Fake Ads - "You are not protected" - How to remove

Did you encounter pop-up ads that say “You are not protected: Update your browser security extension”? Ads whose image looks a lot like the Google Chrome icon, but that has nothing to do with the browser.

The “You are not protected” ads are simply ads that can open any promoted website, from adult chatting services to online casinos. They don’t need to be taken seriously and it would be best to ignore them. There are ways to avoid some unwanted and unsafe ads, such as the “You are not protected” pop-ups. Avoiding them can make you safer online.

About the “You are not protected” ads:

Threat type	Adware, scareware.
The problems with the “You are not protected” ads	They copy the look of trusted apps, which can lead to misunderstandings, they lead to various online adds, including some that are potentially unwanted.
How to avoid misleading ads	Block ads on websites that show misleading and aggressive ads, block malicious websites, be careful and patient online.
How to deal with “You are not protected” ads	Don’t trust ads that look like update and security warnings, check your device for malware with anti-malware scanners (Combo Cleaner for Mac, Spyhunter for PC, others).

What are the “You are not protected” ads?

The “You are not protected” ads are pop-ups that appear online. They are nothing but ads that promote random websites. Don’t mind it. In fact, when you see it, avoid clicking on it.

You are not protected

Update your browser security extension

They look like security warnings

My first thought when I saw a “You are not protected” ad was that it looked like some sort of a Google Chrome warning. It uses the same colors and shape as the logo of the Google Chrome browser. And it vaguely claims that you need to update your browser to improve your security. But this ad is not made by Google nor any company connected to it. This makes it very suspicious.

Ads that pretend to be security updates are often used to spread malware. For example, fake Flash Player updates are used to spread malware, while fake WhatsApp updates spread various fleeceware apps. So, I was concerned that the “You are not protected” ad would be like that, as well – trying to get people to install some malware by making them believe that they’re installing an important update.

Luckily, the ads that I saw promoted by the “You are not protected” pop-up weren’t that dangerous. Still, it’s important to be careful. Do not trust any screens shown by the “You are not protected” pop-ups.

They promote random sites

In my experience, the “You are not protected” ads are used to promote any random sites:

• online marketplaces,
• online casinos,
• dubious browser extensions,
• free browser games,
• adult content,
• notification hijackers (“press Allow to continue” sites).

The “You are not protected” message is not necessarily dangerous – some of the ads it opens are completely harmless. But then some of the ads do lead to potentially dangerous browser hijackers – and that can be dangerous if you get tricked into thinking that the “You are not protected” ads have something to do with Google. This is likely what the ad was designed to do – to trick people to trust whatever page is shown by the ad.

How to deal with the “You are not protected” ads

Avoid malicious ads

Ads like “You are not protected” and other misleading pop-ups can be found on sites that overall show a lot of aggressive and misleading ads. Sites like Gestyy.com, Pcgamestorrents.com, File-upload.com do that a lot. File download sites, “free” movie streaming sites, and similar websites that are used for pirating do this sort of thing a lot – they show aggressive, unavoidable ads that are often designed in order to mislead.

There are a few things that you can do to avoid such ads:

• avoid online piracy,
• disable Javascript to prevent some types of ads,
• use ad blockers on sites that show annoying ads,
• use anti-malware programs to block malicious websites.

Finally, be very careful and patient. Know that advertisers use dark patterns to manipulate people. Before clicking on a Download button, a warning, or an ad, think twice. That’s saved me a few times from accidentally installing unwanted software.

Find and remove malware

Knowing that the “You are not protected” pop-up is shown on sites that are infamous for spreading malware-infected files and dangerous ads, it’s recommended to scan your computer with an anti-malware program, such as Combo Cleaner for macOS, Spyhunter for Windows, and others.

You should also review your recently-installed apps, programs, and browser extensions to check if there are any suspicious or unwanted items.

Automatic Malware removal tools

Remove unwanted apps and extensions

How to remove Fake Ads - "You are not protected" using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like Fake Ads - "You are not protected" install some of their components as regular Windows programs as well as additional software. This part of malware can be uninstalled from the Control Panel. To access it, do the following.

• Start→Control Panel (older Windows) or press Windows Key→Search and enter Control Panel and then press Enter (Windows 8, Windows 10).
• Choose Uninstall Program (if you don't see it, click in the upper right next to "View by" and select Category).
• Go through the list of programs and select entries related to Fake Ads - "You are not protected" . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make Fake Ads - "You are not protected" easier to find.
• Click the Uninstall button. If you're asked if you really want to remove the program, click Yes.
• In many cases anti-malware programs are better at detecting related parasites, thus I recommend installing Spyhunter to identify other programs that might be a part of this infection.

TopRemoving Fake Ads - "You are not protected" from Chrome

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Google Chrome window. Select “Settings”.
  
• Click “Extensions” on the left menu bar.
• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to Fake Ads - "You are not protected". Click on the trash bin icon next to Fake Ads - "You are not protected" or other add-ons you want to remove.
  
• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.
  
• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.
  
• Restart Chrome.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to Fake Ads - "You are not protected", reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on Chrome’s menu button (three horizontal lines) and select Settings.
  
• Scroll to the end of the page and click on the Reset settings button.
  
• Click on the Reset button on the confirmation box.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

How to remove Fake Ads - "You are not protected" from Microsoft Edge:Top

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Microsoft Edge window. Select “Extensions”.

• Go through the extensions list and remove programs you do not need, especially similar to Fake Ads - "You are not protected". Click on the "Remove" icon next to Fake Ads - "You are not protected" or other add-ons you want to remove.

• Press on the “Remove” button on the Confirmation window.

• If unsure, you can disable them temporarily.

• Restart Microsoft Edge.

TopRemoving Fake Ads - "You are not protected" from Safari (Mac OS X)

• Click on the Safari menu.
• Choose Preferences.
  
• Click on the Extensions Tab.
• Click on the Uninstall button near the Fake Ads - "You are not protected". Remove all other unknown or suspicious entries too. If you are not sure whether you need the extension or not, you can simply uncheck the Enable check-box to disable the extension temporarily.
  
• Restart Safari.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to Fake Ads - "You are not protected", reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on the Safari menu on the top left corner of the screen. Select Reset Safari.
  
• Select which options you want to reset (usually all of them come preselected) and click on the Reset button.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.

TopRemoving Fake Ads - "You are not protected" from Firefox

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla window and select the “Add-ons” icon (or press Ctrl+Shift+A on your keyboard).
  
• Go through Extensions and Addons list, remove everything Fake Ads - "You are not protected" related and items you do not recognise. If you do not know the extension and it is not made by Mozilla, Google, Microsoft, Oracle or Adobe then you probably do not need it.
  

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings If you are still experiencing any issues related to Fake Ads - "You are not protected", reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Click on the menu button on the top right corner of a Mozilla Firefox window. Click on the Help button.
  
• Choose Troubleshooting Information on the Help menu.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button.
  
• Click on the Reset Firefox button on the confirmation box. Mozilla Firefox will close and change the settings to default.
  

If you cannot reset your browser settings and the problem persists, scan your system with an anti-malware program.