How I Found Adware on My Computer, and What I Did to Remove It

I take security and privacy very seriously. After all, I’m MakeUseOf’s security editor, so I’m naturally keenly aware of malware and other threats.

But during a recent antivirus scan of my main computer, I was surprised to find a bunch of adware lurking on my device. Where does it come from? And most importantly, how do I get out of it?

How do I find adware on my computer?

In short, after performing a Malwarebytes scan, I discovered adware on my computer. The short scan option found adware in my download folder, which makes sense since adware is typically introduced to your system through downloads.

it found Adware variantsa family of general advertising software thought to have originated in China.

To my surprise, when I discovered this adware on my computer, it didn’t show any other signs of a problem. Typically, when adware is installed on your computer, you may notice issues such as excessive pop-ups, unexpected browser changes, web search redirects, and more.

However, in my case, there were no noticeable changes to my system, browser, or otherwise.

Where does adware come from?

Actually, I’m not 100% sure. I do not pirate games, movies, or other software, so please avoid websites and downloads that may contain viruses. Likewise, my general browsing is mostly limited to “safe sites,” which are the most popular sites in the world.

Of course, there are no guarantees, but major websites are generally secure and any data breaches or security issues are well documented.

How to remove Adware.Elex from PC

Thankfully, the process of removing adware.elex is very simple and can be handled by any antivirus tool. After the system scan is complete, select the checkbox next to all instances of the adware and delete them. This applies to any adware, not just adware.elex.

Please note that you should close your browser before removing adware or other types of malware. This will give you the best chance of removing the adware without any issues.

This process removed the adware Alex from my system, but there are numerous reports that Google Chrome Sync can cause it to reappear. Because Google Chrome synchronizes browser data across multiple devices, you may accidentally reinfect your device. If you notice this happening to you, then Malware Bytes Explanation can guide you through the additional steps required.