Remove Shopping Assistant adware (Virus Removal Guide)

Shopping Assistant is an adware program, that displays pop-up ads and advertisements on web pages that you visit. These advertisements will be shown as boxes containing various coupons that are available, as underlined keywords, pop-up ads or advertising banners.

What is Shopping Assistant?

Shopping Assistant is advertised as a programs that displays coupons for sites you are visiting and competitive prices when you are viewing product pages at sites like Amazon. Though this may sound like a useful service, the Shopping Assistant program can be intrusive and will display ads whether you want them to or not.
The Shopping Assistant adware infection is designed specifically to make money. It generates web traffic, collects sales leads for other dubious sites, and will display advertisements and sponsored links within your web browser.

When installed, the Shopping Assistant browser extension will display advertising banners, pop-up advertisements and in-text ads, stating that they are brought to you by “Shopping Assistant”.
These ads are aimed to promote the installation of additional questionable content including web browser toolbars, optimization utilities and other products, all so the Shopping Assistant publisher can generate pay-per-click revenue.
When infected with Shopping Assistant 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.

How did got Shopping Assistant on my computer?

Shopping Assistant is an adware program that is commonly bundled with other free programs that you download off of the Internet.
Unfortunately, some free downloads do not adequately disclose that other software will also be installed and you may find that you have installed Shopping Assistant without your knowledge. Shopping Assistant is typically added when you install another free software that had bundled into their installation this adware program. Most commonly Shopping Assistant is bundled within the installers from Cnet, Softonic or other similar custom third-party installers.

You should always pay attention when installing software because often, a software installer includes optional installs, such as this Shopping Assistant adware. Be very careful what you agree to install.
Always opt for the custom installation and deselect anything that is not familiar, especially optional software that you never wanted to download and install in the first place.
It goes without saying that you should not install software that you don’t trust.

How to remove Shopping Assistant Ads and Shopping Assistant Deals (Virus Removal Guide)

This page is a comprehensive guide, which will remove Shopping Assistant Ads and Shopping Assistant Deals from your computer, and any other adware program that may have been installed during the setup process.
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.
STEP 1: Uninstall Shopping Assistant program from your computer
STEP 2: Remove Shopping Assistant Ads and Shopping Assistant Deals from Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome with AdwCleaner
STEP 3: Remove Shopping Assistant virus with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free
STEP 4: Double-check for the Shopping Assistant infection with HitmanPro
(OPTIONAL) STEP 5: Remove the browser extension responsible for the Shopping Assistant Ads and Shopping Assistant Dealss from Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome

STEP 1 : Uninstall Shopping Assistant program from your computer

In this first step, we will try to identify and remove any malicious program that might be installed on your computer.

1. To uninstall the Shopping Assistant program from Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7, click the “Start” button, then click on the “Control Panel” menu option.
   
   If you are using Windows 8, simply drag your mouse pointer to the right edge of the screen, select Search from the list and search for “control panel” .Or you can right-click on a bottom left hot corner (formerly known as the Start button) and select Control Panel from there.
   
2. When the “Control Panel” window opens click on the “Uninstall a program” option under “Programs” category. This option is shown by the arrow in the image below. If you are using the “Classic View” of the Control Panel, then you would double-click on the “Programs and Features” icon instead.
3. When the “Programs and Features” or the “Uninstall a Program” screen is displayed, scroll through the list of currently installed programs and uninstall Shopping Assistant and any other program developed by Spigot.
   
   To view the most recently installed programs, you can click on the “Installed On” column to sort your program by the installation date. Scroll though the list, and uninstall any unwanted or unknown programs.

Depending on what program has installed the Shopping Assistant adware infection, the above program may have a different name or not be installed on your computer. If you cannot find any unwanted or unknown programs on your machine, then you can proceed with the next step.

If you are having issues while trying to uninstall the Shopping Assistant program, you can use Revo Uninstaller to completely remove this unwanted program from your machine.

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STEP 2: Remove Shopping Assistant pop-up ads from Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome with AdwCleaner

The AdwCleaner utility will scan your computer and web browser for the Shopping Assistant malicious files, browser extensions and registry keys, that may have been installed on your computer without your knowledge.

1. You can download AdwCleaner utility from the below link.
   ADWCLEANER DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download “AdwCleaner”)
2. Before starting AdwCleaner, close all open programs and internet browsers, then double-click on the AdwCleaner icon.
   
   If Windows prompts you as to whether or not you wish to run AdwCleaner, please allow it to run.
3. When the AdwCleaner program will open, click on the “Scan” button as shown below.
   
   AdwCleaner will now start to search for the “Shopping Assistant” malicious files that may be installed on your computer.
4. To remove the “Shopping Assistant” malicious files that were detected in the previous step, please click on the “Clean” button.
   
5. AdwCleaner will now prompt you to save any open files or documents, as the program will need to reboot the computer. Please do so and then click on the OK button.
   

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STEP 3: Remove Shopping Assistant pop-up virus with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free uses industry-leading technology to detect and remove all traces of malware, including worms, Trojans, rootkits, rogues, dialers, spyware, and more.
It is important to note that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware works well and should run alongside antivirus software without conflicts.

