How to remove VAB Downloader adware [Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge]

Remove VAB Downloader virus

There present several free adware removal utilities. Also it is possible to get rid of VAB Downloader adware manually. But we suggest to combine all these solutions below into the one removal algorithm. Follow the steps of the guidance. Read this manual carefully, bookmark or print it, because you may need to exit your web browser or reboot your personal computer.

Manual VAB Downloader adware virus removal

The guidance will help you remove VAB Downloader . These VAB Downloader removal steps work for the Google Chrome, FF, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Edge, as well as every version of MS Windows operating system.

Remove VAB Downloader related applications through the Control Panel of your personal computer

It’s of primary importance to first identify and remove all potentially unwanted applications, ‘ad supported’ software applications and browser hijackers through ‘Add/Remove Programs’ (Windows XP) or ‘Uninstall a program’ (Windows 10, 8, 7) section of your Microsoft Windows Control Panel.

Press Windows button , 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 will display the Windows Control Panel as shown below.

Further, press “Uninstall a program”
It will display a list of all programs installed on your PC system. Scroll through the all list, and uninstall any suspicious and unknown programs.

Clean up the web browsers shortcuts that have been hijacked by virus

Unfortunately, the VAB Downloader virus can also hijack Windows shortcuts (mostly, your browsers shortcuts}), so that an ad page will be displayed when you start the FF, Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Edge or another internet browser.

Click the right mouse button to a desktop shortcut which you use to start your internet browser. Next, select the “Properties” option. Important: necessary to click on the desktop shortcut for the web browser that is re-directed to unwanted web pages.

Further, necessary to look at the text which is written in the “Target” field. The adware can modify the contents of this field, which describes the file to be run when you run your web-browser. Depending on the browser you are using, there should be:

• Google Chrome: chrome.exe
• Opera: opera.exe
• Firefox: firefox.exe
• Internet Explorer: iexplore.exe

If you are seeing an unknown text like “http://site.addres” that has been added here, then you should remove it, as shown in the figure below.

Next, click the “OK” button to save the changes. Now, when you start the internet browser from this desktop shortcut, it does not occur automatically redirect on an unknown web-page or any other unwanted sites. Once the step is done, we recommend to go to the next step.

Get rid of unwanted Scheduled Tasks

If an intrusive web site opens automatically on Windows startup or at equal time intervals, then you need to check the Task Scheduler Library and remove all the tasks which have been created by ‘ad-supported’ software.

Press Windows and R keys on your keyboard at the same time. It will open a dialog box that called 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”, like below.

In the middle part you will see a list of installed tasks. Select the first task, its properties will be display 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 malicious application, then this task also should be removed.

Further click on it with the right mouse button and select Delete as shown on the image below.

Repeat this step, if you have found a few tasks that have been created by VAB Downloader adware. Once is finished, close the Task Scheduler window.

Use free malware removal tools to completely remove VAB Downloader adware virus

Manual removal steps does not always help to completely remove the virus, as it is not easy to identify and delete components of adware virus and all malicious files from hard disk. Therefore, it’s recommended that you run malware removal tool to completely remove VAB Downloader off your computer. Several free malware removal utilities are currently available that can be used against the adware virus. The optimum way would be to run Zemana Anti-malware, Malwarebytes Free and AdwCleaner.

Scan and clean your internet browser of VAB Downloader adware virus with Zemana Anti-malware

You can remove VAB Downloader adware automatically with a help of Zemana Anti-malware. We recommend this malware removal tool because it may easily remove browser hijacker infections, PUPs, adware with all their components such as folders, files and registry entries.

1. Please download Zemana anti malware to your desktop from the following link.
   
   

   Zemana AntiMalware
   164040 downloads
   Author: Zemana Ltd
   Category: Security tools
   Update: July 16, 2019
   
2. At the download page, click on the Download button. Your web-browser will show the “Save as” dialog box. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
3. Once the downloading process is complete, please close all applications and open windows on your PC system. Next, start a file named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
4. This will launch the “Setup wizard” of Zemana anti malware onto your personal computer. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
5. When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the anti-malware will open and display the main window.
6. Further, click the “Scan” button . This will start scanning the whole computer to find out VAB Downloader adware virus that causes web-browsers to display undesired pop-ups. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the count of files on your PC and the speed of your PC system. When a threat is detected, the number of the security threats will change accordingly.
7. Once the scanning is done, the results are displayed in the scan report.
8. Review the report and then click the “Next” button to begin cleaning your PC system. Once the task is done, you may be prompted to reboot the computer.
9. Close the Zemana Anti-Malware and continue with the next step.

