How to remove Optimizer.link-boost.com redirect [Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge]

If your web-browser started rerouteing to the Optimizer.link-boost.com then most probably that the ‘ad-supported’ software (also known as adware) get installed on your machine. This adware modifies the Internet Explorer, FF, Chrome and Microsoft Edge settings to open lots of unwanted pop-ups on all web-pages, including web-sites where previously you ads have never seen. These ads can be varied: pop-up windows, boxes, in-text ads, different sized banners and so on. What is more, the ad-supported software, that displays the Optimizer.link-boost.com advertisements, can cause your Internet connection to be slow or freeze your web browser so that the interface is not updated anymore.

It is probably that you might be bothered with the ad supported software that causes browsers to show intrusive Optimizer.link-boost.com pop-ups. You should not disregard this unwanted software. The adware might not only open intrusive advertisements, but redirect your internet browser to malicious pages. What is more, the adware can analyze your browsing, and gain access to your personal information and, later, can transfer it third party companies. Thus, there are more than enough reasons to remove Optimizer.link-boost.com redirect from your computer.

The adware often alter all web-browser shortcut files that located on your Desktop to force you visit various unwanted ad web pages. As a result, your internet browser can still redirect you to an annoying ad web site despite your PC system is actually clean of ‘ad supported’ software and other malicious software.

Thus, it’s clear that the presence of ‘ad supported’ software on your machine is not desirable, and you need to clean up your system immediately. Follow the step-by-step guide below in order to delete Optimizer.link-boost.com redirect.

Remove Optimizer.link-boost.com redirect (removal guide)

As with removing ad supported software, malware or potentially unwanted software, there are few steps you can do. We recommend trying them all. If you do only one part of the guide, then it should be use malicious software removal tool, because it should remove adware and block any further infection. But to completely remove Optimizer.link-boost.com redirect you’ll have to at least reset your internet browser settings like search provider by default, newtab and startpage to default state, disinfect computer’s web-browsers shortcuts, remove all unwanted and suspicious apps, and get rid of ad-supported software with malware removal utilities. Certain of the steps will require you to reboot your personal computer or shut down this web-page. So, read this tutorial carefully, then bookmark or print it for later reference.

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

To remove Optimizer.link-boost.com, follow the steps below:

Manual Optimizer.link-boost.com pop-ups removal
Optimizer.link-boost.com pop up ads automatic removal
How to block Optimizer.link-boost.com ads
How to avoid installation of Optimizer.link-boost.com popup ads
Finish words

Manual Optimizer.link-boost.com pop-ups removal

The following instructions is a step-by-step guide, which will help you manually remove Optimizer.link-boost.com popups from the Firefox, Google Chrome, IE and MS Edge.

Delete potentially unwanted software through the Microsoft Windows Control Panel

It’s of primary importance to first identify and remove all PUPs, adware apps and hijacker infections through ‘Add/Remove Programs’ (Windows XP) or ‘Uninstall a program’ (Windows 10, 8, 7) section of your Microsoft Windows Control Panel.

Make sure you have closed all browsers and other apps. Press CTRL, ALT, DEL keys together to open the MS Windows Task Manager.

Click on the “Processes” tab, look for something dubious that is the ‘ad supported’ software that causes a ton of annoying Optimizer.link-boost.com advertisements then right-click it and select “End Task” or “End Process” option. In most cases, malicious software masks itself to avoid detection by imitating legitimate Windows processes. A process is particularly suspicious: it’s taking up a lot of memory (despite the fact that you closed all of your programs), its name is not familiar to you (if you are in doubt, you can always check the program by doing a search for its name in Google, Yahoo or Bing).

Next, remove any unknown and suspicious apps from your Control panel.

Windows 10, 8.1, 8

Now, press the Windows button, type “Control panel” in search and press Enter. Choose “Programs and Features”, then “Uninstall a program”.

Look around the entire list of apps installed on your computer. Most probably, one of them is the adware that responsible for browser reroute to the annoying Optimizer.link-boost.com web page. Select the dubious program or the application that name is not familiar to you and uninstall it.

Windows Vista, 7

From the “Start” menu in Windows, select “Control Panel”. Under the “Programs” icon, select “Uninstall a program”.

Select the dubious or any unknown applications, then click “Uninstall/Change” button to delete this undesired program from your PC system.

Windows XP

Click the “Start” button, select “Control Panel” option. Click on “Add/Remove Programs”.

Select an unwanted program, then click “Change/Remove” button. Follow the prompts.

