PUP.Optional.Multiplug.A Removal Instructions

PUP.Optional.Multiplug.A is a heuristic detection designed to generically detect a Potentially Unwanted Program. A potentially unwanted application is a program that contains adware, installs toolbars, or has other unclear objectives.

When infected with PUP.Optional.Multiplug.A adware the common symptoms include:

Advertising banners are injected with the web pages that you are visiting.
Random web page text is turned into hyperlinks.
Browser popups appear which recommend fake updates or other software.
Other unwanted adware programs might get installed without the user’s knowledge.
Changing the web browser’s default home page
Changing the browser’s search provider and built-in search box

Files reported as PUP.Optional.Multiplug.A Trojan may not necessarily be malicious. Should you be uncertain as to whether a file is malicious or a false positive detection, you can submit the affected file to https://www.virustotal.com/en/ to be scanned with multiple antivirus engines.

To check your computer for malware and remove it for free, please use the guide below.

Removal Instructions for PUP.Optional.Multiplug.A Adware

This malware removal guide may appear overwhelming due to the number of steps and numerous programs that are being used. We have only written it this way to provide clear, detailed, and easy-to-understand instructions that anyone can use to remove malware for free.
Please perform all the steps in the correct order. If you have any questions or doubt at any point, stop and ask for our assistance.

To remove PUP.Optional.Multiplug.A Adware from Windows, follow these steps:

STEP 1: Uninstall malicious programs from Windows
STEP 2: Use Malwarebytes to remove PUP.Optional.Multiplug.A Adware
STEP 3: Use HitmanPro to scan your computer for PUP.Optional.Multiplug.A Adware and other malware
STEP 4: Use AdwCleaner to remove malicious browser policies
STEP 5: Remove malware from your browser

STEP 1: Uninstall malicious programs from Windows

In this first step, we will manually check if any unknown or malicious programs are installed on the computer. Sometimes Adware Miners can have a usable Uninstall entry that can be used to remove them.

Windows 11Windows 10Windows 8Windows 7

Open Windows Settings.

First, open Windows Settings by pressing Windows+I on your keyboard. You can also right-click your Start button and select “Settings” from the list.
Click on “Apps”, then select “Apps and Features“.

When Settings opens, click “Apps” in the sidebar, then select “Apps & Features”.
Search for malicious programs and uninstall them.

In Apps & Features settings, scroll down to the app list and search for unknown or suspicious programs. To make things easier, you can sort all installed programs by their installation date. To do this, click “Sort by” and select “Install date”.
Look out for any suspicious program that could be behind all the drama – anything you don’t remember downloading or that doesn’t sound like a genuine program. When you find a malicious program, click the three dots button beside it and select “Uninstall” in the menu that appears.

If you are having issues while trying to uninstall a program, you can use Revo Uninstaller to completely remove it from your computer.

If you cannot find any malicious programs on your computer, you can continue with the second step from this guide.
Follow the on-screen prompts to uninstall program.

In the next message box, confirm the uninstall process by clicking on Uninstall, then follow the prompts to uninstall the malicious program.
Make sure to read all of the prompts carefully, because some malicious programs try to sneak things in hoping that you won’t read them closely.

Open the “Settings” menu.

Click the Start button on the taskbar, then select “Settings” (gear icon).
Click on “Apps”, then on “Apps and Features”.

When the “Windows Settings” window opens, click on “Apps“. By default, it should open “Apps and Features” but if it doesn’t, select it from the list on the left.
Search for malicious programs and uninstall them.

In Apps & Features settings, scroll down to the app list and search for unknown or suspicious programs. To make things easier, you can sort all installed programs by their installation date. To do this, click “Sort by” and select “Install date”.
Look out for any suspicious program that could be behind all the drama – anything you don’t remember downloading or that doesn’t sound like a genuine program. When you find a malicious program, click the three dots button beside it and select “Uninstall” in the menu that appears.

If you cannot find any malicious programs on your computer, you can continue with the second step from this guide.
Follow the on-screen prompts to uninstall malicious program.

In the next message box, confirm the uninstall process by clicking on Uninstall, then follow the prompts to uninstall the malicious program.
Make sure to read all of the prompts carefully, because some malicious programs try to sneak things in hoping that you won’t read closely.

Go to “Program and Features”.

Right-click on the Start button in the taskbar, then select “Programs and Features”. This will take you directly to your list of installed programs.
Search for malicious program and uninstall it.

