How to remove Driver Update popup [Virus removal guide]

The ‘ad supported’ software can change the settings of the Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge, but often that a malicious software like this can also infect all types of browsers by changing their desktop shortcuts. Thus forcing the user each time launch the web-browser to see Driver Update intrusive pop up.

It’s important, don’t use Driver Update site and do not click on pop-up placed on it, as they can lead you to a more harmful or misleading web pages. The best option is to use the guidance posted below to clean your computer of adware and thereby remove Driver Update pop-ups.

How to remove Driver Update popup from computer (Windows 10, 8, 7, XP)

In the steps below, we’ll try to cover the Windows 10, 8, 7, XP and provide general help to uninstall Driver Update pop ups. You may find some minor differences in your MS Windows install. No matter, you should be okay if you follow the steps outlined below: remove all suspicious and unknown applications, reset web-browsers settings, fix browsers shortcuts, remove malicious scheduled tasks, use free malware removal tools. Some of the steps below will require you to exit the page. So, please read the few simple steps carefully, after that bookmark or print it for later reference.

Manual Driver Update pop-up removal

The following instructions is a step-by-step guide, which will help you manually get rid of Driver Update redirect from the Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, MS Edge and IE.

Uninstall Driver Update and other unwanted applications through the Control Panel

First method for manual unwanted software removal is to go into the Microsoft Windows “Control Panel”, then “Uninstall a program” console. Take a look at the list of programs on your personal computer and see if there are any suspicious and unknown software. If you see any, you need to uninstall them. Of course, before doing so, you can do an Internet search to find details on the program. If it is a potentially unwanted program, ad supported software or malware, you will likely find information that says so.

Windows 8, 8.1, 10

First, click Windows button , then press Search . Type ‘Control panel’and press Enter as on the image below.

After the ‘Control Panel’ opens, click the ‘Uninstall a program’ link under Programs category as displayed in the figure below.

You will see the ‘Uninstall a program’ panel like below.

Very carefully look around the entire list of programs installed on your personal computer. Most likely, one or more of them are responsible for the appearance of pop-up and web-browser redirect to the undesired Driver Update web site. If you have many programs installed, you can help simplify the search of harmful applications by sort the list by date of installation. Once you have found a suspicious, unwanted or unused application, right click to it, after that click ‘Uninstall’.

Windows XP, Vista, 7

First, click ‘Start’ button and select ‘Control Panel’ at right panel as displayed in the figure below.

When the Windows ‘Control Panel’ opens, you need to click ‘Uninstall a program’ under ‘Programs’ as displayed below.

You will see a list of software installed on your PC system. We recommend to sort the list by date of installation to quickly find the applications that were installed last. Most likely they responsibility for the appearance of popup 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 which you need to delete is found, simply click on its name, and then click ‘Uninstall’ as displayed on the screen below.

Disinfect the web-browser’s shortcuts to delete Driver Update redirect

When installed, this ad supported software may add an argument such as “http://site.address” into the Target property of the desktop shortcut for the Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Internet Explorer. Due to this, every time you open the internet browser, it will open an annoying ad site.

Right click on the shortcut of infected web-browser like below.

Select the “Properties” option and it will open a shortcut’s properties. Next, click the “Shortcut” tab and then delete the “http://site.address” string from Target field as on the image below.

Then click OK to save changes. Repeat the step for all browsers which are redirected to the Driver Update annoying site.

Remove Driver Update redirect from IE

In order to restore all web-browser new tab page, home page and search engine by default you need to reset the Microsoft Internet Explorer to the state, that was when the MS Windows was installed on your computer.

First, open the Microsoft Internet Explorer, click ) button. Next, click “Internet Options” as shown below.

In the “Internet Options” screen select the Advanced tab. Next, click Reset button. The Internet Explorer will display the Reset Internet Explorer settings dialog box. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box and click Reset button.

You will now need to reboot your computer for the changes to take effect. It will remove Driver Update popup, disable malicious and ad-supported web browser’s extensions and restore the Microsoft Internet Explorer’s settings like newtab, home page and search engine by default to default state.

Remove Driver Update pop ups from Mozilla Firefox

If the FF internet browser program is hijacked, then resetting its settings can help. The Reset feature is available on all modern version of Firefox. A reset can fix many issues by restoring Firefox settings like new tab page, homepage and search engine by default to its default state. It will save your personal information such as saved passwords, bookmarks, and open tabs.

First, open the Firefox. Next, press the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (). It will display the drop-down menu. Next, click the Help button ().

In the Help menu click the “Troubleshooting Information”. In the upper-right corner of the “Troubleshooting Information” page click on “Refresh Firefox” button like below.

Confirm your action, click the “Refresh Firefox”.

Remove Driver Update pop-ups from Google Chrome

If your Chrome browser is redirected to intrusive Driver Update page, it may be necessary to completely reset your internet browser application to its default settings.

Open the Google Chrome menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (). It will open the drop-down menu. Next, 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 on the screen below and press the “Reset settings” button.

Confirm your action, click the “Reset” button.

Get rid of unwanted Scheduled Tasks

If the undesired Driver Update web page opens automatically on Windows startup or at equal time intervals, then you need to check the Task Scheduler Library and remove all the tasks that have been created by ‘ad-supported’ application.

Press Windows and R keys on your keyboard at the same time. It will show a prompt that titled with 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.

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, press the Actions tab. Necessary to look at the text which is written under Details. Found something like “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 is a component of the adware, then this task also should be removed.

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

Task scheduler, delete a task

Repeat this step, if you have found a few tasks that have been created by ‘ad-supported’ program. Once is finished, close the Task Scheduler window.