1. You can download download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware from the below link.
   MALWAREBYTES ANTI-MALWARE DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download “Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free”)
2. Once downloaded, close all programs, then double-click on the icon on your desktop named “mbam-setup-consumer-2.00.xx” to start the installation of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.
   
   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.
3. When the installation begins, you will see the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Setup Wizard which will guide you through the installation process.
   
   To install Malwarebytes Anti-Malware on your machine, keep following the prompts by clicking the “Next” button.
   
4. Once installed, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will automatically start and you will see a message stating that you should update the program, and that a scan has never been run on your system. To start a system scan you can click on the “Fix Now” button.
   
   Alternatively, you can click on the “Scan” tab and select “Threat Scan“, then click on the “Scan Now” button.
   
5. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now check for updates, and if there are any, you will need to click on the “Update Now” button.
   
6. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now start scanning your computer for the Shopping Assistant virus. When Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is scanning it will look like the image below.
   
7. When the scan has completed, you will now be presented with a screen showing you the malware infections that Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware has detected. To remove the malicious programs that Malwarebytes Anti-malware has found, click on the “Quarantine All” button, and then click on the “Apply Now” button.
   
   Please note that the infections found may be different than what is shown in the image.
8. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now quarantine all the malicious files and registry keys that it has found. When removing the files, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware may require a reboot in order to remove some of them. If it displays a message stating that it needs to reboot your computer, please allow it to do so.
   
   After your computer will restart, you should open Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and perform another “Threat Scan” scan to verify that there are no remaining threats

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STEP 4: Double-check for the Shopping Assistant infection with HitmanPro

HitmanPro is a second opinion scanner, designed to rescue your computer from malware (viruses, trojans, rootkits, etc.) that have infected your computer despite all the security measures you have taken (such as anti virus software, firewalls, etc.). HitmanPro is designed to work alongside existing security programs without any conflicts. It scans the computer quickly (less than 5 minutes) and does not slow down the computer.

1. You can download HitmanPro from the below link:
   HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download “HitmanPro”)
2. Double-click on the file named “HitmanPro.exe” (for 32-bit versions of Windows) or “HitmanPro_x64.exe” (for 64-bit versions of Windows). When the program starts you will be presented with the start screen as shown below.
   
   Click on the “Next” button, to install HitmanPro on your computer.
   
3. HitmanPro will now begin to scan your computer for Shopping Assistant malicious files.
   
4. When it has finished it will display a list of all the malware that the program found as shown in the image below. Click on the “Next” button, to remove Shopping Assistant virus.
   
5. Click on the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial, and remove all the malicious files from your computer.
   

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(OPTIONAL) STEP 5 : Remove the browser extension responsible for the Shopping Assistant Ads and Shopping Assistant Deals from Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome

If you are still experiencing issues with the Shopping Assistant Ads and Shopping Assistant Deals in Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome, we will need to reset your browser to its default settings. This step needs to be performed only if your issues have not been solved by the previous steps.

Remove Shopping Assistant Ads and Shopping Assistant Deals from Internet Explorer

You can reset Internet Explorer settings to return them to the state they were in when Internet Explorer was first installed on your PC.

1. Open Internet Explorer, click on the “gear icon”  in the upper right part of your browser, then click again on Internet Options.
   
2. In the “Internet Options” dialog box, click on the “Advanced” tab, then click on the “Reset” button.
   
3. In the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” section, select the “Delete personal settings” check box, then click on “Reset” button.
   
4. When Internet Explorer has completed its task, click on the “Close” button in the confirmation dialogue box. You will now  need to close your browser, and then you can open Internet Explorer again.
   

Remove Shopping Assistant Ads and Shopping Assistant Deals from Mozilla Firefox

If you’re having problems with Firefox, resetting it can help. 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.

1. In the upper-right corner of the Firefox window, click the Firefox menu button (), then click on the “Help” () button.
   
2. From the Help menu, choose Troubleshooting Information.
   If you’re unable to access the Help menu, type about:support in your address bar to bring up the Troubleshooting information page.
   
3. Click the “Reset Firefox” button in the upper-right corner of the “Troubleshooting Information” page.
   
4. To continue, click on the “Reset Firefox” button in the new confirmation window that opens.
   
5. Firefox will close itself and will revert to its default settings. When it’s done, a window will list the information that was imported. Click on the “Finish“.

Note: 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 Shopping Assistant Ads and Shopping Assistant Deals from Google Chrome

1. Click on the “Chrome menu button” ()  on the browser toolbar, select “Tools“, and then click on “Extensions“.
   
2. In the “Extensions” tab, remove the Shopping Assistant 1.0.1 any other unknown extensions by clicking the trash can icon.
   Basically, if you have not installed an extensions then you should remove it from your web browser.
   

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Your computer should now be free of the Shopping Assistant adware infection. If your current anti-virus solution let this infection through, you may want to consider purchasing the Premium version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to protect against these types of threats in the future, and perform regular computer scans with HitmanPro.
If you are still experiencing problems while trying to remove Shopping Assistant adware from your machine, please start a new thread in our Malware Removal Assistance forum.