Avoid using the video download service by mpgun.com

What is mpgun[.]com?

The mpgun[.]com website allows users to download videos from YouTube and convert them to MP3 and MP4 formats. In fact, it is illegal to download videos from YouTube.

Furthermore, mpgun[.]com employs rogue advertising networks. In summary, this website displays dubious advertisements and opens untrusted, potentially malicious websites. Therefore, avoid this site and do not use it to download or convert videos.

mpgun[.]com opens various rogue websites. At the time of research, this included some that advertised VideoConverterHD and MergeDocsNow. Both of these apps are browser hijackers, potentially unwanted applications (PUAs) that change browser settings (to promote fake search engines) and gather browsing data.

Neither apps of this type nor websites that advertise them can be trusted. Furthermore, mpgun[.]com can open a web page that loads dubious content or redirect visitors to other untrusted websites. At the time of research, the opened page asked permission to show notifications using a 'clickbait' technique.

Clicking the "Allow" button allows the web page to show notifications that might contain links to other untrusted websites, deceptive ads, etc. Note that one page opened through mpgun[.]com is a scam website, which suggests that the visitor's Adobe Flash Player is out of date and suggests an update (this is actually via a fake updater).

These rogue updaters install adware or malware. Ads displayed on mpgun[.]com should not be trusted or clicked, since they might open untrusted, deceptive websites or run scripts that can download/install unwanted software.

Threat Summary:

Name	Ads by mpgun.com
Threat Type	Push notifications ads, Unwanted ads, Pop-up ads.
Detection Names	Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal).
Serving IP Address	51.91.102.158
Observed Domains	u.mpgun[.]com, x.mpgun[.]com, v.mpgun[.]com, z.mpgun[.]com, y.mpgun[.]com, w.mpgun[.]com, s.mpgun[.]com, t.mpgun[.]com, a.mpgun[.]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.

There are many other websites similar to mpgun[.]com - some examples are convertisseur-youtube-mp3[.]net, notube[.]net and mp3-youtube[.]download. 

Typically, they contain deceptive advertisements and lead visitors to other dubious pages. To avoid unwanted downloads/installations, being redirected to scam websites and other untrusted pages, do not visit sites such as mpgun[.]com or use their services.

How did adware install on my computer?

Unwanted applications are often downloaded and installed through deceptive advertisements, that people willingly or unintentionally click, or via the set-ups of other programs. Distributing PUAs through download and installation set-ups is called "bundling". Developers seek to trick people by including PUAs into set-ups and hiding related information in settings such as "Custom", "Advanced" and "Manual". Therefore, PUAs are often downloaded and installed when people fail to check or change settings that are included in software set-ups.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications

Do not download or install any programs or files through third party software downloaders, installers, untrusted websites, Peer-to-Peer networks (e.g., torrent clients, eMule) or other such tools. Use official websites and direct download links only.

Do not complete any download or installation without first checking "Custom", "Advanced" and other settings that are available in the setup - decline offers to download or install unwanted software. Furthermore, it is not safe to click intrusive ads, especially if they are displayed on dubious websites (e.g., gambling, pornography, adult dating and others).

If clicked, these ads redirect people to potentially malicious websites or cause unwanted downloads and installations. In most cases, browsers can be stopped from showing unwanted ads and opening dubious pages by uninstalling (removing) unwanted extensions, plug-ins and add-ons.

Also apply this to programs of this kind 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.

mpgun[.]com redirecting to mainsiteofupgradenow[.]best scam website (GIF):

mpgun[.]com redirects to the download website of VideoConverterHD browser hijacker (GIF):

mpgun[.]com redirects to a dubious website (GIF):

mpgun[.]com redirects to the download website of MergeDocsNow browser hijacker:

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 mpgun[.]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 mpgun[.]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 mpgun.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 mpgun.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 mpgun.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 mpgun.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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