Remove “Discount Buddy” adware (Removal Guide)

“Discount Buddy” is a potentially unwanted program developed by 215 apps, which will display coupons, advertisements and sponsored links via a pop-up box on Ebay, Amazon, Walmart and other shopping websites that you are visiting.
These advertisements will be shown as boxes containing various coupons that are available or as underlined keywords, which when clicked will display an advertisement that states it is brought to you by Discount Buddy.

Discount Buddy is an extension from 215 apps for Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome that is typically added when you install other free programs. When you install these free programs, they will also install Discount Buddy as well. Some of the programs that are known to bundle Discount Buddy include 1ClickDownload, Yontoo and FBPhotoZoom.
Once installed, whenever you will browse Expedia, Best Buy, Facebook or any other similar websites, Discount Buddy will show in the right top part of your browser, a box containing related keyword suggestions, ads and sponsored links.

You should always pay attention when installing software because often, a software installer includes optional installs, such as this Discount Buddy browser hijacker. 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.

“Discount Buddy” adware – Virus Removal Instructions

STEP 1 : Uninstall Discount Buddy from your computer

Discount Buddy has installed a program on your computer (Discount Buddy by 215 apps) which we will need to uninstall.

1. To uninstall Discount Buddy from your computer, click the Start button, then select Control Panel, and click on Uninstall a program.
   If you are a Windows 8 user, you can right-click on a bottom left hot corner (formerly known as the Start button) and select Control panel from there, then select Uninstall a program.
   
2. Search and uninstall Discount Buddy from your computer.
   

Please keep in mind that on some computers or missing, search for any program developed by 215 apps or Innovative apps, and uninstall it from your computer.
Because Discount Buddy is installed with other additional programs, we recommend that you search and uninstall any other unwanted or unknown programs from your computer.

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STEP 2 : Remove the Discount Buddy residual damage from your browser

Remove “Discount Buddy” from Internet Explorer

1. Open Internet Explorer,then click on the gear icon (Tools for Windows XP users) at the top (far right), then  select Manage add-ons.
   
2. From the Toolbars and Extensions tab, select Discount Buddy plugin, and click on Disable.
   

Remove “Discount Buddy” from Mozilla Firefox

1. At the top of the Firefox window, click the Firefox button, then select Add-ons.
   
2. Select the Extensions tab, then remove Discount Buddy extension from Mozilla Firefox.
   

Remove “Discount Buddy” from Google Chrome

1. Click the Chrome menu   button on the browser toolbar, select Tools and then click on Extensions.
   
2. In the Extensions tab,remove the Discount Buddy extension by clicking on the Recycle Bin next to the plugin.
   

Please keep in mind that on some computers, the browser add-on might have a different name, if you can’t find Discount Buddy on your list, then carefully look for any other extension developed by Innovative Apps or 215 apps, and remove it from your browser.

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STEP 3: Remove Discount Buddy registry keys with Adwcleaner

1. You can download AdwCleaner from the below link.
   ADWCLEANER DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will automatically download AdwCleaner on your computer)
2. Before starting this utility,close all open programs and internet browsers.
3. Double click on adwcleaner.exe to run the tool.
4. Click on Delete,then confirm each time with Ok.
   
5. Your computer will be rebooted automatically. A text file will open after the restart.
6. NEXT,double click on adwcleaner.exe to run the tool.
7. Click on Uninstall,then confirm with yes to remove this utility from your computer.

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STEP 4: Scan your computer for malware

Run a computer scan with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

1. You can download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free from the below link,then double click on it to install this program.
   MALWAREBYTES ANTI-MALWARE DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a download page in a new window from where you can download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free)
2. When the installation begins, keep following the prompts in order to continue with the setup process.
   DO NOT make any changes to default settings and when the program has finished installing, make sure you leave both the Update Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware and Launch Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware checked,then click on the Finish button.
   
3. On the Scanner tab,select Perform quick scan and then click on the Scan button to start scanning your computer.
   
4. Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware will now start scanning your computer as shown below.
   
5. When the Malwarebytes scan will be completed,click on Show Result.
   
6. You will now be presented with a screen showing you the malware infections that Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware has detected.Please note that the infections found may be different than what is shown in the image.Make sure that everything is Checked (ticked) and click on the Remove Selected button.
   

Run a computer scan with HitmanPro

1. Download HitmanPro from the below link,then double click on it to start this program.
   HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download HitmanPro)
2. HitmanPro will start and you’ll need to follow the prompts (by clicking on the Next button) to start a system scan with this program.
   
3. HitmanPro will start scanning your computer for malware, as seen in the image below.
   
4. Once the scan is complete,you’ll see a screen which will display all the infected files that this utility has detected, and you’ll need to click on Next to remove these malicious files.
   
5. Click Activate free license to start the free 30 days trial and remove all the malicious files from your computer.
   

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If you are still experiencing problems while trying to remove Discount Buddy from your machine, please start a new thread in our Malware Removal Assistance forum.