Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy SCAM (Virus removal guide)

What is Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy?

Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy pop-ups are a phishing SCAM that uses social engineering techniques to trick unsuspecting victims into installing malicious software. Such scams are usually used to promote malware, adware, browser hijackers or force victims to allow push notifications. Usually, victims end up on “Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy” and similar scams by going to a misspelled URL or, clicking on a fake link. In addition, they can be redirected to this scam by malicious advertisements (malvertising) and Adware.

QUICK LINKS

• What is Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy?
• Protection
• Removal

When users land on one of the sites running the “Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy” scam, they are presented with a fake alert encouraging victims to click on the “Download” or “Add to Chrome” button to download a malicious payload. The alert also says that the software developer has been verified – this is done so that the victims believe in the safety of the installed software.

Of course, everything that is said in the alert message is a fake, no part of it can be trusted. Users should ignore the fake alert, in any case not click the “Add to Chrome” button, as this will install malicious browser extension on their computer.

Text presented in the “Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy” scam:

Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy

Download widget to protect your PC
Verifed publisher: Browser Securite

Download More info

The “Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy” scam and similar scams are often used to promote software that can forcibly redirect users to deceptive sites, promise fake features that they really do not have (for example, remove viruses, block ads), display unwanted ads, change browser settings to promote fake search engines, collect user personal data (including logins and passwords, browser history) and so on.

Often scammers try not only to force users to install malware, but also to collect as much information as possible about their victims. The collected information can be used to make fraudulent purchases and unauthorized transfers, sold to criminals on the dark web, or other malicious purposes. Moreover, the criminals behind the Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy scam can use stolen email addresses to send spam and malspam (spam emails containing malware or links to malware).

To summarize, the scam cannot be trusted, it can lead to malware infection, loss of data, financial losses, theft of personal information and other serious problems.

How to protect against “Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy” scam

To avoid becoming a victim of scammers, it is important to always keep in mind:

• Never install browser extensions (and other software) promoted by scam sites, as it can be useless, and besides, it can be dangerous for you and your computer.
• Close the “Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy” scam as soon as it appears on your browser screen. Scammers can prevent you from closing it in various ways. In such cases, close your browser using Task Manager or restart your computer. If the next time you launch the browser, it prompts you to restore the previous session, abandon it, otherwise this scam will reopen on your screen.
• Use an ad blocker when browsing the internet. It can block known scam sites and protect you from scammers.

Threat Summary

Name	Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy
Type	scam, phishing, fake alerts, redirect virus
Distribution	Free software installers, suspicious popup advertisements, torrent downloads and fake update tools
Related web-domains	lawshb.com
Promoted software	Clipboard Sync Beta adware
Symptoms	Advertising banners appear in places they shouldn’t be. When you go to a website, you’re constantly redirected to a suspicious site that you do not intend to visit. There is an unwanted program in the ‘Uninstall a program’ section of your Control Panel. Unexpected browser extensions or toolbar keep coming back. Your internet browser homepage has replaced without your permission.
Removal	Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy removal guide

 
The “Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy” scam isn’t the only one on the Internet that aims to force users to install malicious software. We have already reported on such scams many times: Trojan Spyware Alert, McAfee – Your PC is infected with 5 viruses! , Update Your Chrome browser extension. Some of these scams are positioned as a legitimate Microsoft, Google, McAfee sites, but in fact have nothing to do with these companies. The scams should never be trusted, they should be closed as soon as they appear on the screen.

If your browser redirects to the Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy scam regularly, then it is possible that Adware or PUAs are installed on your computer. Adware is a form of malicious software designed to throw ads up on your browser screen. Adware generates profit for its developer by frequently displaying tons of ads and pop up deals. You might experience a change in your homepage or search provider, new tabs opening or even a redirect to scam sites.

How does Adware get on your device

Usually, adware software gets into computers as part of a bundle with malicious downloads, fake updates, freeware, sharing files and other unsafe software which users downloaded from the Web. The creators of adware pays software authors for distributing adware software within their programs. So, bundled applications is often included as part of the installation package. In order to avoid the installation of any adware: select only Manual, Custom or Advanced installation mode and uncheck all third-party apps in which you are unsure.

