How to Remove Sponsored Links Ads

Can’t Remove Sponsored Links ads? This page includes detailed ads by Sponsored Links Removal instructions!

Sponsored Links is an adware program. It’s malicious and intrusive. After it invades your PC, it begins to bombard you with a variety of obnoxious advertisements. Your screen gets overrun with pop-up, in-text, and banner ads. And, don’t think you see them for not. They have a purpose! And, it’s to generate pay-per-click revenue. The application has to make money for the people that published it. If it fails, it falls into oblivion. So, to avoid that, the tool does its best to produce pay-per-click profits. Don’t presume the pop-ups are random! They’re not. Each one got chosen for you, and you alone. Before the bombardment begins, the program goes through a special selection process. It stays low, and observes your browsing activities. Consider it a get-to-know-you phase. The infection attempts to learn what sparks your interests. Once it gets an idea, it proceeds to flood you with “appropriate” content. Don’t click a single thing, it throws at you. As long as Sponsored Links remains, take everything with a grain of salt. Neither the ads nor the pages, it redirects you to, are reliable. Oh, yes. Apart from the incessant waterfall of ads, you also get redirected, non-stop. Click nothing! There aren’t enough ways to stress this enough! Either ignore the interference or, better yet, take action to make it stop. The best thing you can do, is to remove the nasty program from your PC ASAP. Locate where Sponsored Links lurks. Then, remove it. It has no place on your computer. Don’t keep it there.

How did I get infected with?

The Sponsored Links tool relies on slyness and subtlety to invade. It’s so masterful in its trickery that, it doesn’t only succeed. But it also manages to keep you clueless. Oh, yes. The program keeps you oblivious to its successful infiltration. That is, until it chooses otherwise. The avalanche of ads is its preferred method to clue you into its existence. But, how do you imagine, it manages to sneak in undetected? First off, you have to realize, tools like Sponsored Links need permission to enter. They have to ask if you agree to their installment. And, only if you do, can they proceed with admission. But, here’s the thing. If it outright appears to ask your approval, wouldn’t you deny it? Odds are, you will. So, the infection doesn’t take the chance. It doesn’t leave its fate to chance. The adware employs the help of the old but gold means of infiltration. There’s an entire variety of methods, it can turn to for assistance with its sneakiness. Freeware, spam emails, corrupted links, false updates. If you wish to prevent the adware’s invasion, be thorough. When installing anything, you got off the web, apply extra attention. Do your due diligence. Don’t rush, or give into naivety. Choose caution over carelessness. One helps to keep your PC infection-free. The other does the opposite. Make your choice.

Why is this dangerous?

Sponsored Links doesn’t only spy on you to understand your likes, and preferences. It also does it for the purpose of stealing your private information. Oh, yes. The malicious program follows instructions to track your browsing. It begins its espionage as soon as it invades. The application monitors your online activities, and catalogs everything. Let that sink in for a moment. A malicious infection has access to every single move you make online. That includes your personal and financial details. And, once the infection deems it has stolen enough data, it exposes it. The tool sends it to the unknown third parties behind it. Cyber criminals with questionable intentions. Do you think that ends well? Strangers with agendas getting a hold of your private information? Do yourself a favor, and keep that scenario from unfolding. Protect your privacy from the hazardous infection. Locate and remove Sponsored Links from your system as soon as possible. The sooner you do, the better. Don’t delay, for delays cause regrets.

How to Remove Sponsored Links virus

The Sponsored Links infection is specifically designed to make money to its creators one way or another. The specialists from various antivirus companies like Bitdefender, Kaspersky, Norton, Avast, ESET, etc. advise that there is no harmless virus.

If you perform exactly the steps below you should be able to remove the Sponsored Links infection. Please, follow the procedures in the exact order. Please, consider to print this guide or have another computer at your disposal. You will NOT need any USB sticks or CDs.

STEP 1: Track down Sponsored Links in the computer memory

STEP 2: Locate Sponsored Links startup location

STEP 3: Delete Sponsored Links traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

STEP 4: Undo the damage done by the virus

STEP 1: Track down Sponsored Links in the computer memory

• Open your Task Manager by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ESC keys simultaneously
• Carefully review all processes and stop the suspicious ones.

• Write down the file location for later reference.

Step 2: Locate Sponsored Links startup location

Reveal Hidden Files

• Open any folder
• Click on “Organize” button
  
• Choose “Folder and Search Options”
• Select the “View” tab
• Select “Show hidden files and folders” option
• Uncheck “Hide protected operating system files”
• Click “Apply” and “OK” button

Clean Sponsored Links virus from the windows registry

• Once the operating system loads press simultaneously the Windows Logo Button and the R key.

• A dialog box should open. Type “Regedit”

• WARNING! be very careful when editing the Microsoft Windows Registry as this may render the system broken.

Depending on your OS (x86 or x64) navigate to:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run] or
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run] or
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]

• and delete the display Name: [RANDOM]

• Then open your explorer and navigate to: %appdata% folder and delete the malicious executable.

Clean your HOSTS file to avoid unwanted browser redirection

Navigate to %windir%/system32/Drivers/etc/host

If you are hacked, there will be foreign IPs addresses connected to you at the bottom. Take a look below:

STEP 3 : Clean Sponsored Links traces from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer

• Open Google Chrome

• In the Main Menu, select Tools then Extensions
• Remove the Sponsored Links by clicking on the little recycle bin
• Reset Google Chrome by Deleting the current user to make sure nothing is left behind

• Open Mozilla Firefox

• Press simultaneously Ctrl+Shift+A
• Disable the unwanted Extension
• Go to Help
• Then Troubleshoot information
• Click on Reset Firefox

• Open Internet Explorer

• On the Upper Right Corner Click on the Gear Icon
• Click on Internet options
• go to Toolbars and Extensions and disable the unknown extensions
• Select the Advanced tab and click on Reset

• Restart Internet Explorer

Step 4: Undo the damage done by Sponsored Links

This particular Virus may alter your DNS settings.

Attention! this can break your internet connection. Before you change your DNS settings to use Google Public DNS for Sponsored Links, be sure to write down the current server addresses on a piece of paper.

To fix the damage done by the virus you need to do the following.

• Click the Windows Start button to open the Start Menu, type control panel in the search box and select Control Panel in the results displayed above.
• go to Network and Internet
• then Network and Sharing Center
• then Change Adapter Settings
• Right-click on your active internet connection and click properties. Under the Networking tab, find Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4). Left click on it and then click on properties. Both options should be automatic! By default it should be set to “Obtain an IP address automatically” and the second one to “Obtain DNS server address automatically!” If they are not just change them, however if you are part of a domain network you should contact your Domain Administrator to set these settings, otherwise the internet connection will break!!!

You must clean all your browser shortcuts as well. To do that you need to

• Right click on the shortcut of your favorite browser and then select properties.

• in the target field remove Sponsored Links argument and then apply the changes.
• Repeat that with the shortcuts of your other browsers.
• Check your scheduled tasks to make sure the virus will not download itself again.

How to Permanently Remove Sponsored Links Virus (automatic) Removal Guide

Please, have in mind that once you are infected with a single virus, it compromises your system and let all doors wide open for many other infections. To make sure manual removal is successful, we recommend to use a free scanner of any professional antimalware program to identify possible registry leftovers or temporary files.