How to remove MediaDownloader adware [Virus removal guide]

Do you got MediaDownloader software on your computer? If yes, then you should known that the MediaDownloader is an ‘ad-supported’ software (also known as adware). It is created in order to display lots of unwanted advertisements and popups within your web browser. You should remove this adware as soon as possible. Here, in this blog post below, you can found the helpful guidance on How to remove MediaDownloader from Windows 10 (8, 7, XP) for free.

As well as undesired web browser redirects to various ads, the MediaDownloader adware can gather your Internet surfing activity by saving URLs visited, IP addresses, internet browser version and type, cookie information, Internet Service Provider (ISP) and web pages visited. Such kind of behavior can lead to serious security problems or confidential information theft. This is another reason why the MediaDownloader adware that causes annoying pop up advertisements, is defined as potentially unwanted application (PUA).

The MediaDownloader usually affects only the Microsoft Internet Explorer, FF, Microsoft Edge and Chrome by changing the web browser’s settings or installing a harmful extensions. Moreover, possible situations, when any other web browsers will be hijacked too. The ad-supported software will perform a scan of the computer for internet browser shortcuts and change them without your permission. When it infects the internet browser shortcuts, it’ll add the argument such as ‘http://site.address’ into Target property. So, each time you run the web browser, you will see an undesired web site.

We suggest to uninstall MediaDownloader that causes a ton of intrusive pop-up advertisements, as soon as you found this problem, as it can reroute your internet browser to web-resources that may load other malicious software on your PC system.

Remove MediaDownloader adware

There are a few methods that can be used to get rid of MediaDownloader adware. But, not all potentially unwanted applications like this adware can be completely removed utilizing only manual methods. Most commonly you’re not able to remove any ad supported software utilizing standard Windows options. In order to remove MediaDownloader adware you need complete a few manual steps and run reliable removal utilities. Most IT security professionals states that Zemana Anti-Malware, MalwareBytes Anti-Malware or AdwCleaner utilities are a right choice. These free programs are able to detect and delete MediaDownloader ad-supported software from your personal computer and revert back your internet browser settings to defaults.

If you are using an Apple computer running Mac OS, then use the following steps How to delete browser hijacker, pop-ups, advertisements from Mac

To remove MediaDownloader, complete the steps below:

How to manually delete MediaDownloader
Scan your PC system and remove MediaDownloader adware with free tools
Use AdBlocker to stay safe online
How was MediaDownloader adware installed on computer
To sum up

How to manually delete MediaDownloader

Most common adware may be uninstalled without any antivirus apps. The manual ‘ad supported’ software removal is step by step guidance that will teach you how to remove the MediaDownloader .

Uninstall MediaDownloader related software using Windows Control Panel

In order to remove PUPs such as the MediaDownloader adware, open the Microsoft Windows Control Panel and click on “Uninstall a program”. Check the list of installed programs. For the ones you do not know, run an Internet search to see if they are ad-supported software, browser hijacker or potentially unwanted applications. If yes, delete them off. Even if they are just a applications that you do not use, then removing them off will increase your PC system start up time and speed dramatically.

Windows 8, 8.1, 10

First, click Windows button

, then press Search

. Type ‘Control panel’and press Enter as shown in the figure below.

When the ‘Control Panel’ opens, press the ‘Uninstall a program’ link under Programs category as shown on the image below.

You will see the ‘Uninstall a program’ panel as on the image below.

Very carefully look around the entire list of software installed on your PC. Most likely, one of them is the MediaDownloader adware that causes annoying pop-up ads. If you have many software installed, you can help simplify the search of malicious programs by sort the list by date of installation. Once you have found a suspicious, unwanted or unused program, right click to it, after that click ‘Uninstall’.

Windows XP, Vista, 7

First, press ‘Start’ button and select ‘Control Panel’ at right panel as displayed in the following example.

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

You will see a list of applications installed on your computer. We recommend to sort the list by date of installation to quickly find the programs that were installed last. Most probably, it is the MediaDownloader ad-supported software that causes lots of unwanted pop-up advertisements. If you’re in doubt, you can always check the program by doing a search for her name in Google, Yahoo or Bing. When the program which you need to uninstall is found, simply click on its name, and then press ‘Uninstall’ as displayed below.

Disinfect the internet browser’s shortcuts hijacked by MediaDownloader

Unfortunately, the MediaDownloader that causes lots of intrusive popup advertisements, can also hijack Windows shortcuts (mostly, your web-browsers shortcut files), so that various unwanted ads will be shown when you launch the Edge, IE, Firefox and Google Chrome or another web-browser.

Open the properties of the web browser shortcut. Right click on the shortcut of affected browser and select the “Properties” option and it will show the properties of the shortcut. Next, select the “Shortcut” tab and have a look at the Target field as displayed on the screen below.

