Highlighted words ads
Flukie
Posts: 40,578 Forum Member
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Sorry, being computer thick, I don't know if there's an actual name for these latest pain in the arse pop up ads.
On every page I go on some words are higlighted and lead to ads.
Is there a way of getting rid of this?
They pop on screen even if you just run the cursor over the word accidentally.
The solutions I read to get rid of them are too complicated for me and I can't find things they say I can find if I can click into something, anyway!
So any solution in plain English? Thanks.
I'm on Firefox.
Even on this post, the words 'find' and 'click' have become highlighted and lead to Tesco ads.
On every page I go on some words are higlighted and lead to ads.
Is there a way of getting rid of this?
They pop on screen even if you just run the cursor over the word accidentally.
The solutions I read to get rid of them are too complicated for me and I can't find things they say I can find if I can click into something, anyway!
So any solution in plain English? Thanks.
I'm on Firefox.
Even on this post, the words 'find' and 'click' have become highlighted and lead to Tesco ads.
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Comments
In other words, be very careful when you install anything in future, to always choose Custom install and untick any boxes that install additional software.
The article goes on in detail to explain how to remove the malware, but this is probably the sort of thing you've found hard to follow - and I sympathise!
You could try running Malwarebytes (www.malwarebytes.org) as a first option to see if that finds it. Mind you - even Malwarebytes tries to get you to install the trial of the paid-for version. Make sure you install the free version, and nothing but the free version!
https://adblockplus.org/en/firefox
It works.
Thank you! That did the trick.
I'd still recommend running malwarebytes. The add blocker will mask the symptoms but you've still got something dodgy on your pc that's causing this
Is there a link to that, please? I thought I had downloaded it, but I obviously haven't if the problem is still there. So maybe I'm downloading the wrong thing!
And the problem isn't gone, after all. I've just been on webpages with some of the words highlighted again. (including on this page)
So it didn't last long, the blocking of the highlighted words.
So much for Ad block,
If the ads are coming from Malware or a virus then adblock won't kill them.
Well I already had downloaded Malwarebytes, cos that was the link I used previously.
Obviously doesn't work for me cos I'm still getting those bloody highlighted words.
How do I do that?
I have nothing to click onto to do that.
The link i was sent to download has put nothing on my desktop, that's why I didn't realise I'd downloaded it.
Yes, I did manage to get it.
I right clicked what was on programme. It's on my desktop now.
The scan crashed my computer.
So I had to reset Firefox again.
I give up. The highlighted words have gone for now, but they'll probably be back.
it won't scan at all now, iot won't work at all, so I've deleted the whole thing.
I obviously for some reason can't download malware properly.
if you don't know if you need the 32bit or 64-bit version, it will be most likely be the 32-bit
No need to buy the pro version. Download the trial version, run the scan - if it finds anything activate the 30 day free trial and it will remove it for you
Thanks, I did that.
Presumably after the trial period is up I'll have the same trouble again.
Though I fully expect the higlighted words to come back again soon like they have done all day!
And going by what I found when I googled, I'm not the only person on Firefox who can't download Malware.
I agree. If there's an option of a custom install, never just stick with the express/standard install. I always look carefully for a custom install option on the very odd occasion that I install new programs.
You could try running RKill , I've used it sucessfully to enable Malwarebytes to run, not sure but if you run it you may be able to download and run Malware bytes.
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/rkill/
The whole thing with embedded ad's can be quite convoluted.
Sometimes a website, itself, is responsible (such as the problems DS used to have) and sometimes they'll be caused by one of these bits of "shopping advisor" malware.
I'd say the best way to deal with it is to assume it's the result of malware at first, run malwarebytes, have a browse through your list of installed programs and google anything you don't recognise and if neither of those things reveal anything suspicious then you're left to assume the website, itself, is generating the ad's.
Did hitman report finding something, and remove it? If so hopefully you are cured for good as it were. Still worth getting Malwarebytes installed just in case you need it in the future if you can overcome the issue.
Be interested to know if you can download / install malwarebytes now hitman has done it's job (which would imply that it was the adware infection that was preventing it)
I'd also back LION8TIGER's suggestion of trying rkill
No need to dismiss the ‘ad blockers’. I didn’t intimate they would fix your possible malware problem; they most certainly won’t. However they will (mostly!) stop annoying pop-ups etc in the future, once your system is stable again.
AdBlockPlus works excellently with several browsers; Firefox being one of them.
Don’t confuse ‘AdBlockPlus’ with ‘AdBlock’; they are ‘similar’, but competing programmes, from different sources.
AdBlockPlus:
https://adblockplus.org/en
‘does what it say on the tin’, for IE, Chrome,Firefox, (also lists Safari,Android & Opera)
AdBlock:
https://getadblock.com/
Works with Chrome & Safari. (maybe others, I can’t remember).
I think the issue with relying on an ad-blocker is that you might, potentially, still have a bit of malicious software on your PC, happily compiling stat's about your browsing and even steering your search engine toward certain things even if you've got rid of the actually adverts, themselves.
And, although it's been said it's worth repeating, these bits of malicious software are often bundled with legitimate downloads and end up on your PC when you click "express install" rather than by any more nefarious methods.
Agreed. No one should ‘rely’ on AdBlockPlus and AdBlock to offer any protection at all.
Best to think of it as a programme to prevent you seeing pop-ups/ads etc; nothing more. The nasties will still be lurking.