Remove Topic Torch Ads (Virus Removal Guide)

Topic Torch is an adware program that injects advertisements onto web pages while browsing the web. When you browse the web while this adware is installed, Topic Torch will display intrusive and unwanted ads onto web sites that make it difficult to read the content of the site.
To make matters worse, you will also find that this adware will cause your computer to act more sluggish or for your web browser to freeze.
[Image: Topic Torch by WebCake virus]

What is Topic Torch?

Topic Torch is advertised as a program 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 Topic Torch program can be intrusive and will display ads whether you want them to or not.
When installed, the Topic Torch browser extension will display advertising banners, pop-up advertisements and in-text ads, stating that they are brought to you by Topic Torch. The Topic Torch Ads will have different text under the pop-up: “Powered by Topic Torch”, “Brought to you by Topic Torch”, “You’ve received a premium offer from Topic Torch” or “Ads by Topic Torch”.
Ads By Topic Torch pop-up virus
These ads are aimed to promote the installation of additional questionable content including web browser toolbars, optimization utilities and other products, all so the Topic Torch publisher can generate pay-per-click revenue.
When infected with Topic Torch 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 Topic Torch got on my computer?

Topic Torch 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 Topic Torch without your knowledge. Most commonly Topic Torch 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 Topic Torch 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 Topic Torch Ads (Virus Removal Guide)

This page is a comprehensive guide, which will remove Topic Torch adware 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 Topic Torch from Windows
STEP 2: Remove “Ads by Topic Torch” adware with AdwCleaner
STEP 3: Remove Topic Torch adware with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
STEP 4: Double-check for the “Ads by Topic Torch” browser hijacker with HitmanPro
(Optional) STEP 5: Reset Internet Explorer, Firefox or Google Chrome settings to remove Topic Torch Ads

STEP 1 : Uninstall Topic Torch from Windows

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

Go to the uninstall menu.
Windows 10 or Windows 8
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 or Windows Vista
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.
When the “Programs and Features” screen is displayed, scroll through the list of currently installed programs and uninstall “Topic Torch”.
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 are having issues while trying to uninstall the Topic Torch program, you can use Revo Uninstaller to completely remove this unwanted program from your machine.
If you cannot find any unwanted or unknown programs on your machine, then you can proceed with the next step.

STEP 2: Remove “Ads by Topic Torch” adware with AdwCleaner

The AdwCleaner utility will scan your computer for the Topic Torch adware and other unwanted browser extensions, that may have been installed on your computer without your knowledge.

You can download AdwCleaner from the below link.
ADWCLEANER DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download “AdwCleaner”)
Before starting AdwCleaner, close your web browser, 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.
When the AdwCleaner program will open, click on the “Scan” button as shown below.

AdwCleaner will now start to search for adware and other malicious files that may be installed on your computer.
To remove the malicious files that were detected in the previous step, please click on the “Cleaning” button.
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, AdwCleaner will automatically open a log file that contains the files, registry keys, and programs that were removed from your computer.

STEP 3: Remove Topic Torch adware with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware uses industry-leading technology to detect and remove all traces of malware. It is important to note that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware works well and should run alongside antivirus software without conflicts.

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”)
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.

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.
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.
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 will now start scanning your computer for the Topic Torch adware. When Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is scanning it will look like the image below.
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 Anti-malware has found, click on the “Remove Selected” button.

Please note that the infections found may be different than what is shown in the image.
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

STEP 4: Double-check for the “Ads by Topic Torch” browser hijacker 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.

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”)
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.
HitmanPro will now begin to scan your computer for the Topic Torch malware.
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.
Click on the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial, and remove all the malicious files from your computer.

(Optional) STEP 5: Reset Internet Explorer, Firefox or Google Chrome settings to remove Topic Torch Ads

If you are still experiencing issues with the Topic Torch advertisements 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.

Open Internet Explorer, click on the “gear icon” in the upper right part of your browser, then click again on Internet Options.
In the “Internet Options” dialog box, click on the “Advanced” tab, then click on the “Reset” button.
In the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” section, select the “Delete personal settings” check box, then click on “Reset” button.
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.

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.

In the upper-right corner of the Firefox window, click the Firefox menu button (), then click on the “Help” () button.
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.
Click the “Refresh Firefox” button in the upper-right corner of the “Troubleshooting Information” page.
To continue, click on the “Refresh Firefox” button in the new confirmation window that opens.
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

The Chrome Cleanup Tool application will scan and remove software that may cause problems with Chrome, such as crashes, unusual startup pages or toolbars, unexpected ads you can’t get rid of, or otherwise changing your browsing experience.

You can download Chrome Cleanup Tool from the below link.
CHROME CLEANUP TOOL DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download “Chrome Cleanup Tool”)
When Chrome Cleanup Tool has finished downloading, start this program by double-clicking on the chrome_cleanup_tool icon as seen below.
Chrome Cleanup Tool will now scan Google Chrome for adware and browser hijackers. The scan should take less than 1 minute, and will report whether it found any malicious programs or not. If any malicious programs were detected, click on the “Remove suspicious programs” button and wait for the tool to tell you it has completed the process.

If Chrome Cleanup Tool has not detected anything suspicious, then you can click on the “Continue” button and move to the next step.
Next, a new tab in Google Chrome will open, prompting you to reset Chrome to default settings. We recommend that you perform this reset as usually this will remove any browser hijackers that might affect your browser.

Your computer should now be free of the Topic Torch adware infection. You can now remove AdwCleaner from your machine, however we recommend that you keep HitmanPro and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware installed and perform regular computer scans.
If your current security solution allowed this program on your computer, you may want to consider purchasing the premium version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to protect against these types of threats in the future.

If you are still experiencing problems while trying to remove Topic Torch pop-up ads 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.