Random pop-ups opening up?

Whenever I type a URL into Google or try to click on a link where the cursor should change to a hand icon, I run into an issue. I can't just click through immediately; instead, the arrow cursor appears, and for the first two clicks when I'm trying to access a site I specifically typed in, unwanted pages pop up first. Only after those redirects does the pointer finally turn into the clickable hand icon. These intrusive pages look like this: http://image.prntscr.com/image/d0d18...306d1dd1bd.png and http://image.prntscr.com/image/d63aa...dce6ec69c5.png. What exactly is going on here, and has anyone else encountered a similar problem?

Gerald Hill said:Whenever I type a URL into Google or try to click on a link where the cursor should change to a hand icon, I run into an issue. I can't just click through immediately; instead, the arrow cursor appears, and for the first two clicks when I'm trying to access a site I specifically typed in, unwanted pages pop up first. Only after those redirects does the pointer finally turn into the clickable hand icon. These intrusive pages look like this: http://image.prntscr.com/image/d0d18...306d1dd1bd.png and http://image.prntscr.com/image/d63aa...dce6ec69c5.png. What exactly is going on here, and has anyone else encountered a similar problem?

Looks like you picked up some malware. Honestly, my best advice is to grab an antivirus program to scan your system and wipe them out. Maybe do a quick search online to see which ones are actually decent and free right now. Oh, and you should probably install a browser extension like Adblock Plus or something similar. You can usually find that under your browser settings, specifically in the extensions or add-ons section.

Grab an adw cleaner http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/—if you ask me, it’s easily the best tool for this kind of mess 🙂
Once you run the scan and wipe everything out, make sure you actually restart the machine... the program will probably nag you to do it anyway 🙂

After the reboot, go ahead and download something called Advanced system care http://www.iobit.com/en/advancedsystemcarefree.php. It’ll pick up whatever little bits are left over after the first pass, clean them out, and handle the usual optimization stuff... just general housekeeping 🙂

Then, just to be safe, run the adw cleaner one more time... just to verify that nothing decided to crawl back in while you weren't looking 🙂

In my experience, those two tools together are pretty much the gold standard 🙂

Oh, one more thing—you really ought to dig into those browser extensions you've got running. Sometimes a nasty little addon sneaks in there, and even after you think you've cleaned everything up, it just keeps finding ways to shove junk back into your system... it's a constant battle, honestly. So, go ahead and check 🙂 just delete any suspicious addons right in your Google Chrome settings 🙂

Andrew Peterson2 said:Grab an adw cleaner http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/—if you ask me, it’s easily the best tool for this kind of mess 🙂
Once you run the scan and wipe everything out, make sure you actually restart the machine... the program will probably nag you to do it anyway 🙂

After the reboot, go ahead and download something called Advanced system care http://www.iobit.com/en/advancedsystemcarefree.php. It’ll pick up whatever little bits are left over after the first pass, clean them out, and handle the usual optimization stuff... just general housekeeping 🙂

Then, just to be safe, run the adw cleaner one more time... just to verify that nothing decided to crawl back in while you weren't looking 🙂

In my experience, those two tools together are pretty much the gold standard 🙂

Hasn't this one been the gold standard for like, over a decade now? 🤷
https://www.malwarebytes.com/mwb-download/

Look, I’m not saying Malwarebytes is any good or anything—there are plenty of tools out there doing the same job—but the ones I mentioned? They just work for me... they won my trust...

edit
It looks like Malwarebytes actually owns adw cleaner now 😁 😁 https://www.malwarebytes.com/adwcleaner/

In my opinion, Malwarebytes is easily the heavyweight champion for that kind of work—though, of course, you really need to pair it with AdwCleaner to get the full effect...

Larry Ortiz5 said:In my opinion, Malwarebytes is easily the heavyweight champion for that kind of work—though, of course, you really need to pair it with AdwCleaner to get the full effect...

I'm right there with you.

Malwarebytes is one of those apps you just set and forget—install it once and let it run its daily updates in the background.

Adware, though... that’s a different beast entirely. You don't just leave it sitting there; you have to go out and grab a fresh, updated version every single time you deal with it. Honestly, I don't mind the extra step since it's such a tiny little thing to download.
I kind of look at adware as this tiny little guerrilla fighter... just picking fights and causing chaos wherever it can. 🙂

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AdwCleaner is pretty much just a tool for cleaning up your browser after you accidentally let some sketchy add-ons or plugins slip in from random websites. It doesn't really dig into much else besides your browser settings and whatever’s hitting your PC at startup.
Most browsers are actually set up to ask for permission before installing those kinds of extensions, so when you run a scan with Malwarebytes, it basically assumes everything you clicked "yes" to is totally fine.
At the end of the day, the mistake falls on the user.
Malwarebytes is only going to step in and scrub things out if they're actual threats, like a worm, a trojan, or a bot.