If Kaspersky antivirus software detects not-a-virus:HEUR:AdWare.Script.Generic then it indicates that your computer is infected with a previously unknown malicious software from the adware family. This unwanted software usually come with some freeware or from malicious websites that ask users to download and run a Flash Player or Java update. Once started, the not-a-virus:HEUR:AdWare.Script.Generic will be configured to start automatically when Windows starts. The unwanted software may display large number unwanted popups and annoying ads, inject ads into web pages that you are opening in the web browser, hijack the internet browser’s settings such as home page and search provider, and so on.
We suggest you to get rid of ad supported software and clean your PC from unwanted pop-up ads as quickly as possible, until the presence of the adware has not led to even worse consequences. You need to follow the instructions below that will allow you to completely delete “not-a-virus:HEUR:AdWare.Script.Generic”, using only the built-in Windows features and a few of specialized free tools.
Common symptoms of not-a-virus:HEUR:AdWare.Script.Generic
If you still are not sure that your computer is infected with this parasite, then check your computer for the common symptoms of the infection:
- Your browser displays banner ads where previously you have never seen.
- Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer (Edge) shows a lot of annoying advertisements.
- Web browser’s settings such as homepage and default search engine are hijacked
- Your an antivirus or antispyware software detects an infection.
- Internet connection may be slow.
How does not-a-virus:HEUR:AdWare.Script.Generic get installed onto system
The adware usually come bundled with other free programs that you download off of the World Wide Web. To avoid infection, in the Setup wizard, you should be be proactive and carefully read the ‘Terms of use’, the ‘license agreement’ and other setup screens, as well as to always select the ‘Manual’ or ‘Advanced’ installation mode, when installing anything downloaded from the World Wide Web.
How to remove not-a-virus:HEUR:AdWare.Script.Generic
The simple answer is right here on this page. We have put together simplicity and efficiency. It will allow you easily to clean your computer of adware. Read this manual carefully, bookmark or print it, because you may need to close your browser or reboot your computer.
- Remove suspicious and unknown software by using Windows Control Panel
- Scan your computer with MalwareBytes Anti-malware
- Scan your computer with AdwCleaner
- Scan your computer with Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool
- Disinfect browser’s shortcuts
- Reset web-browser’s settings
- Protect your computer from annoying ads and malicious sites
Remove suspicious and unknown software by using Windows Control Panel
Press Windows key 
, then click Search 
. Type “Control panel”and press Enter. If you using Windows XP or Windows 7, then click “Start” and select “Control Panel”. It’ll display the Windows Control Panel as shown on the image below. 
Next, press “Uninstall a program” 
It’ll open a list of all applications. Scroll through the all list and uninstall any suspicious and unknown applications.
Scan your computer with MalwareBytes Anti-malware
You can remove not-a-virus:HEUR:AdWare.Script.Generic automatically with a help of Malwarebytes Free. We recommend this free malware removal utility because it can easily remove adware, browser hijackers, potentially unwanted applications and toolbars with all their components such as files, folders and registry entries.
Download Malwarebytes Free on your personal computer using the link below. Save it on your Desktop.
326387 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
When downloading is complete, close all windows on your system. Further, launch the file named mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up like below, press the Yes button.
It will open the “Setup wizard” that will allow you install Malwarebytes on the computer. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
When the installation is finished successfully, press Finish button. Then Malwarebytes will automatically start and you can see its main window as shown below.
Next, click the “Scan Now” button . This will begin scanning the whole PC to find out malware and not-a-virus:HEUR:AdWare.Script.Generic. When a threat is found, the number of the detected objects will change accordingly. Wait until the the scanning is complete. Please be patient.
Once the checking is done, you can check all threats detected on your computer. Make sure all entries have “checkmark” and click “Quarantine Selected” button.
The Malwarebytes will begin removing not-a-virus:HEUR:AdWare.Script.Generic and other malicious software. Once the disinfection is complete, you may be prompted to restart your system. I recommend you look at the following video, which completely explains the procedure of using the Malwarebytes to delete ad supported software and other malicious programs.
Scan your computer with AdwCleaner
This removal program is free and easy to use. It can scan and get rid of adware, browser hijackers, malware and unwanted toolbars in Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge web-browsers and thereby restore back their default settings (home page, newtab page and search provider by default). AdwCleaner is powerful enough to find and remove malicious registry entries and files that are hidden on the PC.