The “Programs and Features” screen will be displayed with a list of all the programs installed on your computer. Scroll through the list until you find any unknown or suspicious program, then click to highlight it, then click the “Uninstall” button.

Look out for any suspicious program that could be behind all the drama – anything you don’t remember downloading or that doesn’t sound like a genuine program. If you cannot find any malicious programs on your computer, you can continue with the second step from this guide.
Follow the on-screen prompts to uninstall malicious program.

In the next message box, confirm the uninstall process by clicking on Yes, then follow the prompts to uninstall malicious program. Make sure to read all of the prompts carefully, because some malicious programs try to sneak things in hoping that you won’t read closely.

Open the “Control Panel”.

Click on the “Start” button, then click on “Control Panel“.
Click on “Uninstall a Program”.

When the “Control Panel” appears, click on “Uninstall a Program” from the Programs category.
Search for malicious programs and uninstall them.

The “Programs and Features” screen will be displayed with a list of all the programs installed on your computer. Scroll through the list until you find any suspicious or unknown program, then click to highlight it, then click the “Uninstall” button.

The malicious program may have a different name on your computer. Look out for any suspicious program that could be behind all the drama – anything you don’t remember downloading or that doesn’t sound like a genuine program. If you cannot find any malicious programs on your computer, you can continue with the second step from this guide.
Follow the on-screen prompts to uninstall malicious program.

In the next message box, confirm the uninstall process by clicking on Yes, then follow the prompts to uninstall malicious program. Make sure to read all of the prompts carefully, because some malicious programs try to sneak things in hoping that you won’t read closely.

Now that we’ve removed the malicious programs from your computer, in the next step we will scan it for any infections, adware, or potentially unwanted programs that may be present on your device.

STEP 2: Use Malwarebytes to remove PUP.Optional.Multiplug.A Adware

In this second step, we will download, install and run a scan with Malwarebytes to remove Trojans, malicious extensions, adware, and other malware that may be responsible for the PUP.Optional.Multiplug.A redirect.

Malwarebytes is one of the most popular and most used anti-malware software for Windows, and for good reasons. It is able to destroy many types of malware that other software tends to miss, without costing you absolutely nothing. When it comes to cleaning up an infected device, Malwarebytes has always been free and we recommend it as an essential tool in the fight against malware.

Download Malwarebytes for Windows.

You can download Malwarebytes by clicking the link below.

MALWAREBYTES FOR WINDOWS DOWNLOAD LINK
(The above link will open a new page from where you can download Malwarebytes)
Double-click on the Malwarebytes setup file.

When Malwarebytes has finished downloading, double-click on the MBSetup file to install Malwarebytes on your computer. In most cases, downloaded files are saved to the Downloads folder.

You may be presented with an User Account Control pop-up asking if you want to allow Malwarebytes to make changes to your device. If this happens, you should click “Yes” to continue with the Malwarebytes installation.
Follow the on-screen prompts to install Malwarebytes.

When the Malwarebytes installation begins, you will see the Malwarebytes setup wizard which will guide you through the installation process. The Malwarebytes installer will first ask you on what type of computer are you installing this program, click either Personal Computer or Work Computer.

On the next screen, click “Install” to install Malwarebytes on your computer.

When your Malwarebytes installation completes, the program opens to the Welcome to Malwarebytes screen. Click the “Get started” button.
Click on “Scan”.

To scan your computer with Malwarebytes, click on the “Scan” button. Malwarebytes will automatically update the antivirus database and start scanning your computer for Trojans and other malicious programs.
Wait for the Malwarebytes scan to complete.

Malwarebytes will scan your computer for the PUP.Optional.Multiplug.A Adware and other malicious programs. This process can take a few minutes, so we suggest you do something else and periodically check on the status of the scan to see when it is finished.
Click on “Quarantine”.

When the scan has completed, you will be presented with a screen showing the malware infections that Malwarebytes has detected. To remove the Trojans and other malicious programs that Malwarebytes has found, click on the “Quarantine” button.
Restart computer.

Malwarebytes will now remove all the malicious files and registry keys that it has found. To complete the malware removal process, Malwarebytes may ask you to restart your computer.

When the malware removal process is complete, you can close Malwarebytes and continue with the rest of the instructions.

STEP 3: Use HitmanPro to scan your computer for PUP.Optional.Multiplug.A Adware and other malware

In this next step, we will scan your computer with HitmanPro to ensure that no other malicious programs (Trojans, adware, or browser hijackers) are installed on your PC or browser.