Run free malware removal tools to completely delete Driver Update popups

The easiest way to remove Driver Update pop ups is to run an anti malware program capable of detecting this adware that designed to reroute your internet browser to various ad sites such as Driver Update. We advise try Zemana Anti-malware or another free malicious software remover that listed below. It has excellent detection rate when it comes to ad-supported software, browser hijackers and other potentially unwanted software.

Remove Driver Update popups with Zemana Anti-malware

We suggest using the Zemana Anti-malware. You can download and install Zemana Anti-malware to scan for adware and thereby get rid of Driver Update pop up from the Google Chrome, FF, MS Edge and Internet Explorer web-browsers. When installed and updated, the malicious software remover will automatically check and detect all threats present on your PC.

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

Zemana AntiMalware
164032 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019

Once the download is complete, close all windows on your system. Further, run the set up file named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as shown in the figure below, press the “Yes” button.

It will show the “Setup wizard” which will allow you install Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) on the machine. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.

Once install is complete successfully, Zemana Anti Malware (ZAM) will automatically launch and you can see its main window as displayed below.

Next, click the “Scan” button to perform a system scan for the ad-supported software that causes undesired Driver Update pop-up. When a malicious software, ‘ad supported’ software or potentially unwanted software are found, the number of the security threats will change accordingly.

After the checking is finished, it will display a scan report. Review the report and then click “Next” button.

The Zemana will get rid of ‘ad supported’ software that made to redirect your browser to various ad web sites such as Driver Update. Once the cleaning procedure is complete, you may be prompted to reboot your computer.

Run Malwarebytes to delete Driver Update redirect

We recommend using the Malwarebytes Free. You can download and install Malwarebytes to detect adware and thereby delete Driver Update pop-ups from your web-browsers. When installed and updated, the free malware remover will automatically scan and detect all threats exist on the computer.

Download Malwarebytes Free from the following link. Save it to your Desktop so that you can access the file easily.

Malwarebytes Anti-malware
326384 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020

Once the downloading process is finished, close all windows on your computer. Further, open the file named mb3-setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as shown below, click the “Yes” button.

It will show the “Setup wizard” which will allow you setup Malwarebytes on the personal computer. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.

Once installation is done successfully, click Finish button. Then Malwarebytes will automatically launch and you can see its main window as displayed on the screen below.

Next, click the “Scan Now” button It will scan through the whole computer for the ad-supported software which developed to redirect your web browser to various ad pages like Driver Update. When a threat is found, the number of the security threats will change accordingly.

As the scanning ends, it will display a list of detected threats. Review the results once the utility has finished the system scan. If you think an entry should not be quarantined, then uncheck it. Otherwise, simply click “Quarantine Selected” button.

The Malwarebytes will delete ad supported software that causes multiple annoying pop up and pop ups and add threats to the Quarantine. Once the procedure is finished, you can be prompted to reboot your PC system. We recommend you look at the following video, which completely explains the procedure of using the Malwarebytes to get rid of hijacker infections, ‘ad supported’ software and other malicious software.

Scan and clean your PC of ad supported software with AdwCleaner

AdwCleaner is a free portable program that scans your PC system for adware that causes web-browsers to show unwanted Driver Update popup, potentially unwanted software and browser hijackers and allows remove them easily. Moreover, it will also allow you get rid of any malicious web-browser extensions and add-ons.

1. Download AdwCleaner from the following link. Save it on your Windows desktop or in any other place.
   
   

   AdwCleaner download
   225260 downloads
   Version: 8.4.1
   Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: October 5, 2024
   
2. Once downloading is complete, double click the AdwCleaner icon. Once this utility is started, press “Scan” button for checking your personal computer for the ad supported software which cause annoying Driver Update popup to appear. This process can take quite a while, so please be patient. While the utility is scanning, you may see how many objects it has identified as being infected by malware.
3. When it has completed scanning, a list of all items detected is produced. Make sure all threats have ‘checkmark’ and click “Clean” button. It will show a prompt, press “OK”.

These few simple steps are shown in detail in the following video guide.

Block Driver Update popup and other intrusive web-sites

We recommend to install an ad-blocker program which may stop Driver Update and other intrusive web sites. The ad blocking utility such as AdGuard is a program that basically removes advertising from the World Wide Web and stops access to malicious web-sites. Moreover, security experts says that using ad-blocker programs is necessary to stay safe when surfing the World Wide Web.

1. Download AdGuard application from the following link. Save it to your Desktop so that you can access the file easily.
   

   Adguard download
   26627 downloads
   Version: 6.4
   Author: © Adguard
   Category: Security tools
   Update: November 15, 2018
   
2. Once the download is complete, launch the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
3. When the install is finished, click “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial which will help you get to know AdGuard better.
4. In most cases, the default settings are enough and you do not need to change anything. Each time, when you launch your PC, AdGuard will launch automatically and stop pop up, pages such Driver Update, as well as other harmful or misleading web pages. 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 may be found on your desktop.

How did Driver Update pop-ups get on your machine

The adware gets onto PC by being attached to various free software. This means that you need to be very careful when installing software downloaded from the World Wide Web, even from a large proven hosting. Be sure to read the Terms of Use and the Software license, select only the Manual, Advanced or Custom setup mode, switch off all additional modules and software are offered to install.

To sum up

Now your computer should be clean of the adware which cause undesired Driver Update pop-up to appear. Delete AdwCleaner. We suggest that you keep Zemana Anti-malware (to periodically scan your machine for new malicious software, browser hijackers and ad-supported software) and AdGuard (to help you block intrusive pop up and malicious pages). Moreover, to prevent adware, please stay clear of unknown and third party programs, make sure that your antivirus program, turn on the option to detect PUPs (potentially unwanted programs).

If you need more help with Driver Update pop-ups related issues, go to our Spyware/Malware removal forum.