted advertisements can only be produced by the adware if it has access to user browsing data, such as all browsing activities, bookmarks, app data, and browser history. This information is observed and used to generate advertisements it feels users are most likely to click on.
Furthermore, Shop Smart bundles with additional unwanted programs, malware, and other possible malicious threats. This means that it might be necessary to uninstall multiple programs from Windows and remove multiple browser add-ons and extensions from Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari. Many of these programs can not easily be found on a computer system without third-party security software.
Shop Smart adware and the additional programs that it bundles with also manufacture new tasks and change existing Windows start-up settings in order to run every time the operating system starts and remain enabled if disabled by the user. Programs and browser attachments that may arrive with this deceptive piece of adware can also cause other issues for computer and internet users aside from pop-up advertisements, including browser redirections and a loss in computer functionality and internet connectivity. Furthermore, if Shop Smart is manually removed, it is possibly that the adware or another one in its place will return before a week has passed.
How did Shop Smart get on my computer?
Shop Smart adware is usually contracted without consent or knowledge of the computer user alongside third-party programs and files, such as freeware, shareware, torrent files, and other free downloadable content. The potentially unwanted programs and files that deliver the adware can be introduced to a computer system and affected internet browsers with or without user authorization.
Computer and internet users who seek to download and install free programs and files online may be presented with an opportunity to accept or decline a ‘custom’ offer to install Shop Smart adware and other programs during the setup and installation process. However, the request to decline Shop Smart adware from installing is often presented in a very confusing manner. In some cases, the download manager may completely ignore the user request to decline Shop Smart from installing and the adware will install against user consent and knowledge.
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- The Shop Smart extension for Google Chrome can read and change all your data on the websites you visit and read and change your browsing history.
- The Shop Smart extension for Google Chrome can manage your apps, extensions, downloads, and themes.
- Shop Smart bundles with other potentially unwanted programs and possible malware.
- Shop Smart can arrive on a computer system packed inside installers and downloaders from websites such as download.com, Softonic, and others.
- Shop Smart injects visited webpages with pop-up, pop-under, in-text, and in-image advertisements.
- Shop Smart makes unwanted changes to existing Windows settings and schedules new tasks allowing it to run every time Windows starts and to check to see if the program has been disabled. If the program has previously been disabled it will enable itself to run.
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How to remove Shop Smart (Removal Guide)
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- Step 1: Remove Shop Smart extensions
- Step 2: Uninstall Shop Smart from Windows
- Step 3: Remove Shop Smart virus with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
- Step 4: Cleanup and repair settings with CCleaner by Piriform
- For Tech Support Call: 1-888-986-8411
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Step 1: Remove Shop Smart extensions
We recommend that you write down the toll free number below in case you run into any issues or problems while removing this infection. Our techs will kindly assist you with any problems.
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1. Click the Customize and control Google Chrome icon on the top menu and navigate to More tools > Extensions.
2. Search for the Shop Smart extension in the list. Remove unwanted browser extensions individually by clicking the trashcan icon next to each one.
Mozilla Firefox
1. Type Ctrl+Shift+A.
2. Search for the Shop Smart add-ons on the Extensions and Plugin tab. Highlight each one individually and click remove.
Apple Safari
1. Click Safari and go to Preferences > Extensions.
2. Find the Shop Smart extension in the list and click the Uninstall button.
Step 2: Uninstall Shop Smart from Windows
1. Open Windows Start Menu and go to the Control Panel.
2. On Windows Control Panel, click Uninstall a program or Add and remove a program in the Programs section.
3. Search for Shop Smart and other unwanted programs in the list of installed programs. Once an unwanted program is located, double click the item or select it with your mouse and click the Uninstall button. If you can not find this program in the list of installed program please see steps 3 and 4 below.
Step 3: Remove Shop Smart virus with Malwarebytes
1. Download and install the free or full edition of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. The full edition of this program enables real-time protection to block malware and unwanted programs from infecting your computer, while the free version is only a free scan and removal tool.
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2. Open Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.
3. Click the Scan Now button or go to the “Scan” tab to manually run a scan.
4. When the malware scan is complete you will notice a list of files it has detected. Click the Remove Selected button, then click Finish, and reboot your computer.
Step 4: Cleanup and repair settings with CCleaner
1. Download and install the free or full edition of CCleaner by Piriform.
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2. Open the program and go to Cleaner and click the Analyze button. After files and have been analyzed, click the Run Cleaner button on the bottom right of the program interface.
3. Go to Registry and click Scan for Issues. When the scan is complete click Fix selected issues… and then click the Fix All Selected Issues button.
4. Go to to Tools > Startup and search through each tab starting from Windows, Internet Explorer, all the way to Context Menu, for additional suspicious entries and click Delete once anything suspicious is found to remove it.