Normally, if the last word in the Target field is chrome.exe, iexplore.exe, firefox.exe. Be sure to pay attention to the extension, should be “exe”! All shortcuts that have been changed by MediaDownloader usually point to .bat, .cmd or .url files instead of .exe as displayed in the following example

Another variant, an address has been added at the end of the line. In this case the Target field looks like …Application\chrome.exe” http://site.address as displayed below.

In order to fix the infected shortcut, you need to insert right path to the Target field or remove an address (if it has been added at the end). You can use the following information to fix your shortcut files that have been modified by MediaDownloader adware.

Google Chrome	C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
	C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
FF	C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe
Internet Explorer	C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
	C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe
Opera	C:\Program Files (x86)\Opera\launcher.exe
	C:\Program Files\Opera\launcher.exe

Once is complete, click OK to save changes. Repeat the step for all web-browsers which are re-directed to unwanted sites.

Delete scheduled tasks created by MediaDownloader

If an unwanted web-site opens automatically on Windows startup or at equal time intervals, then you need to check the Task Scheduler Library and get rid of all the tasks which have been created by the MediaDownloader.

Press Windows and R keys on the keyboard simultaneously. This shows 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 on the screen below.

Task scheduler

In the middle part you will see a list of installed tasks. Please choose the first task, its properties will be show just below automatically. Next, click the Actions tab. Pay attention to that it launches on your computer. If you are not sure that executes the task, check it through a search engine. If it’s a component of the malicious application, 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 shown in the figure below.

Delete a task

Repeat this step, if you have found a few tasks which have been created by the MediaDownloader adware. Once is complete, close the Task Scheduler window.

Get rid of MediaDownloader adware from Microsoft Internet Explorer

The IE reset is great if your internet browser is hijacked or you have unwanted addo-ons or toolbars on your browser, that installed by an malware.

First, open the IE, press ) button. Next, click “Internet Options” like below.

In the “Internet Options” screen select the Advanced tab. Next, press Reset button. The IE 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 restart your machine for the changes to take effect. It will remove MediaDownloader adware that causes a huge number of annoying popups, disable malicious and ad-supported web browser’s extensions and restore the Internet Explorer’s settings like startpage, search engine and new tab page to default state.

Get rid of MediaDownloader from Firefox by resetting browser settings

The Mozilla Firefox reset will keep your personal information like bookmarks, passwords, web form auto-fill data, recover preferences and security settings, remove redirections to annoying ads.

First, launch the Firefox and click button. It will open the drop-down menu on the right-part of the web browser. Further, press the Help button () as displayed on the image below

In the Help menu, select the “Troubleshooting Information” option. Another way to open the “Troubleshooting Information” screen – type “about:support” in the browser adress bar and press Enter. It will open the “Troubleshooting Information” page as displayed in the following example. In the upper-right corner of this screen, click the “Refresh Firefox” button.

It will show the confirmation prompt. Further, click the “Refresh Firefox” button. The Firefox will start a task to fix your problems that caused by the MediaDownloader adware that causes a lot of unwanted popup advertisements. When, it is done, click the “Finish” button.

Remove MediaDownloader from Chrome

Use the Reset web-browser tool of the Chrome to reset all its settings such as startpage, search engine and newtab page to original defaults. This is a very useful utility to use, in the case of web browser redirects to intrusive ad sites.

First run the Chrome. Next, click the button in the form of three horizontal dots ().

It will show the Google Chrome menu. Choose More Tools, then click Extensions. Carefully browse through the list of installed extensions. If the list has the extension signed with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following steps: Remove Google Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.

Open the Chrome menu once again. Further, press the option called “Settings”.

The web browser will display the settings screen. Another solution to display the Google Chrome’s settings – type chrome://settings in the internet browser adress bar and press Enter

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and press the “Advanced” link. Now scroll down until the “Reset” section is visible, like below and click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.

The Chrome will open the confirmation prompt as displayed on the image below.

You need to confirm your action, click the “Reset” button. The web-browser will start the task of cleaning. Once it is complete, the web browser’s settings including default search provider, startpage and newtab back to the values that have been when the Chrome was first installed on your computer.

Scan your PC system and remove MediaDownloader adware with free tools

Manual removal is not always as effective as you might think. Often, even the most experienced users can not completely get rid of MediaDownloader adware that causes unwanted pop ups. So, we recommend to scan your computer for any remaining harmful components with free adware removal apps below.

How to automatically get rid of MediaDownloader with Zemana Anti-malware

Zemana Anti-malware is a tool that can remove adware, potentially unwanted applications, hijackers and other malware from your machine 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 personal computer resources.

Please go to the following link to download Zemana Free. Save it directly to your Microsoft Windows Desktop.

