AdSkipNow Ad Spam - How to remove

AdSkipNow is a browser add-on that may have some unwanted effects on your browser, such as opening new tabs with ads.

AdSkipNow is advertised online as a tool to block video ads. That’s misleading as it doesn’t block the ads but skip them, and only on Youtube.com. And it fails at that. AdSkipNow is either malicious or broken, as it automatically opens dozens of instances of the ad that it promised to skip.

If AdSkipNow is installed on your browser and you experience problems with new tabs opening automatically, it might be best to remove or disable this extension.

About AdSkipNow:

Classification	Potentially unwanted program, adware.
Problems caused by AdSkipNow	New tabs open on their own when visiting Youtube.com.
How to avoid fake ad blockers	Only install reputable ad blockers and only from their official sites.
How to remove AdSkipNow	Uninstall the AdSkipNow extension, check your computer for adware with anti-malware apps like Spyhunter for Mac, Spyhunter for PC, Malwarebytes, and others.

What are the problems with AdSkipNow?

AdSkipNow does not skip ads

AdSkipNow is a little extension that you can find on the Chrome Web Store and on the Adskipnow.com site. It offers to block ads on YouTube videos. It’s very similar to the extension found on Advideoblock.com.

It doesn’t really do that. What AdSkipNow actually does is try to click on the Skip Ad button on YouTube videos. So, rather than block the ads, it at least tries to skip them as fast as possible.

Except it can’t do that because while trying to skip the video, it keeps unceasingly clicking the ad and opening it in a new tab. It might open a dozen new tabs and make the browser nearly unusable.

This behavior could be unintentional, but that doesn’t matter to the users. The ad spam is so bad that the security vendor Malwarebytes now considers AdSkipNow to be a PUP – potentially unwanted program – and blocks the Adskipnow.com site.

Other issues

AdSkipNow may change search settings

In addition, AdSkipNow’s privacy policy implies that the extension uses a search partner, Surfitnow.xyz – a Trovi site. For browser extensions, this usually means that they force the user to use a search partner to search the web. For instance, by detecting when you search on Google, extracting your query from the URL, and sending it to another site.

I did not see AdSkipNow messing with my searches, so I’m not sure why that was included in its privacy policy. But remember that every browser extension that can read your browsing history or your data on search engines that you might use (like Google) can redirect searches.

It might be installed without permission

AdSkipNow’s reviews look really suspicious: all very similar, very short, don’t discuss any specific features, just say “Amazing” or “Love it” and give the add-on 5 stars. Four of the reviews even wrongly imply that AdSkipNow is related to Microsoft or to the Office suite – even though it’s not. I can’t prove that AdSkipNow’s reviews are fake, but they do look fake.

And yet, AdSkipNow is apparently installed by more than 20,000 users. If this number is real, and if the reviews really are fake, then this could mean that people install AdSkipNow unknowingly and unintentionally. This can happen thanks to adware bundling and misleading advertising.

How to remove AdSkipNow

If your browser gets stuck because of the new tabs opened by AdSkipNow, you might find our post on fixing locked browser issues helpful.

To stop the problems caused by AdSkipNow, uninstall the extension. The instructions are below.

If you didn’t install AdSkipNow yourself or if you simply experience a lot of ads and browser redirects, you might want to check your device for adware with an anti-malware program, such as Spyhunter for Mac, Spyhunter for PC, Malwarebytes, and others. They can tell you if there is a potentially unwanted item on your computer that you might have overlooked.

Luckily, AdSkipNow is not truly malicious, so it doesn’t cause any real lasting damage.

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to remove the AdSkipNow extension

TopRemoving AdSkipNow Ad Spam 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 AdSkipNow. Click on the trash bin icon next to AdSkipNow Ad Spam 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 AdSkipNow, 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 AdSkipNow Ad Spam 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 AdSkipNow Ad Spam. Click on the "Remove" icon next to AdSkipNow 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.