Download AdwCleaner tool using the link below. Save it to your Desktop so that you can access the file easily.
225263 downloads
Version: 8.4.1
Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
Category: Security tools
Update: October 5, 2024
When the download is finished, open the file location and double-click the AdwCleaner icon. It will launch the AdwCleaner utility and you will see a screen as shown on the image below. If the User Account Control prompt will ask you want to display the application, press Yes button to continue.
Now, press the “Scan” . This will begin scanning the whole machine to find out not-a-virus:HEUR:AdWare.Script.Generic adware.
When it has finished scanning, it will show a list of all items detected by this tool as shown below.
You need to click “Clean” button. It will show a dialog box, click “OK” to begin the cleaning process. When the cleaning process is done, the AdwCleaner may ask you to restart your computer. After restart, the AdwCleaner will display the log file.
All the above steps are shown in detail in the following video guide.
Scan your computer with Kaspersky virus removal tool
Kaspersky virus removal tool is a well-known free security tool. It uses the Kaspersky Anti-Virus engine to detect and remove viruses, trojans and malware.
- Download Kaspersky virus removal tool from the following link and save it directly to your Windows Desktop.
Kaspersky virus removal tool
129057 downloads
Author: Kaspersky® lab
Category: Security tools
Update: March 5, 2018
- Double-click on the KVRT icon found on your desktop. Once initialization process is finished, you will see the Kaspersky virus removal tool screen.
- Click Change Parameters and set a check near all your drives. Click OK to close the Parameters window.
- Press Start scan button. Kaspersky virus removal tool will now start scanning your computer for known infections. This procedure can take some time, so please be patient.
- When KVRT has finished scanning, click on Continue to start a cleaning process.
Disinfect browser’s shortcuts
The not-a-virus:HEUR:AdWare.Script.Generic may also change a desktop shortcut for Chrome, Firefox and IE. Due to this, every time you start the browser, it will open an unwanted web-site.
To clear a browser shortcut, right-click to it and select Properties. On the Shortcut tab, locate the Target field. Click inside, you will see a vertical line – arrow pointer, move it (using -> arrow key on your keyboard) to the right as possible. You will see a text that has been added here. You need to remove it.
When the text is removed, press the OK button. You need to clean all desktop shortcuts for all web-browsers, as they may be infected too.
Reset web-browser’s settings
Chrome
Open the Google Chrome menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (
). It opens the drop-down menu. Click to Settings option.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the “Show advanced settings” link. Now scroll down until the Reset settings section is visible, as shown below and click on the Reset settings button.
Confirm your action, click on the Reset button.
Firefox
Open Mozilla Firefox menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (
). It opens the drop-down menu. Click on the Help button (
).
In the Help menu click on the “Troubleshooting Information”. In the upper-right corner of the “Troubleshooting Information” page click on Refresh Firefox button.
Confirm your action. Click on the Refresh Firefox.
Internet Explorer
Open the Internet Explorer tools menu by clicking on the button in the form of gear (
). It opens the drop-down menu. Click on the Internet Options.
In the Internet Options window click on the Advanced tab, then click the Reset button. The Internet Explorer will show the Reset Internet Explorer settings window. Select the Delete personal settings check box, then click on Reset button.
You will now need to restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
Protect your computer from annoying ads and malicious sites
To increase your security and protect your computer against new annoying ads and malicious web sites, you need to use an application that blocks access to dangerous ads and web-pages. Moreover, the software can block the display of intrusive advertising, which also leads to faster loading of websites and reduce the consumption of web traffic.
- Download AdGuard program using the following link.
Adguard download
26627 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
- After the download is complete, run the downloaded file. You will see the Setup Wizard program window. Follow the prompts.
- After installation is complete, click “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will help you get to know AdGuard better.
- In most cases, the default settings are enough and you do not need to change anything. Each time, when you start your computer, AdGuard will start automatically and block unwanted pop-ups, annoying ads, as well as other malicious or misleading web page. For an overview of all the features of the program, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the icon AdGuard, which is located on your desktop.
Finish words
After completing the step-by-step instructions outlined above, your computer should be free from not-a-virus:HEUR:AdWare.Script.Generic and other malware and adware. The FF, Chrome, Internet Explorer and MS Edge will no longer show annoying popup ads or redirect you to unwanted pages. Unfortunately, if the steps does not help you, then you have caught a new type of ‘ad-supported’ software, and then the best way – ask for help in our Spyware/Malware removal forum.
