Ghostify Adware

What is Ghostify?

Developed by Epikai Ltd., Ghostify (also knows as Gostify) is a potentially unwanted program (PUP) claiming to provide a DNS service allowing users to access various websites that would otherwise be restricted in their countries. This functionality may seem legitimate and useful, however, due to rogue behavior, Ghostify is categorized as adware.

This PUP infiltrates systems without users’ permission, generates various intrusive online advertisements, and continually tracks Internet browsing activity.

Ghostify employs a 'virtual layer' to generate various intrusive ads (for example, coupon, banner, pop-up, etc.), none of which originate from users' visited websites and conceal underlying content. This significantly diminishes the web browsing experience. In addition, these ads often lead to malicious websites - clicking them often results in further adware or malware infections.

Another downside of this potentially unwanted program is information tracking. Ghostify records Internet Protocol (IP) addresses (to determine geographic location), URLs visited, pages viewed, search queries entered into search engines, and other similar data relating to users' web browsing activity.

Many users believe that the listed data types are insignificant, however, they might include personally identifiable information that Epikai Ltd. shares with third parties (who often misuse private data to generate revenue). This behavior can lead to serious privacy issues or even lead to identity theft.

Therefore, we strongly recommend that you to eliminate Ghostify adware from your system immediately.

There are hundreds of potentially unwanted programs virtually identical to Ghostify including First Flix, AnyFlix, and Ad4Pop - these are just some examples among hundreds. 

All adware claims to enhance the web browsing experience in certain ways, however, these false claims are simply attempts to trick users to install - the purpose of adware is simply to generate revenue for the developers.

Rather than providing any significant value for regular users, adware-type programs gather personally identifiable information, generate intrusive online advertisements, and cause unwanted browser redirects.

How did Ghostify install on my computer?

Although Ghostify has an official download website, many users install this PUP inadvertently. This is due to a deceptive software marketing method called 'bundling' - stealth installation of third party applications (PUPs) with regular software.

This method is popular with developers, since many users do not pay enough attention during the download and installation processes. PUPs are, thus, hidden within the 'Custom' or 'Advanced settings of the download/installation processes. Skipping this section often leads to inadvertent installation of bogus programs.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Infiltration of PUPs can be prevented by taking simple steps. Research shows that applications such as Ghostify are often distributed using the bundling method. Therefore, analyze each step of the download/installation processes within the 'Custom' or 'Advanced 'settings section and decline offers to download or install additional programs.

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Quick menu:

• What is Ghostify?
• STEP 1. Uninstall Ghostify application using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove Ghostify adware from Internet Explorer.
• STEP 3. Remove Ghostify ads from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove 'Ads by Ghostify' from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 5. Remove Ghostify ads from Safari.
• STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.

Ghostify adware removal:

Windows 11 users:

Right-click on the Start icon, select Apps and Features. In the opened window search for the application you want to uninstall, after locating it, click on the three vertical dots and select Uninstall.

Windows 10 users:

Right-click in the lower left corner of the screen, in the Quick Access Menu select Control Panel. In the opened window choose Programs and Features.

Windows 7 users:

Click Start (Windows Logo at the bottom left corner of your desktop), choose Control Panel. Locate Programs and click Uninstall a program.

macOS (OSX) users:

Click Finder, in the opened screen select Applications. Drag the app from the Applications folder to the Trash (located in your Dock), then right click the Trash icon and select Empty Trash.

In the uninstall programs window, look for "Ghostify", select this entry and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

After uninstalling the potentially unwanted program that causes Ghostify ads, scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components or possible malware infections. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.

Remove Ghostify adware from Internet browsers:

At time of research, Ghostify did not install its browser plug-ins on Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox, however, it was bundled with other adware. Therefore, you are advised to remove all potentially unwanted browser add-ons from your Internet browsers.

Video showing how to remove potentially unwanted browser add-ons:

Remove malicious add-ons from Internet Explorer:

Click the "gear" icon (at the top right corner of Internet Explorer), select "Manage Add-ons". Look for any recently-installed suspicious browser extensions, select these entries and click "Remove".

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the ads by gostify, reset your Internet Explorer settings to default.

Windows XP users: Click Start, click Run, in the opened window type inetcpl.cpl In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows Vista and Windows 7 users: Click the Windows logo, in the start search box type inetcpl.cpl and click enter. In the opened window click the Advanced tab, then click Reset.

Windows 8 users: Open Internet Explorer and click the gear icon. Select Internet Options.

In the opened window, select the Advanced tab.

Click the Reset button.

Confirm that you wish to reset Internet Explorer settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Remove malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

Click the Chrome menu icon (at the top right corner of Google Chrome), select "Tools" and click "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons, select these entries and click the trash can icon.

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the ads by gostify, reset your Google Chrome browser settings. Click the Chrome menu icon  (at the top right corner of Google Chrome) and select Settings. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen. Click the Advanced… link.

After scrolling to the bottom of the screen, click the Reset (Restore settings to their original defaults) button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Google Chrome settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

Remove malicious plug-ins from Mozilla Firefox:

Click the Firefox menu (at the top right corner of the main window), select "Add-ons". Click "Extensions", in the opened window, remove all recently-installed suspicious browser plug-ins.

Optional method:

Computer users who have problems with ads by gostify removal can reset their Mozilla Firefox settings.

Open Mozilla Firefox, at the top right corner of the main window, click the Firefox menu, in the opened menu, click Help.

Select Troubleshooting Information.

In the opened window, click the Refresh Firefox button.

In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Mozilla Firefox settings to default by clicking the Refresh Firefox button.

Remove malicious extensions from Safari:

Make sure your Safari browser is active, click Safari menu, and select Preferences....

In the opened window click Extensions, locate any recently installed suspicious extension, select it and click Uninstall.

Optional method:

Make sure your Safari browser is active and click on Safari menu. From the drop down menu select Clear History and Website Data...

In the opened window select all history and click the Clear History button.

Remove malicious extensions from Microsoft Edge:

Click the Edge menu icon  (at the upper-right corner of Microsoft Edge), select "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons and click "Remove" below their names.

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the ads by gostify, reset your Microsoft Edge browser settings. Click the Edge menu icon  (at the top right corner of Microsoft Edge) and select Settings.

In the opened settings menu select Reset settings.

Select Restore settings to their default values. In the opened window, confirm that you wish to reset Microsoft Edge settings to default by clicking the Reset button.

• If this did not help, follow these alternative instructions explaining how to reset the Microsoft Edge browser.

Summary:

Commonly, adware or potentially unwanted applications infiltrate Internet browsers through free software downloads. Note that the safest source for downloading free software is via developers' websites only. To avoid installation of adware, be very attentive when downloading and installing free software. When installing previously-downloaded free programs, choose the custom or advanced installation options – this step will reveal any potentially unwanted applications listed for installation together with your chosen free program.

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