Shopsafer Adware

What is Shopsafer?

Shopsafer claims to enable features such as comparison shopping, coupons, display of special deals/discounts on shopping websites to save time and money while shopping online. This browser extension may seem legitimate and useful, however, be aware that Shopsafer is categorized as a potentially unwanted program (PUP) and adware.

The developers distribute Shopsafer using a deceptive software marketing method called 'bundling', which allows them to stealthily install Shopsafer together with regular chosen software.

After infiltration on Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox, Shopsafer generates various online advertisements (such as coupon, pop-up, etc.) that can redirect to bogus websites, thereby causing high-risk computer infections.

Be aware that Shopsafer continually monitors users' Internet browsing activity and gathers various related information including IP addresses (to determine users' geolocations), websites visited, pages viewed, and search queries entered into search engines.

These are just some examples of collected data types, some of which may contain personally identifiable details. This behavior can lead to serious privacy issues or even identity theft. Today, most adware-type applications have similar or identical behavior - there are hundreds of rogue apps offering identical features, supposedly allowing users to save time and money.

Some examples include Excellent Coupons, MarkingApp, and ComparingGenie. None (including the Shopsafer), provide any useful functionality - the purpose of these applications is to generate revenue by the display of intrusive online advertisements and sharing collected information with third parties. Therefore, you are strongly advised to uninstall Shopsafer from your system immediately.

At time of research, Shopsafer and other applications of this type, were distributed via small programs called 'download clients' on freeware download websites such as softonic.com, soft32.com, and downloads.com. These sites employ download clients to monetize their traffic and free services by offering installation of additional programs together with the chosen software.

These websites make assurances that their promoted applications are 'legitimate and virus-free', however, reckless download and installation usually results in adware or malware infections. To avoid this situation, closely analyse the free software download procedure and opt-out of any third party applications included.

Furthermore, when installing programs downloaded from the Internet, select the 'Custom' or 'Advanced' installation options - this will reveal any hidden applications listed for installation and allow you to opt-out.

If you have installed Shopsafer (or other adware), and you observe intrusive online advertisements while surfing the Internet, follow the guidelines below to uninstall this adware from your system immediately.

Shopsafer adware installer set-up:

Online advertisements displayed by Shopsafer adware ('Offers by shopsafer'):

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Quick menu:

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

Shopsafer 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 "Shopsafer" (and any other recently-installed suspicious applications - 'Offers by shopsafer' ads can be generated by potentially unwanted applications under different names), select this entry and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

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

Remove Shopsafer adware from Internet browsers:

At time of research, Shopsafer 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 offers by shopsafer, 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 offers by shopsafer, 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 offers by shopsafer 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 offers by shopsafer, 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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