Last week, I saw a plenty of messages like “my internet browser presents me undesirable Af.xdock.co pop-up ads, is it a pc virus?” or “these Af.xdock.co pop-up promotions in my Chrome making me crazy, how to manage them?”. According to the statistics for last months, virus distributors started a massive adware circulation project. Let me show you, how you can get rid of the pc virus from your computer, as well as forget about the aggravating Af.xdock.co pop-ups.
Pop-Ups : Discovering The Nature
You can admit that some sites (like a Af.xdock.co) show you pop-up advertisements. The message can contain something like “do you want to get notifications relating to the current information?” or “allow alerts to be reported about latest price cuts?”. Usually, such messages are trustworthy, and may just distract you with its sudden visual appeal. Plus it can be easily disabled, in case notices from this web site are no longer desired.
Pop-up alerts are quite an reliable advertising instrument. If you want items of some kind, you can enable pop-ups from the web site where you can get this stuff, and as soon as these things are in inventory again, or if you can have a price cut – you will certainly obtain the notice about this. The counterparty – online merchants, car lending companies, etc – will certainly remain in profit, too – buyer will definitely obtain a suggestion regarding the item he/she planned to pay for. And also such an advertising technique is almost cost-free – this aspect is very vital for firms.
| Site | Af.xdock.co |
| IP Address | 3.227.41.87 |
| Infection Type | Adware, Push notifications, Unwanted Ads, Pop-up Ads |
| Symptoms | Annoying pop-up ads in the right corner. |
| Similar behavior | Searchproonline.com, Ice-hockey.top, Us1.flowus.click |
Af.xdock.co Pop-Ups Are Not So Safe
But in some cases pop-up ads can show up without your permission, and with a content which is entirely different from your existing interests or search queries. And, besides undesirable Af.xdock.co pop-ups from the unknown source, you can simultaneously see a lot of promotions, consisting of ones on the web pages which originally have no advertisements whatsoever. Such a scenario can be the sign of adware presence.
Adware is the kind of pc virus which injects into your PC, then starts demonstrating you different advertisements. Their material typically has no correlation with your ordinary search queries. Besides banner ads, your web browser can also suggest you a massive quantity of various Af.xdock.co pop-up advertisements, which come into view in the lower right corner.
The model of adware usage is very sly. The big pack of adware is spread via trojan viruses, which are injected in your PC previously. Promotions, which are suggested to you by malware, are paid by their creators. In a few weeks, all anti-malware programs began to stop these adware, therefore, trojan sheds in productivity. And to terminate the user’s computer system, malware distributors begin ransomware distribution through these trojans.
Even if there is no active ransomware distribution, your desktop might continue to be impacted by adware virus. A big number of promotions along with Af.xdock.co pop-ups can make your PC as slow-moving as snail, so your regular tasks will certainly be difficult to perform in usual manner.
How Can I Deal With Af.xdock.co Pop-Ups?
Presuming the text above: your computer, as well as your information, is in a serious danger. To stop this virus, you need to use antivirus software. Microsoft Defender, which is embedded in every Windows 10 distribution, is able to deal with Af.xdock.co pop-ups malware. Nonetheless, it can not reset the browser alterations which were put into effect by malicious program. An additional downside of the antivirus by Microsoft is its specific susceptability: malware can disable Microsoft Defender via the Group Policies after being injected to your PC.
To be 100% sure that your personal computer is clean of any malicious programs now, and will be clean in future, I can offer you to use GridinSoft Anti-Malware.
To detect and erase all malicious applications on your computer, including Af.xdock.co pop-ups virus, with GridinSoft Anti-Malware, it’s better to utilize Standard or Full scan. Quick Scan is not able to find all the malicious apps, because it checks only the most popular registry entries and directories.
You can see the detected viruses sorted by their possible harm during the scan process. But to perform any actions against the viruses, you need to hold on until the scan is over, or to stop the scan.
To choose the action for each spotted virus or unwanted program, click the arrow in front of the name of detected virus. By default, all the viruses will be moved to quarantine.
Reverting browser settings to original ones
To revert your browser settings, you are required to use the Reset Browser Settings option. This action is not able to be counteracted by Af.xdock.co virus, hence, you will surely see the result. This option can be located in the Tools tab.
After choosing the Reset Browser Settings option, the menu will be displayed, where you can choose, which settings will be reverted to original.
Reset browser setiings without making use of third-party programs
Besides using antivirus tools for browser recovery, you may choose the “Reset browser settings” option, which is usually embedded in all popular browsers.
Reset Microsoft Edge ⚙ Settings
- Open "Settings and more" tab in upper right corner, then find here "Settings" button. In the appeared menu, choose "Reset settings" option:
- After picking the Reset Settings option, you will see the following menu, stating about the settings which will be reverted to original:
Reset Mozilla Firefox ⚙ Settings
- Open Menu tab (three strips in upper right corner) and click the "Help" button. In the appeared menu choose "troubleshooting information":
- In the next screen, find the "Refresh Firefox" option:
- Open Settings menu by pressing the gear icon in the toolbar (left side of the browser window), then click "Advanced" option, and choose "Browser" button in the drop-down list. Scroll down, to the bottom of the settings menu. Find there "Restore settings to their original defaults" option:
- After clicking the "Restore settings..." button, you will see the window, where all settings, which will be reset, are shown:
- Open Settings tab, find the "Advanced" button. In the extended tab choose the "Reset and clean up" button:
- In the appeared list, click on the "Restore settings to their original defaults":
- Finally, you will see the window, where you can see all the settings which will be reset to default:
After choosing this option, you will see the next message:
Reset Opera ⚙ Settings
Reset Google Chrome ⚙ Settings
As an afterword, I want to say that the time plays against you and your PC. The activity of browser hijacker Af.xdock.co must be stopped as soon as possible, because of possibility of other malware injection. This malware can be downloaded autonomously, or offered for you to download in one of the windows with advertisements, which are shown to you by the hijacker. You need to act as fast as you can.
