ADW_WINPOPUP

Updated: March 20, 2013 Adware 1 Comment

ADW_WINPOPUP is an adware program that will display advertisements when victim is viewing the Internet from a compromised browser. This adware program often creates annoyances and unwanted effect on the infected system such as browser redirection and pop-up advertisements. The infection may degrade overall system performance and sometimes leads to browser crashes. The adware also slows down Internet connection due to multiple used packets.

Usually, ADW_WINPOPUP spreads as bundled with another useful program. Users may obtain the file from third-party software provider and file-sharing network. Once the program installs, user may not notice that the adware is also loaded mutually in the background. When finish installing, ADW_WINPOPUP will carry certain modifications on the browser that results to browser hijacking.

This threat also monitors Internet activity of the user and displays excessive advertisement based on the gathered information.

Damage Level: Medium

Systems Affected: Windows 9x, 2000, XP, Windows Vista

Manual Removal of ADW_WINPOPUP:

1. Temporarily Disable System Restore. This feature is active by default once Windows (XP/Vista/7) is installed on the computer.
2. Open your antivirus program and update the virus definition. Refer to your antivirus manual on how to initiate an update. Most antivirus software provides one-click process.

3. Restart Windows in Safe Mode.
– Turn off the computer. Then turn the power on, immediately press F8 on your keyboard right after a text appears on the screen.
– It will display a selection. Please choose Safe Mode and press Enter. Most threats like ADW_WINPOPUP will not load when you run Windows in this mode.

4. Once Windows starts in Safe Mode, run a full system scan and clean/delete all infected files. If it cannot perform clean/delete, better put the infected file into quarantine so that it will remain inaccessible.
5. Reboot the computer and run another scan after Windows boots normally to make sure that ADW_WINPOPUP is gone.

Anti-virus Tools

In order to completely remove Web Spy Shield from a system, click here to download and run Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. Sometimes, Trojans will block the downloading and installation of MBAM. If this happens, download it from a clean PC and rename the executable file before executing on the infected machine.

Online Virus Scanner:
Online virus scanner can provide scan and clean functions just like any anti-virus software without the need to install additional AV product. Perform a thorough scan with free Online Virus Scanner that can be found here or on web sites of legitimate security software provider.