HitmanPro is a second opinion scanner that takes a unique cloud-based approach to malware scanning. HitmanPro scans the behavior of active files and also files in locations where malware normally resides for suspicious activity. If it finds a suspicious file that’s not already known, HitmanPro sends it to its clouds to be scanned by two of the best antivirus engines today, which are Bitdefender and Kaspersky.

Although HitmanPro is shareware and costs $24.95 for 1 year on 1 PC, there is actually no limit in scanning. The limitation only kicks in when there is a need to remove or quarantine detected malware by HitmanPro on your system and by then, you can activate the one time 30-days trial to enable the cleanup.

Download HitmanPro.

You can download HitmanPro by clicking the link below.

HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK
(The above link will open a new web page from where you can download HitmanPro)
Install HitmanPro.

When HitmanPro has finished downloading, double-click on “hitmanpro.exe” (for 32-bit versions of Windows) or “hitmanpro_x64.exe” (for 64-bit versions of Windows) to install this program on your PC. In most cases, downloaded files are saved to the Downloads folder.

You may be presented with an User Account Control pop-up asking if you want to allow HitmanPro to make changes to your device. If this happens, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.
Follow the on-screen prompts.

When HitmanPro starts you will be presented with the start screen as shown below. Click on the “Next” button to perform a system scan.
Wait for the HitmanPro scan to complete.

HitmanPro will now begin to scan your computer for the PUP.Optional.Multiplug.A Adware and other malicious programs.
Click on “Next”.

When HitmanPro has finished the scan, it will display a list of all the malware that the program has found. Click on the “Next” button to remove the malware that it has found.
Click on “Activate free license”.

Click on the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial and remove all the malicious files from your PC.

STEP 4: Use AdwCleaner to remove malicious browser policies

In this fourth step, we will use AdwCleaner to remove the malicious browser policies that were set by malware on your computer and delete malicious browser extensions.

AdwCleaner is a free popular on-demand scanner that can detect and remove malware that even the most well-known anti-virus and anti-malware applications fail to find. This on-demand scanner includes a lot of tools that can be used to fix the side effects of malware.

Download AdwCleaner.

You can download AdwCleaner by clicking the link below.

ADWCLEANER DOWNLOAD LINK
(The above link will open a new web page from where you can download AdwCleaner)
Double-click on the setup file.

Double-click on the file named “adwcleaner_x.x.x.exe” to start AdwCleaner. In most cases, downloaded files are saved to the Downloads folder.

You may be presented with a User Account Control dialog asking you if you want to run this file. If this happens, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.
Enable “Reset Chrome policies” to remove browser policies.

When AdwCleaner starts, on the left side of the window, click on “Settings” and then enable “Reset Chrome policies“.
Click on “Scan Now”.

On the left side of the window, click on “Dashboard” and then click “Scan Now” to perform a system scan.
Wait for the AdwCleaner scan to complete.

AdwCleaner will now scan your computer for the PUP.Optional.Multiplug.A Adware and other malicious programs. This process can take a few minutes.
Click on “Clean & Repair”.

When AdwCleaner has finished it will display a list of all the malware that the program found. Click on the “Clean & Repair” button to remove the PUP.Optional.Multiplug.A Adware and other malicious programs from your computer.
Click on “Clean & Restart Now”

When the malware removal process is complete, AdwCleaner may need to restart your device. Click on the “Clean & Restart Now” button to finish the removal process.

When the malware removal process is complete, you can close AdwCleaner and continue with the rest of the next step from this guide.

STEP 5: Remove malware from your browser

In this final step, we will reset your browser settings back to their default settings to remove malicious browser extensions, spam notifications, and unwanted search engines.
Please note that this method will remove all extensions, toolbars, and other customizations but will leave your bookmarks and favorites intact. For each browser that you have installed on your computer, please click on the browsers tab below and follow the displayed steps to reset that browser.

ChromeFirefoxMicrosoft EdgeInternet Explorer

Remove PUP.Optional.Multiplug.A Adware from Chrome for Windows

To remove PUP.Optional.Multiplug.A Chrome for Windows, we will reset the browser settings to their original defaults. This will reset your startup page, new tab page, search engine, and pinned tabs. It will also disable all extensions and clear temporary data like cookies. Your favorites, history, and saved passwords will not be cleared.

Click the three dots in the top-right corner and then click on “Settings”.