Scan and free your computer of adware with Malwarebytes

Get rid of VAB Downloader manually is difficult and often the adware is not completely removed. Therefore, we suggest you to run the Malwarebytes Free that are completely clean your personal computer. Moreover, the free program will help you to delete malware, PUPs, toolbars and browser hijackers that your personal computer can be infected too.

Download Malwarebytes on your machine by clicking on the link below. Save it on your Windows desktop or in any other place.

When the download is finished, close all software and windows on your computer. Double-click the set up file named mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up like below, click the “Yes” button.

It will open the “Setup wizard” which will help you install Malwarebytes on your computer. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.

Once setup is done successfully, click Finish button. Malwarebytes will automatically start and you can see its main screen as shown on the image below.

Now click the “Scan Now” button to start checking your computer for the VAB Downloader adware which cause annoying pop-up ads to appear. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of files on your computer and the speed of your personal computer. While the tool is checking, you can see how many objects it has identified either as being malicious software.

As the scanning ends, it will open a screen that contains a list of malware that has been detected. In order to remove all threats, simply click “Quarantine Selected” button. The Malwarebytes will begin removing adware and other security threats. Once disinfection is done, you may be prompted to restart the personal computer.

We suggest you look at the following video, which completely explains the process of using the Malwarebytes to delete virus and other malware.

Remove VAB Downloader adware from browsers with AdwCleaner

The AdwCleaner utility is free and easy to use. It may scan and delete malware, PUPs and VAB Downloader adware in Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Microsoft Internet Explorer internet browsers and thereby delete all annoying pop-up ads. AdwCleaner is powerful enough to find and remove malicious registry entries and files that are hidden on the computer.

Download AdwCleaner tool by clicking on the link below. Save it to your Desktop so that you can access the file easily.

Once the download is complete, open the directory in which you saved it and double-click the AdwCleaner icon. It will start the AdwCleaner tool and you will see a screen as shown in the figure below. If the User Account Control prompt will ask you want to show the program, click Yes button to continue.

Next, press “Scan” to start checking your machine for the VAB Downloader virus that causes a huge number of intrusive advertisements. During the scan it’ll detect all threats exist on your computer.

As the scanning ends is complete, it will display a list of detected threats as shown on the screen below.

When you are ready, click “Clean” button. It will show a prompt. Click “OK” to start the cleaning procedure. When the clean up is finished, the AdwCleaner may ask you to restart your PC. After reboot, the AdwCleaner will open the log file.

All the above steps are shown in detail in the following video instructions.

Stop annoying ads and redirect to various ad web-sites

Running an ad-blocking program such as AdGuard is an effective way to alleviate the risks. Additionally, ad-blocker programs will also protect you from malicious advertisements and web-pages, and, of course, stop redirection chain to ad web-sites.

Installing the AdGuard ad blocking program is simple. First you will need to download AdGuard by clicking on the following link.

When downloading is finished, double-click the downloaded file to start it. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen like below.

Follow the prompts. AdGuard will then be installed and an icon will be placed on your desktop. A window will show up asking you to confirm that you want to see a quick instructions as shown below.

Click “Skip” button to close the window and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick guidance which will help you get to know AdGuard better.

Each time, when you run your computer, AdGuard will start automatically and block pop up ads, as well as other malicious or misleading web pages. For an overview of all the features of the application, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the AdGuard icon, which is located on your desktop.

How can you prevent the VAB Downloader

Many adware are included in the freeware installer. Most often, a user have a chance to disable all included “offers”, but certain installation packages are created to confuse the average users, in order to trick them into installing the VAB Downloader virus which causes annoying ads. Anyway, easier to prevent the virus rather than clean up your system after one. So, keep the web-browser updated (turn on automatic updates), run a good antivirus applications, double check a free applications before you launch it (do a google search, scan a downloaded file with VirusTotal), avoid harmful and unknown web-sites.

Finish words

Now your PC should be free of the VAB Downloader adware virus that cause undesired advertisements to appear. Delete AdwCleaner. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted popup ads and undesired harmful web sites) and Zemana Anti-malware (to periodically scan your PC for new browser hijackers, malicious software and adware). Probably you are running an older version of Java or Adobe Flash Player. This can be a security risk, so download and install the latest version right now.

If you are still having problems while trying to remove VAB Downloader from the Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge, then ask for help in our Spyware/Malware removal forum.