What is Retina Defense
Retina Defense is supposed to be a browser extension that will enable dark mode in the browser, but according to security experts, this browser extension is adware. Adware is a form of software created only to display various pop-up windows and/or unwanted ads using intrusive and at times dangerous ways. Adware software can also include some forms of malware. It can steal personal info from the personal computer and pass it on to third parties. Adware has also been the basis for hacking to gain access to the computer.
Unwanted ads
Even worse, adware can gather your Internet surfing activity by recording URLs visited, IP addresses, internet browser version and type, cookie information, Internet Service Provider (ISP) and websites visited. Such kind of behavior can lead to serious security problems or user info theft. This is another reason why the adware software should be uninstalled without a wait.
To find out how to get rid of Retina Defense, we recommend to read the few simple steps added to this post below. The guide was developed by experienced security experts who discovered a method to remove the adware out of the computer.
How does Retina Defense get on your computer
The most common way to get adware is a freeware installation package. Most commonly, a user have a chance to disable all unneeded modules, but certain installers are created to confuse the average users, in order to trick them into installing PUPs and adware software. Anyway, easier to prevent adware rather than clean up your PC system after one. So, keep your browser updated (turn on automatic updates), run good antivirus apps, double check free programs before you launch it (do a google search, scan a downloaded file with VirusTotal), avoid misleading and unknown web-pages.
Threat Summary
| Name | Retina Defense |
| Type | adware, PUP (potentially unwanted program), popup advertisements, popups, popup virus |
| Symptoms |
|
| Removal | Retina Defense removal guide |
How to remove Retina Defense adware from Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge
There are a simple manual instructions below that will assist you to remove Retina Defense from your Windows PC. The most effective way to remove this adware is to follow the manual removal tutorial and then use Zemana, MalwareBytes AntiMalware or Hitman Pro automatic tools (all are free). The manual method will help to weaken this adware and these malicious software removal tools will completely remove adware and revert back the Edge, Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer and Google Chrome settings to default.
To remove Retina Defense, complete the steps below:
Manual Retina Defense removal
This part of the blog post is a step-by-step instructions that will show you how to get rid of Retina Defense adware manually. You just need to follow every step. In this case, you do not need to install any additional applications.
Uninstall potentially unwanted programs through the MS Windows Control Panel
Some of PUPs, adware software and hijackers can be removed using the Add/Remove programs tool that is located in the MS Windows Control Panel. So, if you are running any version of Windows and you have noticed an unwanted application, then first try to remove it through Add/Remove programs.
Windows 8, 8.1, 10
First, press Windows button
, then click Search 
. Type ‘Control panel’and press Enter as on the image below.
When the ‘Control Panel’ opens, click the ‘Uninstall a program’ link under Programs category like the one below.
You will see the ‘Uninstall a program’ panel as displayed below.
Very carefully look around the entire list of software installed on your device. Most probably, one of them is the Retina Defense adware. If you have many software installed, you can help simplify the search of malicious software by sort the list by date of installation. Once you have found a dubious, unwanted or unused program, right click to it, after that click ‘Uninstall’.
Windows XP, Vista, 7
First, click ‘Start’ button and select ‘Control Panel’ at right panel like below.
When the Windows ‘Control Panel’ opens, you need to click ‘Uninstall a program’ under ‘Programs’ as shown in the following example.
You will see a list of software installed on your personal computer. We recommend to sort the list by date of installation to quickly find the software that were installed last. Most probably, it is the Retina Defense adware. 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 shown below.
Get rid of Retina Defense adware from Internet Explorer
If you find that Internet Explorer internet browser settings such as search provider, home page and newtab page had been changed by the adware, then you can revert back your settings, via the reset browser procedure.
First, open the Microsoft Internet Explorer, then click ‘gear’ icon 
. It will show the Tools drop-down menu on the right part of the browser, then click the “Internet Options” as shown on the image below.
In the “Internet Options” screen, select the “Advanced” tab, then press the “Reset” button. The Internet Explorer will display the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” dialog box. Further, click the “Delete personal settings” check box to select it. Next, click the “Reset” button like the one below.
Once the process is complete, click “Close” button. Close the IE and reboot your computer for the changes to take effect. This step will help you to restore your internet browser’s search engine, newtab page and home page to default state.
Get rid of Retina Defense adware from Firefox
If the Firefox browser is hijacked by Retina Defense and you want to restore the Firefox settings back to their default state, then you should follow the guide below. However, your saved bookmarks and passwords will not be lost. This will not affect your history, passwords, bookmarks, and other saved data.
First, start the Mozilla Firefox and click 
button. It will display the drop-down menu on the right-part of the browser. Further, click the Help button (
) such as the one below.
In the Help menu, select the “Troubleshooting Information” option. Another way to open the “Troubleshooting Information” screen – type “about:support” in the internet browser adress bar and press Enter. It will open the “Troubleshooting Information” page as displayed in the figure below. In the upper-right corner of this screen, click the “Refresh Firefox” button.
It will open the confirmation dialog box. Further, click the “Refresh Firefox” button. The Mozilla Firefox will start a task to fix your problems that caused by the adware. Once, it’s done, click the “Finish” button.
Remove Retina Defense from Google Chrome
If adware, other program or extensions modified your Google Chrome settings without your knowledge, then you can remove Retina Defense and revert back your internet browser settings in Chrome at any time. Your saved bookmarks, form auto-fill information and passwords won’t be cleared or changed.
First start the Chrome. Next, click the button in the form of three horizontal dots (
).
It will open the Google Chrome menu. Choose More Tools, then click Extensions. Carefully browse through the list of installed extensions. If the list has the add-on signed with “Installed by enterprise policy” or “Installed by your administrator”, then complete the following guidance: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
Open the Google Chrome menu once again. Further, press the option called “Settings”.
