The MoneyFriend is an ‘ad-supported’ software (also known as adware) that shows undesired advertisements and can redirect your browser to various ad sites. The adware is an unwanted software that is going to open you lots of advertisements and deals. Of course, it is not a malware or virus in the “general meaning” of this word. It will not delete or damage your files, but it can alter some personal computer’s settings or download and install other malicious software. So, you’d better to remove MoneyFriend adware using the step by step guidance below and thereby remove all unwanted pop-up ads from your web browsers.
It’s not a good idea to have an unwanted program like MoneyFriend on your computer. The reason for this is simple, it doing things you do not know about. The ad-supported software can also be used to gather personal information that can be later used for marketing purposes. You do not know if your home address, account names and passwords are safe. And of course you completely don’t know what will happen when you click on any MoneyFriend ads.
The ad supported software can change the settings of the Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, MS Edge and Microsoft Internet Explorer, but often that a malicious software like MoneyFriend can also infect all types of web-browsers by changing their desktop shortcuts. Thus forcing the user each time start the web-browser to see an intrusive ads.
We recommend you to remove MoneyFriend and clean your PC system from all pop-up advertisements ASAP, until the presence of the ad-supported software has not led to even worse consequences. You need to follow the steps below that will help you to completely remove the reroute to annoying web-sites, using only the built-in MS Windows features and a few of specialized free malicious software removal utilities.
MoneyFriend adware removal guide
Most commonly ad-supported software requires more than a simple uninstall with the help of Windows Control panel in order to be fully uninstalled. For that reason, our team developed several removal methods that we have combined in a detailed tutorial. Therefore, if you’ve the MoneyFriend adware on your computer and are currently trying to have it deleted then feel free to follow the step-by-step guide below in order to resolve your problem. Read this manual carefully, bookmark or print it, because you may need to close your internet browser or reboot your PC.
Manual MoneyFriend removal
The following instructions is a step-by-step guide, which will help you manually delete MoneyFriend ad supported software from your computer and the Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Firefox and Microsoft Edge.
Delete MoneyFriend related applications through the Control Panel of your machine
We recommend that you start the PC cleaning process by checking the list of installed programs and remove all unknown or suspicious software. This is a very important step, as mentioned above, very often the harmful applications such as adware and hijackers may be bundled with freeware. Delete the unwanted software can remove the unwanted ads or web browser redirect.
- If you are using Windows 8, 8.1 or 10 then click Windows button, next press Search. Type “Control panel”and press Enter.
- If you are using Windows XP, Vista, 7, then click “Start” button and click “Control Panel”.
- It will display the Windows Control Panel.
- Further, press “Uninstall a program” under Programs category.
- It will open a list of all software installed on the PC.
- Scroll through the all list, and uninstall suspicious and unknown programs. To quickly find the latest installed programs, we recommend sort applications by date.
See more details in the video tutorial below.
Clean up the browsers shortcuts that have been hijacked by adware
The ‘ad supported’ software can hijack various Windows shortcuts on your desktop (most often, all internet browsers shortcuts), so in this step you need to check and clean them by removing the argument like http://site.address/.
Right click on the web browser’s shortcut, click Properties option. 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 “http://site.address” that has been added here. Remove everything after .exe. An example, for Google Chrome you should remove everything after chrome.exe.
To save changes, press OK . You need to clean all internet browser’s shortcuts. So, repeat this step for the Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer.
Delete 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 run your computer, it will open an intrusive web-page. So, you need to check the Task Scheduler Library and remove all malicious tasks that have been created by unwanted programs.
Press Windows and R keys on your keyboard at the same time. It will show a dialog box which 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 on the image 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 open just below automatically. Next, click 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 ‘ad-supported’ programs, then this task also should be removed.
Further press on it with the right mouse button and select Delete as shown on the screen below.
Task scheduler, delete a task
Repeat this step, if you have found a few tasks that have been created by ‘ad-supported’ programs. Once is complete, close the Task Scheduler window.
How to automatically remove MoneyFriend adware
Manual removal guidance does not always help to completely get rid of the ad-supported software, as it is not easy to identify and get rid of components of ad-supported software and all malicious files from hard disk. Therefore, it’s recommended that you run malware removal tool to completely get rid of MoneyFriend off your internet browser. Several free malicious software removal tools are currently available that can be used against the adware. The optimum solution would be to use Zemana Anti-malware, Malwarebytes Free and AdwCleaner.
