If you’re reading this blog post, it means that you are seeing the Ads by Side Terms advertisements within your web-browser . All of these unwanted ads caused by ‘ad-supported’ software (also known as adware), which is often installs on the PC system with the free software. You probably want to know how to get rid of this adware as well as remove Side Terms ads. In the instructions below we will tell you about how to solve your problems.
Most often, the ad supported software affects the most common internet browsers such as the Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and Edge. But such the malicious software as well may infect another browsers by changing its shortcuts (adding an argument like ‘http://site.address’ into Target field of a web browser’s shortcut). So every time you open a web browser, it’ll display an unwanted ad website. Even if you setup a new home page, an unwanted web-page will be the first thing you see when you start the Firefox, Google Chrome, IE and Edge.
While your machine is infected with the adware, the Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge will display lots of Side Terms ads. Of course, the adware may not cause damages to your files or Windows system, but it may open a huge number of unwanted ads. These advertisements will be injected within the content of web sites that are you opening in your web-browser and can be varied: pop-up ads, in-text ads, different sized banners, offers to install an questionable software. The advertisements will appear on all web-sites, including web sites where previously you have never seen any ads.
We recommend to remove the Side Terms adware, which opens annoying ads within your browser, as soon as you found this problem, as it can direct you to web-resources which may load other harmful software on your PC.
How can you protect your personal computer from Side Terms ads
The adware usually gets onto PC by being attached to another program in the same installation package. The risk of this is especially high for the various freeware downloaded from the Net. The creators of the programs are hoping that users will use the quick installation mode, that is simply to click the Next button, without paying attention to the information on the screen and do not carefully considering every step of the setup procedure. Thus, the ‘ad supported’ software can infiltrate your PC system without your knowledge. Therefore, it is very important to read all the information that tells the program during installation, including the ‘Terms of Use’ and ‘Software license’. Use only the Manual, Custom or Advanced installation mode. This mode will allow you to disable all optional and unwanted programs and components.
How to manually remove Side Terms ads
This step-by-step instructions will help you remove Ads by Side Terms adware. The removal steps work for the Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Firefox and MS Edge, as well as every version of Windows operating system. Some of the steps may require you to close the web-browser or restart your PC system. So, bookmark or print it for later reference.
- Uninstall suspicious and unknown applications by using Windows Control Panel
- Remove Side Terms ads from FF
- Delete Ads by Side Terms from Google Chrome
- Get rid of Side Terms ads from Microsoft Internet Explorer
- Disinfect the browser’s shortcuts to get rid of Side Terms redirects
- Remove unwanted Scheduled Tasks
Uninstall suspicious and unknown applications by using Windows Control Panel
First, you should try to identify and remove the application that causes the appearance of unwanted ads and internet browser redirect to unwanted web sites, using the ‘Uninstall a program’ which is located in the ‘Control panel’.
Windows 8, 8.1, 10
Press Windows key
, then click Search 
. Type ‘Control panel’and press Enter as shown on the screen below.
When the ‘Control Panel’ opens, press the ‘Uninstall a program’ under Programs category as shown in the figure below.
You will see the ‘Uninstall a program’ panel like below.
Very carefully look around the entire list of installed software. Most likely, one or more of them are responsible for the unwanted Side Terms ads. If you have many programs installed, you can help simplify the search of malicious applications by sort the list by date of installation. Once you have found a suspicious, unwanted or unused application, right click to it and press ‘Uninstall’.
Windows XP, Vista, 7
First, click ‘Start’ button and select ‘Control Panel’ at right panel as shown in the figure below.
When the Windows ‘Control Panel’ opens, you need to click ‘Uninstall a program’ under ‘Programs’ as shown below.
You will see a list of programs installed on your computer. We recommend to sort the list by date of installation to quickly find the software that were installed last. Most likely they responsibility for the appearance of unwanted pop-ups and internet browser redirect. If you are in doubt, you can always check the application by doing a search for her name in Google, Yahoo or Bing. When the program, you need to delete, is found, simply click on its name, and then click ‘Uninstall’ as shown on the screen below.
Remove Side Terms ads from FF
First, launch the FF. Next, press the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (
). It will open the drop-down menu. Next, click the “Help” button (
).
In the Help menu, press the “Troubleshooting Information”. In the upper-right corner of the “Troubleshooting Information” page, press “Refresh Firefox” button.
Confirm your action, press the “Refresh Firefox”.
Delete Ads by Side Terms from Google Chrome
Open the Chrome menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (). It opens the drop-down menu. Next, press the “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 on the image below and click the “Reset settings” button.
Confirm your action, press the “Reset” button.
Get rid of Side Terms ads from Microsoft Internet Explorer
To get rid of the annoying Side Terms ads you need to reset the IE to the state, which was when the Windows was installed on your computer.
First, start the Microsoft Internet Explorer, then click ‘gear’ icon 
. It will show the drop-down menu on the right part of the internet browser, then press the “Internet Options” as on the image below.
In the “Internet Options” screen, you need to select the “Advanced” tab and click the “Reset” button. The Microsoft Internet Explorer will show the “Reset IE settings” dialog box as shown on the image below. Next, press the “Delete personal settings” check box to select it. After that, click the “Reset” button.
