How to remove Related.ai pop up ads [Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge]

The ad-supported software is the part of the software that is used as an online promotional tool. It’s created with the sole purpose to open dozens of advertisements, and thus to promote the goods and services in an open web browser window. The reason is simple, many advertisers agree on any ways to attract users to their pages, so the creators of adware, often forcing users to click on an advertising link.

Most often, the adware affects the most common web-browsers like the Chrome, FF, Internet Explorer and MS Edge. But such the malicious software as well may infect another web-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 start the internet browser, it’ll redirect to the intrusive Related.ai web page. Even if you setup a new homepage, an intrusive web-site will be the first thing you see when you run the Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge.

It is important, don’t use Related.ai page and do not click on ads placed on it, as they can lead you to a more harmful or misleading web sites. The best option is to use the step-by-step tutorial posted below to clean your PC system of ad-supported software and thereby delete Related.ai pop ups.

Remove Related.ai advertisements

There are a few solutions which can be used to delete Related.ai advertisements. But, not all potentially unwanted software such as this adware can be completely deleted utilizing only manual solutions. In many cases you are not able to delete any ad-supported software utilizing standard MS Windows options. In order to remove Related.ai redirect you need complete a few manual steps and run reliable removal tools. Most IT security professionals states that Zemana AntiMalware, MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) or AdwCleaner tools are a right choice. These free programs are able to find and remove Related.ai pop-up advertisements from your system and return your browser settings to defaults.

How to manually get rid of Related.ai

The tutorial will help you delete Related.ai advertisements. These Related.ai removal steps work for the Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge, as well as every version of Windows operating system.

Uninstall ‘ad supported’ software through the Microsoft Windows Control Panel

Check out the Windows Control Panel (Programs and Features section) to see all installed software. We suggest to click on the “Date Installed” in order to sort the list of software by the date you installed them. If you see any unknown and suspicious programs, they are the ones you need to delete.

Press Windows button , then click Search . Type “Control panel”and press Enter. If you using Windows XP or Windows 7, then press “Start” and select “Control Panel”. It will open the Windows Control Panel like below.

Further, click “Uninstall a program”
It will display a list of all software installed on your computer. Scroll through the all list, and uninstall any suspicious and unknown applications.

Clean up the browsers shortcuts that have been hijacked by ad supported software

The adware can hijack various Windows shortcuts on your desktop (most often, all web-browsers shortcuts), so in this step you need to check and clean them by removing the argument such as http://site.address/.

Right click to a desktop shortcut for your web-browser. Choose the “Properties” option. It will open the Properties window. Select the “Shortcut” tab here, after that, look at the “Target” field. The ‘ad supported’ software can rewrite it. If you are seeing something similar to “…exe http://site.address” then you need to remove “http…” and leave only, depending on the web-browser you are using:

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

Look at the example as shown below.

Once is finished, click the “OK” button to save the changes. Please repeat this step for web browser shortcuts which redirects to an undesired web pages. When you have completed, go to next step.

Remove Related.ai from Mozilla Firefox by resetting web browser settings

Resetting your Firefox is first troubleshooting step for any issues with your web browser application, including the redirect to Related.ai page.

Click the Menu button (looks like three horizontal lines), and press the blue Help icon located at the bottom of the drop down menu like below.

A small menu will appear, press the “Troubleshooting Information”. On this page, click “Refresh Firefox” button as on the image below.

Follow the onscreen procedure to return your FF browser settings to its original state.

Remove Related.ai pop-ups from Chrome

Run the Reset web browser tool of the Chrome to reset all its settings like new tab page, startpage and search provider by default to original defaults. This is a very useful utility to use, in the case of web browser redirects to annoying ad web-pages such as Related.ai.

First run the Google Chrome. Next, press the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (). It will show the main menu. Further, press the option named “Settings”. Another way to open the Chrome’s settings – type chrome://settings in the web-browser adress bar and press Enter.

The web browser will show the settings screen. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and press the “Show advanced settings” link. Now scroll down until the “Reset settings” section is visible, as on the image below and click the “Reset settings” button.

The Google Chrome will show the confirmation dialog box. You need to confirm your action, click the “Reset” button. The browser will start the process of cleaning. When it’s finished, the web-browser’s settings including homepage, newtab and default search provider back to the values that have been when the Chrome was first installed on your machine.

Get rid of Related.ai redirect from IE

In order to restore all browser home page, new tab and default search engine you need to reset the IE to the state, which was when the Windows was installed on your personal computer.

First, launch the IE, click ) button. Next, click “Internet Options” as displayed on the image below.

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

You will now need to reboot your machine for the changes to take effect. It will remove adware that causes a ton of annoying Related.ai ads, disable malicious and ad-supported web browser’s extensions and restore the Internet Explorer’s settings such as home page, new tab and default search provider to default state.

Get rid of 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 open your personal computer, it will display Related.ai intrusive web site. So, you need to check the Task Scheduler Library and get rid of all malicious tasks which have been created by adware.

Press Windows and R keys on the keyboard at the same time. This opens a dialog box that called Run. In the text field, type “taskschd.msc” (without the quotes) and press OK. Task Scheduler window opens. In the left-hand side, press “Task Scheduler Library”, as shown in the following example.

In the middle part you will see a list of installed tasks. Please select the first task, its properties will be open just below automatically. Next, click the Actions tab. Pay attention to that it launches on your PC. Found something like “explorer.exe http://site.address” or “chrome.exe http://site.address”, then remove this malicious task. If you are not sure that executes the task, check it through a search engine. If it’s a component of the adware, then this task also should be removed.

Having defined the task that you want to get rid of, then click on it with the right mouse button and select Delete as displayed on the screen below.

