WajamUpdater.exe or WajamUpdater.exe*32 is a program which runs in the background of Windows and automatically starts up when your PC boots. It checks for software updates for Wajam social search engine, and automatically downloads and installs them if found.
Wajam is an adware program that displays pop-up ads, advertisement banners and sponsored links within Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome.
This 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.
WajamUpdater.exe it’s technically not a virus, but it does exhibit plenty of malicious traits, such as rootkit capabilities to hook deep into the operating system, browser hijacking, and in general just interfering with the user experience. The industry generally refers to it as a “PUP,” or potentially unwanted program.
WajamUpdater.exe is part of the Wajam adware, and is typically added when you install another free software (video recording/streaming, download-managers or PDF creators) that had bundled into their installation this malicious program. When you install these free programs, they will also install WajamUpdater.exe as well. Some of the programs that are known to bundle WajamUpdater.exe include Coupon Matcher, Superfish, Yontoo, Safe Saver, Trusted Saver and many other programs.
Once installed, WajamUpdater.exe runs automatically every time Windows starts, and it stays active in the background and checks for software updates.
The WajamUpdater.exe malicious process may be visible in Task Manager (CTRL+ALT+DEL), and you may find two or more WajamUpdater.exe running at the safe time.
When its running the WajamUpdater.exe process, will display advertising banners and sponsored links on the web pages that you are visiting.
You should always pay attention when installing software because often, a software installer includes optional installs, such as this WajamUpdater.exe 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 WajamUpdater.exe (Virus Removal Guide)
This page is a comprehensive guide, which will remove WajamUpdater.exe pop-ups 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 WajamUpdater.exe programs from your computer
STEP 2: Remove WajamUpdater.exe adware with AdwCleaner
STEP 3: Remove WajamUpdater.exe browser hijackers with Junkware Removal Tool
STEP 4: Remove WajamUpdater.exe virus with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free
STEP 5: Double-check for the WajamUpdater.exe infection with HitmanPro
STEP 1 : Uninstall WajamUpdater.exe program from your computer
WajamUpdater.exe was installed with adware or browser hijacker program that you have recently installed on your computer. In our case WajamUpdater.exe infection was installed with the MyStart toolbar.
In this first step, we will try to identify and remove any malicious program that might be installed on your computer.
- To uninstall the WajamUpdater.exe program from your computer, click the Start button, then select Control Panel, and click on Uninstall a program.
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, then select Uninstall a program.
- When the Add/Remove Programs or the Uninstall a Program screen is displayed, scroll through the list of currently installed programs and uninstall Wajam and any other recently installed or unknown programs from your computer.
If you are having issues while trying to uninstall the WajamUpdater.exe malicious programs, you can use Revo Uninstaller to completly remove the unwated programs from your machine.
Depending on what program has installed the WajamUpdater.exe 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.
STEP 2: Remove WajamUpdater.exe adware from your computer with AdwCleaner
The AdwCleaner utility will scan your computer for WajamUpdater.exe adware, that may have been installed on your computer without your knowledge.
- You can download AdwCleaner utility from the below link.
ADWCLEANER DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will automatically download AdwCleaner on your computer) - 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. - When the AdwCleaner program will open, click on the Scan button as shown below.
AdwCleaner will now start to search for WajamUpdater.exe malicious files that may be installed on your computer. - To remove the WajamUpdater.exe malicious files that were detected in the previous step, please click on the Clean button.
AdwCleaner will now prompt you to save any open files or data as the program will need to reboot the computer. Please do so and then click on the OK button.
STEP 3: Remove WajamUpdater.exe browser hijackers with Junkware Removal Tool
Junkware Removal Tool is a powerful utility, which will remove WajamUpdater.exe browser hijacker from Internet Explorer, Firefox or Google Chrome.
- 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) - Once Junkware Removal Tool has finished downloading, please double-click on the JRT.exe icon as seen below.
If Windows prompts you as to whether or not you wish to run Junkware Removal Tool, please allow it to run. - Junkware Removal Tool will now start, and at the Command Prompt, you’ll need to press any key to perform a scan for the WajamUpdater.exe virus.
Please be patient as this can take a while to complete (up to 10 minutes) depending on your system’s specifications. - 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.
STEP 4: Remove WajamUpdater.exe virus with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free utilizes Malwarebytes powerful technology to detect and remove all traces of malware including worms, trojans, rootkits, rogues, dialers, spyware and more.
- You can download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free from the below link, then double-click on the icon named mbam-setup.exe 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) - When the installation begins, keep following the prompts in order to continue with the setup process, then at the last screen click on the Finish button.
- On the Scanner tab, select Perform quick scan, and then click on the Scan button to start searching for the WajamUpdater.exe malicious files.
- Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware will now start scanning your computer for WajamUpdater.exe as shown below.
- When the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware scan has finished, click on the Show Results button.
- You will now be presented with a screen showing you the computer infections that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware has detected. Make sure that everything is Checked (ticked), then click on the Remove Selected button.
STEP 5: Double-check for the WajamUpdater.exe infection with HitmanPro
- You can download HitmanPro from the below link:
HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a 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 WajamUpdater.exe malicious files.
- 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 WajamUpdater.exe adware.
- Click on the Activate free license button to begin the free 30 days trial, and remove all the malicious files from your computer.
Your computer should now be free of the WajamUpdater.exe infection. If your current anti-virus solution let this infection through, you may want to consider purchasing the PRO 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 WajamUpdater.exe virus from your machine, please start a new thread in our Malware Removal Assistance