When the process is complete, click “Close” button. Close the Microsoft Internet Explorer and restart your PC system for the changes to take effect. This step will help you to restore your internet browser’s settings to default state and disable ‘ad-supported’ extensions.
Disinfect the browser’s shortcuts to get rid of Side Terms redirects
Once the ‘ad supported’ software is started, it can also change the internet browser’s shortcuts, adding an argument similar “http://site.address” into the Target field. Due to this, every time you run the web-browser, it will be rerouted to an annoying ads.
To clear the internet 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 starts with “http://” that has been added here. You need to remove it.
When the argument is removed, press the OK button. You need to clean all shortcuts of all your web browsers, as they may be infected too.
Remove unwanted Scheduled Tasks
Once installed, the adware can add a task in to the Windows Task Scheduler Library. Due to this, every time when you start your machine, it will display an annoying ad site. So, you need to check the Task Scheduler Library and remove all tasks that have been created by adware.
Press Windows and R keys on your keyboard at the same time. It will show a dialog box that titled as Run. In the text field, type “taskschd.msc” (without the quotes) and click OK. Task Scheduler window opens. In the left-hand side, click “Task Scheduler Library”, as shown in the figure below.
Task scheduler, list of tasks
In the middle part you will see a list of installed tasks. Select the first task, its properties will be show just below automatically. Next, press the Actions tab. Necessary to look at the text which is written under Details. Found something such as “explorer.exe http://site.address” or “chrome.exe http://site.address” or “firefox.exe http://site.address”, then you need remove this task. If you are not sure that executes the task, then google it. If it’s a component of the unwanted programs, then this task also should be removed.
Further click on it with the right mouse button and select Delete like below.
Task scheduler, delete a task
Repeat this step, if you have found a few tasks that have been created by adware. Once is finished, close the Task Scheduler window.
How to remove Side Terms advertisements with free malware remover
Get rid of Ads by Side Terms adware manually is difficult and often the ad-supported software is not completely removed. Therefore, we recommend you to use the Malwarebytes Free that are completely clean your PC. Moreover, the free program will help you to remove malware, web-browser hijacker and toolbars that your computer may be infected too.
- Download Malwarebytes from the link below.
Malwarebytes Anti-malware
326387 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
- Close all applications and windows on your system. Open the file location. Double-click on the icon that’s named mb3-setup.
- This will launch the setup of Malwarebytes. Next, click Next button and follow the prompts.
- When install is finished, click on the “Scan Now” button to begin scanning your computer for the adware that opens Side Terms ads within your browser. This procedure can take some time, so please be patient.
- Once the scan is finished, make sure all entries have “checkmark” and click “Quarantine Selected”. Once the disinfection is finished, you may be prompted to restart your PC.
These steps above are shown in detail in the following video guide.
How to stop Side Terms ads
To increase your security and protect your PC system against new unwanted ads and malicious web pages, you need to use an application that stops access to malicious ads and web sites. Moreover, the program can block the display of intrusive advertising, that also leads to faster loading of web-pages and reduce the consumption of web traffic.
- Download AdGuard program from the following link.
Adguard download
26627 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
- When the download is finished, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” window. Follow the prompts.
- When the setup is finished, click “Skip” to close it and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see a quick tutorial which 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 launch your system, AdGuard will run automatically and block advertisements, Side Terms ads, as well as other malicious or misleading web-sites. For an overview of all the features of the program, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the AdGuard icon, which is located on your Windows desktop.
Scan your machine and get rid of Ads by Side Terms with AdwCleaner.
This removal application is free and easy to use. It can scan and get rid of ad-supported software, browser hijackers, malware and unwanted toolbars in Google Chrome, FF, Internet Explorer and MS Edge web browsers and thereby restore back their default settings (homepage, new tab page and search engine by default). AdwCleaner is powerful enough to find and remove malicious registry entries and files that are hidden on the personal computer.
Download AdwCleaner utility by clicking on the link below. Save it to your Desktop so that you can access the file easily.
225264 downloads
Version: 8.4.1
Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
Category: Security tools
Update: October 5, 2024
Once the download is complete, open the directory in which you saved it and double-click the AdwCleaner icon. It will start 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 open the program, click Yes button to continue.
Now, click the “Scan” for scanning your computer for the adware which opens annoying Side Terms ads.
Once the system scan is complete, it will display a list of all items detected by this utility as on the image below.
You need to click “Clean” button. It will show a dialog box, press “OK” to start the cleaning procedure. Once the cleaning process is complete, the AdwCleaner may ask you to restart your machine. After reboot, the AdwCleaner will display the log file.
All the above steps are shown in detail in the following video guide.
Finish words
Once you have done the steps above, your PC should be clean from malware and adware. The Firefox, Chrome, IE and MS Edge will no longer show Side Terms annoying ads or redirect you to unwanted web sites. Unfortunately, if the instructions does not help you, then you have caught a new type of adware, and then the best way – ask for help in our Spyware/Malware removal forum.
