UniDeals Adware - How to remove

UniDeals is a browser plugin that is supposed to find relevant discounts and coupons for online purchases. UniDeals is free to use, but users pay for it by having their data shared with advertisers and having ads displayed to them via new randomly-opened tabs and injected banner ads.

Here’s UniDeals describing itself:

UniDeals is a browser add-on that checks the deals available by your preferred online retailers. While you shop, the one looks searches for coupons that you can use before closing transactions so you can avail discounts and save on your shopping expenses.

“Ad by UniDeals” is a line you’ll quickly become very familiar with if you use the UniDeals extension for any length of time. Some users never even wanted this extension and still had it installed against their wishes.

UniDeals is very similar to LionShopper, ShopperPremium, ShopperMaster, and other adware browser hijackers.

About UniDeals:

Threat type	Adware, browser hijacker.
How UniDeals is harmful	It displays ads on your screen, it collects user data.
How this adware spreads	It’s embedded in the installers of other programs, it’s advertised online.
How to remove UniDeals	Uninstall it manually, find and remove its files with antivirus apps (Spyhunter for PC, Combo Cleaner for Mac, others).

What’s the problem with UniDeals?

Adware

UniDeals is adware – it displays ads in your browser.

Though the ads only appear on some websites, they still interfere with the browsing experience. It’s bad enough for UniDeals to be considered adware – software whose main purpose is to show ads. These ads can appear as ad banners, fake search results, and randomly opened new browser tabs.

It’s important to remember that advertisers who use UniDeals and other adware infections are not always benign. Adware generally has much lower standards for ads than normal advertising networks, which means that the ads are likely to promote scams, malware, unsafe products, and controversial products that are vulnerable to fraud. That means other adware infections, gambling sites, clickbait sites, get-rich-quick scams, subscription scams, and similar harmful sites.

Spyware

Being a browser plugin, UniDeals can watch your browsing activity and log it.

This data can be used by advertisers who use it to decide which ads might affect you the most. Browser extensions have access to your online activities, some can even see every page that you visit, eve what you click n and what you type. This is a threat to privacy relevant to anyone who has too many browser extensions installed. Some developers aren’t trustworthy, some malicious actors abuse the extensions.

Of course, a lot of people saw the excessive ads that UniDeals forced on them and decided that it was too much. Not everyone was able to uninstall the plugin, though. The extension roots itself in a system and refuses to be removed: uninstall it as many times as you want, it keeps coming back. And the majority of them didn’t even want this plugin – UniDeals installs itself on people’s systems without their permission. Most likely this is done through bundles.

How does UniDeals spread?

Software bundlers

The UniDeals plugin is distributed by freeware bundles. Probably, UniDeals’s developers don’t trust the extension to be installed for its own merits. So, they used an affiliate program or an advertising service (like InstallCore) to get other developers to distribute it.

Avoid websites that let you download free programs but provide their own downloaders and installers. These items are often used to spread whatever software paid to be included in them. These installers serve as ads.

UniDeals is installed by hiding it in the installer in such a way that only someone who is very vigilant and reads all the fine print carefully could notice it. And this is not unique to UniDeals, which is why it’s best to avoid freeware sites altogether and instead download software from original developers.

Ads and pop-ups

Besides bundling, UniDeals might spread by using ads online – either through normal ads (often employing a network like PopAds or AdCash) or through malicious adware webpages (such as Install.notify-service.com). This makes malware nearly impossible to avoid, so it’s good to be careful every step of the way:

• Avoid websites that show aggressive ads. Or use an ad blocker on such sites.
• Be careful when downloading files from unknown sites. Always scan them with antivirus software.
• Don’t breeze through the setup process. See if there are any optional offers that you can refuse.

How to stop ads by UniDeals

The difficulty that people have had removing UniDeals indicates that some malicious files and processes keep reinstalling the extension. Those malicious files and programs should be removed before UniDeals can be uninstalled permanently.

First, check this guide on how to kill malicious processes. It should help you stop the processes which might interfere with the work of the antivirus programs. Don’t reboot your computer. Now, go ahead and scan your machine with antivirus software, such as Spyhunter for Windows,  Combo-Cleaner for Mac, and others. Remove malware if it’s found.

Uninstall suspicious programs, including UniDeals. If all of its files were found and deleted, it won’t be able to come back.

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to remove UniDeals Adware using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like UniDeals Adware 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 UniDeals Adware . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make UniDeals Adware 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.

How to remove UniDeals Adware from macOS

Delete UniDeals Adware from your applications.

1. Open Finder.
2. In the menu bar, click Go.
3. Select Applications from the dropdown.
4. Find the UniDeals Adware app.
5. Select it and right-click it (or hold the Ctrl and click the left mouse button).
6. In the dropdown, click Move to Bin/Trash. You might be asked to provide your login password.

TopRemove malicious extensions from Internet Explorer

• Press on the Gear icon→Manage Add-ons.
  
• Go through Toolbars and extensions. Remove everything related to UniDeals Adware and items you do not know that are made not by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Oracle or Adobe.
  
• Close the Options.

(Optional) Reset your browser’s settings

If you are still experiencing any issues related to UniDeals Adware, reset the settings of your browser to its default settings.

• Press on the Gear icon->Internet Options.
  
• Choose the Advanced tab and click on the Reset button.
  
• Select a “Delete personal settings” checkbox and click on the Reset button.
  
• Click on the Close button on the confirmation box, then close your browser.
  

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

TopRemoving UniDeals Adware 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 UniDeals Adware. Click on the trash bin icon next to UniDeals Adware 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 UniDeals Adware, 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.

TopRemoving UniDeals Adware 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 UniDeals Adware 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 UniDeals Adware, 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.

How to remove UniDeals Adware 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 UniDeals Adware. Click on the "Remove" icon next to UniDeals Adware 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 UniDeals Adware from Safari (Mac OS X)

• Click on the Safari menu.
• Choose Preferences.
  
• Click on the Extensions Tab.
• Click on the Uninstall button near the UniDeals Adware. 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 UniDeals Adware, 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.