Q. Fake Flash Player Update alerts constantly popping up! What can I do to stop this from happening and remove fake alerts and popups.
A. If those alerts or pop ups keep appearing and greatly affect you, then it is a sign that your machine is infected by potentially unwanted application (PUA) or adware (also known as ‘ad-supported’ software). You can search whether there is ad-supported software in your control panel or undesired plugin on your web-browser. If any, you should first uninstall it from your Apple Mac.
What is the purpose of adware? Adware delivers unwanted ads on your computer. Some of these ads are scams or fake ads designed to trick you (such as these Flash Player Update pop-ups). Even the harmless advertisements can become really irritating. Ad-supported software can be installed unintentionally and without you knowing about it, when you open email attachments, install free freeware.
In order to show unwanted ads as often as possible the adware can change your web browser settings. You may even find that your machine settings are hijacked without your conscious permission. The creators of ad supported software do so in order to earn revenue via third-party ad network. Thus every your click on ads makes money for them.
Another reason why you need to get rid of adware is its online data-tracking activity. It can gather privacy info, including:
- IP addresses;
- URLs visited;
- search queries/terms;
- clicks on links and advertisements;
- web-browser version information.
If your web-browser has been hijacked by the adware, you must have finished any of the steps above. Once you have removed Fake Flash Player Update popups from your MAC by following our suggestions below, make sure not to commit the same mistakes again in the future.
How to stop/remove Fake Flash Player Update pop ups (Virus removal guide)
In the step-by-step guide below we will have a look at the ad-supported software and how to get rid of Fake Flash Player Update from Firefox, Chrome and Safari browsers for Apple Mac, natively or by using a few free removal tools. Read it once, after doing so, please print this page as you may need to shut down your internet browser or restart your MAC OS.
To remove Fake Flash Player Update virus pop-up, execute the steps below:
- How to manually get rid of Fake Flash Player Update pop-up
- Remove Fake Flash Player Update virus with free tools
- How to stop Fake Flash Player Update pop-ups
- How was Adware installed on MAC system
- To sum up
How to manually get rid of Fake Flash Player Update pop-up
Most common adware may be uninstalled without any antivirus apps. The manual adware removal is steps that will teach you how to get rid of the Fake Flash Player Update pop ups.
Remove potentially unwanted applications using the Finder
First, you should try to identify and uninstall the program that causes the appearance of annoying ads or web-browser redirect, using the ‘Applications’ list that located in the Finder.
Open Finder and click “Applications”.
Carefully browse through the list of installed software and get rid of all suspicious and unknown applications.
Once you have found anything suspicious that may be the adware that causes multiple annoying pop ups or other PUP (potentially unwanted program), then right click this program and select “Move to Trash”. Once complete, Empty Trash.
Delete Fake Flash Player Update pop-ups from Safari
The Safari 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.
Run Safari internet browser. Next, choose Preferences from the Safari menu.
First, click the “Security” icon. Here, select “Block pop-up windows”. It will block some types of popups.
Now, click the “Extensions” icon. Look for suspicious extensions on left panel, select it, then press the “Uninstall” button. Most important to get rid of all dubious addons from Safari.
Once complete, check your startpage and search engine settings. Click “General” tab. Make sure that the “Homepage” field contains the website you want or is empty.
Make sure that the “Search engine” setting shows your preferred search provider. In some versions of Safari, this setting is in the “Search” tab.
Remove Fake Flash Player Update popups from Google Chrome
Reset Chrome settings will allow you to completely reset your internet browser. The result of activating this function will bring Google Chrome settings back to its default values. This can get rid of Fake Flash Player Update pop ups and disable harmful addons. It’ll keep your personal information like browsing history, bookmarks, passwords and web form auto-fill data.
Open the Google Chrome menu by clicking on the button in the form of three horizontal dotes (
). It will open the drop-down menu. Select More Tools, then click Extensions.
Carefully browse through the list of installed plugins. If the list has the add-on labeled with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following tutorial: Remove Google Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy otherwise, just go to the step below.
Open the Chrome main menu again, press to “Settings” option.
Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the “Advanced” link. Now scroll down until the Reset settings section is visible, as shown below and click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
Confirm your action, click the “Reset” button.
Get rid of Fake Flash Player Update from Mozilla Firefox by resetting web browser settings
The Mozilla Firefox reset will remove redirects to unwanted Fake Flash Player Update webpage, modified preferences, extensions and security settings. Essential information like bookmarks, browsing history, passwords, cookies, auto-fill data and personal dictionaries will not be removed.
First, open the Firefox. Next, click the button in the form of three horizontal stripes (
). It will show 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 as on the image below.
Confirm your action, click the “Refresh Firefox”.
Remove Fake Flash Player Update virus with free tools
The easiest solution to delete Fake Flash Player Update popups is to run an antimalware application capable of detecting this ad supported software which created to redirect your internet browser to various ad web sites such as the Fake Flash Player Update. We recommend try MalwareBytes or another free malicious software remover that listed below. It has excellent detection rate when it comes to ad supported software, browser hijacker infections and other PUPs.
Run MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) to delete Fake Flash Player Update pop-ups
We advise using the MalwareBytes Anti-Malware that are fully clean your computer of the adware. This free tool is an advanced malware removal program designed by (c) Malwarebytes lab. This program uses the world’s most popular anti-malware technology. It’s able to help you remove intrusive Fake Flash Player Update pop ups from your web browsers, potentially unwanted apps, malware, browser hijacker infection, toolbars, ransomware and other security threats from your MAC system for free.
MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) can be downloaded from the following link.
20842 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: September 10, 2020
After the downloading process is complete, close all applications and windows on your machine. Run the saved file. Follow the prompts.
The MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) will automatically start and you can see its main screen as shown on the image below.
Now press the “Scan” button to perform a system scan with this tool for the ad supported software responsible for Fake Flash Player Update popup. This procedure can take quite a while, so please be patient.
When MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) has completed scanning, MalwareBytes will display a scan report. All found threats will be marked. You can delete them all by simply click “Remove Selected Items” button. The MalwareBytes Free will remove adware responsible for Fake Flash Player Update pop ups and add items to the Quarantine.
How to stop Fake Flash Player Update pop ups
We advise to install an ad-blocker application which may block Fake Flash Player Update and other annoying web-pages. The adblocker utility such as AdGuard is a program which basically removes advertising from the Web and stops access to malicious web pages. Moreover, security experts says that using ad-blocker software is necessary to stay safe when surfing the Net.
AdGuard can be downloaded from the following link.
3677 downloads
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: January 17, 2018
Once downloading is done, run the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen. Follow the prompts.
Each time, when you launch your MAC system, AdGuard will start automatically and stop unwanted ads popups, stop Fake Flash Player Update pop-ups, as well as other malicious or misleading sites.
How was Adware installed on MAC system
The majority of adware come bundled with free applications or even paid software which World Wide Web users can easily download online. The installers of such software, most commonly, clearly show that they will install third-party software. The option is given to users to stop the installation of any third-party applications. So, in order to avoid the installation of any adware: read all disclaimers and install screens very carefully, select only Custom or Advanced setup method and reject all bundled programs in which you are unsure.
To sum up
Now your Apple Mac should be free of the ad supported software responsible for the Fake Flash Player Update pop-ups. We suggest that you keep AdGuard (to help you block unwanted pop up and intrusive harmful sites) and MalwareBytes Anti Malware (MBAM) (to periodically scan your MAC for new adwares and other malware).
If you are still having problems while trying to remove Fake Flash Player Update popup from the Firefox, Google Chrome and Safari, then ask for help here here.
