Plants Vs Zombies Adware

What is Plants Vs Zombies?

Developed by Surf Island Solutions, Plants Vs Zombies is a dubious application (not related to the original Plants Vs Zombies game) presented as an addictive arcade game. While some users may find this app interesting, legitimate and useful, Plants Vs Zombies is categorized as adware or a potentially unwanted program (PUP).

A deceptive software marketing method called 'bundling' (stealth installation of third party applications/browser add-ons together with the regular software) used in Plants Vs Zombies adware distribution is one of the reasons for these negative associations.

After stealth infiltration on Internet browsers, Plants Vs Zombies generates intrusive online advertisements (banner, pop-up, pop-under, interstitial, in-text, etc.). Note that clicking these advertisements can lead to bogus websites containing dubious content, thereby exposing your computer to risk of infection.

Another important downside of this application is that it tracks various software and Internet browsing-related hardware information. The types of collected data includes installed applications, IP addresses, websites visited, pages viewed and activity on those pages, browsing history, and so on.

Some of this information may be personally identifiable, and therefore, having Plants Vs Zombies installed on your computer can lead to serious privacy issues or even identity theft. Adware-type applications such as Movie Wizard, Web Watch, Ad Blaster, and Email Tracker often have similar or identical feature and promise to enable various useful features.

In fact, none provide any useful functionality to the user. Plants Vs Zombies, and other similar apps, are developed simply to generate revenue by the display of intrusive online ads and by sharing collected data with third parties. You are strongly advised to uninstall Plants Vs Zombies from your system immediately.

Research shows that most adware is distributed via small programs called 'download clients' (also called 'installers', 'download managers', etc.) on freeware download websites such as download.com, soft32.com, softonic.com, and many others.

Download clients supposedly ease the download process, however, they are developed to monetize these websites' free services and traffic by offering installation of third party applications or browser add-ons. In some cases, additional programs are hidden within the 'Advanced' or 'Custom' installation options.

These third party apps are often described as legitimate, however, most are classed as adware or malware infections. To avoid installation of PUPs, closely analyse each step of the free software download procedure and ensure that no additional apps are included.

Furthermore, installation of software downloaded from the Internet should be performed using the 'Custom' or 'Advanced' installation options, rather than 'Quick' or 'Typical' - this will reveal any bundled applications listed for installation and allow you to opt-out.

If you have installed Plants Vs Zombies adware, the following removal guide will help you to uninstall this PUP from your system.

Plants Vs Zombies adware installer set-up:

Screenshot of Plants Vs Zombies arcade game:

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Quick menu:

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

Plants Vs Zombies 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 "Plants Vs Zombies", select this entry and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

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

Remove Plants Vs Zombies adware from Internet browsers:

At time of research, Plants Vs Zombies 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 plants vs zombies, 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 plants vs zombies, 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 plugins 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 plants vs zombies 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 plants vs zombies, 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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