Repeat this step, if you have found a few tasks which have been created by malicious program. Once is finished, close the Task Scheduler window.

Scan your computer and get rid of Related.ai pop up advertisements with free utilities

In order to completely get rid of Related.ai, you not only need to delete ad-supported software from your PC, but also delete all its components in your personal computer including Windows registry entries. We advise to download and run free removal tools to automatically free your system of adware that causes tons of undesired Related.ai ads.

Use Zemana Anti-malware to delete Related.ai

You can remove Related.ai redirect automatically with a help of Zemana Anti-malware. We recommend this malicious software removal tool because it may easily delete browser hijackers, potentially unwanted programs, ‘ad supported’ software that redirects your web browser to Related.ai web-site with all their components such as folders, files and registry entries.

Download Zemana AntiMalware by clicking on the link below and save it directly to your Windows Desktop.

Once the download is finished, close all applications and windows on your computer. Double-click the install file called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up as displayed in the figure below, click the “Yes” button.

It will open the “Setup wizard” that will help you set up Zemana on your computer. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.

Once installation is complete successfully, Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) will automatically start and you can see its main screen as shown in the following example.

Now click the “Scan” button for scanning your PC for the adware which redirects your web browser to intrusive Related.ai web page. Depending on your personal computer, the scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to close to an hour. During the scan Zemana AntiMalware will detect all threats present on your computer.

After the scan get finished, Zemana Free will show a list of found threats. When you are ready, click “Next” button. The Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) will delete adware that redirects your browser to annoying Related.ai web site and add threats to the Quarantine. After the task is finished, you may be prompted to restart the machine.

Scan and free your computer of adware with Malwarebytes

We recommend using the Malwarebytes Free which are completely clean your computer of the ad supported software. The free tool is an advanced malicious software removal application designed by (c) Malwarebytes lab. This application uses the world’s most popular anti malware technology. It is able to help you get rid of intrusive Related.ai popup advertisements from your browsers, PUPs, malware, hijackers, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your computer for free.

1. Please download MalwareBytes Anti-Malware by clicking on the following link and save it to your Desktop.
   
   

   Malwarebytes Anti-malware
   326385 downloads
   Author: Malwarebytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: April 15, 2020
   
2. At the download page, click on the Download button. Your internet browser will show the “Save as” dialog box. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
3. After downloading is finished, please close all software and open windows on your computer. Double-click on the icon that’s called mb3-setup.
4. This will start the “Setup wizard” of MalwareBytes onto your PC system. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
5. When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the MalwareBytes Anti-Malware will start and open the main window.
6. Further, click the “Scan Now” button to perform a system scan for the adware which cause unwanted Related.ai pop-ups to appear. This procedure can take some time, so please be patient. When a malicious software, adware or PUPs are found, the number of the security threats will change accordingly. Wait until the the checking is finished.
7. As the scanning ends, MalwareBytes Anti-Malware will display a list of detected items.
8. Review the scan results and then press the “Quarantine Selected” button. Once that process is done, you may be prompted to reboot the personal computer.
9. Close the Anti Malware and continue with the next step.

Video instruction, which reveals in detail the steps above.

Use AdwCleaner to remove Related.ai redirect

If MalwareBytes antimalware or Zemana cannot delete this adware, then we suggests to use the AdwCleaner. AdwCleaner is a free removal tool for browser hijackers, potentially unwanted applications, toolbars and ‘ad supported’ software which cause unwanted Related.ai popup ads to appear.

1. Download AdwCleaner from the following link. Save it on your Microsoft Windows desktop.
   
   

   AdwCleaner download
   225261 downloads
   Version: 8.4.1
   Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
   Category: Security tools
   Update: October 5, 2024
   
2. Once the downloading process is done, double click the AdwCleaner icon. Once this utility is launched, click “Scan” button to start scanning your system for the adware that causes multiple undesired advertisements. When a malware, ‘ad supported’ software or potentially unwanted software are found, the count of the security threats will change accordingly.
3. After that process is complete, you will be shown the list of all found items on your system. Review the results once the utility has complete the system scan. If you think an entry should not be quarantined, then uncheck it. Otherwise, simply press “Clean” button. It will show a prompt, click “OK”.

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

Run AdBlocker to block Related.ai and stay safe online

It is important to use ad-blocking applications such as AdGuard to protect your system from malicious web-sites. Most security experts says that it is okay to stop ads. You should do so just to stay safe! And, of course, the AdGuard can to block Related.ai and other unwanted web-sites.

Download AdGuard program from the link below and save it directly to your Microsoft Windows Desktop.

After the download is finished, start the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen as shown on the image below.

Follow the prompts. When the install is done, you will see a window as displayed on the image below.

You can click “Skip” to close the setup program and use the default settings, or click “Get Started” button 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 run automatically and block pop-up ads, sites such Related.ai, 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 AdGuard icon, which can be found on your desktop.

Tips to prevent Related.ai pop ups and other unwanted software

The adware usually is bundled with free programs which 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 ‘ad supported’ software 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 PC. In the Setup wizard, you should choose the Advanced, Custom or Manual installation mode to control what components and third-party programs to be installed, otherwise you run the risk of infecting your system with an adware such as the adware that causes unwanted Related.ai pop ups.

To sum up

Now your machine should be clean of the adware which causes annoying Related.ai pop-up advertisements. Remove AdwCleaner. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted pop ups and annoying harmful web sites) and Zemana (to periodically scan your system for new malware, browser hijackers and adware). Make sure that you have all the Critical Updates recommended for Windows OS. Without regular updates you WILL NOT be protected when new adwares, harmful software and adware are released.

If you are still having problems while trying to remove Related.ai pop-ups from your web browser, then ask for help in our Spyware/Malware removal forum.