Get rid of unwanted Scheduled Tasks

If the undesired Optimizer.link-boost.com site opens automatically on Windows startup or at equal time intervals, then you need to check the Task Scheduler Library and delete all tasks which have been created by adware.

Press Windows and R keys on your keyboard simultaneously. It will display a dialog box which 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, press “Task Scheduler Library”, as displayed in the following example.

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 is a component of the unwanted applications, then this task also should be removed.

Further click on it with the right mouse button and select Delete like below.

Task scheduler, delete a task

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

Remove Optimizer.link-boost.com pop-up advertisements from IE

By resetting Internet Explorer internet browser you revert back your web browser settings to its default state. This is basic when troubleshooting problems that might have been caused by ‘ad supported’ software that causes intrusive Optimizer.link-boost.com pop-ups.

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

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

You will now need to reboot your personal computer for the changes to take effect. It will remove adware that responsible for browser redirect to the annoying Optimizer.link-boost.com webpage, disable malicious and ad-supported browser’s extensions and restore the Internet Explorer’s settings such as start page, new tab and search engine by default to default state.

Get rid of Optimizer.link-boost.com from FF by resetting web browser settings

If the Mozilla Firefox 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 such as start page, default search engine and new tab page to its default state. It will save your personal information such as saved passwords, bookmarks, and open tabs.

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

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

Follow the onscreen procedure to restore your Firefox web-browser settings to its original state.

Remove Optimizer.link-boost.com pop-up ads from Chrome

Like other modern web-browsers, the Chrome has the ability to reset the settings to their default values and thereby restore the web browser’s settings like home page, newtab page and search engine that have been replaced by the ad-supported software that causes web browsers to open annoying Optimizer.link-boost.com popup ads.

First, launch the Google Chrome and click the Menu icon (icon in the form of three dots).
It will show the Chrome main menu. Choose More Tools, then click Extensions.
You’ll see the list of installed extensions. If the list has the plugin labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following guidance: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
Now open the Chrome menu once again, click the “Settings” menu.
Next, click “Advanced” link, that located at the bottom of the Settings page.
On the bottom of the “Advanced settings” page, click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
The Chrome will display the reset settings dialog box as shown on the screen above.
Confirm the web browser’s reset by clicking on the “Reset” button.
To learn more, read the blog post How to reset Chrome settings to default.

Fix affected internet browsers shortcuts to remove Optimizer.link-boost.com redirect

When the adware is started, it can also change the web browser’s shortcut files, adding an argument such as “http://site.address” into the Target field. Due to this, every time you open the internet browser, it’ll show an unwanted webpage.

Right click on the internet 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” which has been added here. Remove everything after .exe. An example, for Google Chrome you should remove everything after chrome.exe.

To save changes, click OK . You need to clean all web browser’s shortcuts. So, repeat this step for the Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome.

Optimizer.link-boost.com pop up ads automatic removal

It’s not enough to remove Optimizer.link-boost.com popup ads from your web browser by following the manual steps above to solve all problems. Some the adware related files may remain on your personal computer and they will recover the adware even after you get rid of it. For that reason we recommend to run free anti malware tool like Zemana Free, MalwareBytes Free and Hitman Pro. Either of those programs should can detect and remove adware responsible for redirects to Optimizer.link-boost.com.

Scan and free your web browser of Optimizer.link-boost.com pop ups with Zemana Anti-malware

Zemana Anti-malware is a tool that can delete adware, potentially unwanted apps, browser hijacker infections 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 computer resources.

Installing the Zemana is simple. First you will need to download Zemana Anti Malware (ZAM) on your MS Windows Desktop by clicking on the following link.

Zemana AntiMalware
164052 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019

After downloading is finished, close all programs and windows on your personal computer. Double-click the set up file named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as displayed on the screen below, click the “Yes” button.

It will open the “Setup wizard” which will help you install Zemana Free on your PC system. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.

Once installation is finished successfully, Zemana Anti-Malware will automatically start and you can see its main screen as shown in the figure below.

Now click the “Scan” button to perform a system scan with this tool for the adware that causes web-browsers to display intrusive Optimizer.link-boost.com pop ups. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your personal computer. While the Zemana Anti-Malware tool is checking, you can see count of objects it has identified as being affected by malware.

After that process is complete, Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) will open a list of all items detected by the scan. Next, you need to click “Next” button. The Zemana Free will remove ‘ad supported’ software that causes undesired Optimizer.link-boost.com pop ups and move threats to the program’s quarantine. After disinfection is finished, you may be prompted to reboot the machine.

