Ads by Phishalert

What is Phishalert?

Identical to salus, Phishalert is a deceptive application claiming to protect users from phishing - cyber criminals' attempts to acquire personal data (for example, via PayPal or bank account logins/passwords) to steal money.

These false claims might trick some users into believing that Phishalert is a useful app, however, Phishalert infiltrates systems without users’ permission, generates intrusive online advertisements, and tracks Internet browsing activity. For these reasons it is categorized as adware and a potentially unwanted program (PUP).

This application is designed to generate pop-up, banner, and many other deceptive ads. On initial inspection, these ads appear identical to regular software/apps, however, some might redirect users to malicious sites, thereby causing high-risk adware or malware infections.

Furthermore, all are displayed using a 'virtual layer', which enables placement of third party graphical content on any visited web page. None originate from visited websites and conceal underlying content, thereby diminishing the Internet browsing experience.

Furthermore, rather than protecting users' privacy, Phishalert collects various information including IP addresses, geographic location, operating system/browser types, websites visited, pages viewed, search queries, and other similar browsing-related data.

Be aware that some of the data can include personally identifiable information that developers of Phishalert share with third party companies who are likely to misuse it to generate revenue. Thus, having an information-tracking app installed on your system can lead to serious privacy issues or even identity theft. You are strongly advised to uninstall this Phishalert immediately.

Phishalert shares many similarities with other regular adware such as Enter Voyage, Win Security, and Picexa. All claim to enhance the Internet browsing experience, and yet, none deliver any real value for users.

Adware-type apps are designed to generate revenue for the developers - rather than providing the functionality promised, apps such as Phishalert collect personally identifiable information and generate intrusive online ads.

How did Phishalert install on my computer?Many users do not express enough caution

Phishalert is mostly proliferated using a deceptive software marketing method called 'bundling' - stealth installation of third party software with regular software/apps. Many users do not express enough caution when downloading and installing software. For this reason, developers conceal rogue apps such as Phishalert within the 'Custom' or 'Advanced' settings.

By skipping this section, users often inadvertently install potentially unwanted programs and expose their systems to risk of further infection. The developers are concerned only with the amount of revenue generated, which is dependent on the number of apps distributed, and therefore, there is no reason for them to properly disclose installation of PUPs.

How to avoid installation of potentially unwanted applications?

Users can prevent this situation by observing all steps of the software download and installation processes. Choose the 'Custom' or 'Advanced' settings, rather than 'Quick' or 'Regular'. This will expose all third party apps listed for download/installation and allow you to cancel them. Bear in mind that bundled software is mostly rogue, and therefore, you should decline it.

Phishalert generating intrusive online ads (marked as 'ads by phishalert'):

Deceptive free software installers distributing Phishalert ('PhishAlert - Phishing Protector') adware:

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Quick menu:

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

Phishalert 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 "Phishalert", select this entry and click "Uninstall" or "Remove".

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

Remove Phishalert adware from Internet browsers:

At time of research, Phishalert 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 phish alert adware, 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 phish alert adware, 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 phish alert adware 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 phish alert adware, 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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