Security
Browser keeps opening pop-ups and redirects
Ads in new tabs, search results that go somewhere else, and a homepage you never set. Usually a rogue extension or notification permission.
Read before you start
Do not call the phone number in a pop-up and do not install a 'cleanup tool' it offers. Those are the scam, not the fix.
This guide is for you if
- Ads open in new tabs on their own
- Search results redirect somewhere else
- Homepage or default search changed
Step by step
Work top to bottom0 of 6 steps done
Close, do not click
Close the tab or force-quit the browser. Never click 'Allow', 'Update' or a support number inside the pop-up — that is what installs more adware.
Remove unknown extensions
Chrome: chrome://extensions. Edge: edge://extensions. Firefox: about:addons. Remove anything you do not recognise — restoring the browser is faster than investigating each one.
Revoke notification permissions
In the same browser, open Site Settings → Notifications and block every site you do not know. Fake 'virus detected' alerts arrive through notifications.
Reset the browser settings
Use 'Restore settings to their original defaults'. This resets homepage, search engine and pinned tabs but keeps bookmarks and saved passwords.
Scan the whole system
Run Windows Security's offline scan, or a reputable scanner on macOS, and remove what it finds. Repeat until a scan comes back clean.
Change the passwords that mattered
From a different, clean device, change the passwords for email, banking and anything you signed into while the pop-ups were active, and turn on two-factor authentication.
Start with email — it is the reset route for everything else.