Pop-ups and adverts keep appearing
Adverts keep popping up on my screen even when the browser is closed.
Written by The CommonFixes team · fact checked by CommonFixes review desk
Last updated
Short answer
Adware installed itself alongside a free download and now runs as a normal program with browser add-ons helping it. The quickest thing to try first: uninstall recently added programs — Open Settings, Apps, Installed apps, sort by install date, and remove anything you do not recognise from around the day the adverts started. Most people are done in about 25 minutes.
Full walkthrough below: 5 steps for Windows and Mac, rated medium.
Sounds like this
- •Adverts outside the browser
- •New tabs opening alone
- •Search engine changed by itself
Why it happens
Adware installed itself alongside a free download and now runs as a normal program with browser add-ons helping it.
Work through these in order
0% done- 1
Uninstall recently added programs
Open Settings, Apps, Installed apps, sort by install date, and remove anything you do not recognise from around the day the adverts started.
- 2
Clean out browser extensions
In each browser open the extensions page and delete everything you did not deliberately choose.
- 3
Reset the browser
Use the Restore settings to their original defaults option in browser settings. It removes hijacked search engines and start pages.
- 4
Run a dedicated cleaner
Download Malwarebytes Free from its official website and run a full scan. It is designed for adware that antivirus programs often ignore.
- 5
Check scheduled tasks and notifications
Some adverts come from website notifications you accepted. In browser settings, open Notifications and remove every site you did not intend to allow.
If none of that worked
Never call the phone number shown in a pop-up warning. Those numbers belong to scammers, not to Microsoft or Apple.
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Who wrote this and how we checked it
The CommonFixes team
Writer and researcher
We are a small group of people who spend our days repairing laptops and desktops for family, friends and small offices. Every guide here starts with a problem someone actually brought to us, and we only write down the steps that put the machine right.
- Everyday repairs
- Windows and Mac
- Plain language
CommonFixes review desk
Technical editor
Before a guide goes live, a second person walks through it on a real machine and checks each instruction against the maker's own support pages. Anything we cannot confirm is removed rather than guessed at.
- Fact checking
- Safety warnings
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This guide was last updated on 10 August 2026. If a step no longer matches what you see on screen, tell us on the contact page and we will test it again.
A gentle reminder: back up anything you cannot afford to lose before major repairs. If a step ever feels risky, stop and ask a technician. There is no shame in that.