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Remove “2015 Annual Visitor Survey” pop-up virus (Guide)

Published on June 9, 2015 by Stelian Pilici | Filed Under: Adware

If you are seeing random pop-up ads from 2015 Annual Visitor Survey within Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome, then your computer is infected with an adware or a potentially unwanted program.
2015 Annual Visitor Survey virus
The 2015 Annual Visitor Survey pop-ups are caused by an ad-supported extension for Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome, which is distributed through various monetization platforms during installation. The malicious browser extensions is typically added when you install another free software (video recording/streaming, download-managers or PDF creators) that had bundled into their installation this adware program.
When an adware extension is installed on your computer, whenever you will open a new tab within Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome, an ad from 2015 Annual Visitor Survey will pop-up.
The “2015 Annual Visitor Survey” pop-up will have this message:

Congratulations!
You’ve been personally selected to take part in our 2015 Annual Visitor Survey! Tell us what you think of Sprint and to say “Thank You” you’ll receive a chance to get an iPhone 6®, a $1000 Gas Card®, or a $1000 Shopping Spree®!

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.

You should always pay attention when installing software because often, a software installer includes optional installs, such as this program that is causing the 2015 Annual Visitor Survey redirect. 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 2015 Annual Visitor Survey pop-up ads (Virus Removal Guide)

This page is a comprehensive guide, which will remove “2015 Annual Visitor Survey” virus 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: Remove 2015 Annual Visitor Survey adware with AdwCleaner
STEP 2: Remove 2015 Annual Visitor Survey browse hijacker Junkware Removal Tool
STEP 3: Remove 2015 Annual Visitor Survey pop-up virus with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free
STEP 4: Double-check for the “2015 Annual Visitor Survey” malware with HitmanPro
(Optional) STEP 5: Remove 2015 Annual Visitor Survey pop-up ads from Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome

If you are using an Apple Mac OS X operating system, please follow this Remove virus from Apple Mac OS X (Pop-up Ads and Adware) guide to remove 2015 Annual Visitor Survey pop-up ads

STEP 1: Remove 2015 Annual Visitor Survey adware with AdwCleaner

The AdwCleaner utility will scan your computer and web browser for the “2015 Annual Visitor Survey” malicious files, browser extensions and registry keys, that may have been installed on your computer without your knowledge.

  1. You can download AdwCleaner from the below link.
    ADWCLEANER DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will download “AdwCleaner” on your computer)
  2. Before starting AdwCleaner, close all open programs and internet browsers, then double-click on the AdwCleaner icon.
    Start AdwCleaner
    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 Scan button
    AdwCleaner will now start to search for the “2015 Annual Visitor Survey” malicious files that may be installed on your computer.
  4. To remove the “2015 Annual Visitor Survey” malicious files that were detected in the previous step, please click on the “Clean” button.
    Remove 2015 Annual Visitor Survey with AdwCleaner
  5. AdwCleaner will 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.
    AdwCleaner removing adware

STEP 2: Remove 2015 Annual Visitor Survey browse hijacker Junkware Removal Tool

Junkware Removal Tool is a powerful utility, which will remove 2015 Annual Visitor Survey any malicious browser extensions from Internet Explorer, Firefox or Google Chrome, and also check your computer other malicious software.

  1. You can download the Junkware Removal Tool utility from the below link:
    JUNKWARE REMOVAL TOOL DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will automatically download the Junkware Removal Tool utility on your computer)
  2. Once Junkware Removal Tool has finished downloading, please double-click on the JRT.exe icon as seen below.
    Start Junkware Removal Tool scanner
    If Windows prompts you as to whether or not you wish to run Junkware Removal Tool, please allow it to run.
  3. Junkware Removal Tool will now start, and at the Command Prompt, you’ll need to press any key to perform a scan for the 2015 Annual Visitor Survey virus.
    Junkware Removal Tool scanning for 2015 Annual Visitor Survey
    Please be patient as this can take a while to complete (up to 10 minutes) depending on your system’s specifications.
  4. When the scan Junkware Removal Tool will be completed, this utility will display a log with the malicious files and registry keys that were removed from your computer.
    Junkware Removal Tool removing malware