How to automatically delete MoneyFriend with Zemana Anti-malware
Zemana Anti-malware is a tool that can remove adware, potentially unwanted programs, hijackers and other malware from your PC system easily and for free. Zemana Anti-malware is compatible with most antivirus software. It works under Windows (10 – XP, 32 and 64 bit) and uses minimum of computer resources.
Download Zemana Anti Malware by clicking on the link below.
164032 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
When the download is finished, start it and follow the prompts. Once installed, the Zemana AntiMalware will try to update itself and when this process is finished, press the “Scan” button to start checking your PC system for the MoneyFriend adware that causes multiple unwanted ads and popups.
While the program is checking, you can see count of objects it has identified as threat. In order to remove all threats, simply click “Next” button.
The Zemana Anti Malware will get rid of MoneyFriend ad supported software that cause intrusive popup ads to appear and add threats to the Quarantine.
How to automatically get rid of MoneyFriend with Malwarebytes
Remove MoneyFriend ad-supported software 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 remove malicious software, PUPs, toolbars and hijacker infections that your machine can be infected too.
Download Malwarebytes Free from the link below.
326385 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
When the downloading process is done, run it and follow the prompts. Once installed, the Malwarebytes will try to update itself and when this procedure is done, click the “Scan Now” button It will scan through the whole computer for the MoneyFriend ad supported software that causes multiple annoying ads and pop-ups. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of files on your PC system and the speed of your system. While the tool is checking, you may see how many objects and files has already scanned. All found threats will be marked. You can get rid of them all by simply click “Quarantine Selected” button.
The Malwarebytes is a free program that you can use to get rid of all detected folders, files, services, registry entries and so on. To learn more about this malware removal utility, we suggest you to read and follow the tutorial or the video guide below.
Remove MoneyFriend ‘ad supported’ software from browsers with AdwCleaner
If MalwareBytes antimalware or Zemana antimalware cannot remove this ‘ad supported’ software, then we suggests to run the AdwCleaner. AdwCleaner is a free removal utility for browser hijacker infections, PUPs, toolbars and MoneyFriend adware that developed to redirect your browser to various ad web sites.
Download AdwCleaner from the link below.
225261 downloads
Version: 8.4.1
Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
Category: Security tools
Update: October 5, 2024
Once downloading is done, open the directory in which you saved it. You will see an icon like below.
Double click the AdwCleaner desktop icon. When the tool is launched, you will see a screen as shown below.
Further, click “Scan” button to perform a system scan for the MoneyFriend which made to redirect your web-browser to various ad pages. Depending on your computer, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. After finished, the results are displayed in the scan report like below.
Review the report and then press “Clean” button. It will display a prompt as shown in the figure below.
You need to click “OK”. Once disinfection is finished, the AdwCleaner may ask you to restart your machine. When your PC system is started, you will see an AdwCleaner log.
These steps are shown in detail in the following video guide.
Run AdBlocker to stay safe online
It is important to use ad-blocking programs such as AdGuard to protect your PC from harmful web sites. Most security experts says that it’s okay to block ads. You should do so just to stay safe! And, of course, the AdGuard may to stop unwanted ads and other undesired web-sites.
- Download AdGuard application by clicking on the following link.
Adguard download
26627 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
- When downloading is done, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
- After the installation is finished, click “Skip” to close the setup 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 don’t need to change anything. Each time, when you run your personal computer, AdGuard will start automatically and block pop ups, 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 icon named AdGuard, which can be found on your desktop.
How to prevent MoneyFriend adware from getting inside your personal computer
The adware usually come bundled with free software that downloaded from the World Wide Web. Which means that you need to be proactive and carefully read the Terms of use and the License agreement properly. For the most part, the adware will be clearly described, so take the time to carefully read all the information about the software that you downloaded and want to install on your computer. In the Setup wizard, you should select the Advanced, Custom or Manual installation mode to control what components and optional applications to be installed, otherwise you run the risk of infecting your computer with an ad-supported software such as the MoneyFriend adware that causes a large amount of undesired advertisements.
Final words
Now your personal computer should be free of the MoneyFriend adware which causes annoying advertisements. Uninstall AdwCleaner. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted pop-up ads and unwanted malicious web-sites) and Zemana Anti-malware (to periodically scan your personal computer for new malicious software, browser hijackers and ad supported software). Make sure that you have all the Critical Updates recommended for Windows OS. Without regular updates you WILL NOT be protected when new browser hijackers, malicious software and ad-supported software are released.
If you are still having problems while trying to delete MoneyFriend ad supported software from your browser, then ask for help in our Spyware/Malware removal forum.
