Y2mate.com Virus

What is y2mate[.]com?

Like many other websites of this type, y2mate[.]com offers a video and audio downloading service. It downloads video and audio files from the YouTube website. This is not a dangerous/malicious website, however, it contains various advertisements and it causes redirects to other dubious sites. Note that it is illegal to download videos from YouTube.

When opened, y2mate[.]com asks permission to show notifications. Typically, allowing this results in being served with irrelevant notifications, pop-up ads, and so on - if clicked, these usually open untrustworthy websites. Do not trust these websites or grant permission to show notifications.

Furthermore, y2mate[.]com contains various ads that, when clicked, open dubious pages or run scripts designed to download and install potentially unwanted applications (PUAs). The same applies to ads displayed on pages that are opened when using services provided by y2mate[.]com. Some of the opened pages might be scam websites.

Scammers use these sites to promote dubious apps or encourage users to purchase them (or pay for "technical support"). Do not trust these websites or apps promoted by them. Typically, scammers try to trick people into downloading PUAs by designing scam pages to show fake virus, error alerts, and so on.

Their purpose is to make people believe that there is an issue with their computers/operating systems and that they should use the products/services offered. Additionally, pages opened through y2mate[.]com might contain offers to download and install browser hijackers, adware-type apps, and so on.

If installed, these apps can cause privacy, browsing safety issues, and so on. They cause unwanted redirects, gather data (and share it with third parties), and feed users with intrusive ads.

Threat Summary:

Name	Ads by y2mate.com
Threat Type	Push notifications ads, Unwanted ads, Pop-up ads.
Serving IP Address	104.23.131.73
Observed Domains	content-cdn.y2mate[.]com, dl10.y2mate[.]com, dl11.y2mate[.]com, dl14.y2mate[.]com, dl16.y2mate[.]com, dl18.y2mate[.]com, dl19.y2mate[.]com, dl45.y2mate[.]com, dl49.y2mate[.]com, dl58.y2mate[.]com, dl59.y2mate[.]com, dl63.y2mate[.]com, dl74.y2mate[.]com, dl75.y2mate[.]com, dl83.y2mate[.]com, dl86.y2mate[.]com, dl88.y2mate[.]com, mate01.y2mate[.]com, mate07.y2mate[.]com, mate09.y2mate[.]com
Symptoms	Seeing advertisements not originating from the sites you are browsing. Intrusive pop-up ads. Decreased internet browsing speed.
Distribution Methods	Deceptive pop-up ads, potentially unwanted applications (adware).
Damage	Decreased computer performance, browser tracking - privacy issues, possible additional malware infections.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

y2mate[.]com offers a similar service to many other websites such as youtubnow[.]com, olpair[.]com, and savefrom[.]net. To avoid being forced to visit untrustworthy websites or being tricked into downloading and installing unwanted apps, do not use these websites. If PUAs are already installed, they should be uninstalled immediately.

How did adware install on my computer?

Potentially unwanted apps can be downloaded from their websites, however, most users download or install them through intrusive ads or when software developers use a deceptive marketing method called "bundling". In the case of bundling, people often download and install PUAs with other, regular software.

Developers usually hide PUAs in "Custom", "Advanced" and other settings of software set-ups. Many people handle these set-ups carelessly, without studying them, and leave all settings unchanged. In doing so, they give permissions for PUAs to be downloaded and installed.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Download software/applications from trustworthy, official websites and using direct links. Do not trust sources such as third party software downloaders, torrent clients, eMule (and other Peer-to-Peer networks), and unofficial pages. Check all available "Advanced", "Custom" and other sections of software setups and opt-out of included (bundled) unwanted apps.

If ads frequently redirect to dubious websites (for example adult dating, gambling, pornography, or other similar sites) or redirects occur randomly, check your browser for any unwanted extensions, plug-ins, and add-ons and remove them. The same applies to programs of this type installed on the operating system.

If your computer is already infected with rogue applications, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate them.

Examples of browser notifications displayed by y2mate[.]com:

Screenshot of how y2mate[.]com redirects to other websites that also ask to show notifications:

Appearance of y2mate[.]com website (GIF):

IMPORTANT NOTE! This deceptive site asks to enable web browser notifications.

Therefore, before commencing, perform these steps:

Google Chrome (PC):

• Click the Menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the screen
• Select "Settings", scroll down to the bottom and click "Advanced"
• Scroll down to the "Privacy and security" section, select "Content settings" and then "Notifications"
• Click three dots on the right hand side of each suspicious URL and click "Block" or "Remove" (if you click "Remove" and visit the malicious site once more, it will ask to enable notifications again)

Google Chrome (Android):

• Click on the Menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the screen and click "Settings"
• Scroll down, click on "Site settings" and then "Notifications"
• In the opened window, locate all suspicious URLs and click on them one-by-one
• Select "Notifications" in the "Permissions" section and set the toggle button to "OFF"

Mozilla Firefox:

• Click the Menu button (three bars) on the right upper corner of the screen
• Select "Options" and click on "Privacy & Security" in the toolbar on the left hand side of the screen
• Scroll down to the "Permissions" section and click the "Settings" button next to "Notifications"
• In the opened window, locate all suspicious URLs, click the drop-down menu and select "Block"

Internet Explorer:

• Click the Gear button on the right upper corner of the IE window
• Select "Internet options"
• Select the "Privacy" tab and click "Settings" under "Pop-up Blocker" section
• Select suspicious URLs under and remove them one by one by clicking the "Remove" button

Microsoft Edge:

• Click the menu button (three dots) on the right upper corner of the Edge window
• Scroll down, find and click "Settings"
• Scroll down again and click "View advanced settings"
• Click "Manage" under "Website permissions"
• Click the switch under each suspicious website

Safari (Mac):

• Click "Safari" button on the left upper corner of the screen and select "Preferences..."
• Select the "Websites" tab and then select "Notifications" section on the left pane
• Check for suspicious URLs and apply the "Deny" option for each

Instant automatic malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick menu:

• What is y2mate[.]com?
• STEP 1. Uninstall adware applications using Control Panel.
• STEP 2. Remove adware from Internet Explorer.
• STEP 3. Remove rogue plug-ins from Google Chrome.
• STEP 4. Remove adware-type extensions from Mozilla Firefox.
• STEP 5. Remove malicious extensions from Safari.
• STEP 6. Remove rogue plug-ins from Microsoft Edge.

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 any potentially unwanted applications, select these entries and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

After uninstalling the potentially unwanted application that causes y2mate[.]com redirects, scan your computer for any remaining unwanted components or possible malware infections. To scan your computer, use recommended malware removal software.

Remove adware from 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 y2mate.com, 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 "More tools" and click "Extensions". Locate all recently-installed suspicious browser add-ons and remove them.

Optional method:

If you continue to have problems with removal of the ads by y2mate.com, 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 y2mate.com 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 y2mate.com, 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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