Open Chrome and click on the menu button (represented by three vertical dots) in the window’s top right corner. In the dropdown menu that opens, click “Settings“.
Click “Advanced”.

Chrome’s “Settings” should now be displayed in a new tab or window, depending on your configuration. In the left sidebar, click on the “Advanced” link.
Click “Reset and clean up”.

In the left sidebar, under the “Advanced” section, click on “Reset and clean up“.
Click “Reset settings to their original defaults”.

In the main window, the “Reset and clean up” section is visible, as shown in the screenshot below. Click on “Reset settings to their original defaults“.
Click “Reset settings”.

A confirmation dialog will now be displayed, detailing the components that will be restored to their default state should you continue with the reset process. To complete the restoration process, click on the “Reset settings” button.

Remove PUP.Optional.Multiplug.A Adware from Firefox for Windows

To remove the PUP.Optional.Multiplug.A Adware from Firefox we will reset the browser settings to its default. The reset feature fixes many issues by restoring Firefox to its factory default state while saving your essential information like bookmarks, passwords, web form auto-fill information, browsing history, and open tabs.

Click the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner and then click on “Help”.

Click on Firefox’s main menu button, represented by three horizontal lines. When the drop-down menu appears, select the option labeled “Help“.
Click “More troubleshooting information”.

From the Help menu, click on “More troubleshooting information“.
Click on “Refresh Firefox”

When the “Troubleshooting Information” page opens, click on the “Refresh Firefox” button.
Confirm that you want to reset your browser settings.

To finish the reset process, click on the “Refresh Firefox” button in the new confirmation window that opens.
Click “Finish”.

Firefox will now close itself and will revert to its default settings. When it’s done, a window will list the information that was imported. Click on “Finish“.

Your old Firefox profile will be placed on your desktop in a folder named “Old Firefox Data“. If the reset didn’t fix your problem you can restore some of the information not saved by copying files to the new profile that was created. If you don’t need this folder any longer, you should delete it as it contains sensitive information.

Remove PUP.Optional.Multiplug.A Adware from Microsoft Edge

To remove the PUP.Optional.Multiplug.A Adware from Microsoft Edge we will reset the browser settings to their default. This will reset your startup page, new tab page, search engine, and pinned tabs. It will also disable all extensions and clear temporary data like cookies. Your favorites, history, and saved passwords will not be cleared.

Click the three dots in the top-right corner and then click on “Settings”.

In the top right corner, click on Microsoft Edge’s main menu button, represented by three horizontal dots. When the drop-down menu appears, click on “Settings“.
Click on “Reset Settings”.

On the left side of the window, click on “Reset Settings“.
Click on “Restore settings to their default values”.

In the main window, click on “Restore settings to their default values“.
Click “Reset”.

A confirmation dialog should now be displayed, detailing the components that will be restored to their default state should you continue with the reset process. To complete the restoration process, click on the “Reset” button.

Microsoft Edge will now erase all your personal data, browsing history, and disable all installed extensions. Your bookmarks, though, will remain intact and still be accessible.

Remove PUP.Optional.Multiplug.A Adware from Internet Explorer

To remove the PUP.Optional.Multiplug.A Adware from Internet Explorer we will reset the browser settings to its default. You can reset Internet Explorer settings to return them to the state they were in when Internet Explorer was first installed on your computer.

Go to “Internet Options”.

Open Internet Explorer, click on the gear icon in the upper-right part of your browser, then select “Internet Options“.
Select the “Advanced” tab, then click “Reset”

In the “Internet Options” dialog box, select the “Advanced” tab, then click on the “Reset” button.
Click on “Reset”.

In the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” section, select the “Delete personal settings” checkbox, then click on the “Reset” button.
Click on “Close”.

When Internet Explorer has completed its task, click on the “Close” button in the confirmation dialogue box.
Close your browser and then you can open Internet Explorer again.

Your computer should now be free of the PUP.Optional.Multiplug.A Adware. If your current antivirus allowed this malicious program on your computer, you may want to consider purchasing Malwarebytes Premium to protect against these types of threats in the future.
If you are still having problems with your computer after completing these instructions, then please follow one of the steps:

Run a computer scan with ESET Online Scanner
Ask for help in our Windows Malware Removal Help & Support forum.

Here are 10 basic security tips to help you avoid malware and protect your device:

To avoid potential dangers on the internet, it's important to follow these 10 basic safety rules. By doing so, you can protect yourself from many of the unpleasant surprises that can arise when using the web.