How to remove Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy pop ups from Chrome, Firefox, IE, Edge

There are several steps to removing the adware that causes multiple scam pop ups, because it installs itself so deeply into Windows. You need to remove suspicious and unknown software, then get rid of malicious addons from the Microsoft Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome and Edge and other web browsers you’ve installed. Finally, you need to reset your web-browser settings to remove any changes the adware has made, and then scan your computer with Zemana, MalwareBytes Anti Malware or HitmanPro to ensure the adware is fully removed. It will take a while.

To remove Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy, use the following steps:

1. Uninstall unknown and questionable software
2. Reset Google Chrome
3. Reset Internet Explorer
4. Teset Firefox browser settings
5. Automatic Removal of Adware
6. How to stop Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy pop-ups

How to manually remove scam popups

In this section of the post, we have posted the steps that will help to remove Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy popups manually. Although compared to removal utilities, this way loses in time, but you don’t need to download anything on the computer. It will be enough for you to follow the detailed guidance with pictures. We tried to describe each step in detail, but if you realized that you might not be able to figure it out, or simply do not want to change the Windows and web-browser settings, then it’s better for you to run utilities from trusted developers, which are listed below.

Uninstall unknown and questionable software

The best way to start the device cleanup is to uninstall unknown and questionable applications. Using the Microsoft Windows Control Panel you can do this quickly and easily. This step, in spite of its simplicity, should not be ignored, because the removing of unneeded apps can clean up the Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer and Chrome from pop-up advertisements, hijackers and so on.

Windows 7	Windows 8
Click ‘Start’. In the Start menu select ‘Control Panel’. Find and select ‘Programs and Features’ or ‘Uninstall a program’. Select the program. Click ‘Uninstall’.	Press and hold Windows key and hit X key. Select ‘Programs and Features’ from the menu. Select the program. Click ‘Uninstall’.
Windows 10	Mac OS
Press and hold Windows key and hit X key. Select ‘Programs and Features’ from the menu. Select the program. Click ‘Uninstall’.	On the top menu select ‘Go’, then ‘Applications’. Drag an unwanted application to the Trash bin. Right-click on the ‘Trash’ and select ‘Empty Trash’.

Reset Google Chrome

If your Chrome internet browser is redirected to the Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy scam, it may be necessary to completely reset your internet browser program to its default settings.

1. First launch the Chrome and click Menu button (small button in the form of three dots).
2. It will open the Chrome main menu. Select More Tools, then press Extensions.
3. 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 guide: Remove Chrome extensions installed by enterprise policy.
4. Now open the Google Chrome menu once again, press the “Settings” menu.
5. You will see the Google Chrome’s settings page. Scroll down and click “Advanced” link.
6. Scroll down again and click the “Reset” button.
7. The Chrome will open the reset profile settings page as shown on the screen above.
8. Next click the “Reset” button.
9. Once this process is done, your web-browser’s startpage, newtab page and default search provider will be restored to their original defaults.
10. To learn more, read the article How to reset Google Chrome settings to default.

Reset Internet Explorer

In order to restore all web-browser search engine, new tab page and startpage you need to reset the Microsoft Internet Explorer to the state, which was when the Windows was installed on your PC system.

First, launch the IE. Next, press the button in the form of gear (). It will show the Tools drop-down menu, press the “Internet Options” as on the image below.

In the “Internet Options” window click on the Advanced tab, then click the Reset button. The Internet Explorer will display the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” window like the one below. Select the “Delete personal settings” check box, then click “Reset” button.

You will now need to restart your personal computer for the changes to take effect.

Reset Firefox browser settings

Resetting Firefox browser will reset all the settings to their default state and will remove Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy pop-up scam, disable malicious add-ons and extensions. Keep in mind that resetting your web browser will not remove your history, bookmarks, passwords, and other saved data.

First, run the Mozilla Firefox and press button. It will open the drop-down menu on the right-part of the web-browser. Further, press 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 web browser adress bar and press Enter. It will display the “Troubleshooting Information” page as shown on the image below. In the upper-right corner of this screen, click the “Refresh Firefox” button.

It will display the confirmation prompt. 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 finished, click the “Finish” button.