Scan and clean your system of ad supported software with HitmanPro

HitmanPro is a free removal tool that can be downloaded and use to get rid of ‘ad supported’ software that responsible for internet browser redirect to the undesired Optimizer.link-boost.com web-page, hijackers, malicious software, PUPs, toolbars and other threats from your PC system. You can run this tool to find out threats even if you have an antivirus or any other security application.

Visit the following page to download the latest version of Hitman Pro for Microsoft Windows. Save it on your Windows desktop.

HitmanPro
12070 downloads
Author: Sophos
Category: Security tools
Update: June 28, 2018
After the download is complete, launch the Hitman Pro, double-click the HitmanPro.exe file.
If the “User Account Control” prompts, click Yes to continue.
In the Hitman Pro window, press the “Next” . HitmanPro utility will begin scanning the whole personal computer to find out adware that causes annoying Optimizer.link-boost.com pop-up ads. This procedure may take quite a while, so please be patient. During the scan Hitman Pro will detect threats present on your personal computer.
After the scan get finished, a list of all items found is produced. Once you have selected what you want to delete from your personal computer click “Next”. Now, click the “Activate free license” button to start the free 30 days trial to remove all malicious software found.

How to remove Optimizer.link-boost.com with Malwarebytes

You can remove Optimizer.link-boost.com advertisements automatically with a help of Malwarebytes Free. We suggest this free malware removal utility because it can easily get rid of hijackers, adware, potentially unwanted apps and toolbars with all their components such as files, folders and registry entries.

Installing the MalwareBytes Anti Malware is simple. First you’ll need to download MalwareBytes Anti-Malware from the link below.

Malwarebytes Anti-malware
326410 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
At the download page, click on the Download button. Your web-browser will open the “Save as” prompt. Please save it onto your Windows desktop.
After the download is finished, please close all software and open windows on your personal computer. Double-click on the icon that’s named mb3-setup.
This will run the “Setup wizard” of MalwareBytes AntiMalware onto your machine. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
When the Setup wizard has finished installing, the MalwareBytes Anti-Malware will open and show the main window.
Further, press the “Scan Now” button to start checking your PC for the ‘ad supported’ software that responsible for the appearance of Optimizer.link-boost.com popup ads. This process can take some time, so please be patient. While the MalwareBytes program is checking, you can see number of objects it has identified as threat.
Once finished, MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) will create a list of unwanted and adware.
All found threats will be marked. You can get rid of them all by simply click the “Quarantine Selected” button. Once that process is complete, you may be prompted to restart the computer.
Close the Anti-Malware and continue with the next step.

Video instruction, which reveals in detail the steps above.

How to block Optimizer.link-boost.com ads

If you surf the World Wide Web, you cannot avoid malvertising. But you can protect your internet browser against it. Download and run an ad-blocker program. AdGuard is an adblocker which can filter out a huge count of of the malicious advertising, blocking dynamic scripts from loading malicious content.

Download AdGuard on your system by clicking on the following link.

After downloading it, double-click the downloaded file to launch it. The “Setup Wizard” window will show up on the computer screen as displayed 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 guidance as on the image below.

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

Each time, when you launch your PC, AdGuard will run automatically and stop pop up advertisements, pages such as Optimizer.link-boost.com, as well as other harmful or misleading webpages. For an overview of all the features of the program, or to change its settings you can simply double-click on the AdGuard icon, that is located on your desktop.

How to avoid installation of Optimizer.link-boost.com popup ads

The adware is bundled within many freeware and commercial applications. This PUP can be installed in background without user consent, but usually it is introduced to a user when a downloaded program are installed. So, read term of use and user agreement very carefully before installing any software or otherwise you can end up with another adware on your PC, such as this adware responsible for redirecting your internet browser to Optimizer.link-boost.com webpage.

Finish words

Now your PC system should be clean of the adware that causes browsers to show intrusive Optimizer.link-boost.com pop up ads. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted pop ups and intrusive malicious sites) and Zemana AntiMalware (ZAM) (to periodically scan your computer for new malware, browser hijackers and ad-supported software). Make sure that you have all the Critical Updates recommended for Windows operating system. Without regular updates you WILL NOT be protected when new hijacker infections, harmful programs and adware are released.

If you are still having problems while trying to get rid of Optimizer.link-boost.com redirect from your web browser, then ask for help in our Spyware/Malware removal forum.