The web browser will open the settings screen. Another method to open 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, as on the image below and click the “Reset settings to their original defaults” button.
The Google Chrome will display the confirmation prompt as shown on the image below.
You need to confirm your action, click the “Reset” button. The web-browser will start the procedure of cleaning. Once it’s finished, the internet browser’s settings including default search provider, start page and newtab page back to the values that have been when the Google Chrome was first installed on your PC.
Automatic Removal of Retina Defense
Many antivirus companies have designed applications that help detect adware and thereby get rid of Retina Defense from the Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Edge and Firefox web-browsers. Below is a a few of the free applications you may want to run. Your personal computer may have a large number of potentially unwanted apps, adware software and hijackers installed at the same time, so we advise, if any unwanted or malicious program returns after rebooting the personal computer, then boot your computer into Safe Mode and run the anti malware utility again.
Get rid of Retina Defense adware with Zemana Free
Zemana highly recommended, because it can locate security threats such adware and malicious software which most ‘classic’ antivirus programs fail to pick up on. Moreover, if you have any adware software removal problems which cannot be fixed by this tool automatically, then Zemana provides 24×7 online assistance from the highly experienced support staff.
Installing the Zemana Free is simple. First you will need to download Zemana Anti Malware on your MS Windows Desktop by clicking on the following link.
164027 downloads
Author: Zemana Ltd
Category: Security tools
Update: July 16, 2019
After the downloading process is done, close all windows on your computer. Further, start the setup file called Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up as displayed on the image below, click the “Yes” button.
It will open the “Setup wizard” that will assist you install Zemana Anti-Malware (ZAM) on the computer. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.
Once installation is finished successfully, Zemana Free will automatically start and you can see its main window as shown below.
Next, click the “Scan” button . Zemana program will scan through the whole computer for the Retina Defense adware software. While the Zemana is checking, you can see number of objects it has identified either as being malicious software.
As the scanning ends, you will be shown the list of all found threats on your personal computer. When you are ready, click “Next” button.
The Zemana will get rid of Retina Defense adware and move the selected items to the program’s quarantine. After finished, you may be prompted to restart your computer.
Use HitmanPro to remove Retina Defense
HitmanPro is a portable application that requires no hard setup to identify and delete Retina Defense adware. The program itself is small in size (only a few Mb). HitmanPro does not need any drivers and special dlls. It’s probably easier to use than any alternative malicious software removal utilities you have ever tried. Hitman Pro works on 64 and 32-bit versions of Windows 10, 8, 7 and XP. It proves that removal utility can be just as effective as the widely known antivirus programs.
- Download Hitman Pro on your Windows Desktop from the following link.
- Once the download is finished, double click the Hitman Pro icon. Once this utility is started, press “Next” button to detect Retina Defense adware. A scan can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of files on your computer and the speed of your PC. While the Hitman Pro utility is scanning, you can see count of objects it has identified as being infected by malicious software.
- After the system scan is complete, Hitman Pro will display a screen which contains a list of malicious software that has been detected. When you are ready, click “Next” button. Now press the “Activate free license” button to start the free 30 days trial to remove all malware found.
Use MalwareBytes Free to get rid of Retina Defense
You can delete Retina Defense automatically through the use of MalwareBytes Anti-Malware. We recommend this free malware removal tool because it can easily get rid of hijackers, adware software, potentially unwanted software and toolbars with all their components such as files, folders and registry entries.
First, click the following link, then click the ‘Download’ button in order to download the latest version of MalwareBytes.
326379 downloads
Author: Malwarebytes
Category: Security tools
Update: April 15, 2020
Once the downloading process is finished, close all windows on your PC. Further, run the file called MBSetup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up as shown in the following example, click the “Yes” button.
It will show the Setup wizard that will help you install MalwareBytes on the device. Follow the prompts and don’t make any changes to default settings.
Once installation is complete successfully, click “Get Started” button. Then MalwareBytes will automatically start and you may see its main window as displayed in the following example.
Next, click the “Scan” button to perform a system scan with this utility for the Retina Defense adware. A system scan may take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your computer. While the MalwareBytes Free tool is scanning, you may see number of objects it has identified as being infected by malware.
After the scanning is complete, MalwareBytes will show a scan report. In order to remove all threats, simply press “Quarantine” button.
The MalwareBytes Free will remove Retina Defense adware and move the selected threats to the program’s quarantine. Once finished, you can be prompted to reboot your computer. We suggest you look at the following video, which completely explains the procedure of using the MalwareBytes to remove browser hijackers, adware software and other malware.
How to stay safe online
In order to increase your security and protect your personal computer against new annoying ads and malicious websites, you need to use ad blocker application that blocks an access to harmful advertisements and web pages. Moreover, the application may block the show of intrusive advertising, that also leads to faster loading of web pages and reduce the consumption of web traffic.
- First, please go to the link below, then press the ‘Download’ button in order to download the latest version of AdGuard.
Adguard download
26627 downloads
Version: 6.4
Author: © Adguard
Category: Security tools
Update: November 15, 2018
- Once the downloading process is done, run the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” program window. Follow the prompts.
- Once the install is finished, click “Skip” to close the install application and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” to see an quick tutorial that will assist 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 run your device, AdGuard will start automatically and stop unwanted advertisements, block malicious and misleading webpages. 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 can be found on your desktop.
To sum up
After completing the steps outlined above, your device should be clean from this adware and other malicious software. The Edge, Firefox, Google Chrome and IE will no longer display any unwanted ads when you browse the Internet. Unfortunately, if the steps does not help you, then you have caught a new adware software, and then the best way – ask for help.
Please create a new question by using the “Ask Question” button in the Questions and Answers. 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 Retina Defense adware.
