Get Rid of Russian Ads (Adware/PUP)

What are Russian Ads? And how do they function?

Russian Ads are the cluster of ads in all forms such as banners, in-text links, pop-ups and so on. Obviously, the ads in this group of sponsored content are all written in Russian but even if you’re not from Russia, you can still encounter any of these Russian Ads when you install free software packages. Meaning to say, your computer is not exempted from getting infected with Russian Ads.
The adware program behind Russian Ads is neither dangerous or harmless so you should still be careful while using your computer and while browsing the web as an ad-supported program are proven to monitor and track users’ online activities to gather information like search queries, browsing history, ads clicked, websites frequently visited, etc. Though the information it gathers may seem insignificant, it could still be used against you and still remains a threat to your privacy. The information gathered may be shared with third parties and be used to produce more targeted and customized ads.
As you can see on the image displayed above, some of the Russian Ads are censored for obvious reasons. This clearly aims to lure users into clicking the ads. But mind you, some of the ads are misleading and could redirect you to a completely different web page than what it says in the ad – some of them could lead you to phishing websites like survey scams that will try to get your personal information while some could also lead you to tech support scams that displays seemingly threatening alerts.
How do Russian Ads spread online?
Russian Ads spread online using adware programs that are included in software bundles offered on free sharing sites. Adware programs can hijack your computer without your knowledge the instant you install a freeware or shareware. To avoid this kind of case, you need to install any freeware or shareware using only the recommended setup which is the Custom or Advanced mode.
Refer to the removal steps prepared below to get rid of Russian Ads as well as the adware behind it.
Step 1: Start by opening the Control Panel. To do so, tap the Windows key + R, then type in appwiz.cpl and then click OK or press Enter.

Step 2: Look for any suspicious program that is affiliated with Russian Ads and then Uninstall it.

Step 3: Close all the browsers infected with Russian Ads. If you’re having a hard time closing them, you can close them using the Task Manager just tap on Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
Step 4: After you open the Task Manager, go to the Processes tab and look for the infected browser’s process and end it.
Step 5: Edit your Hosts File

Tap the Win + R keys to open then type in %WinDir% and then click OK.
Go to System32/drivers/etc.
Open the host’s file using Notepad.
Delete all the entries containing the adware.
After that, save the changes you’ve made and close the file.

Step 6: Reset all your browsers to default to their default state.
Google Chrome

Launch Google Chrome, press Alt + F, move to More tools, and click Extensions.
Look for Russian Ads or any other unwanted add-ons, click the Recycle Bin button, and choose Remove.
Restart Google Chrome, then tap Alt + F, and select Settings.
Navigate to the On Startup section at the bottom.
Select “Open a specific page or set of pages”.
Click the More actions button next to the hijacker and click Remove.

Mozilla Firefox

Open the browser and tap Ctrl + Shift + A to access the Add-ons Manager.
In the Extensions menu Remove the unwanted extension.
Restart the browser and tap keys Alt + T.
Select Options and then move to the General menu.
Overwrite the URL in the Home Page section and then restart the browser.

Internet Explorer

Launch Internet Explorer.
Tap Alt + T and select Internet options.
Click the General tab and then overwrite the URL under the homepage section.
Click OK to save the changes.

Step 7: Hold down Windows + E keys simultaneously to open File Explorer.
Step 8: Navigate to the following directories and look for suspicious files associated to ad-supported program such as the software bundle it came with and delete it/them.

%USERPROFILE%\Downloads
%USERPROFILE%\Desktop
%TEMP%

Step 9: Close the File Explorer.
Step 10: Empty the Recycle Bin.
Follow the advanced instructions below to ensure the removal of Russian Ads as well as all the file residues it left behind.
Perform a full system scan using Advanced System Repair Pro. To do so, follow these steps:

Turn on your computer. If it’s already on, you have to reboot
After that, the BIOS screen will be displayed, but if Windows pops up instead, reboot your computer and try again. Once you’re on the BIOS screen, repeat pressing F8, by doing so the Advanced Option shows up.

To navigate the Advanced Option use the arrow keys and select Safe Mode with Networking then hit
Windows will now load the SafeMode with Networking.
Press and hold both R key and Windows key.

If done correctly, the Windows Run Box will show up.
Type in the URL address, http://advancedsystemrepair.com/ASR_Installation.exein the Run dialog box and then tap Enter or click OK.
After that, it will download Advanced System Repair Pro. Wait for the download to finish and then open the launcher to install the program.
Once the installation process is completed, run Advanced System Repair Pro to perform a full system scan.