How to remove “Ads by DNS Unlocker” Adware (Virus Help Guide)

DNS Unlocker is an adware program that displays pop-up ads and unwanted advertisements on web pages that you visit. These advertisements will be shown as boxes containing coupons, as underlined keywords (in-text ads), pop-up ads or advertising banners.

What is DNS Unlocker?

DNS Unlocker is advertised as a “DNS service you can easily access Geo restricted content you like from around the world and unblock websites and Streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer or Pandora“. Though this may sound like a useful service, the DNS Unlocker program can be intrusive and will display advertisements whether you want them to or not.

The DNS Unlocker advertisements may have a different text under the pop-up: “Powered by DNS Unlocker“, “Brought to you by DNS Unlocker“, “RocketTab powered by DNS Unlocker“, “Ads by DNS Unlocker” or “Ads powered by DNS Unlocker“.

These ads are aimed to promote the installation of additional questionable content including web browser toolbars, optimization utilities and other products, all so the DNS Unlocker publisher can generate pay-per-click revenue.

DNS Unlocker changes your computer’s DNS servers to ones under their own control. This allows them to not only monitor what sites you are visiting, but to also replace requests from legitimate ad servers with their own ad servers.
These DNS servers are one of the main reasons that people find it difficult to disable DNS Unlocker ads from displaying on their browser. This is because if you uninstall the DNS Unlocker program, but do not disable their DNS servers, they will continue to hijack ads and display ones of their own choosing.

When your machine is infected with the DNS Unlocker adware, other 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.

To make matters worse, you will also find that DNS Unlocker will cause your computer to act more sluggish or for your web browser to freeze.

How did DNS Unlocker get on my computer?

DNS Unlocker 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 DNS Unlocker without your knowledge.

How to remove “Ads by DNS Unlocker” adware (Virus Removal Guide)

• STEP 1: Uninstall DNS Unlocker version 1.4 from Windows
• STEP 2: Use AdwCleaner to remove “Ads by DNS Unlocker” adware
• STEP 3: Use Malwarebytes to scan for Malware and Unwanted Programs
• STEP 4: Double-check for malicious programs with HitmanPro
• STEP 5: Reset the web browser to its default settings

STEP 1 : Uninstall DNS Unlocker version 1.4 from Windows

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

1. Go to the uninstall menu.
   

   Windows 10 or Windows 8.1

   1. To uninstall a program on Windows 10 or Windows 8, right-click on the Windows Start button and choose “Control Panel” from the pop-up menu.
      
   2. When the “Control Panel” window opens click on the “Uninstall a program” option under “Programs” category.
      

   Windows 7

   1. If you are using Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7, click the “Start” button, then click on the “Control Panel” menu option.
      
   2. When the “Control Panel” window opens click on the “Uninstall a program” option under “Programs” category.
      
2. When the “Programs and Features” screen is displayed, scroll through the list of currently installed programs and uninstall “DNS Unlocker version 1.4” by www.dnsunlocker.com
   The malicious program may have a different name on your computer. To view the most recently installed programs, you can click on the “Installed On” column to sort your program by the installation date. Scroll through the list, and uninstall any unwanted or unknown programs.

   If you cannot find any unwanted programs on your computer, you can proceed with the next step.

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

   

STEP 2: Use AdwCleaner remove to “Ads by DNS Unlocker” adware

AdwCleaner is a free utility that will remove the DNS Unlocker adware and other malicious programs that may be installed on your PC.

1. You can download Malwarebytes AdwCleaner from the below link.
   Download AdwCleanerFree official download. Nothing to install.
2. When Malwarebytes AdwCleaner has finished downloading, please double-click on the AdwCleaner icon to perform a system scan with this program.
   
   If Windows prompts you as to whether or not you wish to run AdwCleaner, please allow it to run.
   
3. When the Malwarebytes AdwCleaner program will open, click on the “Scan” button as shown below.
   
   AdwCleaner will now start to search for the DNS Unlocker adware and other malicious programs.
4. To remove the malicious files that were detected in the previous step, please click on the “Clean” button.
   
5. Malwarebytes AdwCleaner will prompt you to save any open files or documents, as the program will need to reboot the computer to complete the cleaning process. Please do so, and then click on the “OK” button.
   
   When your computer reboots and you are logged in, Malwarebytes AdwCleaner will automatically open a log file that contains the files, registry keys, and programs that were removed from your computer. Please review this log file and then close the notepad window. You can now continue with the rest of the instructions.

STEP 3: Use Malwarebytes to scan for Malware and Unwanted Programs

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is a powerful on-demand scanner which will scan your PC for adware, browser hijackers, Trojans and other types of malware. It is important to note that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will run alongside antivirus software without conflicts.

1. You can download download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware from the below link.
   Download MalwarebytesFree official installer. Your download starts right away.
2. When Malwarebytes has finished downloading, double-click on the “mb3-setup-consumer” file to install Malwarebytes Anti-Malware on your computer.
   
   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 installation.
   
3. When the Malwarebytes installation begins, you will see the Malwarebytes 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 will automatically start and update the antivirus database. To start a system scan you can click on the “Scan Now” button.
   
5. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now start scanning your computer for 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.
   
6. When the scan has completed, you will be presented with a screen showing the malware infections that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware has detected.
   To remove the malicious programs that Malwarebytes has found, click on the “Quarantine Selected” button.
   
7. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now quarantine 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 Anti-Malware and continue with the rest of the instructions.

STEP 4: Double-check for malicious programs with HitmanPro

HitmanPro can find and remove malware, adware, bots, and other threats that even the best antivirus suite can oftentimes miss. HitmanPro is designed to run alongside your antivirus suite, firewall, and other security tools.

1. You can download HitmanPro from the below link:
   Download HitmanProOfficial Sophos download. Free scan, free 30-day trial to remove threats.
2. When HitmanPro has finished downloading, double-click on the “hitmanpro” file to install this program on your computer.
   
   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.
   
3. When the program starts you will be presented with the start screen as shown below. Now click on the Next button to continue with the scan process.
   
4. HitmanPro will now begin to scan your computer for malware.
   
5. 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 malware.
   
6. Click on the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial, and remove all the malicious files from your computer.
   
   When the process is complete, you can close HitmanPro and continue with the rest of the instructions.

STEP 5: Reset the web browser to its default settings

In this last step, we will need to reset your browser to its default settings to remove the DNS Unlocker browser hijacker.