Fc.lc Ads - How to remove

Fc.lc is a monetized URL shortener often used for sharing files. Clicking on an Fc.lc link takes you to a page full of low-quality and potentially dangerous ads. Some people are wondering if Fc.lc is a virus. It’s not, but if you see pop-up ads from Fc.lc and if you constantly have Fc.lc opened in your browser, there is something wrong with your computer. Probably easy to fix, though.

If you encounter an Fc.lc link, be careful and ignore the ads:

Type of threat	Adware.
What is Fc.lc	URL shortener – creates a short URL that redirects to the original URL, monetized shortener – people can make money from each visitor to the links that they created.
Problems	Dangerous ads and pop-ups, obscure destination, banned on a lot of sites, creating a short link for a private address may expose it to hackers.
Removing Fc.lc pop-ups	Block Fc.lc, block notifications from unwanted sites, remove malware (you can use anti-malware scanners like Combo Cleaner for Mac OS, SpyHunter for Windows, and others).

Fc.lc shows a lot of ads

Fc.lc is for monetizing URLs. It’s just one of many such sites. There are Adf.ly, Uiz.io, Ckk.ai, and many others. For example, want to download a file? If you have to go through Fc.lc, you can’t avoid the ads there. You will be forced to see them and you will generate ad revenue to the creator of the link.

The problem with Fc.lc and the other sites is not that they show too many ads; it’s that those ads are kind of dangerous. The same types of ads are shown by various illegal sites (Putlocker) and notification spammers (Worldmylife.info). Sometimes they cause real problems for people by tricking them to install malware or spend money for a scam.

However, those who use Fc.lc to share their links simply do it to make money. They don’t mean for you to get scammed or anything. And neither does Fc.lc. It’s just that scammers and other bad actors are always desperate to find new platforms for their ads and…they probably pay pretty well. Considering that sites like Fc.lc are often used to share pirated content, it’s not all that risky for this site to work with some dubious advertisers.

So, Fc.lc has a lot of ads and redirects. After clicking on an Fc.lc link, you land on this site. Clicking almost anywhere will open an ad in a new browser tab or window at first. There are fake “Download”, “Watch now”, and “Click here” buttons that also open ads. To proceed to whatever your destination is, you have to wait a few seconds and then solve a captcha. Clicking on the captcha will also open a pop-up ad at first.

Also, Fc.lc does wish to send you notifications and if you accept, you may get some pop-ups from Fc.lc in your browser.

Is Fc.lc safe to use?

Those Fc.lc pop-ups don’t necessarily infect your computer with anything (update your browser and other software to avoid drive-by downloads), so there’s no need to worry too much. However, some malicious ads can trick you to download malware yourself or to contact scammers: fake OS update warnings, fake browser updates, fake virus alerts. Be careful of these and similar pages. Also, watch out for fake giveaways, like the 5-billionth search and the Annual Survey scams. As long as you don’t give out your private information and your payment data, you’re fine.

From what I’ve actually seen, Fc.lc mostly redirects to browser hijackers and get-rich-quick sites:

• Browser hijackers include PDFConverterHD.com, Getlive.news, and a few others. These programs take over your browser and try to get you to use an alternative search engine owned by the creator of the hijacker.
• Fc.lc also promotes get-rich-quick schemes, often ones to do with cryptocurrencies. They target people who are desperate for money and promise them high returns and no risk for their initial investment, then they steal the invested money.

Even though Fc.lc is not intentionally dangerous, it should not be used for anything actually important and should not be shared with anyone who may be vulnerable to be scammed. Most shorteners are banned on a lot of social networks and by email filters anyway, but just in case, don’t use Fc.lc if you have safer options. Unless you want to make money from URLs, stick to mainstream shorteners maintained by trusted companies.

And, most importantly, never use Fc.lc or any other shortener for any files that you wish to remain private. If you have some private files in the cloud or other secret links, do not create short links for them. Even if you don’t share them, it’s still dangerous. A bad actor could scan a lot of random short URLs and get lots of valuable data. A short URL is much easier to brute-force than a long one and if it points to some valuable address, that’s a privacy risk.

And I probably don’t need to say this, but the file on the other end of the link could be malicious, so scan every download diligently.

How to deal with Fc.lc ads

When you have pop-up ads coming from Fc.lc, you just need to block that address in your notifications settings:

• In Chrome, type “chrome://settings/content/notifications” in the address box.
• If you use Safari, go to the Safari menu, choose Preferences, Websites, Notifications.
• In Edge, open Settings, Advanced settings, Notifications, then Manage.
• For Firefox you can type “about:preferences#content” in the address bar, find the Notifications section.

If you think you downloaded something bad from a suspicious ad, check your computer with an anti-malware scanner, such as Combo Cleaner (Mac), SpyHunter (PC), or another reliable tool. If Fc.lc keeps appearing in your browser unexpectedly, some malicious program may be using it and you then also need to find that malware. It could be a bad desktop program or a browser extension.

If you want to block Fc.lc, you can do it with an antivirus program that has web protection features, or with specialized software, like certain ad blockers.

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