STEP 3: Remove 2015 Annual Visitor Survey 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” to start the installation of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.
    Start Malwarebytes Anti-Malware setup
    Picture of User Account Control 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.
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Installer
    To install Malwarebytes Anti-Malware on your machine, keep following the prompts by clicking the “Next” button.
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware final screen
  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 “Scan Now” button.
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Scan Now
  5. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now start scanning your computer for the 2015 Annual Visitor Survey virus. When Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is scanning it will look like the image below.
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Scanning for Malware
  6. 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 “Remove Seletected” button.
    Remove the malware that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware has detected
    Please note that the infections found may be different than what is shown in the image.
  7. 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.
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware asking to restart PC
    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

STEP 4: Double-check for the “2015 Annual Visitor Survey” malware 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.
    HitmanPro Installer
    Click on the “Next” button, to install HitmanPro on your computer.
    itmanPro while installing on PC
  3. HitmanPro will now begin to scan your computer for 2015 Annual Visitor Survey malicious files.
    HitmanPro scanning
  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 2015 Annual Visitor Survey virus.
    HitmanPro detected malware
  5. Click on the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial, and remove all the malicious files from your computer.
    Remove malware with HitmanPro

(Optional) STEP 5: Remove 2015 Annual Visitor Survey pop-up ads from Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome

If you are still experiencing issues with the 2015 Annual Visitor Survey pop-up ads 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.

Reset 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” IE Icon Gear in the upper right part of your browser, then click again on Internet Options.
    [Image: Internet Options in Internet Explorer]
  2. In the “Internet Options” dialog box, click on the “Advanced” tab, then click on the “Reset” button.
    [Image: Reset Internet Explorer]
  3. In the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” section, select the “Delete personal settings” check box, then click on “Reset” button.
    [Image: Reset Internet Explorer to its default settings]
  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.
    [Image Reset Internet Explorer settings]

Reset 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 ([Image: Firefox Menu button]), then click on the “Help” ([Image: Firefox Help button]) button.
    [Image: Click on the Menu button then Help]
  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.
    [Image: Troubleshooting Information in Firefox]
  3. Click the “Reset Firefox” button in the upper-right corner of the “Troubleshooting Information” page.
    [Image: Reset Firefox to its default settings]
  4. To continue, click on the “Reset Firefox” button in the new confirmation window that opens.
    [Image: Click on the Reset Firefox button]
  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.

Reset Google Chrome

  1. Click on the “Chrome menu button” (Chrome menu)  on the browser toolbar, select “Settings“, and then click on “Extensions“.
    Chrome Settings menu
  2. In the “Extensions” tab, remove SavePass, Pic Enhance, Sm23mS, Salus, SS8, Save Daily Deals, Word Proser, Desktop Temperature Monitor, PriceLEess, Savefier, Savepass, Couponarific and any other unknown extensions, by clicking the trash can [Image: Remove an extension from Chrome] icon.
    Basically, if you have not installed an extension then you should remove it from Google Chrome.
    Remove adware extension from Chrome
Your computer should now be free of the 2015 Annual Visitor Survey adware infection.
If you are still experiencing problems while trying to remove 2015 Annual Visitor Survey pop-ups from your machine, please do one of the following:

  • Run a system scan with Emsisoft Emergency Kit.
  • Start a new thread in our Malware Removal Assistance forum.

Published on June 9, 2015 by Stelian Pilici | Filed Under: Adware

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stelian Pilici is the creator and owner of MalwareTips.com. He created this community in 2010 to help people solve their computer problems.
Stelian's area of expertise includes malware removal and computer forensics. He's active in the various online anti-malware communities where he does research for new malware threats as they are released.

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