Zemana AntiMalware
164289 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
After the download is finished, close all programs and windows on your PC system. Open a file location. Double-click on the icon that’s named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup.
Further, click Next button and follow the prompts.
Once installation is done, press the “Scan” button to perform a system scan for the MediaDownloader which made to reroute your web-browser to various ad sites. This process can take quite a while, so please be patient. While the tool is checking, you can see how many objects and files has already scanned.
After Zemana completes the scan, you will be shown the list of all detected threats on your computer. You may move items to Quarantine (all selected by default) by simply click “Next”. When that process is finished, you may be prompted to restart your machine.

Automatically delete MediaDownloader adware with Malwarebytes

We recommend using the Malwarebytes Free that are completely clean your computer of the adware. The free tool is an advanced malicious software removal program developed by (c) Malwarebytes lab. This program uses the world’s most popular anti-malware technology. It is able to help you remove annoying MediaDownloader adware from your browsers, PUPs, malicious software, hijacker infections, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your system for free.

Visit the page linked below to download the latest version of MalwareBytes Anti Malware for MS Windows. Save it directly to your Microsoft Windows Desktop.

Malwarebytes Anti-malware
326635 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
At the download page, click on the Download button. Your internet browser will open the “Save as” prompt. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
After downloading is finished, please close all programs and open windows on your PC system. Double-click on the icon that’s called mb3-setup.
This will launch the “Setup wizard” of MalwareBytes Free onto your PC. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the MalwareBytes Anti Malware will launch and display the main window.
Further, click the “Scan Now” button . MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) utility will begin scanning the whole computer to find out MediaDownloader ad supported software which made to redirect your internet browser to various ad sites. This procedure can take some time, so please be patient. When a threat is found, the number of the security threats will change accordingly.
Once the checking is finished, MalwareBytes Anti Malware will show a list of all threats detected by the scan.
In order to remove all items, simply click the “Quarantine Selected” button. After the clean-up is finished, you may be prompted to reboot the PC system.
Close the Anti Malware and continue with the next step.

Video instruction, which reveals in detail the steps above.

Get rid of MediaDownloader adware and malicious extensions with AdwCleaner

If MalwareBytes antimalware or Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) cannot remove this ad supported software, then we suggests to run the AdwCleaner. AdwCleaner is a free removal utility for hijacker infections, potentially unwanted software, toolbars and MediaDownloader ad supported software that made to redirect your browser to various ad web-sites.

Visit the page linked below to download AdwCleaner. Save it on your Desktop.

AdwCleaner download
225368 downloads
Version: 8.4.1
Author: Xplode, MalwareBytes
Category: Security tools
Update: October 5, 2024

After the download is complete, open the folder in which you saved it. You will see an icon like below.

Double click the AdwCleaner desktop icon. When the tool is started, you will see a screen as shown below.

Further, press “Scan” button .AdwCleaner program will scan through the whole computer for the MediaDownloader adware that causes annoying ads. A scan may take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the count of files on your personal computer and the speed of your PC system. After AdwCleaner completes the scan, AdwCleaner will show a list of detected items as displayed in the following example.

Make sure all threats have ‘checkmark’ and click “Clean” button. It will show a prompt as shown below.

You need to click “OK”. Once the process is done, the AdwCleaner may ask you to reboot your machine. When your computer is started, you will see an AdwCleaner log.

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

Use AdBlocker to stay safe online

We recommend to install an adblocker program that can stop malicious, misleading and other annoying web-sites. The ad-blocker utility like AdGuard is a application which basically removes advertising from the Internet and stops access to malicious web pages. Moreover, security experts says that using ad-blocker apps is necessary to stay safe when surfing the World Wide Web.

Download AdGuard program on your MS Windows Desktop from the following link.

When downloading is done, run the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen as on the image below.

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

You can click “Skip” to close the setup application and use the default settings, or press “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 don’t need to change anything. Each time, when you start your PC system, AdGuard will run automatically and stop popup 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 can be found on your desktop.

How was MediaDownloader adware installed on computer

The adware usually is bundled with free software that downloaded from the Internet. 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 computer. In the Setup wizard, you should select the Advanced, Custom or Manual installation option to control what components and additional software to be installed, otherwise you run the risk of infecting your system with an adware like the MediaDownloader adware that redirects your internet browser to undesired ad web-sites.

To sum up

After completing the instructions outlined above, your computer should be clean from the MediaDownloader adware and other malicious software. The Microsoft Edge, FF, Chrome and Internet Explorer will no longer display undesired web-pages when you surf the Web. Unfortunately, if the guide does not help you, then you have caught a new ‘ad supported’ software, and then the best way – ask for help.

Please start a new thread by using the “New Topic” button in the Spyware Removal forum. When posting your HJT log, try to give us some details about your problems, so we can try to help you more accurately. Wait for one of our trained “Security Team” or Site Administrator to provide you with knowledgeable assistance tailored to your problem with the MediaDownloader adware.