Automatic Removal of Adware

Manual removal tutorial does not always help to fully delete the adware, as it is not easy to identify and remove components of adware software and all malicious files from hard disk. Therefore, it is recommended that you use malware removal utility to fully remove Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy off your web-browser. Several free malicious software removal utilities are currently available that can be used against the adware. The optimum solution would be to run Zemana Free, MalwareBytes Free and HitmanPro.

How to remove Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy pop ups with Zemana Anti Malware

Zemana Free is one of the best in its class, it can detect and remove tons of of various security threats, including adware, browser hijackers, spyware and trojans that masqueraded as legitimate computer applications. Also Zemana Free includes another tool called FRST – is a helpful program for manual removal of files and parts of the Windows registry created by malware.

First, please go to the following link, then click the ‘Download’ button in order to download the latest version of Zemana.

After downloading is complete, close all apps and windows on your personal computer. Double-click the install file named Zemana.AntiMalware.Setup. If the “User Account Control” prompt pops up as shown in the following example, click the “Yes” button.

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

Once installation is done successfully, Zemana Anti-Malware will automatically start and you can see its main screen as displayed on the screen below.

Now press the “Scan” button to detect adware that causes multiple annoying popups. This task can take some time, so please be patient.

As the scanning ends, it will show the Scan Results. All detected threats will be marked. You can remove them all by simply press “Next” button. The Zemana Anti Malware will remove adware responsible for the Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy scam. After the task is complete, you may be prompted to reboot the PC.

Get rid of Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy pop-ups with MalwareBytes

Manual adware removal requires some computer skills. Some files and registry entries that created by the adware can be not fully removed. We advise that run the MalwareBytes that are fully clean your PC system of adware. Moreover, the free program will help you to remove malware, potentially unwanted programs, browser hijackers and toolbars that your device can be infected too.

Installing the MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) is simple. First you will need to download MalwareBytes Anti-Malware on your PC system by clicking on the link below.

Once the download is complete, close all windows on your computer. Further, run the file called MBSetup. If the “User Account Control” dialog box pops up as shown on the screen below, press the “Yes” button.

It will show the Setup wizard that will allow you install MalwareBytes AntiMalware (MBAM) on the PC system. Follow the prompts and do not make any changes to default settings.

Once installation is finished successfully, press “Get Started” button. Then MalwareBytes will automatically start and you can see its main window like the one below.

Next, click the “Scan” button to perform a system scan with this tool for the adware software responsible for the Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy pop-ups. A system scan can take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on your computer.

When MalwareBytes Free is done scanning your computer, you can check all items found on your computer. In order to remove all items, simply press “Quarantine” button.

The MalwareBytes Anti Malware will remove adware software that causes multiple annoying pop ups and move the selected threats to the Quarantine. When finished, you can be prompted to reboot your PC. We suggest you look at the following video, which completely explains the procedure of using the MalwareBytes AntiMalware to remove browser hijackers, adware software and other malware.

How to stop Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy pop-ups

To put it simply, you need to use an ad blocker tool (AdGuard, for example). It’ll block and protect you from any scam pages like Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy, unwanted ads and pop-ups. To be able to do that, the ad-blocker program uses a list of filters. Each filter is a rule that describes a malicious webpage, an advertising content, a banner and others. The ad-blocker application automatically uses these filters, depending on the websites you are visiting.

Please go to the following link to download AdGuard. Save it on your Desktop.

When the download is finished, run the downloaded file. You will see the “Setup Wizard” screen as displayed in the following example.

Follow the prompts. Once the install is finished, you will see a window as shown below.

You can click “Skip” to close the installation program and use the default settings, or press “Get Started” button to see an quick tutorial that will allow 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 run your PC, AdGuard will run automatically and stop unwanted advertisements, block Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy, as well as other malicious 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, which is located on your desktop.

To sum up

We suggest that you keep Zemana Anti-Malware (to periodically scan your PC system for new adwares and other malicious software) and AdGuard (to help you block annoying advertisements and harmful web sites). Moreover, to prevent any adware software, please stay clear of unknown and third party applications, make sure that your antivirus program, turn on the option to detect PUPs.

If you need more help with “Install the extension for Chrome to protect your privacy” related issues, go to here.